Conference Linguistic dominance and inequality

15th – 16th November, 2017
Malmö, Sweden

Welcome to the Linguistic dominance and inequality conference, which will be hosted by the Department of Language and Linguistics at Malmö University, November 15 – 16, 2017. With this conference, we aim to contribute to the sharing and spreading of research on issues relating to linguistic dominance and inequality in an effort to better understand and counteract existing negative effects.

We invite workshop presentations on the following interrelated subthemes:

  • Multilingual urban settings
  • The role of language in widening participation to higher education
  • Academic and professional language and the status of English

Multilingual urban settings
Many societies today are increasingly multilingual and more knowledge about multilingual urban areas is needed to contribute to sustainable societal development, counteract exclusion and alienation, and encourage democratic engagement.

The role of language in widening participation to higher education
Widening participation is necessary to make higher education institutions reflect the population at large and create quality in higher education through diversity, and issues of how linguistic dominance and inequality may affect access to and achievement in higher education are therefore highly relevant.

Academic and professional language and the status of English
In a globalized world, local languages are ‘competing’ with English in both academic and corporate contexts, and this situation can affect communicative quality and equality and may influence the future development of local languages.

The conference theme Linguistic dominance and inequality is for several reasons topical in Sweden today and in the city of Malmö. It is a truly multilingual city, where more than 40% of the population is born abroad or has parents born abroad. Malmö University has a strong commitment towards widening participation in higher education. English in Sweden is taking on a role as a second rather than foreign language, which poses additional language learning challenges for those immigrants who have limited prior exposure to English. 

Invited speakers
Prof. Lena Ekberg, Lund University
Prof. Gisela Håkansson, Lund University/Østfold University College
Dr. Stefania Marzo, KU Leuven
Prof. Björn Melander, Uppsala University
Prof. Robert Phillipson, Copenhagen Business School
Dr. Pia Quist, University of Copenhagen

Important dates
Deadline for abstract submissions: September 11 2017
Outcome of decision process by: September 15 2017
Registration opens: August 15
Deadline for registration: October 30

Links
Call for papers
Programme
Registration (closed)
Travel and accommodation
Organisers

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