Events

• Tue

  09

  Dec

  2025

  Gina Saviano (Ghent University) – "Mapping the Regional Linguistic Space between Italian and Dialect: A Computational Analysis of Phonetic Features in Neapolitan"

  11:00 amBlandijn, Faculteitszaal

  Abstract

  “Continuum con addensamenti”, ‘continuum with agglomerations’: this is how Berruto once described the Italian linguistic repertoire. Much has been discussed about the extremes of this continuum; however, little do we know about those intermediate “agglomerations”. How many are there? How are they organized? Do they share features? To address these questions, we adopt a phonetic perspective and borrow a technique typically used in commercial profiling. Examining established Neapolitan phonetic features alongside new prosodic parameters, we identify possible speaker profiles and features agglomerations, shedding a new light on the intermediate varieties of the Italian standard-dialect continuum. In this talk, I will discuss preliminary studies and findings, applying this innovative methodology to offer new insights into the nature of the concept of variety.

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• Fri

  12

  Dec

  2025

  Bernat Bardagil (Ghent University) - Argument marking patterns as a proxy for social contact in the Guaporé-Mamoré region of Amazonia

  10:00 amBlandijn 2 3.30 (Camelot)

  To what extent can we use a high-resolution comparative linguistics approach to open a window into human history when we lack tangible historical information? The Guaporé-Mamoré region, overlapping significant territory in the Bolivian and Brazilian lowlands, is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse regions in the continent. In spite of that, we know extremely little about the history of a vast majority of the languages, and the indigenous nations who speak them, before the 20th century. In this talk I will discuss my ongoing research examining grammatical properties in order to triangulate historical information about the nations inhabiting of this area.

  Jointly organised with BantUGent. To join the meeting online via MS teams, please contact Nina van der Vlugt.

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Event Information:

• Fri

  18

  Sep

  2015

  The Language(s) of the Papyrus Archives

  10:00 amKoninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse Taal- & Letterkunde (KANTL)

  The conference “The Language(s) of the Papyrus Archives” will be held at the conference center KANTL (Koningstraat, Ghent) on 18 September 2015.
  The conference focuses on the linguistic approach of (documentary) papyri, and on papyri preserved in papyrological archives in particular.
  It has a multilingual scope with contributions about Greek, Demotic and Latin.
  It not only presents scientific results of scholars working within the field of the linguistic study of papyri, but it also aims to discuss the potential of this relatively new subdiscipline.

  Programme
  10.00-10.30       Coffee
  10.30-10.45       Welcoming speech (Delphine Nachtergaele, Ghent University)
  10.45-11.30       Bilingual documents in Greco-Roman Egypt (Willy Clarysse, KU Leuven)
  11.30-12.15       Some Aspects of the Language of Individuals and Social Groups in Zenon Papyri (Trevor Evans, Macquarie University, Sydney)
  12.15-13.30       Lunch
  13.30-14.15       Further observations on senders, scribes and language (Hilla Halla-aho, University of Helsinki)
  14.15-15.00       DIA in the Archive of Basil the Pagarch (VIII AD) (Klaas Bentein, Ghent University)
  15.00-15.45       Digital Humanities and the future of linguistic papyrology (Mark Depauw, KU Leuven)

  Registration
  Attendance of the conference is open to the public. A fee of €25 is asked for coffee & tea and lunch; therefore advance registration is necessary. If you plan to attend, please inform the organizers (Delphine.Nachtergaele@UGent.be)

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