Workshop: Variation and syntax: Where are we now, and where do we go next? Ann Arbor, MI, July 6-7, 2013

这个研讨会回应了越来越多的兴趣，调和社会语言学的变化与句法理论的研究。这些人类语言科学研究的重要子领域从一开始就被疏远了，长期以来的争论集中在基本的方法论和理论问题上。然而，最近的工作表明，变分主义的实证方法确实非常适合于调查相关的句法理论的变量现象，而且，独立动机的句法和形态模型已经成为充分阐明，合理的正式机制内和说话人之间的变化可以提出。第一个是制定明确的战略，以评估变异和句法的竞争理论，这需要综合现有的知识和确定共识的领域。例如，一种有影响力的方法认为，句法变异应分析为“多重语法”，而其他帐户已定位在语法结构本身的变量机制。第二个目标是激励合作研究超越传统领域的变异社会语言学或理论句法，例如第二或第一语言习得，多语言/方言，新方言/方言的出现，语言/方言的磨损或死亡，遗产语言/方言，或语言处理。将精炼的理论概念和改进的经验方法应用于这些和其他令人兴奋的主题，提出了更大范围统一的前景。为此，本次研讨会汇集了来自欧洲和北美的一些最杰出的句法变异学者，以及密歇根大学安阿伯2013年美国语言学会语言研究所的学生和年轻研究人员，一个理想的场所进行激烈的跨学科的互动。除了受邀演讲者外，研讨会还将包括30分钟的演讲、小组评论和大量的一般性讨论时间。

This workshop responds to the growing interest in reconciling the study of sociolinguistic variation with syntactic theory. These vital subfields of scientific inquiry into human language have been estranged virtually since their inception, with longstanding disputes centered on fundamental methodological and theoretical issues. However, recent work has demonstrated that variationist empirical methods are indeed well suited for investigating variable phenomena of relevance to syntactic theorizing, and furthermore that independently motivated models of syntax and morphology have become sufficiently articulated that plausible formal mechanisms of intra- and inter-speaker variation can be proposed.The workshop has dual objectives. The first is to develop explicit strategies for evaluating competing theories of variation and syntax, which requires synthesizing current knowledge and identifying areas of consensus. For example, one influential approach holds that syntactic variation should be analyzed as "multiple grammars", while other accounts have located variable mechanisms in the grammatical architecture itself. The second objective is to stimulate collaborative research beyond the conventional domains of either variationist sociolinguistics or theoretical syntax, for instance second- or first-language acquisition, multi-lingualism/dialectalism, the emergence of new dialects/idiolects, language/dialect attrition or death, heritage languages/dialects, or language processing. The application of refined theoretical concepts and modified empirical methods to these and other exciting topics raises prospects for unification of a greater scope.To such ends, this workshop brings some of the most prominent scholars on syntactic variation from Europe and North America together with students and young researchers at the 2013 Linguistic Society of America Linguistic Institute at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, an ideal venue for intense cross-disciplinary interaction. In addition to invited speakers, the workshop will feature 30-minute talks, panel commentary, and plenty of time allotted for general discussion.