37.2795, Confs: Semantics and Word Formation Workshop (Spain)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-2795. Wed Sep 02 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.2795, Confs: Semantics and Word Formation Workshop (Spain)

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Date: 01-Sep-2026
From: Ivan Lacić [ivan.lacic at upf.edu]
Subject: Semantics and Word Formation Workshop


Semantics and Word Formation Workshop
Short Title: S&WF

Date: 13-Apr-2027 - 15-Apr-2027
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Meeting URL: https://www.upf.edu/web/glif/semantics-and-w-f-workshop

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics; Linguistic Theories;
Morphology; Semantics

Submission Deadline: 10-Dec-2026

The organizers are pleased to announce the "Semantics and Word
Formation" workshop, to be held at Universitat Pompeu Fabra on 13–15
April 2027.
Description:
In a classic paper on word formation, Hermann Paul (1896: 18) argued
that morphology requires an "Ergänzung durch die Bedeutungslehre"
'supplementation by a theory of semantics'. Nearly 120 years later,
Rainer et al. (2014: 33) concluded the introduction to the volume
"Morphology and Meaning" by revisiting Paul's call, noting that
although research on meaning in morphology had advanced considerably
since 1896, the field still presented ''a rather rugged and sparse
research landscape''. Since then, interest in the semantics of word
formation has continued to grow (see volumes such as Arndt-Lappe &
Plag, 2015; Bauer et al., 2015; Kotowski & Plag, 2023), accompanied by
increasing empirical scrutiny. Recent work has addressed a wide range
of topics, including the polysemy of derivational processes (Schulte,
2015; Plag et al., 2018; a.o.), semantic differences among rival
processes (Rainer et al., 2019; Huyghe et al., 2023; a.o.),
form-meaning mismatches (Valera, 2015; Lieber, 2023; a.o.), the
semantic transparency of complex words (Schäfer, 2018; Varvara &
Huyghe, 2026; a.o.), and the semantic organization (Fradin, 2020;
Sanacore et al., 2024; a.o.) and partial predictability (McNally et
al., 2024) of derivational paradigms. At the same time, although
several existing theoretical frameworks incorporate semantic
information into their accounts of word structure – including
Distributed Morphology (Harley, 2012), Construction Morphology (Booij,
2010), and Relational Morphology (Jackendoff & Audring, 2020) – their
respective treatments of derivational semantics have been subject to
criticism (see, e.g., Plag & Kotowski, 2023). Despite this growing
body of research, the overall impression is still that of a somewhat
fragmented field. Research on semantics and word formation has largely
progressed within disciplinary silos, with too little sustained
dialogue between researchers mainly concerned with meaning and those
mainly concerned with form.
This workshop aims to promote that dialogue by bringing together
researchers working from different theoretical, typological,
corpus-based, computational, and experimental perspectives. Through
intensive discussion of semantic challenges for morphological theory,
and challenges of morphology for semantic theory, it seeks to promote
critical engagement with a range of theoretical assumptions,
methodological choices, and empirical evidence.
We welcome submissions addressing (but not limited to) the following
topics:
- the nature of morphological meaning
- (non-)compositionality of word meaning (from semantic transparency
to lexicalization)
- many-to-many relationship between word/morpheme form and meaning
- semantic restrictions on morphological patterns
- semantic change in complex words (grammaticalization,
pragmaticalization)
- corpus-based and computational approaches to complex word meaning
- acquisition and processing of complex word meaning
Invited Speakers:
- Andrew Koontz-Garboden, University of Manchester
- Franz Rainer, WU Vienna
- Rossella Varvara, University of Turin
Abstract Submission:
We invite abstracts for either oral presentations (30 minutes + 10
minutes for questions and discussion) or poster presentations
(accompanied by a 2-minute flash talk). Abstracts should not exceed
two pages in length (A4 or letter size), using 11-point font and
1-inch/2.5-cm margins. A third page may be used for references, data,
and figures. Please indicate your preferred presentation format (oral,
poster, or either) when submitting your abstract. Each presenter may
submit a maximum of two abstracts: one as a sole or first author and
one as a co-author.
Please submit anonymous abstracts to ivan.lacic at upf.edu by December
10, 2026.
Important Dates:
- Deadline for abstract submission: December 10, 2026
- Notification of acceptance: January 20, 2027
- Workshop: April 13–15, 2027
Organizers: Louise McNally (UPF) & Ivan Lacić (UPF)



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