2nd Language Creation Conference - Registration & Details

Ever wondered to what extent the languages of Tolkien's Lord of the
Rings series are languages?  Or whether the unbreakable linguistic
universals that are claimed to underlie all languages are truly
unbreakable?  Or perhaps how to say, "Where's the restroom" in
Klingon?  If so, or if you're a fan of language in any form, come
check out the Second Language Creation Conference July 7-8 at UC
Berkeley!

On the agenda are several in-depth talks ranging in subject matter
from language games, to the problematic nature of the success of a
created language--including a keynote address by David Salo, the
linguist in charge of bringing Tolkien's languages to the screen in
the recent Lord of the Rings film trilogy.  In attendance will be
language creators from all over the country--some who have been
working lovingly on their creations for forty or more years, and
others who continually try to push the boundaries of what a language
can do, rather than being satisfied with what naturally evolved
languages currently do.  Come to chat about languages (created or
natural), hear some great talks, participate in several panel
discussions and workshops, and take in the atmosphere of downtown
Berkeley in summer.

For more information, and to see videos of talks from the First
Language Creation Conference, go to the LCC website:

http://conlangs.berkeley.edu/

And register for the next LCC at

http://lcc.questionform.com/public/LCC2-Timing

For more detailed information about the conference, see the
registration announcement below.



Hello again everyone!

We're proud to announce that the second Language Creation Conference
(LCC2) is a go.

LCC2 will be held the weekend of July 7-8 at UC Berkeley in the MLK
Student Union Building's beautiful Tilden Room (same place as last
year):

http://asuc-aux.berkeley.edu/tilden.html

Come to Berkeley for the conference on the 7th and 8th, and come on
Friday to meet and greet fellow conlangers.

Register now!

Our current lineup of speakers and events (subject to change):

Talks:
David Salo - Giving Historical Depth to Language Construction
James Gang - Verbotomy
Jim Henry - Glossotechnia
John Clifford - The Problems with Success: What happens when an
opinionated conlang meets its speakers
John Quijada - Language Personalities: How the Interplay of Phonology,
Phonotactics and Morpho-phonology Creates a Linguistic Aesthetic
Lila Sadkin - Tenata: Dissolving Lexical Categories

Language-Specific Minitalks:
David J. Peterson - The Evolution of Sidaan
Sylvia Sotomayor - Verblessness in Kelen

Panels and Audience Discussions:
Evangelizing the Secret Vice (w/ Donald Boozer, David Peterson, and Sai Emrys)
Incorporating Conlangs into Your Life

Workshop:
Conlanging 101: Vocabulary Generation (Parallel tracks: beginner and advanced)

Games:
Live Conlang Relays (bring your notes!)
Verbotomy
Glossotechnia

There are some more talks in the works (and perhaps a couple surprises
not yet listed), and it's not too late to add yourself, too--just
contact us with a proposal through the registration form linked to
below. We are particularly interested in having more people come to
speak for 15 minutes about some of the intricacies and innovations of
their own linguistic creations.  For more information about giving a
15 minute talk on some of the finer points of your conlang, contact a
board member immediately.


Like last year, we encourage you to make a page or two of things to
share with everyone. It'll be printed in the program that's given to
all attendees. All you need to do is email us your content (grayscale,
PG-rated, and commercial free please), preferably in a common and
easily stitched-together format like .doc, .rtf, .png, high-res .jpg,
etc. Share some sentences in your language(s), a puzzle, a short
essay, a poem, a nifty (con)linguistic feature, a conlang-related
resource, pretty art, or anything else that'd be of interest to a
bunch of linguistically savvy conlangers!


Conference housing is at Stern Hall, a short walk across campus from
the conference site. The cost per room is $57 per day or $342 per
week, single OR double occpancy; reservations are free. Register
online ASAP because it's first come first serve after May 15th, and
make sure to mention the "Language Creation Conference" in your
reservation. Their website has information about local airport shuttle
services that can take you there.

http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/conference/summervis/reserv_req_form.html
http://conferenceservices.berkeley.edu/summer_visitor_faq.html

If you'd like any information about Berkeley and the surrounding area
(travel to and from, restaurants, fun things to do on the weekend),
contact David Peterson, a former local with lots of local contacts, at
peterson.dj @ gmail.com.


The conference fee is $35 for 1.5 days, and includes lunch on the full
day. Donations apart from that are of course welcome and
tax-deductible. The reduced early registration fee (received between
now and May 15th) is $25.

If the registration fee is too high for your situation or if you would
like a fee waiver because you hold some special status, that's
okay--just let us know.  We are more than happy to accept donations of
time (particularly during set up and tear down) in lieu of money.

---> Register at http://lcc.questionform.com/public/LCC2-Timing <----

Please make checks payable to "ASUC / Language Creation Society" and
send them to:

Language Creation Society
c/o Sai Emrys
1232 E 19th St #212
Oakland, CA 94606


In other news, the Language Creation Society 501(c)3 nonprofit
corporation is going through the necessary paperwork to come into
formal existence; we hope to soon start doing even more to help the
conlanging community expand, establish new forums of expression, and
gain broader acceptance both in the eyes of academia and the general
public.

The Board of Directors of the Language Creation Society consists of
Sally Caves aka Sarah L. Higley, John E. Clifford, David G. Durand,
Sai Emrys aka Ilya Starikov, Arnt Richard Johansen, David J. Peterson,
And Rosta, Kenji Schwarz, Henrik Theiling, and Ellen Wright. LCS
memberships wll be available once paperwork is completed, and a
newwebsite is planned. Feel free to contact us to discuss this or
future conferences, our upcoming journal, or anything else related to
our mission.

Thanks,
- Sai
  LCS director, LCC organizer