*Apologies for Cross-Postings*
Dear colleagues,
This is a reminder of the call papers for the 'Languages and First World War' Conference to be held jointly by the University of Antwerp and the British Library, 18-19-20th June 2014. Three hundred word abstracts for proposed papers should be emailed to [log in to unmask] by the 1st December 2013
The centenary of the outbreak of the First World War coincides with the fading of direct memory of the period. Few can remember the linguistic experience of wartime in the speech of those directly or indirectly involved, but the linguistic traces of combat and civilian life, in and out of war zones, remain.
The term ‘no man’s land’, for instance, came into general use in English during the First World War, referring to inhabitable areas that saw the fiercest of the fighting between the two sides of the conflict; the use of the term, many centuries earlier referring to an isolated patch of land outside the City of London, is indicative of a pattern of language-change produced by the war – by 1920 ‘Niemandsland’ was a widely used term in German. In the varied theatres of war, the home fronts, training camps, war offices, hospitals and supply trains, language shifts happened, in which the dialects and languages of the various parties involved influenced one another, and in which new language and new language use emerged through new technologies of destruction and communication.
The idea for a conference on the linguistic experience and legacy of the war arose from research into the sociolinguistics of the war (especially the Western Front) and the immediate post-war period in the UK, particularly with reference to how terms had crossed linguistic boundaries, including between hostile linguistic groups. The conference aims to be truly international and interdisciplinary.
Papers may be given in languages other than English, with synopses available in English.
Further information about the conference and a link to the conference PDF can be found at
http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/socialscience/
With kind regards,
Robert Davies
Social Sciences
The British Library
On behalf of the conference organisers.
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