Transilvania University of Braşov Faculty of Letters Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics Second Conference on Theoretical and Applied Linguistics Structure, Use, and Meaning 20-22 September 2012 Braşov
The conference organizers gratefully acknowledge the financial support of The City Hall of Braşov for the project entitled Cultural and Academic Excellence in Braşov 2012 and SC. Avicod S.A. Codlea
Welcome to the 2 nd Conference on Theoretical and Applied Linguistics Structure, Use, and Meaning The conference aims to bring together researchers and practitioners in the field of theoretical and applied linguistics with a view to placing language in an interdisciplinary dialogue and promoting the merging of present-day approaches to the study of language. At the same time, this conference is an opportunity to re-enforce the dialogue on research and collaboration in academic and professional contexts. Such collaboration in turn is fundamental to the design and implementation of effective pedagogy, assessment and curricula. CONFERENCE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Elena Buja (Transilvania University of Braşov) Stanca Măda (Transilvania University of Braşov) Răzvan Săftoiu (Transilvania University of Braşov) Andrei Bodiu (Transilvania University of Braşov) Corina Micu (Transilvania University of Braşov) Ioana Diaconu (Transilvania University of Braşov) SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Mihaela Gheorghe (Transilvania University of Braşov) Ianthi Maria Tsimpli (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) Kate Beeching (University of the West of England, Bristol) Indira Junghare (University of Minnesota) Liliana Ruxăndoiu (University of Bucharest) Rodica Zafiu (University of Bucharest) Emil Ionescu (University of Bucharest) Larisa Avram (University of Bucharest) Ştefan Oltean (Babeş Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca) Andrei Bodiu (Transilvania University of Braşov) Elena Buja (Transilvania University of Braşov) Stanca Măda (Transilvania University of Braşov) Răzvan Săftoiu (Transilvania University of Braşov) Marinela Burada (Transilvania University of Braşov) Gabriela Cusen (Transilvania University of Braşov) Liliana Coposescu (Transilvania University of Braşov)
PLENARY SPEAKERS IANTHI MARIA TSIMPLI is Professor of Psycholinguistics: Language Acquisition and Language Disorders at the Dept. of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics of the School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She is also Director of the Language Development Research Lab at the School of English. She holds a BA in Modern Greek Literature and Byzantine Studies from the University of Athens, a Diploma in Linguistics and a PhD in Linguistics from University College London (1992). Her doctorate thesis was published in 1996 in the series Outstanding Dissertations in Linguistics, Garland with the title Functional Categories and Maturation: The Prefunctional Stage of Language Acquisition. She taught Linguistics at University College London, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and University of Cambridge, UK. She teaches and researches in First and Second Language Acquisition, Psycholinguistics, and Theoretical Syntax. She has extensively worked on the case of Christopher, a polyglot-savant, with Neil Smith with whom she co-authored the book The Mind of a Savant: Language Learning and Modularity (1995, Blackwell) as well as a number of published articles (Lingua, Journal of Neurolinguistics, Journal of Linguistics, Journal of Individual and Learning Differences). A number of articles co-authored with Gary Morgan, Neil Smith and Bencie Woll have also been published on a subsequent research project investigating Christopher s ability to learn British Sign Language. She is currently coauthoring (with Morgan, Smith and Woll) a book on this topic with the title Signs of a Savant (CUP). She has also published many articles on L1 and L2 acquisition, SLI and Syntax in international journals and books (Linguistic Review, Brain and Language, Journal of Greek Linguistics, International Journal of Bilingualism, Lingua, Second Language Research). The Language Development Lab which she directs is doing research on first and second language development, SLI, Broca s aphasia, native adult, child and L2 sentence processing and eyemovements. A large part of this research is externally funded by research projects. Some of the findings of recent and current research from this lab, co-authored with Despina Papadopoulou, have already been presented and published in conference proceedings (BUCLD, GALA, ISTAL, ICGL) as well as in journals and book volumes. ŞTEFAN OLTEAN is Professor of linguistics at the Department of English of the Faculty of Letters, Babeş-Bolyai University. His research interests comprise theoretical linguistics, generative linguistics, formal semantics, diachronic linguistics, comparative linguistics, analysis of Fictional Discourse, and the Politics of the Language. He teaches courses of the history of the English language, generative grammar, formal semantics, comparative grammar of Germanic languages, Possible World semantics, linguistic generativism, and pragmatics. He has been involved in a number of projects, both as a manager and as a member: DYLAN Project Language Dynamics and Management of Diversity, Thematic Network Project in the Area of Languages -Languages for Language Related Jobs and
Professions, Thematic Network Project in the Area of Languages, and MULTICOM Project, as partner of the University of Rennes. INDIRA Y. JUNGHARE: She is a Professor of Linguistics with M.A. and Ph. D. from the University of Texas, and has been teaching at the University of Minnesota in the field of South Asian Studies with focus on Indian languages, linguistics, literatures, and cultures. She led the establishment of the Institute of Linguistics, Asian and Slavic Languages and Literatures (ILASLL) in 1991, the Department of Asian Languages and Literatures (ALL) in 2000, and the India Center in 2007. She served as Chair of the South Asian Languages and Cultures Program from 1991-2000 and Director of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies from 1994-2000. She ran the South Asian Languages and Cultures journal (Mahfil) from 1994-2002. She is author of Topics in Pali Phonology, Marathi Tadbhava Phonology, and The Poetry Pond; and translator of Phanishvar Nath Renu s Hindi novel: Maila Anchal The Stained Border, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan s Hindi short stories-collection: Bikhare Moti Scattered Pearls, and S. N. Navre s Marathi play: Sur Rahu De Let the Tune Go On. She has published numerous articles in sociolinguistics, linguistics, literature, philosophy, and religions of India. She is a recipient of numerous awards: CLA Distinguished Teacher, Outstanding Faculty, Gordon L. Starr Award, University of Minnesota Outstanding Community Service Award, and Asian-Pacific Minnesotans Leadership Award. She served on the Fulbright Scholarship Awards for India Studies from 2002-2004. At the present time, she is working on the development of Diversity-Ethics-Peace Studies as an academic discipline. KATE BEECHING is Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK, where she is Head of the International Corpus Linguistics Research Unit (ICLRU). Her research interests lie mainly in the collection and analysis of corpora of spontaneous spoken interaction and the functions, sociolinguistic salience, and evolution of pragmatic markers in French and English. Her publications include Gender, politeness and pragmatic particles in French (2002), A politeness-theoretic approach to pragmaticosemantic change (2007), Semantic change: evidence from false friends (2011), Pragmaticalisation and translation equivalence(2011), and A parallel corpus approach to investigating semantic change (forthc.). She is currently working on a volume on the pragmatic markers well, like, you know, just, I mean, and sort of to be published by CUP and entitled Pragmatic Markers. Meaning in Social Interaction.