37.779, Confs: 13th International Conference on Missionary Linguistics (Portugal)
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LINGUIST List: Vol-37-779. Thu Feb 26 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.
Subject: 37.779, Confs: 13th International Conference on Missionary Linguistics (Portugal)
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================================================================
Date: 23-Feb-2026
From: Gonçalo Fernandes [gf at utad.pt]
Subject: 13th International Conference on Missionary Linguistics
13th International Conference on Missionary Linguistics
Short Title: ICML XIII
Theme: Contributions to the Safeguarding of the World’s Linguistic and
Cultural Heritage
Date: 31-Mar-2027 - 03-Apr-2027
Location: Vigo & Vila Real, Portugal
Contact: Gonçalo Fernandes
Contact Email: gf at utad.pt
Meeting URL: https://icml-xiii.utad.pt/
Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics; Applied Linguistics;
History of Linguistics; Language Documentation
Subject Language(s): English (eng)
French (fra)
Galician (glg)
Portuguese (por)
Spanish (spa)
Submission Deadline: 31-Aug-2026
University of Vigo, Spain (March 31 – April 1, 2027)
University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal
(April 2–3, 2027)
The Organizing Committee of the 13th International Conference on
Missionary Linguistics invites the academic community to submit
proposals for individual papers, thematic panels, and posters for the
2027 edition, jointly organized by the Faculty of Philology and
Translation of the University of Vigo and the Center for Studies in
Letters (CEL), based at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
in Vila Real.
This conference continues a long-established tradition of twelve
international meetings dedicated to the study of Missionary
Linguistics, a series launched and continually co-organised by Otto
Zwartjes. Previous editions have taken place in Oslo (Norway, 2003),
São Paulo (Brazil, 2004), Macau/Hong Kong (China, 2005), Valladolid
(Spain, 2006), Mérida (Mexico, 2007), Tokyo (Japan, 2010), Bremen
(Germany, 2012), Lima (Peru, 2014), Manila (Philippines, 2016), Rome
(Italy, 2018), La Pampa, Santa Rosa (Argentina, 2020), and Hsinchu
(Taiwan, 2025). As in previous years, the conference welcomes research
covering a wide range of regions, descriptive traditions, and
historical periods.
Situated at the intersection of the historiography of linguistics,
historical linguistics, and historical sociolinguistics, Missionary
Linguistics seeks to understand how—and for what purposes—Western
missionaries documented and analyzed unknown languages previously in
Asian, American, and African contexts. Particularly relevant primary
sources include grammars, dictionaries, teaching manuals, catechisms,
and religious translations into local languages—often constituting the
earliest written codifications of those languages.
The 2027 edition, under the theme “Contributions to the Safeguarding
of the World’s Linguistic and Cultural Heritage,” aims to foster
debate on the contemporary scientific, political, and ethical
relevance of missionary materials, as well as to reflect on how these
works contribute to our understanding and preservation of global
linguistic heritage. We welcome proposals that examine missionary
descriptive traditions, the contexts of production and circulation of
metalinguistic works, their materiality, grammatical and lexicographic
models, the relationships between missionaries and local communities,
translation processes, and the intercultural dynamics emerging from
those encounters.
Contributions are also encouraged that explore digital humanities
methodologies, preservation practices, editing and cataloging of
historical collections, and critical or decolonial approaches to the
missionary legacy—particularly when connected to current discussions
on linguistic justice and cultural diversity, including international
initiatives that advocate for the recognition of linguistic diversity
as a foundation for more equitable and sustainable societies.
The conference also strongly encourages the participation of
early-career researchers, with the goal of promoting the renewal of
the field and strengthening the international scholarly networks that
have supported the growth and consolidation of Missionary Linguistics
studies.
Working Languages:
Presentations may be delivered in Portuguese, English, Spanish,
Galician or French.
Formats of Participation:
- Individual papers: 20 minutes + 10 minutes for discussion
- Thematic panels: 3 to 5 presentations
- Posters: dedicated poster session
Abstract Submission:
Applicants should submit an abstract of 200–300 words, including:
- title
- name(s) of author(s)
- affiliation(s)
- keywords
- format of the proposal (paper, panel, or poster)
The submission link will be available soon.
Important Dates:
- Abstract submission deadline: August 31, 2026
- Notification of acceptance: November 30, 2026
- Early registration deadline: January 31, 2027
- Final registration deadline: February 28, 2027
Conference Venues:
- University of Vigo (UVigo): March 31 – April 1, 2027
- University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), Vila Real:
April 2–3, 2027
(Transportation between Vigo and Vila Real will be provided.)
Registration Fees:
- Presenter (until January 31, 2027): 100 €
- Presenter (after February 1, 2027): 125 €
- PhD student presenter (until February 28, 2027): 50 €
- Members of the Organizing / Executive Committee and Scientific
Committee: free
- Participant without presentation: free
- Conference Dinner (Vila Real): 40 €
Organizers:
- Centro de Estudos em Letras (CEL UTAD-UÉvora)
- Escola de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, UTAD (ECHS-UTAD)
- Departamento de Lingua Española, UVigo (DEL, UVigo)
- Instituto de Investigación Lingua, Universidad de Vigo
(iLingua-UVigo)
- Laboratoire d’Histoire des théories linguistiques (HTL, UMR7597,
CNRS, Université Paris Cité et Université Sorbonne Nouvelle)
Organizing / Executive Committee:
Assunção, Carlos (CEL-UTAD), cassunca at utad.pt
Bae, Eun Mi (CEL-UTAD), baeeunmi at yahoo.no
Báez Montero, Inmaculada Concepción (ILingua-UVigo), cbaez at uvigo.gal
Canelas, Marco (Realvitur), marcocanelas at realvitur.pt
Fernandes, Gonçalo (CEL-UTAD), gf at utad.pt
Fonseca, Maria do Céu (CEL-UÉvora), cf at uevora.pt
Pérez Guerra, Javier (ILingua-UVigo), jperez at uvigo.gal
Pérez Rodríguez, María Rosa (UVigo), rosa at uvigo.gal
Riveiro Lema, María Dolores (URJC / CEL-UTAD),
dolores.riveiro.lema at urjc.es
Sueiro Justel, Joaquín (UVigo), jsueiro at uvigo.gal
Teixeira, Michael (Realvitur), michaelteixeira at realvitur.pt
Zwartjes, Otto (HTL, UMR7597, CNRS, Université Paris Cité et
Université Sorbonne Nouvelle), otto.zwartjes at u-paris.fr
Scientific Committee:
Altman, Cristina, altman at usp.br
Assunção, Carlos, cassunca at utad.pt
Báez Montero, Inmaculada Concepción, cbaez at uvigo.gal
Chevillard, Jean-Luc, jean-luc.chevillard at uni-hamburg.de
Döhla, Hans-Jörg, hans-joerg.doehla at romanistik.uni-tuebingen.de
Esparza Torres, Miguel Ángel, miguelangel.esparza at urjc.es
Fernandes, Gonçalo, gf at utad.pt
Fernández Rodríguez, Rebeca, r.fernandezrodriguez at uu.nl
Fonseca, Maria do Céu, cf at uevora.pt
Gianninoto, Mariarosaria, mariarosaria.gianninoto at univ-montp3.fr
Kishimoto, Emi, kishimoto.hmt at osaka-u.ac.jp
Klöter, Henning, henning.kloeter at hu-berlin.de
Lee, Fabio Yuchung, editor at monsoonasianstudies.com
Maruyama, Toru, ryosati at ic.nanzan-u.ac.jp
Monzón, Cristina, cmonzon at colmich.edu.mx
Moore, David Campbell, moored03 at bigpond.com
Muru, Cristina, cristina.muru at unitus.it
Pérez Rodríguez, María Rosa, rosa at uvigo.gal
Regúnaga, Alejandra, aregunaga at gmail.com
Ridruejo, Emilio, ridruejo at fyl.uva.es
Sueiro Justel, Joaquín, jsueiro at uvigo.gal
Toyoshima, Masayuki, mtoyo at joao-roiz.jp
Troia, Paolo de, paolo.detroia at uniroma1.it
Uchida, Keiichi, u_keiichi at mac.com
Van Hal, Toon, toon.vanhal at kuleuven.be
Zwartjes, Otto, otto.zwartjes at u-paris.fr
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