37.2387, Calls: Workshop at DGfS 2027: Learning Sign Languages Across the Lifespan – Diverse Trajectories in First and Second Language Learning (Germany)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-2387. Thu Jul 16 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.2387, Calls: Workshop at DGfS 2027: Learning Sign Languages Across the Lifespan – Diverse Trajectories in First and Second Language Learning (Germany)

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Date: 16-Jul-2026
From: Annika Schiefner [dgsd-dgfs49 at uni-koeln.de]
Subject: Workshop at DGfS 2027: Learning Sign Languages Across the Lifespan – Diverse Trajectories in First and Second Language Learning


Full Title: Workshop at DGfS 2027: Learning Sign Languages Across the
Lifespan – Diverse Trajectories in First and Second Language Learning

Date: 03-Mar-2027 - 05-Mar-2027
Location: Jena, Germany
Web Site: https://annikalingu.github.io/en/dgfs49_cfp/

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics; Language Acquisition;
Psycholinguistics
Subject Language(s): English (eng, stan1293)
                     German Sign Language (gsg, germ1281)
                     International Sign (ils, inte1259)

Call Deadline: 01-Aug-2026

Call for Papers:
Sign languages and the diverse paths to their acquisition offer a
unique opportunity to gain insight into linguistic theory and human
cognition. Structurally, the visual-gestural modality has different
affordances and demands than the oral-aural modality and these have
implications for linguistic theory (Perniss 2018). Socially, signer
demographics are extremely varied due to factors such as (familial)
hearing status, language ideology, and access to a sign language
community (De Meulder 2019). Just these two aspects illustrate how
sign acquisition trajectories may vastly differ from speech
acquisition pathways and how the general conversation on language
learning would benefit from their inclusion. However, our
understanding of the developmental pathways taken in scenarios of sign
language learning remains limited. Particularly, research into sign
languages as second languages is sparse (Schönström 2021), despite
most signers acquiring a sign language as such (De Meulder 2019).
Therefore, this workshop aims to bring together researchers working on
sign language acquisition in children and adults, contributing a range
of perspectives on the diverse learning contexts in which sign
languages are learned by diverse populations. This entails research on
acquisition patterns of specific linguistic features and structures,
as well as observations regarding language transmission, attitudinal
and motivational factors, and broader observations of language
learning over time. Contributions that bridge and compare different
contexts or areas of linguistic development are particularly welcome.
Key References:
De Meulder, Maartje. 2019. “So, why do you sign?” Deaf and hearing new
signers, their motivation, and revitalisation policies for sign
languages. Applied Linguistics Review 10(4). 705–724.
https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2017-0100.
Perniss, Pamela. 2018. Why we should study multimodal language.
Frontiers in Psychology 9. 1109.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01109.
Schönström, Krister. 2021. Sign languages and second language
acquisition research: An introduction. Journal of the European Second
Language Association 5(1). 30–43. https://doi.org/10.22599/jesla.73.



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