37.1029, Confs: 1st Annual Conference: Language at Crossroads (USA)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-1029. Fri Mar 13 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.1029, Confs: 1st Annual Conference: Language at Crossroads (USA)

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Date: 11-Mar-2026
From: Eva Maria Corregidor Luna [ec1310 at scarletmail.rutgers.edu]
Subject: 1st Annual Conference: Language at Crossroads


1st Annual Conference: Language at Crossroads

Date: 17-Apr-2026 - 17-Apr-2026
Location: New Brunswick (and online), USA
Contact: Eva Maria Corregidor Luna
Contact Email: ec1310 at scarletmail.rutgers.edu

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics; Language Acquisition;
Neurolinguistics; Phonetics; Sociolinguistics

Submission Deadline: 20-Mar-2026

In “The Object Called ‘Language’ and the Subject of Linguistics,” Asif
Agha reminds us that language is not merely an object among others,
but an institutionally organized medium through which social life is
conducted, organized, and made meaningful. This perspective carries an
important consequence: the study of any domain of human life can be
illuminated through the study of language, provided that we develop
analytical models that function as “bridging constructs.” Such
constructs link observable features of discourse: grammatical
categories, deixis, style, register, and metapragmatic commentary, to
the broader realms of human affairs. From this perspective, the study
of language is inherently interdisciplinary: it intersects with
anthropology, sociology, philosophy, psychology, cognitive sciences,
education, cultural studies, and beyond. It is precisely at these
crossroads, where language reclaims its social, historical, and
political dimensions, that new conversations and collaborations become
possible.
This conference takes very seriously the idea that disciplinary
boundaries are themselves historical, social, political, and cultural
formations. Rather than presupposing a single, unified object, we
approach language as a dynamic socio-historical phenomenon whose
formal, semantic, pragmatic, and ideological dimensions are mutually
implicated. An interdisciplinary orientation, in this sense, is not an
additive gesture but a theoretical commitment: it recognizes that the
study of language at its different foundational levels is analytically
distinct yet socially co-constitutive. It is at these crossroads,
where levels of analysis meet and where language connects to broader
human affairs, that we situate this first annual conference.
The First Annual Conference: Language at Crossroads invites scholars,
graduate students, and researchers to contribute to an
interdisciplinary dialogue on language across its multiple levels of
analysis. The conference will feature four panels:
Panel 1: Phonetics and phonology
Panel 2: Morphology and Syntax
Panel 3: Semantics and Pragmatics
Panel 4: Project Launch
Each panel is open to contributions engaging with these levels of
language, broadly conceived. Thus, we welcome contributions from
linguistics, linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics,
psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, bilingualism, cognitive sciences,
psychology, discourse analysis, education, cultural studies, and
related fields.
Event Details:
 - Location: Academic Building West (5190), College Ave Campus New
Brunswick, NJ, 08901 AND online
 - Date: Friday, April 17th, 2026
 - Time: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
 - Format: Hybrid
 - Register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdUYVe8IujKfNzGGlB3eRSo_i_CmyySmRPbXEiwOwJQ2qRIkg/viewform?usp=header
Call for Abstracts:
 - Deadline for submission: Friday, March 20th, 2026
 - Notification of Acceptance: Friday, March 27th, 2026
 - Abstracts must not exceed 250 words
 - Submit your abstract here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc1ldnoTAgmb7DBSzKFAptd3x7hS67h9e1FvhVXpqbrOCXjBw/viewform?usp=header



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