Conference Focus

Stated broadly, the Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference examines language use in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer life. Linguistic inquiry is broadly defined here, to include studies of: pronunciation, vocabulary and meaning, conversational structures and styles, life stories and other narratives, fiction, and poetry, the “language” of scientific and historic documents and print media, meanings encoded in spatial practices, sign language, non-verbal communication, and communication through photography, cinema and other visual arts. While presentations usually focus on local linguistic practices, they do not neglect the global spread of North Atlantic "gayspeak" and the growing tensions between (homo)sexuality and citizenship worldwide, and they acknowledge the need to position site-specific practices within broader contexts of social, cultural and linguistic theory. The language of conference presentation is English, but the languages explored in presentations have been as varied as Navajo and Japanese, Ukrainian and Hindi, Nicaraguan vernacular Spanish or Kechuan. Presentations from established scholars and from those just beginning to explore lavender language issues are welcomed.



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