Workshop on Sound Change 5: Sound Changes in Endangered or Small Speech Communities; June 20-22, 2019; Davis, CA

语言的变化是不可避免的，而且是持续不断的：所有的口语都会随着时间的推移而演变成细粒度的语音模式和单词的音义映射。语音变化的研究对于理解言语交际背后的心理表征和认知机制具有重要意义。声音变化研讨会将于2019年6月20日至22日在加州大学戴维斯分校举行。会议将汇集研究声音变化的研究人员，他们来自不同的背景和学科，进行对话，整合他们的观点和见解，并在外地遗留问题上取得实质性进展。会议中出现的潜在合作和研究可能会为当一种语言的发音模式随着时间的推移而变化时，社会、认知和语言因素在起作用提供新的见解。因为并不是所有的语言社区都是平等的，社区的组成和规模的差异可能会影响一种语言中声音变化的发生方式。为此，研讨会将以濒危和小型语言社区的声音变化为特别主题。音变研究，就像语音学和音系学的大多数工作一样，一直专注于历史上占主导地位的语言或说话者容易接近的语言。语言濒危的动态和少数说话者之间的互动可能为声音变化提供独特的机会。小的语言社区与大的社区有不同的社会因素在起作用，导致当代理人较少时，语音和认知影响以不同的方式相互作用和传播。声音变化是如何在不同规模的语言社区中产生和传播的，目前还知之甚少。此外，濒危和小语种经常受到其他语言和文化的严重影响，这使得发音更有可能发生变化。为了对何时以及如何发生合理的变化做出有用的模型和预测，我们需要在不同的语言社区探索这些模式。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Language change is inevitable and constant: all spoken languages evolve over time in their fine-grained speech patterns and the sound-to-meaning mapping of words. The study of sound change is important for understanding the mental representations and cognitive mechanisms underlying speech communication. The Workshop on Sound Change will take place at the University of California at Davis, June 20-22, 2019. The meeting will bring together researchers working on sound change who come from a variety of different backgrounds and disciplines to have conversations, integrate their perspectives and insights, and make substantive progress on questions the remain in the field. Potential collaborations and research that emerge from the meeting may offer new insights into the social, cognitive, and linguistic factors at work when a language's sound patterns change over time. As not all speech communities are equal, and the consequences for differences in the make-up and size of a community could impact how sound change occurs in a language. To this end, the workshop will feature a special theme on sound change in endangered and small speech communities. Sound change research, as in most work in phonetics and phonology, has focused on languages that have historically been dominant or where speakers are easily accessible. The dynamics of language endangerment and interaction between small groups of speakers may provide unique opportunities for sound change to take place. Small speech communities have different social factors at work than large communities, leading to the phonetic and cognitive influences to interact and diffuse in different ways when there are fewer agents. How sound change might originate and diffuse in speech communities of different sizes is poorly understood. Furthermore, endangered and small languages are often heavily influenced by other languages and cultures, making sound change more likely. In order to make useful models and predictions about when and how sound change will occur, we need to explore these patterns in diverse speech communities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.