Professeur invité à l'EHESS janvier 2020 (invitant : Alain Peyraube)
 

1) Contact linguistics : theories and methods

Vendredi 10 janvier 2020, de 11h à 13h, EHESS, Salle 3, 105 Bd Raspail, 75006 Paris

Conférence donnée dans le cadre du séminaire d'A. Peyraube, F. Bottéro et R. Djamouri "Fondements de la langue et de l'écriture chinoises : perspectives synchronique et diachronique"

In this first seminar I want to trace the conceptual foundations of the field of language contact, considering what it aims to explain and its relevance for broader theories of language and change. One underlying consideration that underpins my interest in this field is its potential to help explain some of the big puzzles of human society. One such puzzle is the evolution of human languages and their diversity. Assuming one original human dialect, how do we explain the fundamentally different types of languages spoken today? Can language contact help our theories of language evolution? I think the answer is affirmative: we know for example that in specific contact situations a new grammatical system can arise. Starting from this, we may be able to understand the role that different societal contexts play in language speciation.


2) Language development in multilingual contexts: ideologies and perspectives

Lundi 13 janvier 2020, de 11h à 13h, EHESS, Salle 10, 105 Bd Raspail, 75006 Paris

Conférence du CRLAO hors séminaire

In this seminar I look at the development of Sri Lanka Malay as a case of trilingual transmission. Sri Lanka Malay is an important case study in our understanding of contact-induced change. First, it presents us with a clear case of three languages in interaction: a Malay type, Sinhala, and Lankan Tamil. Second, these languages are typologically rather different: Malay is analytic, while Sinhala and Tamil are agglutinative-fusional. Finally, a thorough understanding of the socio-historical context of formation, allows us to pin down the interactional dynamics, and avoid guesswork. We will also address the complexity debate and review the framework known as metatypy.


3) Metatypy reconsidered

Mercredi 15 janvier 2020, de 11h à 13h, EHESS, Salle 3, 105 Bd Raspail, 75006 Paris

Conférence donnée dans le cadre du séminaire d'A. Peyraube, F. Bottéro et R. Djamouri "Fondements de la langue et de l'écriture chinoises : perspectives synchronique et diachronique"



Bio:
Umberto Ansaldo is a Professor in Linguistics and the Head of School of Literature, Arts, and Media, at The University of Sydney. He has previously taught and conducted research at The University of Singapore, The University of Amsterdam, and The University of Hong Kong. His interests range from languages of East, South, and Southeast Asia, to contact linguistics, pidgin and creole languages, and socio-historical linguistics. His books and articles have appeared in Frontiers, Cambridge University Press, and Routledge.

Umberto Ansaldo will take part of the Visiting Professors Program designed by EHESS, on proposal of Alain Peyraube (EHESS/CNRS) from January 1st to January 20th 2020.