As part of the AHRC-funded project Arabic and Contact-Induced Language Change, we would like to bring to your attention to events concerning Arabic linguistics taking place at SOAS University of London in April 2019:

1. Workshop on Arabic and language analysis in asylum procedures, April 9 2019.

2. Spring school on Arabic on contact-induced change, April 10 2019.

The workshop deals with the topic of language analysis for the determination of origin in asylum cases (LADO), and has a particular focus on Arabic. The aim of the event is to bring together LADO practioners and researchers to compare and discuss methodologies and best practices, current issues and potential future directions.

The one-day spring school on Arabic and contact-induced change features the following speakers and topics:

Yaron Matras (University of Manchester) - Examining change through the lens of dialect comparison
Stefano Manfredi (SeDyL-CNRS) - Cyclical change and creolization in Arabic
Christopher Lucas (SOAS) - Contact-induced change: from Arabic to Maltese

There is no fee to participate in either or both events, but attendance is subject to invitation only, as numbers are strictly limited.

To be considered for attendance at the workshop, either submit a presentation abstract (see call for papers here), or send an expression of interest in attendance to cl39@soas.ac.uk before 21 December 2018, setting out your reasons and motivation for wishing to attend. In case there are more expressions of interest than can be accommodated, priority will be given first to presenters whose abstracts are accepted, followed by students with a demonstrated interest in asylum matters and/or Arabic and applied linguistics. Invitations will be sent out once the abstract review process is complete.

To be considered for attendance at the spring school, the procedure is similar: send an expression of interest to cl39@soas.ac.uk before 21 December 2018, setting out your reasons and motivation for wishing to attend. In case there are more expressions of interest than can be accommodated, priority will be given to graduate students with a demonstrated interest in historical linguistics and/or language contact and/or Arabic linguistics. Invitations will be sent out in January 2019.