37.1592, FYI: Call for Abstracts: Approaches to Linguistic Complexity and Variation in Language Use

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-1592. Tue Apr 28 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.1592, FYI: Call for Abstracts: Approaches to Linguistic Complexity and Variation in Language Use

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Managing Editor: Valeriia Vyshnevetska
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Editor for this issue: Daniel Swanson <daniel at linguistlist.org>

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Date: 24-Apr-2026
From: Mouna Ayadi [mona.ayadi88 at gmail.com]
Subject: Call for Abstracs: Approaches to Linguistic Complexity and Variation in Language Use


Scope and goals of the volume:
Drawing on corpus-based research, the book investigates how clause
architecture, embedding,  dependency relations, and phrase-level
elaboration contribute to complex meaning-making. It  demonstrates how
syntactic choices are determined by functional pressures such as
transitivity, agency, perspective, thematic progression, and the need
to package information in discourse. In addition, the book
investigates variation in complexity across spoken and written
registers and academic genres, revealing how functional factors drive
syntactic change and diversity. Enriched by insights from systemic
functional linguistics, corpus linguistics, and discourse analysis,
the book looks at the interaction between complexity, transitivity,
and event
representation across a variety of contexts. It investigates how
clause expansion, embedding, and grammatical elaboration emerge as
strategies for encoding agency. Through examinations of spoken and
written discourse, academic texts, and learner language, the book
demonstrates how complexity changes according to genre and register.
By combining theory with empirical research, this volume points out
how complexity in language emerges not as an abstract property but as
a strategic resource for representing events
and organizing discourse. The editor welcomes abstracts on the topics
of interest below and/or topics that closely align with the scope of
this volume:
Section One: Linguistic Variation in Use
- Register Variation in Spoken vs. Written Genres
- Sociolinguistic Factors that Shape Syntactic Complexity
- Diachronic changes in Linguistic Complexity
Section Two: Applications and Frontiers of Linguistic Complexity
- Complexity in Language Pathology and Impairment
- Towards a Unified Theory of Syntactic Variation and Complexity
Section Three: Measuring Linguistic Complexity
- Metrics of Syntactic Complexity
- Measures of Lexical Complexity
- Quantitative Tools for Tracking Developmental Trajectories in
Linguistic  Complexity
Section Four: Transitivity and Event Representation
- Processes, participants, agency and transitivity in functional
grammar.
Submission Guidelines
Researchers interested in contributing to this edited volume are
invited to submit:
- Abstract (300–500 words)
Important Dates:
- Abstract submission deadline : May 30, 2026
- Notification of acceptance : June 30, 2026
- Full chapter submission: October 15,2026
- Expected publication : 2027
Submission Contact:
Please send abstracts and inquiries to: mona.ayadi88 at gmail.com

Linguistic Field(s): Discourse Analysis
                     General Linguistics
                     Pragmatics
                     Syntax
                     Text/Corpus Linguistics




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