Call for papers for the International Conference on Balkan Linguistics of the Balkan Linguistic Commission affiliated by the International Committee of Slavicists on the subject “Balkan” enclaves in Italy. Languages, dialects, identities Venice, Italy, NOV 26th - 28th 2015 Subject Italy as a member of the Balkan Linguistic Commission affiliated by the International Committee of Slavicists never hosted an international meeting of our Commission. After the meetings in Veliko Tyrnovo (Bulgaria), Vienna (Austria), Iasi (Romania) and Torun (Poland), in 2015 the meeting will be organized in Venice by the Dipartimento di Studi linguistici e culturali comparati. The focus of traditional Balkan linguistics has recently shifted towards (areal) dialectology. The significance of such a study stems from the very nature of dialects/varieties as representing recent or current contact situations, bi- or multilingual, which to a certain extent approximate those that led to the emergence of the particular sprachbund effects observed in the modern standards. It is well-known that linguistic contact on the Balkans existed mainly on the colloquial level, the predominant type of bilingualism was a dialect of the language A + a dialect of the language B; a less frequent type, characteristic mainly of the debalkanization period (19th c.), was Standard language A + dialect of language B. The proposed meeting can thus highlight a number of issues relevant to the theory of sprachbund and areal linguistics, such as types of Balkan convergences, types of structure transfers, borrowing of structural patterns, stages and directions of grammaticalization, etc. The topic of Balkan varieties in Italy – i.e. Grico/ Grecanico, Molise Slav, Arberesh Albanian – can reveal some issues regarding the areal limits of the Balkan sprachbund. Generalizations and correlations (with neighboring Italian dialects and standard Italian), especially in the field of morphosyntax, can highlight areal properties or isoglosses, which may or may not be attributed to Balkanization processes but to universal principles of linguistic co-existence. The meeting wants to bring forward useful comparisons which may contribute to a better understanding of the concrete dimensions of parametric variation on the Balkan dialectal continuum, stimulating the search for finer-grained parameters in particular. The conference focusses on linguistics, but is open for presentations in cultural studies on Grico, Molise and Arberesh. Languages of the conference: English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Slavic Balkan Languages No conference fee; probably no refund of travel and accommodation costs. During the conference there will be also formal meetings of the Commission for the members. Your paper proposal (including your name, e-mail, title of paper in English and in the language of your presentation) should be send by March 18th 2015 to Prof. Dr. Thede Kahl (thede.kahl@oeaw.ac.at) and Prof. Dr. Iliana Krapova (mailto:krapova@unive.it). The online address where to find updates of the event, will be sent to everybody who announces his/her participation until March 18th. Schedule NOV 26 THU: arrival, welcome, reception NOV 27 FRI: whole day conference NOV 28 SAT: half day conference, formal meetings, departure Minimum accommodation needed are 2 nights: IN NOV 26; OUT NOV 28. In case of high numbers of papers, conference will continue until the evening of NOV 28. We look forward to welcoming you in Venice! Helmut Schaller, President of the Commission of Balkanology Iliana Krapova, Local organizator of the Conference Thede Kahl, Secretary of the Commission of Balkanology