CONFERENCE SERIES
The DiPVaC biennial international conference series was devised and successfully launched in 2012 by Heike Pichler (Newcastle University, UK), founding chair of DiPVaC. The conference provides a forum for discussion of methodological, empirical and theoretical advancements in the analysis of variation and change in the use of discourse-pragmatic features; the presentation of cutting-edge research; opportunities for the examination of the theoretical and social implications and applications of research into the use of these features; and the formation of new international and multidisciplinary research networks.
Discourse-Pragmatic Variation and Change 5 (DiPVaC5)
The fifth international Discourse-Pragmatic Variation and Change (DiPVaC) conference will take place at the University of Melbourne (Parkville campus), Australia, from 3-5 June 2020.
Confirmed plenary speakers are:
- Derek Denis (University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada)
- Janet Holmes (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand)
- Ilana Mushin (The University of Queensland, Australia)
- Celeste Rodríguez Louro (The University of Western Australia)
- Lesley Stirling (The University of Melbourne, Australia)
Alexandra D'Arcy
(University of Victoria, Canada)
DiPVaC is a biennial international conference series showcasing cutting-edge research into quantitative approaches to variation and change in what are broadly termed ‘discourse-pragmatic features’: this includes (but is not limited to) research on discourse markers or pragmatic particles whose primary functions are interpersonal and textual (e.g. well, like, you know, comme, alors, doch, zwar, diciamo, dakedo, etc.); tag questions; silence; filled pauses; adjectives; adverbs; and general extenders.
The conference builds on an extensive international research network (see www.dipvac.org) and a track record of profiling the latest research in discourse-pragmatic variation and change in a wide variety of languages. It also provides a forum for the discussion of methodological, empirical and theoretical advancements in the analysis of variation and change in the use of discourse-pragmatic features; opportunities for the examination of the social implications and applications of research into the use of these features; and the formation of new international and multidisciplinary research networks.
Research will be presented which takes a quantitative approach to data analysis and deals with diverse aspects of discourse-pragmatic variation and change in any language or variety. This is the first time the conference will take place in the Asia-Pacific region; and as such, research on the following has been particularly encouraged: discourse-pragmatic variation and change in contexts of language contact; patterns of discourse-pragmatic variation and change in minority and/or under-described languages; the acquisition of discourse-pragmatic variation by second language learners and bilingual speakers.
Presentations will be in English, and will be 20 minutes long, followed by a 10-minute question period. This is a single-session conference (i.e., there are no parallel sessions). Papers deal with, but are not restricted to, the following topics:
- sociolinguistic patterns of discourse-pragmatic variation and change;
- discourse-pragmatic variation and change in contexts of language contact;
- quantitative studies addressing the grammaticalization of discourse-pragmatic features;
- contrastive/cross-linguistic studies of discourse-pragmatic variation and change;
- methods in the quantitative analysis of discourse-pragmatic features;
- social and geographical diffusion patterns of innovative discourse features;
- discourse-pragmatic features in the construction and negotiation of social identities;
- acquisition of discourse-pragmatic variation by children, L2 learners and bilingual speakers;
- discourse-pragmatic variation and change across the lifespan;
- socio-perceptual studies of discourse-pragmatic variation;
- discourse-pragmatic variation across interactional, situational and technological settings;
- implications and applications of discourse-pragmatic variation and change within and beyond linguistic theory.
Abstracts submission is closed and applicants have been notified.
All questions about submissions should be emailed to dipvac.network@gmail.com
Sponsors
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language
- School of Languages and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne
DiPVaC5 is on Twitter: twitter.com/DiPVaC5
and Facebook: www.facebook.com/DiPVaC5/
Conference organiser
Chloé Diskin
DiPVaC 4 was held 28-30 May 2018 at the University of Helsinki, Finland, and was organised by Elizabeth Peterson. The confirmed plenary speakers were: Yael Maschler (University of Haifa, Israel), Terttu Nevalainen (University of Helsinki, Finland), Jan-Ola Östman (University of Helsinki, Finland) and Heike Pichler (Newcastle University, UK).
The winner of the DiPVaC 4 best student paper prize was Mirjam Eiswirth (University of Edinburgh, UK) for her presentation "Listener Responses as a Discourse-Organizational Variable".
Photos from DiPVaC 4 are below.
The winner of the DiPVaC 4 best student paper prize was Mirjam Eiswirth (University of Edinburgh, UK) for her presentation "Listener Responses as a Discourse-Organizational Variable".
Photos from DiPVaC 4 are below.
DiPVaC 3 was held 4-6 May 2016 at the University of Ottawa, Canada, and was organised by Stephen Levey. The confirmed plenary speakers were: Laurel Brinton (University of British Columbia, Canada), Gaétane Dostie (Université de Sherbrooke, Canada), Shana Poplack (University of Ottawa, Canada) and Suzanne Evans Wagner (Michigan State University, USA).
The winner of the DiPVaC 3 best student paper prize was Claire Childs (Newcastle University, UK) for her presentation "Interviewer effects on negative tag realisations in North-East England".
The winner of the DiPVaC 3 best student paper prize was Claire Childs (Newcastle University, UK) for her presentation "Interviewer effects on negative tag realisations in North-East England".
DiPVaC 2 was held 7-9 April 2014 at Newcastle University, UK. The conference featured plenary talks by Liesbeth Degand (University of Louvain, Belgium), Stephen Levey (University of Ottawa, Canada), and Sali Tagliamonte (University of Toronto, Canada) (pictured in this order below). In addition to some 20 odd individual papers, Ashley Hesson (Michigan State University, USA) and Heike Pichler (Newcastle University, UK) gave a workshop on "Exploring novel impact pathways in variationist research: Discourse variation in healthcare settings." Follow this link for further details.
The winner of the DiPVaC 2 best student paper prize was Chloé Diskin (University College Dublin, Ireland) for her presentation "Acquisition of discourse-pragmatic markers by non-native speakers of Irish English" (pictured at the bottom right with Joseph Kern, Heike Pichler and her gift bag).
The winner of the DiPVaC 2 best student paper prize was Chloé Diskin (University College Dublin, Ireland) for her presentation "Acquisition of discourse-pragmatic markers by non-native speakers of Irish English" (pictured at the bottom right with Joseph Kern, Heike Pichler and her gift bag).
DiPVaC 1 was held 18-20 April 2012 at the University of Salford, UK. The conference featured research workshops and plenary presentations by Kate Beeching (University of West of England, UK), Jenny Cheshire (Queen Mary, University of London, UK), Alexandra D'Arcy (University of Victoria, Canada), and Andreas H. Jucker (University of Zurich, Switzerland). It also featured an "Analysing Spoken English"-workshop for A'level English Langauge teachers which was designed by Sue Fox (Queen Mary, University of London, UK) and Heike Pichler (Newcastle University, UK). Photos are below.
