May 18-20 2022

Colloquium "Questions d'orthographe"

The conference Questions d'orthographe will take place in Brussels (Université Saint-Louis - Brussels), from 18 to 20 May 2022. It will bring together presentations of recent research related to French spelling, in an approach that is deliberately broad.  

Themes

The work presented may deal with both usage and discourse on spelling. The perspectives may be historical, institutional, linguistic, sociolinguistic and/or didactic. The colloquium will focus on French orthography, but it may also be considered in its contacts with other languages.

The colloquium will focus on five main themes. Non-exhaustive tracks for each of these themes are proposed.

Theme 1. History of spelling

- the history of graphic and orthographic usage: the perspective can be diachronic (what changes, etc.) or synchronic (the state of the graphic system in the past)

- spelling choices and principles over time and through publications or reissues

- reforms and their reception

- (new) proposals for reform

- the evolution of the discourse on spelling, and of the imaginations and ideologies that they convey

- the place of spelling in institutions

- changes in the values given to spellings or rules

Theme 2. Teaching and learning of spelling

- research into the didactics of spelling (how is spelling taught?)

- research on learning to spell (how do we learn to spell?)

- recent pedagogical approaches, activities, methods and tools

- pupils' difficulties, teachers' difficulties

- the contributions and limitations of computer tools in learning

- school programmes

- school grammars and spelling

- learning to spell in FLE, FLS

- spelling and literacy, spelling and illiteracy

- spelling assessment in and around school

Theme 3. Practices and representations of spelling today

- the representations of the various actors (writing professionals, learners, teachers, media, etc.)

- variations in writing (variations according to writers, media, text genres, situations, statements, etc.)

- linguistic ideologies linked to spelling

- institutional discourse

- debates about spelling

- sms, digital writing

- spelling and automatic language processing

Theme 4. French spelling in contact with other languages

- graphic and orthographic practices in pluriliteracy situations 

- the graphic integration of borrowings (borrowings from other languages into French or borrowings from French into other languages)

- the influence of French orthography on the writing of other languages (regional languages, situations of evangelisation, colonisation, etc.)

- any other situation of interference, influence, circulation of forms and graphic and orthographic principles from French to other languages, or from other languages to French

Theme 5. Thinking about spelling

- graphic system, orthography, plurisystem: what models for thinking about orthography and graphic systems today?

- models and analyses of the semiography of French 

- past, present and future language policies

- what spelling for tomorrow?

Organising committee

Anne Dister (Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles)

Clara Mortamet (Université Jean Monnet – Saint-Etienne)

Thomas Baruh (Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles)

Sabine de Knop (Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles)

Justine Gauthier (Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles)

Dominique Longrée (Université de Liège et Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles)

Laura Rivero (Université Jean Monnet – Saint-Etienne)

Pascal Tonnaer (Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles)

Dan Van Raemdonck (Université libre de Bruxelles)

Martine Willems (Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles)

 

Scientific committee

Laura Abou Haidar (Université Grenoble Alpes)

Olivier Baude (Université Paris Nanterre)

Sonia Branca (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3)

Catherine Brissaud (Université Grenoble Alpes)

Yvonne Cazal (Université de Caen)

Danièle Cogis (Inspé de Paris)

Bernard Combettes (Université de Lorraine)

Virginie Conti (CIIP/IRDP, Neuchâtel)

Jacques David (CY Cergy Paris Université et INSPÉ de l’Académie de Versailles)

Sarah de Vogüe (Université de Nanterre)

Anne Dister (Université Saint-Louis - Bruxelles)

Jean-François de Pietro (Institut de recherche et de documentation pédagogique - Neuchâtel)

Marie-Laure Elalouf (Université de Cergy-Pontoise)

Daniel Elmiger (Université de Genève)

Michel Fayol (Université Clermont Auvergne)

Thomas François (Université catholique de Louvain)

Roxane Gagnon (HEP Vaud)

Jean-Pierre Jaffré (CNRS et Université Paris Nanterre)

Jean-Marie Klinkenberg (Université de Liège) 

Pierre Largy (Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès)

Michèle Lenoble-Pinson (Université Saint-Louis - Bruxelles)

Georges Legros (Université de Namur)

Hervé Lieutard (Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3)

Danièle Manesse (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3)

Pierre Manen (Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne)

Marie-Louise Moreau (Université de Mons)

Clara Mortamet (Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne)

Hubert Naets (Université catholique de Louvain)

Marie Nadeau (Université du Québec à Montréal)

Gabriella Parussa (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3)

Jean-Christophe Pellat (Université de Strasbourg) 

Sophie Piron (Université du Québec à Montréal)

Jean-Pierre Sautot (Université Claude Bernard Lyon)

Dan Van Raemdonck (Université Libre de Bruxelles)

Martine Willems (Université Saint-Louis - Bruxelles)

François Yvon (CNRS)