Press release WOCAL6-Cologne
From August 17th
to 21st, 2009, the 6th World Congress of African Linguistics
(WOCAL6-Cologne) will be held at the University
of Cologne. WOCAL is the
world’s largest congress series in the field of African Linguistics. The coming
congress is being organised by the university’s Institute for African Studies
under the chairmanship of Matthias Brenzinger. The motto of WOCAL6-Cologne is
“African Linguistics for Understanding and Progress”, underlining the organisers’
aim to not only present high-quality research findings in the field of African
linguistics, but to also place scientific research on African languages in its
proper socio-political context.
WOCAL takes place
every three years, hosted in turn by African universities and universities on
other continents. Past congresses were held in Swaziland
(1994), Germany (1997), Togo (2000), USA
(2003) and Ethiopia
(2006). In 2008, a “Special WOCAL” was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
WOCAL6 will be
opened in Cologne
on August 17th at 9:30 a.m. by Neville Alexander, who will speak
about the importance of African languages in education and other areas of
African cultural and political life. Sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation, Alexander obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Tuebingen
in 1961. He was imprisoned after returning to his native South Africa in 1963 and confined to Robben Island
for 10 years. After his release from custody, he was placed under house arrest
for a further 5 years, until the German government intervened and he was freed
in 1978. Today, he is one of the most renowned language planners and cultural
activists on the African continent. With his “Project for the study of
alternative education in South
Africa” (PRAESA), he works tirelessly for
the emancipation of African languages through improved language policies. Other
keynote note speakers of the congress, namely Salikoko Mufwene, Tucker Childs
and Ian Maddison are sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
Within the framework
of WOCAL6, the first international forum for African Sign Languages will also
take place. The forum will begin on August 18th at 9 a.m. with a
keynote lecture entitled „The importance of Deaf involvement in African sign
languages research", delivered by the Ugandan linguist Sam Lutalo. Lutalo
is currently studying at the University
of Manchester, the first
deaf African in a Ph.D. program. The presentations in the Sign Language section
will be simultaneously translated into German sign language (DGS) and
International Sign Language (ISL). The presentations delivered in sign language
will be translated into spoken English.
The Nubian
languages are another focal point of WOCAL6-Cologne. With sponsorship by the
Fritz Thyssen-Foundation, Anne Storch, acting director of the Institute for
African Studies at the University of Cologne, has invited renowned Nubian language
scholars from such countries as Sudan
and Egypt.
This special symposium will take place on August 18th and 19th
within the framework of WOCAL6.
WOCAL was founded
in 1994 in Southern Africa to overcome the scientific isolation of linguists
from South Africa
caused by the academic boycott of the Apartheid regime. Even today, the
organisers’ main goal is to enable as many African colleagues as possible to
take part in the congress. With this goal in mind, the Deutscher Akademischer
Austauschdienst (DAAD) funded by the Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche
Zusammenarbeit (BMZ, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development)
has invited more than 30 African scholars to attend a Summer School during the
period of August 13th to 21st. This event will include
participation in WOCAL6. Among other things, a DAAD Alumni-network will be
established to coordinate cooperation with German universities in matters of
African language research and teaching.
Most of the
planned WOCAL presentations will cover classic linguistic disciplines, such as
”phonetics and phonology” and “morphology and syntax”. At the same time,
numerous innovative themes will also be offered. One new section, for example,
will focus on the interface between language policy and poverty alleviation. In
all, about 280 presentations on African languages will be held, covering all
the main areas of linguistic research and all the main regions of the African
continent. Up to 600 scholars, hailing from more than 50 countries, are
expected to attend the WOCAL6 in Cologne.
The congress venue
is the Hoersaalgebaeude at the University
of Cologne, located on
the Albertus-Magnus-Platz. Congress tickets for €60 and day tickets for €20 are
available at the congress.
Congress homepage:
http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/afrikanistik/wocal/index.shtml
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