Sociolinguistics Symposium 25
Ordinariness + Innovation
Innovation in language practice is increasingly celebrated, at times even romanticised – however this inadvertently invents the linguistic Other through exoticising the ordinary epistemologies of language. Conversely, through a contemplating of what ordinariness entails or how it is imposed, the complex natures of communities, patterns, and hierarchies are often interrogated. Continued explorations of ordinariness and innovation across ecologies, landscapes, platforms, modalities, pedagogies, disability and neurodiverse cultures are required to further critical assessments for theory and application. Considerations of languages on the periphery – indigenous and migrant, minority and endangered – including engagement with everyday policy and practice, and development of innovative technologies, are particularly timely, in light of the UN’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032).
Key Dates
Call for Abstracts Open
June 2023
Call for Abstracts Close
10 Oct 2023
Notification of Abstract Acceptance
24 Nov 2023
Registration Open
22 Nov 2023
Early Bird Registration Close
1 February 2024
As a premier gathering of international sociolinguists, the biennial Sociolinguistics Symposium has emerged as a unique and innovative forum to develop and exchange new ideas, broaden the scope of the discipline, and create new academic networks. From its beginnings as a small meeting of UK-based academics in 1976, it has grown into the largest sociolinguistic conference in the world.
The 25th Sociolinguistics Symposium (SS25) – the conference’s first appearance in Australia, on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja [Perth land of Noongar people] – explores diverse manifestations of Ordinariness and Innovation.
Innovation in language practice is increasingly celebrated, at times even romanticised – however this inadvertently invents the linguistic Other through exoticising the ordinary epistemologies of language. Conversely, through a contemplating of what ordinariness entails or how it is imposed, the complex natures of communities, patterns, and hierarchies are often interrogated. Continued explorations of Ordinariness or Innovation across ecologies, landscapes, platforms, modalities, pedagogies, disability and neurodiverse cultures are required to further critical assessments for theory and application. Considerations of languages on the periphery – Indigenous and migrant, minority and endangered – including engagement with everyday policy and practice, and development of innovative technologies, are particularly timely, in light of the UN’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL 2022-2032).
SS25 invites abstracts for papers, colloquia or posters addressing the conference theme, as well as other contributions focusing on current and innovative themes and theoretical challenges in sociolinguistic enquiry.