Richard M. Hogg Prize

ISLE intends to offer an annual Richard M. Hogg Prize for a paper on any research-related topic in English language or English linguistics.

The winning paper from the 2009 competition is

Weir, A. (2009) 'Subject pronoun drop in informal English'. Richard M. Hogg
Prize winning essay. » Download (PDF)

The winning paper from the 2008 competition was

Alcorn, R. (2008) 'To him vs. him to: The variable syntax of pronominal prepositional objects in Old English'. Richard M. Hogg Prize winning essay. » Download (PDF)

Richard Hogg

Richard Hogg was Smith Professor of English Language and Medieval Literature at the University of Manchester from 1980 until his death in 2007. He was the General Editor of The Cambridge History of the English Language (6 vols, 1992-2001), one of the founding editors of the journal English Language and Linguistics, and well known for his work on Old English, on phonology, and on English dialects. Click here to read an obituary by Nigel Vincent in The Guardian. A list of Professor Hogg's publications is accessible from this database at the University of Manchester. It is hoped that his History of English dialectology and Grammar of Old English, 2, Morphology will be completed by friends and colleagues.

Submission dates and address

The annual closing date for submissions is 31 March. Submissions should be written in English and should be accompanied by the letter mentioned under 'Eligibility' above. Submissions should be sent as a file attachment in an email to the Secretary of ISLE, Graeme Trousdale, University of Edinburgh, secretary@isle-linguistics.org.

Eligibility

The Prize will be awarded in open competition. The competition is open to any individual who is both:

1. an early-career scholar, defined as a registered student not yet in possession of a doctoral degree, or a post-doctoral scholar within two years of the award of the doctorate at the time of submission; and
2. a member of the Society (membership can be applied for at the time of submission).

It is expected that most candidates will be students on a doctoral degree programme (PhD) or recent graduates of one, but undergraduates and master's students are not precluded from submitting a paper. Joint or multiple authorship is acceptable so long as all authors meet the two conditions above. Authors should submit a letter from their supervisor, or from a person of similar standing, attesting to their status and that the submission is their own work.

The paper

Candidates may write on any research-related topic in English language or English linguistics. In awarding the prize the committee will take into consideration the originality of the submitted paper and the theoretical and/or empirical contribution it makes to the discipline.

The paper should not have been published before (except possibly in a departmental working paper or the like), nor should it have been submitted for publication elsewhere. It should not exceed – but need not be as long as – 10,000 words in length including tables, figures, notes, appendices, references, etc. It is recommended that authors follow the PDF style sheet available by clicking the link, which is essentially that of the journal English Language and Linguistics and which in turn incorporates the Unified Style Sheet for linguistics journals; a suitable EndNote style for users of the EndNote bibliography program is also available for downloading.

Prize

The winner will receive a cash prize of £500 and their essay will be published on the ISLE website. Additionally, the winner will be encouraged to submit the prize-winning paper - revised where appropriate in line with judges' or referees' comments - for competitive review for publication in a journal closely associated with the aims of the Society. If no submission is judged suitable, the prize will not be awarded. The prize will be awarded by ISLE on the recommendation of a prize committee formed from senior members of the Society, with a member of the Executive Committee in the chair. The winner will be announced on the Society's website by 1 September. The prize committee's decision is final.

Donors

Contributions to the prize fund in memory of Richard Hogg are welcome. Please click here for a simple payment form (pdf format) which can be printed off, completed and mailed. Payment is possible by cheque, credit card or inter-bank transfer.

The following individuals and organisations have contributed or promised donations to the prize fund:

See also

» Prize donor form (PDF)
» Style sheet (PDF)
» EndNote style (ENS)