The 9th International Conference on Historical Lexicology and Lexicography (ICHLL9) will be held from the 20th to the 22nd of June 2018 in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy. The focus of the conference is to offer scholars a forum for exchanging their research findings on historical lexicology, the history of dictionaries, and the making of historical dictionaries, and will be hosted by the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures of the University of Genova. Proposals for scientific paper and poster presentations are welcomed until the 31st of December 2017; more information on submission requirements can be found at the website.
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When “milk” is milk – and when it’s not
Soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, flax milk, rice milk….what do all of these products have in common? Not one of them was, well, “milked” from a cow. For that reason, the dairy industry has said “enough is ENOUGH!” Plant-based products that use the name “milk” are, according to dairy industry leaders, deceiving consumers. If the Food and Drug Administration is anything to go by, they might well have a point. The FDA defines “milk” as a “lacteal secretion”. Sound yummy? Want to learn what all the naming uproar is about? This New York Times article examines the controversy.
Call for Papers: ICELL (International Conference on English Language and Literature) 2018, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, December 3-4, 2018
The 20th International Conference on English Language and Literature (ICELL) will be held in Amsterdam from the 3rd to the 4th of December 2018. Conference organizers are currently accepting abstracts for papers on a variety of topics, including lexicography and lexicology; terminology in translation; and language and globalization. The call for papers is here and the deadline for abstracts is October 31, 2017.
The ICELL 2018: 20th International Conference on English Language and Literature aims to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results on all aspects of English Language and Literature. It also provides a premier interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns as well as practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in the fields of English Language and Literature.
All honorable authors are kindly encouraged to contribute to and help shape the conference through submissions of their research abstracts, papers and e-posters. Also, high quality research contributions describing original and unpublished results of conceptual, constructive, empirical, experimental, or theoretical work in all areas of English Language and Literature are cordially invited for presentation at the conference. The conference solicits contributions of abstracts, papers and e-posters that address themes and topics of the conference, including figures, tables and references of novel research materials.W
A History Of Shocking and Controversial Beauty Product Names
From “Dusty Rose” and “Ruby Red” to “X-
Rated” and “Better than Sex”, over the past few years, the product names of women’s cosmetics have gone through revolutionary change. What used to be considered too risqué or offensive to sell has now become commonplace in the marketplace. While some have hailed these onomastic changes as liberating and fun, others have begun to wonder if product namers have gone too far. In this article at Bravo by Adele Chapin, a fascinating discussion of this controversy is offered. (Warning: autoplay video upon landing on the page)
Call for Papers: Namen Digital: Workshop at Österreichische Linguistiktagung 2017, Klagenfurt, Austria, December 10 2017
Photo: Joe Kniesek
In Klagenfurt, Austria, a workshop devoted to names, naming, and the digital world will be held on the 10th of December 2017. Called “Namen digital”, this German-language event will take place in conjunction with the Österreichische Linguistiktagung 2017 at the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt/Celovec. Researchers interested in presenting are encouraged to email abstracts (max. 300 words) by the 31st of August 2017 to marietta.calderon AT sbg.ac.at and herling AT romanistik.uni-siegen.de. The original call for papers is here.
The flip side of picking an English name
Chinese people commonly choose their own English names when they move overseas. It is to make names more pronounceable, but they know the real bonus is the chance to pick their own names, like picking a new identity. In this article in the China Daily, Cecily Liu looks at how Chinese people pick their English names, and what it means for identity – and why British people working in China might choose Chinese names.
MISHI 2017: Manitoulin Island Summer Historical Institute, Ontario, Canada, August 14 -18, 2017
From the 14th to the 18th of August 2017, the Manitoulin Island Summer Historical Institute (MISHI) will be held in Manitoulin Island, Canada. The theme of this year’s meeting is “Does Wisdom Sit in Places? Sites as Sources of Knowledge”. This event is a joint initiative of the History of Indigenous Peoples Network and the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation. The MISHI is held annually and is designed to bring together students, researchers, and teachers for a week-long investigation of Anishinaabe history and culture. This event may be of particular interest to researchers whose work deals with Native American Names and Naming.
In his study of the place names employed by Western Apache in the American southwest, Keith Basso has beautifully described how the land holds Apache wisdom, as toponyms are abstractions of stories that contain histories, ideas, information, and moral lessons. Learning the names of all the features of Apache places is akin to learning about Apache history, culture, and knowledge. Anishinaabeg likewise use the same device for marking landscape and inscribing knowledge in physical settings. Anishinaabe place names are made up of words marking history, spirituality, and environmental knowledge, all of which make up Anishinaabe cosmology. Alan Corbiere explains that “history as told by the Anishinaabeg uses the land as text book and bible. The land is named, the cliff faces painted, and points along the land serve as portals to summon powerful assistance in times of strife.” Anishinaabe oral historical tradition uses stories, pictographs, and place names to record, interpret and remember significant events and periods. Manidoog, or spirits, play a central role in this history, as they are actors with significant power in Anishinaabe society, helping humans thrive and protecting them from danger. Corbiere asks “when the pictographs have faded or have become inaccessible and unvisited, the bark scrolls locked in a museum, the place names supplanted, the stories untold…will the Anishinaabe still be able to summon [manidoog] in times of strife?”
MISHI 2017 participants will be asked to listen to and think about how Anishinaabe
knowledge inhabits landscape on Manitoulin Island. By exploring the land, petroglyphs,
pictographs, oral traditions, and documentary sources, we will discover if knowledge is
embedded in space or moves around or can be transported and transplanted.
Linguistic Embodiment: Body Part Terms in Linguistic Usage: A Comparative and Typological Perspective, University of Warsaw, Poland, December 8-9, 2017
From the 8th to the 9th of December 2017, an innovative workshop entitled “Body Part Terms in Linguistic Usage: A Comparative and Typological Perspective” will be held in Warsaw, Poland. Invited speakers include the following: Zygmunt Frajzyngier (University of Colorado, USA); Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk (University of Lodz, Poland); Helma Pasch (University of Cologne, Germany); and Ning Yu (Pennsylvania State University, USA). Abstracts are currently being accepted for 30 minute presentations. The deadline for abstracts is July 30, 2017. Each paper will be given 30 minutes, including 10 minutes for discussion.
The conference organizers invite papers which focus on one specific language or comparative/typological studies. Possible topics to be covered include:
- coding and categorization of body parts
- polysemy and semantic change of body part terms
- conceptualization processes (metaphor, metonymy) via body parts
- expressing emotional concepts through their “embodiment”
- grammaticalization processes
- usage patterns of constructed senses
- corpus studies of body part terms (e.g. frequency, collocations)
- compounding and noun incorporation
- “special” syntax (e.g. inalienable possession, use of pronouns)
- morphological derivation and semantic autonomy
- language-culture issues and idiomatic constructions
Dottie Lux : “The real names crusader” for LGBT people on Facebook
Dottie Lux has made it her mission to help trans users and drag queens restore accounts that match their identity. Photograph: Camille Adams Photography
One of the most important and exciting parts of transitioning is announcing to the world your brand new name. Thanks to the work of generations of trans activists, this onomastic coming out has become easier and easier. However, there are still many important, painful, and unexpected stumbling blocks. In this Guardian article, what Facebook’s name policy has meant for some in the LGBT community is explored.
The company contends that it does not allow fake names in an effort to prevent bullying, harassment, scams and criminal behavior from anonymous accounts. Though Facebook insists that it has since improved its procedures, critics say the company’s name policy continues to pose challenges for trans people and other vulnerable users who don’t use legal names for safety and privacy reasons, including domestic violence survivors and drag queens.
5 Finalists Announced for Crayola’s New Blue Crayon Color
From almost 90,000 submissions, Crayola selected the following finalists for the new blue hue: Dreams Come Blue, Bluetiful, Blue Moon Bliss, Reach for the Stars and Star Spangled Blue.
From now until Thursday, Aug. 31, people in the United States and Canada can vote on these five names at Crayola.com/NewColor. The champion will be announced in early September, and the freshly christened crayon is expected to first show up in boxes later this year or early 2018. The new color is replacing Dandelion, the color that Crayola retired earlier this year. Unveiled to the public in May, the replacement is based on a based on a pigment discovered in 2009 by a chemistry team at Oregon State University, believed to be the first new blue pigment discovered in 200 years. Crayola apparently didn’t want to stick with the pigment’s name of YInMn Blue, after its chemical makeup of yttrium, indium, and manganese oxides. Cast your vote now!