Language Origins Conference

From: "A. Charles Catania" <catania(a)umbc.edu> Date: Thu, 22 Feb 1996 08:22:16 -0500 (EST) The 1996 Annual Meeting of the Language Origins Society The 12th LOS meeting will be held at UMBC (University Maryland Baltimore County) from July 11 through July 15, 1996. The five day program will include papers on all aspects of the origins and evolution of spoken, written, and signed languages. What we know about evolutionary, developmental, social, and linguistic processes places severe constraints upon plausible scenarios for the origins and evolution of language, and papers explicitly concerned with defining these constraints are especially welcome. As in past meetings, and consistent with the multidisciplinary character of the LOS, the participation of scholars from a broad range of disciplines is anticipated. A keynote lecture in honor of the late Jan Wind, founder of the LOS, will be presented by Stevan Harnad, editor of the journal, BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES, and co-editor, with Steklis and Lancaster, of the seminal volume, "Origins and evolution of language and speech" (ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, No. 280, 1976). Robert R. Provine of the UMBC Department of Psychology will speak on laughter as an approach to the mechanisms and evolution of vocal production, perception and social behavior, following upon work presented in AMERICAN SCIENTIST (1996, Vol. 84, 38-45). Those who wish to present papers should submit abstracts (300 word maximum) not later than April 15, 1996. Abstracts are preferred in electronic form (3.5 diskettes; please include both an ASCII version and a version in a standard word-processing format, such as WordPerfect). Files sent by electronic mail are also acceptable, provided that the text does not include non-ASCII characters (such as phonetic symbols). Membership in the LOS is not a prerequisite for submission of papers. Papers should be submitted to: A. Charles Catania Department of Psychology University of Maryland Baltimore County Baltimore, MD 21228-5398 USA Email: CATANIA(a)UMBC.EDU Fax : (1)(410) 455-1055 Phone: (1)(410) 455-2426 or -2973 The standard registration fee for the 1996 LOS Conference will be US$50.00. (US$30.00 for students). This fee will include the entire academic program as well as a Welcome Reception on Thursday evening and a special LOS Dinner on Sunday evening. Arrangements have been made for campus lodging and meals. Single or double rooms will be available at approximately US$20.00 per night. These are dormitory rooms with a shared (between two rooms) bath. Conditional upon room availability, arrangements can be made for arrival before July 10 and departure after July 15. The campus meal plan will be available for approximately US$18.00 per day (three meals). Optional off-campus (hotel) housing and meals will also be available for meeting attendees. The UMBC campus is conveniently located ten minutes from downtown Baltimore's famous Inner Harbor, seven miles from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) and 35 miles from Washington, DC. The taxi ride from BWI to UMBC is US$10-15. If it is necessary to arrive at Washington National or Dulles Airports in Washington, DC, the best way to travel to UMBC is by train. Take the Washington Flier from the airport to the Washington Amtrak station (US$8 from National; US$16 from Dulles.) This train runs every 30 minutes from 5:20 am until 10:20 pm. From the Amtrak Station the Marc Train to BWI Airport leaves every half hour until 10 pm (cost US$4.50). From BWI, the UMBC campus is a short taxi ride away. Additional, detailed information and registration materials will be available soon. To receive this information, please contact: Brian Bartholomay UMBC Continuing Education Baltimore, MD 21228-5398 USA Email: BARTHOLO(a)UMBC.EDU Phone: (1)(410) 455-2336 Fax: (1)(410) 455-1074 -- A. Charles Catania Phone: 1-410-455-2973 or -2426 Department of Psychology Dept: 1-410-455-2567 University of Maryland Baltimore County Fax: 1-410-455-1055 Baltimore, MD 21228-5398 USA Email: CATANIA(a)UMBC.EDU