Research in experimental pragmatics generates data as it tests between theories of pragmatics. After having seen accelerated growth over the last ten years, experimental pragmatics is now in a better position to resolve theoretical disputes, to advance beyond armchair theory-making and to make pragmatic theories more accessible to the cognitive science community at large. As part of an effort to provide a more permanent platform, a Research Network Program known as EURO-XPRAG supported by the ESF is now kicking off through a call for proposals that will support collaborative research.

Proposals that are accepted will bring together teams of at least two researchers to conduct collaborative research in experimental pragmatics. Accepted projects will be reimbursed for travel expenses up to EUR 4000 distributed over a two year period starting October 15th, 2009. The travel expenses must be distributed over two or three short trips, with the first trip taking place in 2009 (see note a in "Further details" at euro-xprag.org).

In addition, successful applicants will be invited to present their projects at a workshop to be held at the University of Leuven, Belgium, on June 10-12, 2010. The workshop's objectives will be to provide feedback on the experimental paradigms and their testing of semantic and pragmatic theory.

Given that the goal of Experimental Pragmatics is to bring together opposing theories around the investigation of specific phenomena, EURO-XPRAG will privilege proposals built around Adversarial Collaborations. Ideally, these consist of a group containing two researchers with opposing points of view on a specific topic and an arbiter. The members of the collaboration would aim to work out in detail specific opposing predictions within an experimental paradigm and ultimately to test those predictions. This has been practiced among cognitive scientists in the past (see Mellers, Hertwig and Kahneman, 2001 for a detailed illustration) and requires a strong arbiter to mount a mutually agreed experiment. See Mellers, Hertwig & Kahnemann, (2001)1, and especially Table 1 (at the website euro-xprag.org) on creating an Adversarial Collaboration.

The potential themes to be covered include, but are not limited to, presupposition, referential terms, metaphor and figurative uses, implicatures, acquisition and development of pragmatics, and lexical pragmatics. Proposals will be evaluated for their overall quality and for the added value they bring to Experimental Pragmatics. Funds are limited to travel expenses linked to the collaboration (i.e. they are not designed for costs related to experimental procedures, which can be covered by other sources or by the host institutions).

For further details, go to http://www.euro-xprag.org/

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Austria (Josef Perner)
Belgium (Walter Schaeken)
Denmark (Anne-Marie Bulow)
France (Ira Noveck*#)
Germany (Uli Sauerland#)
Holland (Bart Geurts#)
Norway (Bergljot Behrens)
Poland (Katarzyna Bromberek-Dyzman)
Spain (Louise McNally)
Sweden (Peter Pagin)
Switzerland (Jacques Moeschler)

*Chair
# Co-submitter

-----------------------

Hopefully, more countries will join as the Network gathers steam. For example, Richard Breheny, who also worked considerably on the accepted proposal, was at the kick off meeting that was held this past Tuesday in Strasbourg (as an observer from the UK) .

Keep in mind the following:

• There will be a call for proposals very soon explaining how this Network will evolve.
• The next XPRAG conference will be held in Barcelona in 2011.
• euro-xprag.org will be the official public face of this new network.

Cheerfully,

Ira

To the Institut des Sciences Cognitives (67 Boulevard Pinel, Bron), next to Hopital Vinatier.

From "centre-ville," there are two options:

Option 1 (especially if it is a nice day):

The most efficient way to get here is with the Tram T2 (direction St Priest Bel Air). Get off at Vinatier (the 11th stop from Perrache). When you get out from that station, do a 180, cross the tracks, veer left towards the main boulevard (Boulevard Pinel) and turn right on to it. Then, walk exactly 1 km to the Institut (follow the bike path). It's a 10 minute walk (on New Yorker standards). You'll pass the grounds of Hôpital Vinatier on your right the entire distance.

Option 2 is a variation on Option 1 (especially if the 10 minute walk is untenable):

Get to Grange Blanche, a prominent stop on the Tram T2 (the 9th stop from Perrache) as well as a stop on the Metro's D line. Grange Blanche is on the eastern side of the city map and the D is usually marked in green. Get into the Traffic Circle (which is also a minor station for several buses) and look for the bus 28, direction LAURENT BONNEVAY. Assuming the McDonald's (which should be visible) represents 12 o'clock on the traffic circle, the bus stop is at approximately 3 o'clock. The bus takes a long, circuitous (up to 20 minute) route and leaves you directly in front of the Institut des Sciences Cognitives. The bus stop is known as Parc Chambovet (and follows the stop known as Hopitals Desgenettes et Vinatier).

If you do send a fax, let us know so that we can confirm that it arrived safe and sound.

Ira

programme2.pdf

inscriptionform3.xls

For future reference, you can find updates here and you can find a mirror site here (which shows the same information that is supposed to be on the original site).

In any case, on the updated sites, you could find web sites directing you to hotels and showing the Public Transport System. It is important to note that the conference is taking place in two places. The first day is planned to take place at the Institut des Sciences COGNITIVES which is the home of good 'ole L2C2, where I work and where Coralie did her PhD. The Institute is on the eastern edge of the city (in fact, it is on the boulevard that borders Bron, an adjacent suburb) and is part of a hospital complex. The latter two days are planned to be at the Institut des Sciences de l'HOMME, which is a different institution in "centre-ville" in the 7eme arrondisement, not too far from the Perrache train station (which is just across the Rhone). This is a friendly part of town that has plenty of 2 star and 3 star hotels. If you do not find something around there (or do not want to) and you still want to be within striking distance of the two conference sites, it is advisable that you stay some place that is near the Tram line T2.

Cheers,

Program, registration, local information....

It looks like the registration fee for the conference will indeed be 60€. The finance people here in Lyon suggested that it be higher, but a promise is a promise.

Lyon will be hosting the 4th Experimental Pragmatics conference in April 2009 (23-25th). This edition will adopt a broad perspective and bring together speakers and discussants from varied theoretical and empirical backgrounds. Invited speakers (including Gerry Altmann, Richard Breheny, Peter Hobson, Boaz Keysar, Walter Schaeken, Julie Sedivy, Michael Tomasello, Kai von Fintel) will present research on four topics :

1) Sentence processing
2) Experimental pragmatics in conditionals
3) Direct reference
4) Autism and Pragmatics

In addition to these thematic sessions, we welcome the submission of papers from scholars who study experimental pragmatics in connection with semantic approaches, language development, impaired communication, non-verbal and non-human communication, non literal language, negation, presupposition, reference, sentence processing,etc. Abstracts will be anonymously refereed by members of the program committee.

The first day of the conference will take place at the Institut des Sciences Cognitives (67 bd. PINEL 69675 Bron) on the eastern border of Lyon and the two last days at the Institut des Sciences de l'Homme (ISH), which is near the downtown area (14, avenue Berthelot, 69007 Lyon).

Date to remember:
Deadline for submission: January 16 2009, 9 pm.

More information to follow on (advanced) registration. The fees are to be determined, but likely to be no more than 60 euros.

To submit a paper and register please visit:
http://xprag.l2c2.isc.cnrs.fr/XPrag/

Abstracts should be one-page plus an additional page for examples,
graphs, tables, and references. We are using an electronic abstract
submission system.

The 23-25th of April 2009 in Lyon.

Confirmed Speakers include:
Gerry Altmann
Richard Breheny
Peter Hobson
Boaz Keysar
Walter Schaeken
Julie Sedivy
Michael Tomasello
Kai von Fintel

Stay tuned for a call for papers.