We don't know very much about the language of songs and poetry in many of the small societies in our region, so it's excellent that a group of researchers (Myf Turpin, Christina Eira, Tonya Stebbins and Stephen Morey) are putting on a workshop on the topic at the Australian Linguistics Society Conference 2007 in Adelaide, September 26-28. Here's the information:
CALL FOR PAPERS
Language of poetry and song
Australian Linguistics Society Conference 2007
Adelaide, September 26-28
The 'Language of poetry and song' is a one-day cross-disciplinary workshop at the annual Australian Linguistics Society Conference held at the University of Adelaide, September 26-28, 2007.
The workshop is an opportunity for researchers working on either recent or traditional musical genres within linguistics, ethnomusicology or anthropology to explore linguistic features of song/poetry with others working in this field.
Papers should address issues such as
* How do musical form and linguistic form interact?
* Are there restrictions on the types of grammatical structures found in song/poetry?
* Can words be shortened or extended to fit song metre?
* What sorts of special vocabulary do they contain? If there are 'fillers' what are their metrical purposes?
* How do the intended meanings of song/poetry differ, or go beyond, the meanings in speech?
* How do the meanings and broader significances of song/poetry relate to the local social context?
Papers addressing other issues relating to the language of song or poetry are also welcome. Presentations should be 20 minutes long with 10 minutes for questions.
Abstracts must not be longer than 300 words and be submitted by March 16th, 2007 in word or PDF format to:
christina.eira AT adelaide.edu.au