In 2007 the Department of Linguistics at School of Oriental and African Studies celebrated its 75th anniversary, along with the 5th anniversary of the Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project, comprising the Endangered Languages Academic Programme (ELAP), the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR), and the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (ELDP). These occasions were marked by the first SOAS Conference on Language Documentation and Linguistic Theory, which is now continuing in alternate years.

The conference aims to bring together researchers working on linguistic theory and language documentation and description, with a particular focus on innovative work on underdescribed or endangered languages.

Papers from the first LDLT conference are now available online at: http://www.hrelp.org/eprints/LDLT

Plenary speakers for LDLT2

The plenary speakers are:

• Professor Larry M. Hyman, University of California, Berkeley
  Good things come in small languages: grammatical loss and innovation in Nzadi
• Professor Tania Kuteva, SOAS, London/Heinrich Heine Universität, Düsseldorf
  Grammatical categories and linguistic theory

Conference themes

The theme of the LDLT2 conference is:

Linguistic theory and language documentation: innovations, successes, and challenges.

For 2009, we especially welcome submissions addressing this theme in relation to languages of Africa.

We invite contributions relating to any aspect of the study of language and linguistics from any perspective, including:

• formal theoretical issues;
• typology;
• documentary linguistics and responses to language endangerment;
• new techniques and opportunities for documenting and describing languages;
• historical linguistics;
• discourse, and narrative structure.

Abstracts

Abstracts are invited for 20 minute papers followed by 10 minutes of discussion. Each individual may present up to one single authored paper and one joint paper.

Abstracts should be anonymous, a minimum of 11pt font and one page in length, including references and examples. They should be in .doc or .pdf format (but not .docx format) and the filename should start with LDLT2, followed by an underscore and then first authors' surname, e.g. LDLT2_ashmore.pdf. If you have a common surname, please also include initials, e.g. LDLT2_jjones.pdf.

Abstracts should be submitted using the LDLT2 EasyAbs site, which is now open.

The deadline for the submission of abstracts is Monday 4 May 2009.

Applicants will be notified of abstract acceptance by Monday 1 June 2009.

Important dates

• Deadline for abstract submission: Monday 4 May 2009
• Applicants notified of abstract acceptance: Monday 1 June 2009
• 'Short papers' due date for publication in conference proceedings: Monday 21 September 2009 (extended from Monday 14 September 2009)
• Deadline for 'early bird' conference registration at reduced cost: Monday 5 October 2009 (extended from Monday 14 September 2009)
• Registration ends: Monday 12 October 2009
• Conference: Friday 13 - Saturday 14 November 2009

Organisation

The local organising committee consists of:

• Peter Austin
• Oliver Bond
• Mary Chambers
• Monik Charette
• Alison Kelly
• David Nathan
• Peter Sells

Enquiries

All enquiries should be directed to Alison Kelly at:
LDLT2.conference@gmail.com