Symposium Obdobja 26:
SLOVENE DIALECTS - SYSTEM AND USE
(15. 11. - 17. 11. 2007)
RATIONALE FOR THE SELECTED THEME AND DETAILED CONTENT
The shift from theoretical systemic linguistics to newer trends and procedures in socio- and psycholinguistics, cognitive linguistics and pragmatics, alongside changed social and linguistic conditions requires a shake up of the traditional division into varieties and within them of social varieties with a special emphasis on geographical variants – from traditional dialects to (regional) colloquial languages. Transferring foreign theoretical premises without an analysis of material that is sufficiently extensive and varied with respect to geographical origin and functional variety, while taking into account the specific extralinguistic characteristics of individual Slovene regions, can obscure rather than illuminate the existence and use of geographical variants. New approaches must thus be constructed mainly on the basis of the Slovene linguistic reality. At the same time we will welcome methods, approaches and results that have been affirmed and obtained through the analysis of similar conditions in other languages.
The Slovene – but not just Slovene – linguistic reality is that after only a few utterances the geographical origin of the speaker can be established, even though since the 1960s there have been assumptions that dialects were melding together and thus disappearing. Only with a different view of this linguistic variety over the last two decades and the new tendencies within the languages in the EU are we ready to admit that these assumptions were wrong and that there is no sign that they will be right in the near future. We do not think that a single symposium could provide the final answers to all the complex issues arising in relation to the state and use of dialects and all other geographically marked variants of Slovene. However, it is time to systematically tackle this theme here while also finding out about the realisations and experiences of other linguists whose languages have also been affected by rapid social change in the second half of the 20th century, in particular the later years. With respect to this we wish to continue the theme that was established as a wider starting point at the 22nd Obdobja symposium entitled Reappraisal of Register and Genre Theory in Slovenia – Analysis of Linguistic Reality and we have, as at the 24th symposium entitled The Development of Slovene Technical Language, when we focused on one variety only, this time limited ourselves to one of the social varieties, that is dialects or more precisely geographical dialects. However, as dialect itself is an abstract notion, if we want – in line with the title – to start with the system, we must base our discussion on local speech as the smallest systemic unit of a dialect or, according to one theory, on natural idiom, which is positioned in opposition to the standard system or the non-organic standard language. We will be interested in local speech, its (non-) systemic nature (homogeneity or heterogeneity), its users or speakers (increasingly also writers), and the circumstances in which these linguistic variants are chosen, as well as their role and the use of these variants signifying any degree of distancing from local speech either in the direction of the standard language or in the direction of other, more prestigious, better recognised geographical variants of the Slovene language. The focus of our interest will thus be the geographical division of the linguistic reality, while taking into account other types of linguistic division reflected in this reality in any possible way.
THEMATIC AREAS
1. Dialectal variety in Slovenia today
• The issue of the “disappearance” of dialect speech.
• Dialect speech as a geographical or/and social phenomenon.
• Evaluation (prestige) of dialects in Slovene regions.
• The role of dialects in independent Slovenia.
• Functional varieties of dialect speech.
• The need for a new definition of a dialect speech and/or dialect.
• Findings and experiences from other languages.
2. Geographically marked supra-dialectal variants of
Slovene
• The issue of the systemic character of urban speech varieties or the
issue of the existence of urban dialect speech on the one hand and regional colloquial languages on the other.
• Findings and experiences from other languages.
3. The use of geographical variants of the Slovene language in everyday communication
• The use of these variants with respect to the communicative role of the
speaker, social status (profession, education), the age of the speaker and/or
age relations between speakers, the environment (rural or urban), linguistic possibilities, and the possible domination of any of these factors.
• The reflection of geographical variants in Slovene language corpora.
• Findings and experiences from other languages.
4. The use of geographical variants of Slovene – purpose
and effect
• The use of these variants in the media, in literature, in theatre and film,
in teaching: at home, across the border, and among Slovenes further afield.
• Problems encountered by foreign speakers of Slovene in communication with Slovene native speakers.
5. The influence of supra-dialectal variants of Slovene on the development of the Slovene standard language throughout history
Although the symposium’s focus is on varieties rather than methods,
the theme itself invites the use of various methods and approaches and
combinations thereof in order to arrive at the most relevant and complete
possible answers to our questions – which is also the goal of this symposium.
LOCATION
Main university building (2nd floor), Kongresni trg 12, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
STRUCTURE
The symposium will take the form of plenary lectures and thematic
sections.
LANGUAGES
Slovene, English and Russian may be used at plenary sessions and
round-table discussions, other languages are possible at section sessions.
ACCOMMODATION
Participants must book and cover the cost of accommodation themselves. Attached are the addresses of hotels with approximate costs and dates for reservation. The symposium committee has limited funds available to cover the
cost of accommodation (Pri Mraku, Hotel Emonec), which those attending can apply for, stating their reasons.
KEY DATES
• Registration and handing in of abstract (up to 15 lines): 30 June 2007
• Reservation of accommodation at Pri Mraku/Hotel Emonec: 30 June 2007
• Notification of participants by the committee of accepted themes 10 September 2007
• Final confirmation of participation 30 September 2007
• Handing in of paper (up to one author’s sheet) by 7 December 2007
President of the symposium/ Vera Smole (Filozofska fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani) Members: Erika Kržišnik (Filozofska fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani) Tjaša Alič Technical editor of symposium publications: Metka Lokar
THE ORGANIZING TEAM OF THE SYMPOSIUM
Irena Orel (Filozofska fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani)
Jerca Vogel (Filozofska fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani)
Matej Šekli (Filozofska fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani)
Karmen Kenda Jež (Znanstvenoraziskovalni center SAZU v Ljubljani)
Jožica Škofic (Znanstvenoraziskovalni center SAZU v Ljubljani)
Mihaela Koletnik (Filozofska fakulteta Univerze v Mariboru)
Ludvik Karničar (Univerza v Gradcu)
Roberto Dapit (Univerza v Vidmu)
Josip Lisac (Univerza v Zadru)
Mato Pižurica (Univerza v Novem Sadu)
Pavol Žigo (Univerza v Bratislavi)
Symposium secretary:
