Call for Papers: The Monster Conference, Bishop Grosseteste University, UK, June 29-30 2018

From the 29^th to the 30^th of June 2018, Bishop Grosseteste University (Lincoln, UK) will be holding a two-day conference celebrating the inception and reception of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in celebration of 200th anniversary of this literary classic. Confirmed Speakers include Angela Wright (Professor in English Literature, University of Sheffield), and Marc Hanheide (Reader in Computer Science, University of Lincoln). The Monster Conference will allow attendees to explore the intersection of this classic work with popular culture, and focus upon the pertinent theoretical and methodological challenges relating to how monstrosity and the monstrous get taught at universities and in schools.

The call for papers can be found here. Proposals for papers (20 minutes) and panels (three 20-minute papers) as well as teaching workshops (30 minutes) from a range of disciplines are welcome in the form of 300 word abstracts and a 100 word biographical note by the 31^st of January 2018. Send submission to to sibylle.erle@bishopg.ac.uk All proposals will be anonymously peer-reviewed.

Conference: Österreichische Linguistiktagung, Klagenfurt, Austria, December 8-10 2017

An annual Austrian linguistics conference, Österreichische Linguistiktagung, will be held from the 8^th to the 10^th of December 2017 at the Alpen Adria University of Klagenfurt. The theme of the conference is Digital Humanities. Along with this theme, an onomastics workshop, “Namen Digital” will be hosted by Marietta Calderon (University of Salzburg) and Sandra Herling (University of Siegen). Registration information can be found here.

Call for Papers: Queer(ing) Lexicography: Towards truly inclusive dictionary-making? Panel at Euralex 2018

From the 17^th to the 21^st of July 2018, Euralex, an international conference on lexicography and dictionaries will be held in Ljubljana, Slovenia. One theme of the scholarly event is “Queer(ing) Lexicography: Towards truly inclusive dictionary-making?”. The purpose of this panel is to examine the role that dictionaries play in reinforcing and challenging societal notions of gender, sex, and sexual orientation. Interested presenters are asked to submit abstracts (max. 300 words) for possible acceptance by the 26^th of November 2017 to one of the following contacts: (e.nossem@mx.uni-saarland.de) and Łukasz Pakuła (l.pakula@gmail.com). Questions about the conference and submission requirements can be also be directed to these contacts as well. You can review the call for papers here.

Call for Papers: “trans-kom”, the Journal of Translation and Technical Communication Research

“trans-kom”, the Journal of Translation and Technical Communication Research will be devoting a special issue to the topic ”Industry 4.0 meets Language and Knowledge Resources.” trans-kom is an academic journal for translation and technical communication research published solely on the Internet. The overarching question of this issue is what research in the fields of translation and technical communication can contribute to all that at the interface between the industry 4.0 world and the language and knowledge resources world. Read the call for papers here. The deadline for submissions is November 30, 2017. Authors interested in submitting a piece for publication in either German or English are asked to contact the Special Issue guest editor, Georg Löckinger: [georg.loeckinger@fh-wels.at]. The special issue will be published in June 2018.

trans-kom publication guidelines: http://www.trans-kom.eu/dauer/trans-kom_201612.zip
trans-kom website in English: http://www.trans-kom.eu/index-en.html
trans-kom website in German: http://www.trans-kom.eu

Registration opens for the 2018 ANS Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, January 4-7, 2018

Registration is now open for the 2018 ANS Conference in Salt Lake City, UT. The ANS conference will take place in conjunction with the Linguistics Society of American (LSA) Conference from January 4-7, 2018.

To register, you must join the ANS or renew your ANS membership.

Note that to renew your ANS membership, you will be redirected to the Taylor & Francis website where you will need to enter information from your renewal notice.

Once your membership is up to date, please fill out the ANS 2018 Conference Registration Form and send the form, along with payment, to ANS Treasurer Michael McGoff, as per the instructions on the form.

For more information about the ANS Conference and the LSA Conference, including rate and hotel information, please visit our Conference Page.

AERA Award: Shelby Wolf AERA Literature SIG Award for Outstanding Dissertation in Literature

In honor of Shelby Wolf’s ongoing legacy in the literature and literacy education, a special award is being offered by the American Educational Research Association for Outstanding Dissertation in Literature. The recipient of this biannual award is to be given in recognition of a doctoral student whose research has been found to make a substantial and original contribution to literature learning and teaching. The deadline for submission is January 8, 2018. Interested applicants may find out more details about The Shelby Wolf AERA Literature SIG Award for Outstanding Dissertation in Literature, the eligibility requirements, and the selection criteria in this Google doc.

About Names: Gentle “Mildred” waits, patiently, for revival

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his November 8th column, he looks at the history of the name Mildred.

Will you see Mildred’s billboards? “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” a dark comedy in which Frances McDormand plays Mildred Hayes, who erects billboards blaming a local sheriff for not solving her daughter’s murder, opens Friday.

In the seventh century, King Merewald and Queen Ermenburg of Mercia in England had three daughters: Mildred (“gentle strength”), Mildburg (“gentle fortress”), and Mildith (“gentle battle”). All became abbesses and were proclaimed saints. Mildith was least famous. Her name died out in England by 1350. Mildburg, said to have miraculous healing powers, lived in Shropshire. Her name became Milbrough there. Brought to America in Colonial times, it shifted to Milbrey. Though very rare, Milbreys are still found in North Carolina and Tennessee.

When Social Security’s yearly names lists started in 1880, Mildred ranked 121st. “Mildred Keith” rocketed it upward. Mildred peaked at sixth between 1912 and 1920.

Though Joan Crawford won a best actress Oscar in 1945 for the title character in “Mildred Pierce,” this tale of a wealthy restaurateur who spoils her murderous daughter didn’t help the name’s popularity. Mildred dropped below the top thousand in 1985.

Want to know more? Read on to find out more about Mildreds in history!

German Couple Can’t Legally Name Their Kid “Lucifer”

Statue of Lucifer in Liège Cathedral. White marble by Guillaume Geefs

A couple from Germany was denied the ability to name their child Lucifer after the government determined that it was an inappropriate name to give to a child. The new parents reportedly wanted to name their child Lucifer because of its Latin origins. The name Lucifer actually means “morning star” or “light-bringing”, but has now become synonymous with evil because it was the angel’s proper name before he decided to rebel against God. Due to Lucifer’s demonic association, the Association for the German Language has deemed the name to be too problematic to give to a child.

Germany does not have any official laws banning names but officials do have the ability to deny name requests if they feel the name is inappropriate or potentially dangerous for the child. The official can consult with the Association for the German Language to confirm the problematic nature of the name and if the couple refuses to back down, the issue then heads to court.

Click through to this article at Fatherly to read more about this unusual naming case!

ANS Member Survey – Respond Today!

ANS Members! By now you should have received, via email, an invitation to respond to a survey regarding your membership in the American Name Society. If you have not already responded, please use this link to click through and give us your opinions:

ANS 2017 Member Survey

This survey is open to members only.

The Names of Criminals in Medieval England

Dave Postles, one of the leading historians of medieval English society, has looked into how names developed during the High Middle Ages. His 2006 book Naming the People of England c.1100-1350 tracks some of these developments, and notes how nicknames were used as last names. Postles believes that in some cases these names were “imposed by local society on errant individuals as a disciplinary measure, as a kind of labelling of miscreants. It was the next best action to complete ostracism.”

Here are some examples:

Agnes Daythef took sanctuary in a London church, where she confessed to stealing a surcoat and many other things. She abjurred the realm.

Henry Golichtly was known to be a robber in Coventry.

John le Fatte raised the suspicions of his neighbours over his wealth, because he ate well, drank well and dressed well. While no evidence was presented of any wrongdoing at the time, six years later he fled his home after being accused of stealing pigs.

Click through to see the rest of the list!