36.3415, Calls: 8th Prescriptivism Conference (Belgium)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-36-3415. Mon Nov 10 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.3415, Calls: 8th Prescriptivism Conference (Belgium)

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Date: 07-Nov-2025
From: Eline Lismont [prescriptivism2026 at vub.be]
Subject: 8th Prescriptivism Conference


Full Title: 8th Prescriptivism Conference
Short Title: Prescriptivism2026
Theme: Prescriptivism: Beyond Norms and Usage

Date: 24-Jun-2026 - 26-Jun-2026
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Contact Person: Eline Lismont
Meeting Email: Eline.Lismont at vub.be
Web Site:
https://www.historicalsociolinguistics.be/prescriptivism2026/

Linguistic Field(s): Historical Linguistics; Sociolinguistics;
Text/Corpus Linguistics

Call Deadline: 01-Dec-2025

Call for Papers:
We are delighted to announce that the 8th Prescriptivism Conference
will be hosted by Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and will take place at
Hoek 38, in the city center of Brussels, on 24-26 June 2026.
Building on the success of previous conferences held in Sheffield
(2003), Ragusa (2006), Toronto (2009), Leiden (2013), Park City, Utah
(2017), Vigo (2021), and Aix-en-Provence (2024), this edition
continues the tradition of exploring prescriptivism in its many
historical, cultural, and linguistic manifestations.
The theme of the 2026 conference is: Prescriptivism: Beyond Norms and
Usage
With this theme, we aim to shift the focus beyond the conventional
view of prescriptivism as the unidirectional imposition of norms on
language use. Instead, we seek to foreground the dynamic interplay
between norms and usage by attending to the roles of contexts,
ideology, policy, and agency.
We welcome papers examining prescriptivism across languages and
periods, and from a range of perspectives. Topics may include, but are
not limited to:
 - Prescriptivism and ideologies, agencies, and actors
 - Prescriptivism and identity
 - Prescriptivism and language planning
 - Prescriptivism and standardization
 - Prescriptivism and language teaching and pedagogy
 - Prescriptivism and minority languages
 - Prescriptivism in media, politics, and public discourse
 - Methods and approaches to the study of prescriptivism
The conference plenary speakers are:
 - Anne Curzan (University of Michigan) - Prescriptivism, Education,
and the Public: Lessons Learned
 - Emma Humphries (Queen’s University Belfast) - From 19th-century
letters to 21st-century social media: Strategies of critique and
justification in language commentary on French
 - Linda Pillière (Aix-Marseille Université) - Prescriptivism through
the back door: How standard language ideology is perpetuated in
popular culture
 - Loreta Vaicekauskienė (Vilniaus universitetas) - The tyranny of the
red pen: Prescriptivism and politics
We welcome proposals for individual papers and posters. Paper
presentations will consist of a 20-minute talk followed by 10 minutes
for discussion. Posters will be presented in a dedicated session
during the conference.
Please submit an abstract with a maximum of 400 words (including title
and references). At the top of your abstract, specify whether your
submission is for a paper or a poster. Abstracts must be fully
anonymized. Authors are allowed to submit two abstracts if at least
one of them is co-authored.
Abstract submission is via EasyChair at
https://easychair.org/conferences?conf=prescriptivism2026.
The deadline for submission of abstracts is 1 December 2025.
For further updates and practical information, please visit:
historicalsociolinguistics.be/prescriptivism2026



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