LabPhon 19: The 19th Conference on Laboratory Phonology

Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea, June 27-29, 2024
(Satellite workshops on June 26, 2024)
HIPCS (Hanyang Institute for Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language) at Hanyang University is proud to host LabPhon 19 on June 27-29, 2024.

Theme: Where speech sounds meet the architecture of the grammar and beyond

It has been over 30 years since the first Laboratory Phonology conference was launched in 1987 in the vanguard of exploring the linguistically meaningful relationship between the grammar and physics of speech. Since then, we have witnessed the gradual erosion of the severance between phonetics and phonology, accompanied by an increased awareness of the importance of scalar and gradient aspects of speech in understanding the linguistic sound system. We have also enjoyed seeing a wealth of investigation into the linguistic roles of fine phonetic detail, which provides insights into the phonetic underpinnings of other speech variation phenomena. It has now become the norm in the laboratory phonology tradition to view the phonetic encoding-decoding process as intricately intertwined not only with phonology but also with various other components (e.g., morphology, syntax and semantics) in the architecture of the grammar. Moreover, in parallel with the exploration of these relationships, laboratory studies of speech variation have also shown that phonetic and phonological forms can be shaped further by both information structure and pragmatic and social contexts.

The fundamental assumption that underlies the proposed theme is that in order for the speaker to deliver a message (whether linguistic or extralinguistic) to the listener successfully, the speaker must be able to encode the message in phonetic forms that reflect other linguistic and extralinguistic structures. Then, the listener must in turn be able to exploit the resulting fine phonetic detail in decoding the intended message in reference to the higher-order structural information that underlies the speech signal.

Consequently, the laboratory phonology community is now challenged with a fundamental question of how the fine phonetic detail and its systematic interaction with higher-order structures that may go even beyond the traditional realm of linguistics should be reflected in the architecture of the grammars of human linguistic systems.

Delving into this inquiry inherently emphasizes that the foundational aspect of phonetic encoding and decoding within a linguistic message should be firmly rooted in the essence of prosodic structure—an abstract grammatical entity that governs the intonational system, phrasing, and prominence distribution, while also serving as a frame for articulation. The culmination of empirical findings across a wide range of subfields, including linguistics, psychology, and cognitive sciences, undoubtedly provides us with compelling evidence. This body of evidence accentuates the pivotal role prosodic structure plays in shaping the delicate intricacies of phonetics, spanning both segmental and suprasegmental dimensions. This intricate interplay, often referred to as the phonetics-prosody interface, extends beyond the confines of mere phonetics and phonology, intricately interwoven with a diverse array of linguistic and extralinguistic structures.

At LabPhon 19, we aim to create an international scholarly venue at which researchers and students may tackle these issues by sharing novel findings and insights from their laboratory work and exchanging ideas in relation to the interplay between phonetics and higher-order linguistic and extralinguistic structures. The theme is admittedly too broad to be covered at one three-day conference, and LabPhon 19 simply starts off by narrowing it down to specific topics in five thematic sessions as outlined below. Our aspiration is that these anticipated intellectual engagements will converge to advance our understanding of the complex role played by 'the physics of speech' or gestures within the architectural framework of human communication grammar. It is also our hope that many of the works presented at LabPhon 19 will shed light on the significant contribution of prosodic structure, which plays a pivotal role in determining the phonetic outcomes across various levels of the communication system.

We look forward to a diverse range of submissions that delve into these connections and contribute to a deeper understanding of the proposed theme. We also welcome submissions from neuro-cognitive perspectives that can offer insights related to the aforementioned issues addressed within the proposed theme. These perspectives are anticipated to provide valuable connections and viewpoints, enriching our exploration of the theme. In addition to thematic sessions, we will also commission non-thematic sessions which will include contributions to other topics of interest to the LabPhon community.

Thematic sessions and invited speakers and discussants (subject to change)

Session 1: LabPhon for words, exploring the role of phonetic detail in lexical processing and its implications for the relationship between LabPhon and the lexicon
· Invited speaker: Holger Mitterer (U. of Malta, Malta)
· Invited speaker: Jongho Jun (Seoul National U., South Korea)

Session 2: LabPhon for sentences, exploring the role of phonetic detail in sentence processing and its implications for the relationship between LabPhon and syntax
· Invited speaker: Fernanda Ferreira (UC Davis, USA)
· Discussant: Michael Wagner (McGill U., Canada)

Session 3: LabPhon for pragmatics and discourse, exploring the role of phonetic detail in conveying pragmatic meanings in discourse and its implications for the relationship between LabPhon and information/discourse structure
· Invited speaker: Sasha Calhoun (Victoria U. of Wellington, New Zealand)
· Discussant: Aoju Chen (Utrecht U., the Netherlands)

Session 4: LabPhon for social contexts, exploring the role of phonetic detail in carrying social information and its implications for the relationship between LabPhon and sociophonetics
· Invited speaker: Abby Walker (Virginia Tech, USA)
· Discussant: Tessa Bent (Indiana U., USA)

Session 5: LabPhon for non-articulatory gestures in spoken language, exploring the role of non-articulatory (facial and manual) gestures in spoken language in relation to LabPhon
· Invited speaker: Marc Swerts (Tilburg U., the Netherlands)
· Discussant: Jelena Krivokapić (U. of Michigan, USA)

Abstract guidelines
· Abstracts must be submitted in PDF format through EasyChair. Submissions may be made from November 1 until December 18, 2023, observing the "Anywhere on Earth" deadline (according to Niue time zone).
· There will be no deadline extension under any circumstances.
· EasyChair Submission Link: Please use the following link for EasyChair submissions: https://easychair.org/cfp/LabPhon19
· Abstracts should be written in English and must not exceed one page of text, totaling a maximum of 600 words. References, examples, and figures can be included on a second page.
· The submitted abstracts should be in PDF format, using Times New Roman font with a font size of 12. Margins should be set at 2.54 cm or 1 inch on an A4 page format, and single spacing must be applied with no page numbers.
· Do not include author names or affiliations within the filename or the content of the abstract.
· While submitting, authors must specify the relevant conference theme(s) to which their submission aligns. Additionally, authors should indicate whether the abstract is intended for an oral presentation, poster presentation, or both.
· During the submission process, authors must provide between three and five keywords that accurately characterize their submission.
· Each author is permitted to submit one abstract as the first author. Additionally, authors may participate as co-authors in a maximum of one additional abstract. In other words, authors can contribute up to two submissions, either with one as the first author and the other as a co-author, or with both as co-authors.
·*(newly added) We make an exception to this limit: An individual can submit one abstract as the first author and multiple papers as a co-author, provided that the first author of each of the additional abstracts is their student at the time of submission.

Submission of a complete written version of presentation for selected oral presentations across the five thematic sessions by May 10, 2024.
· Authors whose papers have been chosen for oral presentation within any of the five thematic sessions are required to submit a comprehensive written version of their presentation, along with preliminary slides, by May 10, 2024. This submission aims to aid the discussion session, which will be guided by an invited discussant. The discussant will provide a comprehensive commentary on the respective theme, incorporating insights from the invited and regular talks held during the session.

Special Issue to be published in Laboratory Phonology
· Furthermore, we are planning to commission a special issue of Laboratory Phonology (to be guest-edited by T. Cho, S. Kim, J. Holliday and S. Lee-Kim), the journal of the Association for Laboratory Phonology (ALP), featuring all invited speakers' and discussants' talks, as well as selected papers presented at the conference. Authors of selected papers will be required to submit their final paper soon after the conference (by no later than November 1, 2024, four months after the conference), enabling us to send it for review in time for publication in the following year (2025). Note that each selected paper will undergo standard editorial/review processes which may eventually lead to its exclusion (rejection). You can visit the journal's website if you would like to familiarize yourself with the publication: https://www.journal-labphon.org/.

Student Support traveling from abroad
· The Hanyang Institute for Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language (HIPCS), as the hosting institute, is pleased to offer a complimentary hotel room for a span of up to four nights—from Wednesday to Saturday night. This offering is exclusively available to students affiliated with a foreign institution, traveling from abroad.
· To qualify for this benefit, the student should be the first author of an oral or poster presentation, and must maintain an affiliation with a foreign institution and be traveling from overseas. Please note that we originally planned to provide one room for each first author student. However, due to an anticipated increase in hotel fees in 2024 during the conference period, students may often need to share rooms. In such cases, there will be up to two people per room, each with a separate single bed. Note that the HIPCS will directly book hotel rooms and distribute them among qualified students. (There will be no reimbursement for hotel rooms directly booked by the student participants.)
· How to Apply: Qualified student first authors must apply for student accommodations after receiving their acceptance notification. More details will be provided later.

Workshops: Call for Papers
We have completed the evaluation of workshop proposals and are pleased to announce that three workshops will be held on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, as follows.

Workshop 1: CorpusPhon
Time: 09:00-16:45
Deadline for abstract submissions: Wednesday 13 March 2024 (11:59P, Anywhere on Earth (AoE)
Organizers: Eleanor Chodroff, Christian DiCanio, Morgan Sonderegger, and Márton Sóskuthy
Go to the workshop webpage for details: link
EasyChair Submission: link

Workshop 2: Variance and invariance in phonological representation: Insights from articulation
Time: 09:00-12:30
Deadline for abstract submissions: Friday 29 March 2024 (by the end of the day, Anywhere on Earth time).
Organizers: Sam Kirkham and Patrycja Strycharczuk
Go to the workshop webpage for details: link

Workshop 3: Phonetic imitation: representation, sound change, and other theoretical implications
Time: 13:30-17:00
Deadline for abstract submissions: Friday 22 March 2024 (by the end of the day, Anywhere on Earth time).
Organizers: Harim Kwon, Beth MacLeod, and Kuniko Nielsen
Go to the workshop webpage for details: link

Timeline
Satellite Workshops
· Deadline for a workshop proposal: November 10, 2023
· Notification of proposal acceptance: November 15, 2023
· Abstract submission deadline to workshops: March, 2024 (Check each workshop's webpage for the specific deadline.)
· Satellite Workshops, Pre-conference lecture: June 26, 2024

Main Conference
· Deadline of submission of a two-page abstract: December 18, 2023
· Notification of acceptance: February 29, 2024
· Submission of final versions of abstract: March 31, 2024
· Full paper submission of invited and selected papers for thematic sessions: May 10, 2024

· Registrations: April 01, 2024 (Open); April 30, 2024 (Early); June 16, 2024 (Late)
· Main Conference: June 27-29, 2024

The LabPhon 19 webpage
· At present, the LabPhon 19 homepage is under construction and contains only a limited amount of information. Additional details regarding the conference will be uploaded as they become available.
· While waiting for more updates, you can also explore some general information about the conference venue by visiting the webpages of prior HISPhonCog conferences, which were organized by the hosting institute HIPCS.
· HISPhonCog webpage: https://site.hanyang.ac.kr/web/hisphoncog

Committees of LabPhon 19

Organizing Committee of LabPhon 19
· Taehong Cho (Chair, HIPCS, Hanyang University, Seoul)
· Ki-jeong Lee (Honorary Advisory Chair, President of Hanyang University)
· Sahyang Kim (Hongik University & HIPCS, Seoul)
· Jeff Holliday (University of Kansas, USA)
· Sang-Im Lee-Kim (HIPCS, Hanyang University, Seoul)

General Conference Support Committee
· Hyesun Cho (Dankook University)
· Jiyoun Choi (Sookmyung Women's University)
· Hyunsong Chung (Korea National University of Education)
· Suyeon Im (Soongsil University)
· Jongho Jun (Seoul National University)
· Jonny Jungyun Kim (Pusan National University)
· Eonsuk Ko (Chosun University)
· Eun Jong Kong (Korea Aerospace University)
· Harim Kwon (Seoul National University)
· Holger Mitterer (University of Malta)
· Minjung Son (Hannam University)

Local Logistics Committee at HIPCS (Hanyang University)
· Say Young Kim
· Yunju Nam
· Richard Hatcher
· Jiyeon Song  
· Dae-yong Lee
· Jiyoung Jang
· Sejin Oh
· Eunhwan Lee (administrative staff)

Graduate Student Committee at HIPCS (Hanyang University)
· Jiyoung Lee (graduate student conference manager)
· Hongmei Li
· Jae-Eun Jennifer Shin
· Mingi Park
· Ziqian Du
· Minsu Park

Contact email: labphon19seoul@gmail.com

Contact persons: Jiyoung Lee (graduate student conference manager) and Eunhwan Lee (HIPCS administrative officer)

 


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