Evidentiality 2022 : Evidentiality in language and discourse

Ever since Chafe and Nichols’ (1986) seminal work, evidentiality has become an expanding research area defined as the study of linguistic means indicating the source of information in an utterance.
Research in this field has known a diversity of approaches and perspectives depending foremost on the grammatical system of the language taken into consideration. Accordingly, while evidentiality can be defined as a grammatical category in languages where information source is encoded in the verbal system (Willett, 1988, Aikhenvald, 2004), other researchers view it as a universal semantic or pragmatic category (Cornillie, Marín-Arrese & Wiemer, 2015). Nonetheless, the tendency of certain lexical markers to grammaticalise undermines the binarity referred to above, and situates evidentiality at the boundaries of grammar and lexicon. This new perspective enhances research within this continuum (Cornillie, 2007), hence opening ways to cross-linguistic analyses.
The relationship between evidentiality and epistemic modality has been closely looked into and the interplay between the two still calls for further research. Within a restricted approach, some linguists view the two as distinct linguistic areas, whereas others opt for a more comprehensive perspective on evidentiality as integrating epistemic modality (Dendale & Tasmowski, 2001).
Envisaged either as a subcategory of epistemic modality (Papafragou, 2000) or as encompassing it (Palmer, 1986), the concept of evidentiality becomes more complex when delineating it from the competing French counterpart médiativité (Lazard 1956, 1996, Guentchéva, ed., 1996, 2004, Dendale & Tasmowski, 2001, etc.) or when analysing its boundaries with the concept of mirativity (DeLancey, 2001, Montaut, 2004).
Not in the least, the fact that evidentiality permeates such phenomena as stance, subjectivity, first-person experience opens the path to further exploration on evidential markers propensity to convey speaker’s (non-)commitment. Relatedly, the question of linguistic markers accounting for an evidential interpretation under certain co(n)textual conditions or encoding polysemantic evidential values have been under scope, yet still calling for further investigation within a diachronic or/and a cross-linguistic approach.

We invite submissions of paper proposals for an event which aims at bringing together in the digital world scholars, researchers, lecturers with the aim of disseminating the latest scientific findings in the area of evidentiality, but also with the intention to recall results of scholarship in this field up to the present moment (state-of-the-art). We welcome contributions featuring empirical, methodological and theoretical approaches addressing the following topics:
- evidentiality vs epistemicity
- boundaries between evidentiality and médiativité
- evidential markers vs evidential strategies
- direct vs indirect evidentiality
- grammaticalisation of evidential lexical markers
- evidentiality and stance taking
- argumentative role of evidential marking
- evidentials and normative frameworks of argumentation theory
- evidentials as metadiscourse devices
- rhetoric use of evidentials

References
Aikhenvald, Y. A. (2004). Evidentiality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Aikhenvald, Y. A. ed. (2018). The Oxford Handbook of Evidentiality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chafe, W. L. and J. Nichols. (1986). Evidentiality: The linguistic coding of epistemology.
Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Cornillie, B., Marín-Arrese, J.I. and B. Wiemer (2015). “Evidentiality and the semantics-pragmatics interface. An introduction”. In Belgian Journal of Linguistics 29: 1-18.
Cornillie, B. (2007). “The continuum between lexical and grammatical
evidentiality: a functional analysis of Spanish parecer”. In Revista di Linguistica 19.1: 109-128.
DeLancey, S. (2001). “The mirative and evidentiality”. In Journal of Pragmatics 33: 369-382.
Dendale, P. and L. Tasmowski (2001). “Introduction: Evidentiality and related notions”. In Journal of Pragmatics 33: 339-348.
Guéntchéva, Z. ed. (1996). L’Énonciation médiatisée. Louvain-Paris : Peeters.
Guentchéva, Z. (2004). « La notion de médiation dans la diversité des langues ». In R. Delamotte-Legrand (dir.) Les médiations langagières : Des faits de langue aux discours, vol. 1 : 11-33. Rouen : PUR.
Guentchéva Z. (ed) (2018). Epistemic Modality and Evidentiality in a Cross-Linguistic Perspective, Series: Empirical Approaches to Language Typology, Berlin/Boston: Mouton De Guyter.
Haßler, G. (2015). “Evidentiality and the expression of speaker’s stance in Romance
languages and German”. In Discourse studies, vol. 17(2): 182–209.
Lazard, G. (1956). « Caractères distinctifs de la langue tadjik ». In Bulletin de la Société de linguistique de Paris 52 : 117-186.
Lazard, G. (1996). « Le médiatif en persan ». In Guentchéva, Zlatka (ed.), L’énonciation médiatisée : 21-30.
Montaut, A. (2004). « Quotatif, médiatif et miratif dans les langues d’Asie du Sud : une ou plusieurs catégories ? ». In R. Delamotte-Legrand (dir.) Les médiations langagières : Des faits de langue aux discours, vol. 1 : 111-121. Rouen : PUR.
Palmer, F. R. (1986). Mood and modality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Papafragou, A. (2000). Modality: Issues in the Semantics-Pragmatics Interface. Oxford: Elsevier Science.
Squartini, M. (ed.) (2007). Evidentiality between lexicon and grammar. Italian Journal of Linguistics / Rivista di Linguistica, vol. 19, issue 1.
Willett, T. (1988). “A cross-linguistic survey of the grammaticization of evidentiality”. In Studies in Language, 12(1): 51–97.
Wiemer, B. (2018). “Evidentials and epistemic modality”. In Aikhenvald, Y.A (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Evidentiality: 85-108. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Zafiu, R. (2002). «Evidenţialitatea» în limba română actuală”. In Gabriela Pană Dindelegan (coord.), Aspecte ale dinamicii limbii române actuale: 127-144. Bucureşti: Editura Universităţii din Bucureşti.

Language| of the event: English

Key dates and registration
1 February 2022 - 30 April 2022 – Abstract submission
15 May 2022 – Notice of acceptance
16 May - 6 June 2022 – Registration
1-2 July 2022 – Conference

Abstract submission
Please send your abstract (300-500 words, 3-5 keywords, selected bibliography) for a 20 min presentation including name, position, affiliation, email address for all authors. Use Times New Roman 12pt font size, single-spaced.
The proposal should be in English, address the topics proposed, and mention methodology and (expected) research results.
Send your proposal to [email protected] and [email protected]

Conference organization
The conference is intended to be held entirely online.

Publication
Following peer-review evaluation, a selection of papers is intended to be published with an international academic publisher.

Scientific committee
Alexandra Y. AIKHENVALD, CQUniversity Australia
Patrick DENDALE, University of Antwerp, Belgium
Anca GÂŢĂ, Dunărea de Jos University of Galaţi, Romania
Zlatka GUENTCHÉVA, LACITO, CNRS, Sorbonne Nouvelle University Paris 3, France
Gerda HAßLER, University of Potsdam, Germany
Mario SQUARTINI, University of Turin, Italy
Rodica ZAFIU, University of Bucharest, “Iorgu Iordan - Al. Rosetti” Institute of Linguistics, Romania

Organizing committee
Alina Ganea, Dunărea de Jos University of Galaţi
Gabriela Scripnic, Dunărea de Jos University of Galaţi

Conference website: https://cctpd.wordpress.com/2022/01/19/eld-cfp/

For questions and comments, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] and [email protected]