Category Archives: Announcements

McGill linguistics will host a Workshop on Amazigh languages on March 21st. The workshop will have invited talks by Karim Achab (University of Ottawa), Hamid Ouali (University of Wisconsin, Madison), and Khokha Fahloune (UQAM), as well as short presentations on Kabyle by the students in this semester’s Field Methods course. A full schedule will be released soon. Attendance is free and all are welcome! For more information, contact organizer Nico Baier.

I’m happy to announce an upcoming event co-orgnanized this year with a team from OFNIE in Education. Please save the date!

McGill Symposium on the University’s Role in Supporting Indigenous Languages (May 10 – 11, 2018)

In response to Call to Action #34 of the Final Report of McGill’s Task Force on Indigenous Education and Indigenous Studies, onMay 10th and 11th, the Department of Linguistics and the Office of First Nations and Inuit Education are jointly hosting a symposium examining the role of the university in Indigenous language maintenance and revitalization. Organized with the support of the Kanien’keháka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Centre, McGill Faculties of Arts and Education, the McGill Indigenous Studies Program, and McGill’s Institute for the Study of International Development, the purpose of this Symposium is to (a) signal McGill’s commitment to Indigenous languages in this province and (b) examine more closely what role the University should play in supporting the health of Indigenous languages, locally and regionally. The Symposium will involve both closed-door and public sessions with the goals of establishing a broad consultative body on this question and developing a concrete plan of action for McGill to pursue. Special invitees include Indigenous language teachers, scholars, and university program directors from across Canada:

• Mary Bear (Cree School Board)
• Ewa Czaykowska-Higgins (University of Victoria)
• Ryan DeCaire (Onkwawén:na Kentyohkwa, University of Toronto)
• Gabrielle Doreen (Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, McGill University)
• Ellen Gabriel (Kanehsatà:ke Education Center)
• Megan Lukaniec (Huron-Wendat Nation, UC Santa Barbara)
• Brian Maracle (Onkwawenna Kentyohkwa)
• Akwiratékha’ Martin (Kahnawà:ke Education Center)
• Onowa McIvor (nehiyaw Nation, University of Victoria)
• Mary Ann Metallic (Listuguj Education Directorate)
• Rita Novalinga (Kativik Ilisarniliriniq)
• Keren Rice (University of Toronto)
• Kahtehrón:ni Stacey (Kahnawà:ke Education Center, McGill University)
• Mark Turin (University of British Columbia)

All those interested in learning more about this topic and advancing McGill’s response to this issue are asked to save the following date, May 10th from 1:30pm to 5:00pm in the Jack Cram Auditorium (EDUC-129), for a Public Forum. The schedule of activities include an opening Keynote from Kanien’kehá:ka Language teacher and McGill PhD Student Kahtehró:nni Iris Stacey, three panel presentations from our invited experts, and public discussion.

Those interested in attending are asked to please register here: https://goo.gl/forms/djIv5RBV9bsr481E3

Please follow the facebook event page here for ongoing updates: https://www.facebook.com/events/1886367051693868/

Please join us for an afternoon Bantu Workshop, to celebrate the end of this semester’s Bobangi Field Methods class. There will be presentations by undergraduate and graduate students, our Bobangi consultant Mpoke Mimpongo (UQAM), and invited speaker Jenneke van der Wal (Harvard). All talks will take place in McGill Education Building, room 216. The schedule is below–all are welcome!

12:30–12:45 – Jiaer Tao, A Study on object asymmetry in Bobangi

12:45–1:00 – Benjamine Oldham, Object marking in Bobangi: A pronominal incorporation analysis

1:00–1:15 – Renata Masucci, Tone in Bobangi

1:15–1:30 – Paulina Elias, Object asymmetry in Bobangi

1:30–1:45 – BREAK

1:45–2:00 – Sara Carrier-Bordeleau, Verbal reduplication in Bobangi

2:00–2:15 – Jasmine Zhang, Vowel sandhi in Bobangi

2:15–2:30 – Emily Kellison-Linn, Intonation of polar questions and declarative statements in Bobangi

2:30–2:45 – Yeong Park, High boundary tone in Bobangi

2:45–3:00 – Rosie Barnes, Agent nominalizations in Bobangi

3:00–3:15 – BREAK

3:15–3:45 – Mpoke Mimpongo (UQAM), TBA

3:45–4:45 – Invited Speaker – Jenneke van der Wal (Harvard University)

Title: Investigating focus marking in Luganda and Lingala

Abstract: While it is admittedly difficult to investigate information structure in an unfamiliar language, in this talk I hope to show that there are some manageable diagnostics for focus that can be applied in elicitation. Based on data from Luganda and Lingala I show why the discoveries about focus marking in Bantu languages are crucial for understanding both the synchronic analysis and the diachronic development of focus. (full abstract)

The Ergativity/Fieldwork Lab will be meeting on Monday, 11/28, from 12-1pm in room 002.

Henrison Hsieh will be presenting about semantic fieldwork and Tagalog.

Recommended reading is Matthewson (2004). The most important parts to focus on are Sections 3 and 4.