PAC 2023 – Spoken English varieties: interfaces and multidimensional approaches
International conference
Wednesday, April 12th to Friday, April 14th 2023
@ Université Paris Nanterre, France
Guest Speakers
David Britain, University of Bern, Switzerland
Alexander Haselow, University of Münster, Germany
Magdalena Wrembel, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland
The PAC programme (Phonologie de l’Anglais Contemporain: usages, variétés et
structure - The Phonology of Contemporary English: usage, varieties and
structure) is coordinated by Anne Przewozny-Desriaux (Toulouse Jean Jaurès
University), Sophie Herment (University of Aix-Marseille), Sylvain Navarro
(Paris Cité University) and Cécile Viollain (Paris Nanterre University). The
main aims of the programme can be summarized as follows: to give a better
picture of spoken English in its unity and diversity (geographical, social and
stylistic); to test existing theoretical models in phonology, phonetics and
sociolinguistics from a synchronic and diachronic point of view, making room
for the systematic study of variation; to favour communication between
specialists in speech and in phonological theory; and to provide corpus-based
data and analyses which will help improve the teaching of English as a foreign
language. To learn more about us, you can visit the programme’s website:
https://www.pacprogramme.net/?lang=en.
The 16th edition of the PAC international conference in 2023 will focus on
interfaces between phonology and phonetics as well as other levels of
linguistic structure in contemporary spoken English varieties on the basis of
corpus data. Multidimensional approaches to oral corpora are understood as
approaches combining different levels of linguistic analysis and/or tools and
methods borrowed from other disciplines (such as sociology, geography,
anthropology, computer science, stylistics, psychology, neuro and cognitive
sciences, media studies, cultural studies).
The conference will be organized around three days of plenary and thematic
sessions focusing on the issues detailed hereafter. We will welcome submissions
which address, but are not limited to, these topics. Submissions need not be
limited to a single thematic session either and may encompass issues from
different themes.
1. Identities, attitudes & representations
The following topics and questions fall within the scope of this session:
• What are the current dynamics of linguistic and cultural communities and
identities in the English-speaking world? Are there new linguistic and cultural
identities currently emerging?
• How are these communities and identities self-perceived and represented,
notably in audiovisual and/or literary productions? What is their relationship
to traditional standard varieties?
• What interfaces or multidimensional approaches can best tackle the issues of
sociolinguistic evaluation, representation, authenticity and stereotyping?
2. Standard(s), variation & change
The following topics and questions fall within the scope of this session:
• What are ongoing changes in contemporary spoken varieties of English
(standard and non-standard)? Do they challenge existing theoretical models of
speech variation?
• What is the impact of regional and social factors on variation and change in
the English-speaking world?
• What concepts and notions can be borrowed from other disciplines to account
for variation and change?
• How can corpus phonology shed light on the phonology/phonetics interface?
• How do authentic data contribute to empirical approaches in phonology?
3. Suprasegmentals
The following topics and questions fall within the scope of this session:
• What are the suprasegmental characteristics of contemporary varieties of
spoken English?
• What interfaces (e.g. prosody/syntax, prosody/pragmatics) or multidimensional
approaches (e.g. acoustics, kinesics) can adequately account for the
suprasegmental characteristics of spoken varieties of English?
• What is the impact of regional and social factors on rhythmic and
intonational patterns in spoken English?
• How can intonational variation be described, modeled?
• What tools are most relevant for the (semi-)automatic annotation of prosody?
4. Interphonology & learner corpora
The following topics and questions fall within the scope of this session:
• What are the characteristics of L2 varieties of English? How can the
acquisition of L2 phonology best be modeled?
• How can L2 pronunciation be assessed? What are the most relevant criteria to
take into account? How can multidimensional approaches to oral performance help
provide feedback to learners?
• What is the impact of motivation and self-efficacy on L2 speech productions
and perception?
• What are learners’ representations of English teaching norms and stereotypes
regarding the different varieties of spoken English?
5. Oral syntax
The following topics and questions fall within the scope of this session:
• What is the syntax of contemporary varieties of spoken English? How can it be
described? What are its unique features?
• Are the tools and methods used to describe the syntax of written varieties of
English appropriate/relevant for the study of spoken English syntax? What
adjustments and/or developments can be advocated?
• To what extent can oral syntax be studied independently from other linguistic
levels of structure? What interfaces (e.g. syntax/prosody, syntax/pragmatics)
may be necessary to adequately account for the syntactic characteristics of
spoken varieties of English? Are all theoretical frameworks equally equipped to
account for the specificities of oral syntax? What syntactic phenomena
challenge existing models and frameworks?
In tackling these issues, comparisons with written data / varieties are not
excluded as long as the main contribution is the characterization of oral
syntax. Given the exploratory nature of this topic, we will also welcome
presentations reporting work in progress on those issues and technical
solutions for the multidimensional study of oral syntax.
Dates and deadlines
Conference: April 12th to April 14th 2023
Final deadline for submissions: October 3rd 2022
Results of refereeing of abstracts: November 7th 2022
Organised by
CREA (Centre de Recherches Anglophones), Université Paris Nanterre
TransCrit (Transferts Critiques anglophones), Université Paris 8
with the support of
LPL, Aix-Marseille Université
CLILLAC-ARP, Université Paris Cité
CLLE, Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès
Anne Przewozny-Desriaux
Prof. in English linguistics | Phonology and sociolinguistics
CLLE | CNRS UMR 5263
Dpt of English Studies
University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, France
https://clle.univ-tlse2.fr/accueil/annuaire/anne-przewozny-desriaux#/
The Corpus Phonology of English: Multifocal Analyses of Variation
https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-corpus-phonology-of-english-hb.html
PAC programme & LVTI project https://www.pacprogramme.net/
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