36.2048, Confs: Isolated Languages Workshop (Belgium)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-36-2048. Thu Jul 03 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.2048, Confs: Isolated Languages Workshop (Belgium)

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Date: 03-Jul-2025
From: Abbie Hantgan-Sonko [abbie.hantgan-sonko at cnrs.fr]
Subject: Isolated Languages Workshop


Isolated Languages Workshop
Short Title: ISLA2026
Theme: Language Isolates and Small Language Families

Date: 19-Mar-2026 - 20-Mar-2026
Location: Ghent, Belgium
Contact: Abbie Hantgan-Sonko
Contact Email: abbie.hantgan-sonko at cnrs.fr

Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics; Computational
Linguistics; Genetic Classification; Historical Linguistics; Typology

Submission Deadline: 15-Oct-2025

We are pleased to invite submissions for ISLA2026: Isolated Languages
Workshop, to be held at Ghent University on March 19-20, 2026. This
conference aims to bring together scholars from various disciplines to
explore the linguistic, sociocultural, and genetic aspects of speakers
of languages that cannot be (straightforwardly) incorporated into
larger genealogical units. Isolate languages and (small) language
families with no connection to higher-order branches of known phyla
offer limited possibilities for studying their linguistic past using
traditional linguistic methodology. We seek to highlight the
resilience, dispersal, and narratives of these languages and their
speakers. This conference targets our understanding of a specific
linguistic reality, but we welcome multiple perspectives from adjacent
research fields beyond linguistics to examine it.
As an extension of our Orphan Languages workshop at the 2025 Societas
Linguistica Europaea (SLE) Annual Meeting, the conference will focus
on the innovative methodologies and challenges in studying languages
that are isolated or part of small families. The aim is to better
understand the historical, cultural, and linguistic significance of
these languages and their speakers and to explore how they have
persisted and evolved over time.
We welcome submissions on, but not limited to, the following topics:
 - Problems and innovations in the comparative method for languages
isolates and small language families.
 - Sociolinguistic aspects and linguistic attitudes toward these
languages.
 - Ethnic identity and its relationship with linguistic identity.
 - Commonalities and differences in historical development across
isolates and small families.
 - The emergence and evolution of language isolates and small language
families.
 - Interdisciplinary approaches that integrate linguistics, genetics,
and ethnography.
Plenary speakers:
Pattie Epps (UT Austin)
Matthias Urban (CNRS - DDL)
Submission Guidelines:
We invite researchers working on isolated and small language families
to submit abstracts (max. 300 words) along with a short biography (100
words max). Abstracts should be sent to abbie.hantgan-sonko at cnrs.fr by
October 15. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by October 30.
Eventual Publication:
Selected papers from the conference may be invited for inclusion in a
special issue of the LSP: Language and the Human Past series.
Important Dates:
Abstract Submission Deadline: October 15, 2025
Notification of Acceptance: October 30, 2025
Conference Dates: March 19-20, 2026
We look forward to your participation in this important discussion on
the origins, development, and significance of isolated and small
language families.
For any inquiries, please contact:
Bernat Bardagil
bernat.bardagil at ugent.be
Abbie Hantgan
abbie.hantgan-sonko at cnrs.fr
Alba Hermida
alba.hermidarodriguez at ugent.be
Rik van Gijn
e.van.gijn at hum.leidenuniv.nl
Aurore Montébran
cnrs-bang at cnrs.fr



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LINGUIST List: Vol-36-2048
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