Purity in Minoritised Languages
An International Conference at the Europa-Universität Flensburg
June 19-21, 2025
Organized by the Institute for Frisian Studies and Minority Research, with the generous support of the Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Bonn), the Centre for Smaller and Regional Languages (KURS, EUF) and the Interdisciplinary Centre for European Studies (ICES, EUF) at the University of Flensburg, as well as the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI, Flensburg).
Organising Committee:
Nils Langer (Flensburg, Germany), Silvia dal Negro (Bolzano/Bozen, Italy), Henrik Rosenkvist (Göteborg, Sweden), Jeff Williams (Texas Tech, USA)
Plenary Speakers:
Prof. Aneta Pavlenko (York): Language ideologies and mobilization of emotions in public discourse
Dr James Hawkey (Bristol): Never to be touched, never to be changed": Purism, variation and stancetaking among speakers of Esperanto.
Prof. Julia Sallabank (SOAS London): 'What are we saving?' Experiences from Guernsey and Cornwall
A key issue in the study of language policy and planning is to describe – theoretically and practically – the language to be promoted or protected. This often presupposes an essentialist perspective of language: languages are seen to exist as uniform or mono-dimensional entities. It is considered possible to determine what counts and does not count as part of a particular language, with sociolinguistic variation considered to be disturbing and language contact seen as potentially damaging. Notions of purity are invoked implicitly or explicitly to distinguish between what is core to a language and what is peripheral. What appears uncontroversial in everyday life is highly problematic in the systemic and social study of linguistics. This conference seeks to delve deeper into the fundamental nature of this problem by focusing on minoritized and minority languages. We welcome papers on
- Purity: does purity play a part in linguistic discussions, how is purity understood or defined, what reasons are suggested to justify excluding certain features from a language
- Norm: how did a linguistic feature shifted from being normal to being the norm; who are the authorities to determine what a norm is and how do norms find their way into actual language use
- Big vs. Small Languages: are there tangible differences between discourses of purity on hegemonic and minoritized languages or varieties?
- Popular Discourse: How do speaker communities, gatekeepers, and the general population in an area perceive or evaluate the existence of minoritized languages, their changes to social status and in the linguistic properties of a language
- Activism and Documentation: how are issues of essentialism and purity factors in the documentation and promotion of minoritized languages?
The overarching aim of this conference is to explore dynamics of norm-setting and norm-transmission as means to change the status and use of linguistic features. To allow for good comparison between case studies, contribution should focus on minoritized varieties and languages and make refers to the applicability – or non-applicability – of the notion of purity.
Registration: The registration fee is 100 Euros (waged) and 75 Euros (unwaged). If you register by April 30th, you only need to pay the Early Bird rate which is 75 Euros (waged) and 50 Euros (unwaged). Registration closes on June 15th.
Payment will be by direct bank transfer to our bank account:
- Bank Name: Deutsche Bundesbank
- Account Holder: Finanzministerium Schleswig-Holstein - Landeskasse
- Account Number: IBAN DE82 2000 0000 0020 2015 77
- Reference (make sure you quote this, otherwise we won't be able to find your money!): 02015890135900 Purity Flensburg YOUR NAME
The University does not accept payment by credit card (don´t ask!) but if you prefer, you can use paypal instead of bank transfer. Get in touch with the organisers (nils.langer-TextEinschliesslichBindestricheBitteEntfernen-
Travel: The nearest airports are Hamburg (Germany) and Billund (Denmark). For both, expect three hours travel from the airport to Flensburg.
Conference Venue: The conference will take place at the Danish Central Library (Dansk Centralbibliothek, https://www.dcbib.dk/ ) in the centre of Flensburg (i.e. not on the University Campus). It is a 10-15 minute walk from the Hotel am Fjord.
Accommodation: You need to book your own accommodation. We have agreed as special price (€80 per night, incl. breakfast) with a hotel, Hotel am Fjord (www.hotelamfjord.de) conveniently located near the conference venue and we recommend it to you. Simply send an email to sales-TextEinschliesslichBindestricheBitteEntfernen-
Lunches: There are plenty of places near the conference venue where you can find food. We will give you a map and suggestions when you´re here.
Thursday Reception: The European Centre for Minority Issue (ECMI; www.ecmi.de) has kindly invited us to a glass of wine as part of a reception on the Thursday evening. It is 10 minutes’ walk from both the Hotel and the conference venue.
Conference Dinner: On the Friday evening – the longest day of the year – we will go to a fancy conference dinner, with a view of the fjord and Denmark. It will be at The Ferryman in Fahrensodde (https://theferryman.de/) and will cost 40 euros, including a drink or two.
Excursion: We offer a half-day excursion to North Frisia on the North Sea coast, so that you can see where the Frisians live. It will take about 45 minutes by bus to get there and we will be visiting a historical farmyard, climb over a dyke and then walk / cycle to an island where we will have dinner before returning to Flensburg in the evening. The excursion will cost 40 euros (incl. dinner).
We hope to be publishing a selection of the papers in a themed volume. Do let us know if you are interested in offering a contribution.