You might think that, after the Multilingual Debate on the 23rd March, the staff of LINCS could be doing with a rest. On the contrary, yet again, the department is pleased to announce a leading event on an incredibly topical subject.

As we announced back in February, LINCS is holding a conference on New Speakers of Minority Languages. This conference aims to bring together experts on the phenomenon of people who speak a language everyday but are not counted as “native speakers.” This might include people learning a traditional language to try to rediscover their heritage, people who have learned a language following government revitalization programs or even people just deciding to learn another language at an evening class.

Sometimes, increasing number of new language users can go hand-in-hand with changes to the language itself. Are such changes always welcome or useful? How do “native speaker” react when their language shifts due to new speakers? Is it even worth drawing distinctions between “native speakers” and “new speakers?”

These are just some of the topics that will be discussed at this one and a half day conference, which will take place in 7 Bristo Square, Edinburgh on Friday 30th and Saturday 31st March. For more details or to book your place, please email Dr Bernie O’Rourke at the address shown on her homepage.

Bernie O’Rourke

Email – B.M.A.O’Rourke@hw.ac.uk

Academia – Bernadette O’Rourke

Twitter – @BernORourke