The Special Interest Group on Language and Rights (SIGLaR) organizes an interdisciplinary workshop on language rights on September 21st-22nd,
2018 at the University of Warsaw. We invite empirical presentations addressing language rights or access to written/spoken/signed language in the following contexts: healthcare, education, social services, police/justice, asylum and migration. Presentations shall be 15-minute long. Studies may focus on the local or national level and describe both potential language issues and examples of good and less recommendable practices. For example, a case study can describe what happens when a patient who does not know the local language is admitted to a hospital or has to go to court as a defendant: what kind of linguistic rights the person has according to the law; what the potential and common language issues in such a situation are; how these issues are resolved and how they should be resolved.

The aim of the workshop is to engage researchers and other stakeholders to identify key challenges and possible solutions in the field of language rights in any context. In order to explore the complexity of language rights and language issues, we invite experts and stakeholders representing a wide range of specialties: translation and interpreting, linguistics, law and legal studies, social work, sociology anthropology, pedagogy, etc. We particularly encourage joint presentations by scholars and field actors or by scholars representing two different fields.

Please submit your abstract (max. 300 words including references) in Word or RTF format to p.rutkowski@uw.edu.pl AND simo.maatta@helsinki.fi by May 15, 2018. In the body of the message, please indicate your name and affiliation. Do not include this information in your abstract.
Proposals should include the following:
– Clear statement of the focus of the proposal;
– Brief contextualization of data/material discussed;
– Results/conclusions/recommendations;
– References (if applicable).

The results of the peer-review process will be communicated by May 31st.

The languages of the conference will be English and PJM (Polish Sign Language). English/PJM interpretation will be provided. Other sign languages can also be used as long as the presenter provides an interpreter into English.

The workshop will be held in the Old Library, located in the Main Campus of the University of Warsaw, at the very heart of Warsaw:
https://tinyurl.com/yaxxbj5a.

Participation in the workshop is free. Note that although there is no fee, all participants (including persons interested in attending the conference without presenting a paper) are required to register via email. Please register by sending your name, affiliation, and e-mail address to p.rutkowski@uw.edu.pl no later than June 30th.

The Special Interest Group on Language and Rights (SIGLaR) is a working group under the aegis of the European Language Council. The group was convened by Professor Maurizio Viezzi, member of the Board of the European Language Council, in 2016. SIGLaR brings together interdisciplinary scholars from different countries. It aims to map the scope of language rights and language issues in Europe and beyond, with the ultimate goal of identifying good practices and development needs.

Contact person:
Pawe? Rutkowski, Ph.D.
Head of the Section for Sign Linguistics Faculty of Polish Studies University of Warsaw
e-mail: p.rutkowski@uw.edu.pl