CALL for PAPERS – FEL XXVIII 2024
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The Foundation for Endangered Languages (FEL)
and
Forum for Language Initiatives (FLI)
in collaboration with
Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad
will hold
the 28th Annual Conference – FEL XXVIII
in Islamabad, Pakistan,
25 – 27 September 2024
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On the theme:
Endangered Languages
and Oral Traditions
Oral traditions and expressions are very significant aspects of intangible linguistic and cultural heritage. They are the collective memory of a community. They also play a crucial role in keeping languages and cultures alive.
Oral traditions and expressions come in a huge variety of spoken forms: folk songs, stories, riddles, tales, legends, myths, poems, epics, chants, charms, romances and other types of folk literature and dramatic performances. Certain types of oral traditions are highly specialized occupations, but they are commonly performed by lay members of the community who transmit their skills, the communal knowledge, and artistic values from generation to generation. Oral traditions are, however, highly fragile and their viability rests chiefly on this transmission.
Languages live and prosper in oral traditions – folk songs and stories – and other forms of intangible cultural heritage. The protection and preservation of indigenous languages are, therefore, closely related to the transmission of oral traditions and expressions. When languages are threatened and become extinct, oral traditions and expressions are also permanently lost. Documenting and safeguarding oral traditions are, therefore, significant ways of protecting and preserving languages; they are important complements to such activities as writing dictionaries and creating grammars and databases.
Recent research trends in documentary and descriptive linguistics have underscored the value of oral traditions and expressions and they encourage the use of methodologies which include recording, transcribing and translating oral traditions and expressions. This is compounded by an increasing global awareness of the alarming number of languages which continue to disappear, together with their oral literature and cultural lore, and the threat that their extinction may entail for the future of humankind.
The 28th conference of the Foundation of Endangered Languages (FELXXVIII) will provide a forum for the examination of the intricate relationship between endangered languages and oral traditions and expressions. The Conference will encourage scholarship on the role that vivid oral traditions/expressions may play in the preservation and revitalization of endangered languages and, similarly, on the impact that language revitalization may have on the maintenance, development and flourishing of oral traditions.
The conference will explore sustainable ways of preserving and protecting oral traditions and expressions and ensuring their transmissions to future generations.
The main theme of FELXXVIII is: Endangered languages and Oral Traditions
Other sub themes and major topics include but are not limited to:
- Endangered oral literatures: heritage preservation (music, poetry, mushaira, contests…)
- Oral cultures and traditional knowledge
- Documentation and digitalization of oral art and literature
- Language policy, planning, and oral art
- Oral art and mother tongue education
- Mother-tongue education policies: oral art and literature
- Rediscovering oral traditions and expressions
- Oral Traditions as vehicle for transmission of culture and language
The main focus of the conference will be on the dynamic relationship between language endangerment and the role of oral traditions and expressions in safeguarding them. While it has a universal scope, it specifically aims to highlight interesting and creative oral traditions and expressions of the indigenous communities of Pakistan and encourage scholarship and accounts of community initiatives for preserving and promoting them. Studies highlighting the oral traditions of indigenous communities from anywhere are welcome.
The conference will take place from 25 to 27 September 2024 at:
Main Academic Complex
Allama Iqbal Open University
Sector H – 8/ 2, Islamabad-Pakistan
The conference will be in hybrid format and will also be streamed online by video conferencing. A link will be provided to all those who register.
Registration will be open in June 2024. Please check the conference website for availability.
A One-day excursion will also be planned to an indigenous community in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and will be available to those who attend physically.
Abstracts of 600 – 800 words are invited for submission on EasyChair at this address:
https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=felxxviii2024
by the deadline of 15 May 2024 at 23:59 GMT
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Abstracts should be in English and must be submitted as PDF files (filename ending in .pdf). Please note that abstracts cannot be submitted as Microsoft Word documents (name ending in .docx or .doc).
Authors whose abstracts are accepted will be notified by 21 June 2024 and will be required to submit a conference paper of 2000-3000 words on or before 31 July 2024.
The conference paper should provide a brief account of the context, the issue(s) studied, the methodology used, and relevant references, together with a mention of any major result(s), conclusions and implications.
The conference papers will be compiled as a conference book which will be made available to conference participants and members of the Foundation for Endangered Languages.
Selected papers from the conference will be published as part of FEL-Brill Endangered Languages Series by the leading international publisher Brill.
Important Dates
- 15 May 2024: Deadline for submission of abstract
- 21 June 2024: Selected applicants informed
- 31 July 2024: Deadline for extended version of accepted abstract
- 25-27 September 2024: Conference dates
- 28 September: Excursion to a local community
The 28th FEL conference is organized by Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad (AIOU), the Forum for Language Initiatives (FLI) and the Foundation of Endangered Languages (FEL).
AIOU website: https://www.aiou.edu.pk/
FLI website: https://fli-online.org/site
FEL website: https://www.ogmios.org/index.php
Conference Website:
https://fli-online.org/site/conference-of-the-foundation-for-endangered-languages/
FEL Organizing Committee |
Maya Khemlani David |
Eda Derhemi |
Hakim Elnazarov |
Fazal Hadi |
Steven Krauwer |
Salem Mezhoud |
Christopher Moseley |
Mujahid Torwali |
Islamabad Organizing Committee |
Prof. Abdul Aziz Sahir |
Malik Ajmal Gulzar |
Muhammad Kamal Khan |
Fakhruddin Akhunzada |
Furrakh Abbas |
Shams Wali Khan |
Ubaidullah Khan |
Saira Maqbool |
Ejaz Ahmad |
Rashida Imran |
Hina Khan |
Munir Ahmad |
Amir Haider |
Registration will start in June 2024
For more information:
Conference Chairs:
Mujahid Torwali (FEL)
PhD Candidate
University of Sydney, Australia
Email: Mujahid.Torwali@sydney.edu.au
Muhamad Kamal Khan, PhD
Associate Professor of English and Applied Linguistics
Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad-Pakistan
Email: kamal.khan@aiou.edu.pk
Conference Secretary:
Fakhruddin Akhunzada
Executive Director
Forum for Language Initiatives, Islamabad-Pakistan
Email: fakhruddin@fli-online.org
ENQUIRIES on all aspects of the conference should be addressed to: felconf2024.islamabad@gmail.com