Neural network models for articulatory gestures (satellite to LabPhon 17) calls for abstracts that bring together articulation data and computational modelling, especially neural network modelling.
We welcome any abstract, including tentative work, on the possibility of using neural and/or deep computational modelling for articulatory data. Suggestions for topics are:

–   Whether it is possible to capture invariants, language-independent predictable patterns that apply to all articulation
–    If transfer learning is possible, i.e. if a network trained on articulatory features in one speaker and, ultimately, language can be mapped onto the pattern of another speaker (or language)
–    If annotation of gestures can be aided by generating most likely gesture structures, analogous to the derivation of articulation from acoustics (e.g., Mitra, Vikramjit, et al. 2010)
–    If diagnostic classification is possible on networks that model articulation, analogous to e.g., the detection of counterparts to compositionality in a model of arithmetic grammar by Hupkes & Zuidema (2017)

Please use the link to EasyChair (https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=nnart2020#) to submit abstracts; the deadline is 15 March. Tentative work is more than welcome! As for the main LabPhon conference, abstracts should be written in English and not exceed one page of text. References, examples and/or figures can optionally be included on a second page. Submitted abstracts must be in .pdf format, with Times New Roman font, size 12, 1 inch margins and single spacing. We do not require anonymous abstracts.

Website for details: https://staff.science.uva.nl/t.o.lentz/nnart/

Contact Tom Lentz (lentz@uva.nl).

Pedagogical Approaches to Laboratory Phonology

Satellite workshop of LabPhon 17

July 9, 2020 @ UBC

Deadline for oral presentations, posters, and demos extended to **March 1, 2020**

The purpose of this workshop is to create a forum to exchange ideas, tools, and techniques in teaching Laboratory Phonology. The workshop is being held as a satellite event of LabPhon17 and will feature invited speaker Mary Beckman, Professor Emeritus of Linguistics, Ohio State University.

Some of the questions we aim to address include:

– What role does laboratory phonology have in the undergraduate/graduate curriculum?
– Is it possible to design a course in laboratory phonology that does not have a more “traditional” phonology and/or phonetics course(s) as pre-requisite(s)?
– What technical / computational / statistical issues arise?
– Alternatively, does a laboratory phonology approach lend itself more to a topic-driven course in which a particular research question is investigated, or a more traditional phonology course that surveys one or more phonological frameworks?
– What do sample activities/assignments/syllabi centered on a particular topic within laboratory phonology look like, and how might they be improved based on current research in pedagogy?

Our goal is for this workshop to initiate a conversation amongst researchers and instructors about pedagogical challenges, approaches, and resources that arise in bringing laboratory phonology into the classroom.

This workshop is being organized by Christina Bjorndahl (Carnegie Mellon University), Mark Gibson (Universidad de Navarra) and Jonathan Howell (Montclair State University).

Call for Papers:

Types of submissions:

– Presentations
We invite submissions for 15-minute oral presentations on a variety of topics that introduce novel approaches to teaching laboratory phonology. We will conclude this session with a general Q&A with all presenters together.

– Poster/demo session
The poster/demo session will include both conventional posters as well as technology-based demos using presenters’ laptop computers. The workshop will provide both a space for displaying posters and tables for presenters to set up their laptops.

– Lightning talks
We invite submissions for 2-minute lightning talks. These informal, lightning-fast talks are ideal for sharing anecdotal classroom tips and tricks, both successes and failures. We will conclude this session with a general Q&A with all presenters together. Lightning talk presenters will submit their slides in advance of the workshop so that all talks can be part of a single slide presentation.

We invite abstracts for 15-minute oral presentations, 2-minute lightning talks, poster presentations, and demos. The abstract submission form can be found at https://forms.gle/XkDt4Qc2xSMuPLad7

Submission guidelines:

– Oral presentations & posters
Abstracts for oral presentations and posters should not exceed one page (single-spaced, 12pt font) including figures and references.

– Demos
Abstracts for demos should not exceed one page, and should clearly describe the pedagogical challenge that is addressed by the demonstration, and the nature of audience involvement. Please note that we will be providing tables for presenters to set up their laptops, but no other equipment. If you require other resources, please contact the organizers to see about feasibility.

– Lightning talks
Abstracts for lightning talks should not exceed one paragraph, and should clearly state the pedagogical setting (e.g., undergraduate class vs. graduate seminar) and briefly describe the idea.

As we would like to include perspectives from a variety of pedagogical settings and institutions, please include your name and affiliation in the abstract. The file name should be of the form lastname_title.pdf (e.g., Smith_AwesomeClassroomInnovation.pdf)

Hanyang International Symposium on Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language 2020 (22-23, May, 2020)

– Theme: Linguistic and cognitive functions of fine phonetic detail underlying sound systems and/or sound change

– Dates: 22-23 May, 2020

– Venue: Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea

– URL: http://site.hanyang.ac.kr/web/hisphoncog/call-for-papers/2020

HIPCS (Hanyang Institute for Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language), together with Department of English Language and Literature, holds its 3rd annual international symposium on current issues on phonetics and cognitive sciences of language (HISPhonCog) 2020 on 22-23 May, 2020. A special theme for HISPhonCog 2020 is ‘linguistic and cognitive functions of fine phonetic detail underlying sound systems and/or sound change.’

We have witnessed over past decades that the severance between phonetics and phonology has been steadily eroding along with the awareness of the importance of scalar and gradient aspects of speech in understanding the linguistic sound system and sound change. In particular, non-contrastive (subphonemic) phonetic events, which had traditionally been understood to be beyond the speaker’s control (as low-level automatic physiological phenomena), have been reinterpreted as part of the grammar. They have turned out to be either systematically linked with phonological contrasts and higher-order linguistic structures or governed by language-specific phonetic rules that make the seemingly cross-linguistically similar phonetic processes distinctive, both of which may in turn serve as driving forces for sound change. Furthermore, we have enjoyed seeing that the investigation of linguistic roles of fine phonetic detail provides insights into phonetic underpinnings of other speech variation phenomena such as socio-linguistically-driven speech variation and effects of native-language experience on production and perception of unfamiliar languages or L2.

We invite submissions for the symposium which provide some empirical (experimental) evidence for exploring any issues related to the theme of the symposium under the rubric of linguistic-cognitive functions of fine phonetic detail.  We also wish to have a special session on Articulatory Phonology and speech dynamics bearing on the issue of how gradient and categorical aspects of human speech may be combined to serve as a cognitive linguistic unit. We will also consider general submissions that deal with other general issues in speech production and perception in L1 and L2.  We also welcome submissions from the neuro-cognitive perspectives.

Invited speakers:

– Adam Albright (MIT)

– Patrice Beddor (U. of Michigan)

– Lisa Davidson (New York U.)

– John Kingston (U. of Massachusetts, Amherst)

– Donca Steriade (MIT)

– Andrew Wedel (U. of Arizona)

– Douglas Whalen (CUNY and Haskins Laboratories)

– Alan Yu (U. of Chicago)

(new) Publication of selected papers in a Special Issue on the theme in a journal

– Oral presentations and a limited number of selected posters (which are at least loosely related to the themes of the conference under the rubric of linguistic/cognitive functions of fine phonetic detail) will be invited to submit a full manuscript to be considered further for a possible inclusion in a Special Issue in a peer-reviewed international journal

– The actual journal has not been decided but we are considering one of the followings subject to final approval from a targeted journal: Journal of Phonetics, Laboratory Phonology, Language and Speech, Phonetica, Frontiers in Psychology, The Linguistic Review, etc.

– Note that each selected paper will undergo standard editorial/review processes which may eventually lead to its exclusion (rejection).

Support for international participants (free accommodation)

– Free local hotel accommodation (one room for up to 3 nights per presentation) for international presenters affiliated with a foreign institute/university, travelling from abroad. (The detail will be sent to qualified individuals along with an acceptance letter.)

FREE Registration Fees

– Free banquet, munches for breakfast, refreshments and the conference handbook

– Note: Attendees will have to pay (optionally) for lunches (10 USD or 10,000 KRW for each lunch).

Timeline

– Deadline of submission of a two-page long abstract: March 1, 2020

– Notification of Acceptance: No later than March 20, 2020

– Free Registration with free accommodation: No later than April 10, 2020

– Satellite Workshop (if organized): May 21, 2020

– Symposium dates: May 22-23, 2020

Abstract Submission Instruction: March 1 (EasyChair)

– A PDF file of a two-page abstract (single-spaced with 12 pt font size *without* a list of authors’ names and their affiliations) should be submitted through EasyChair by March 1, 2020.

– URL for EasyChair: https://easychair.org/cfp/hisphoncog2020

(If the link does not work, please check http://site.hanyang.ac.kr/web/hisphoncog for an update.)

Free Registration by April 10

– Pre-registration should be made by no later than April 10, 2020 to be guaranteed for free accommodation (for international presenters) and free registration (for all foreign and domestic participants and audience).

– Pre-registration form that arrives after April 10 may still be considered for free registration and accommodation, depending on the budget and availability. Please contact us at hanyang.hipcs@gmail.com if you miss the deadline but still would like to register in advance.

– On-site registration will be possible for small fees, but with no guarantee for lunches and banquet admission.

– For further information about how to register, please check the website later.

Local Organizing Committee

– Taehong Cho (Chair, HIPCS, Hanyang University, Seoul)

– Sahyang Kim (Hongik University & HIPCS, Seoul)

– Say Young Kim (HIPCS, Hanyang University, Seoul)

– Hyechung Lee (HIPCS, Hanyang University, Seoul)

Contact: Dr. Hyechung Lee at hanyang.hipcs@gmail.com

Organized by:

– HIPCS (the Hanyang Institute for Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language);

– CRC for Articulatory DB and Cognitive Sciences;

– Department of English Language and Literature, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea

URL: http://site.hanyang.ac.kr/web/hisphoncog