37.2974, Confs: Panel at IPC20: Multimodal List Constructions Across Languages and Theoretical Traditions (Finland)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-37-2974. Thu Sep 17 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.2974, Confs: Panel at IPC20: Multimodal List Constructions Across Languages and Theoretical Traditions (Finland)

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Date: 16-Sep-2026
From: Nadav Matalon [nadav.matalon at mail.huji.ac.il]
Subject: Panel at IPC20: Multimodal List Constructions Across Languages and Theoretical Traditions

Panel at IPC20: Multimodal List Constructions Across Languages and
Theoretical Traditions

Date: 27-Jun-2027 - 02-Jul-2027
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Linguistic Field(s): Not Applicable

Submission Deadline: 15-Oct-2026

List constructions are widely recognized as a recurrent communicative
practice across languages and interactional settings. Research has
shown that lists are multifunctional resources for categorization,
stance-taking, common ground construction, discourse organization, and
interactional coordination (Barsalou, 2021; Dankel et al., 2024;
Inbar, 2020; Jefferson, 1990; Masini et al., 2018; Schiffrin, 1994).
Recent work has highlighted the inherently multimodal character of
lists, demonstrating systematic associations between their
construction, prosodic design, and gestural practices (Inbar, 2018,
forthcoming; Masini et al., 2025; Tao, 2019). Studies further suggest
that recurrent gestural patterns and prosodic configurations may be
associated with different types and discourse-pragmatic functions
(Matalon, 2021; Sánchez-Ayala, 2003; Selting, 2007; Xavier & Wilcox,
2026). Research on sign languages has likewise shown that list
constructions may rely on visual-spatial resources, including digital
lists, pointing constructions, and embodied methods of referent
tracking (e.g., Wilcox et al., 2024).
This panel aims to bring together researchers working on list
constructions across languages, communicative contexts, and
theoretical traditions. Our goal is to explore how list constructions
are shaped by different communicative modalities and how multimodal
resources contribute to their interpretation and interactional
functions.
We particularly welcome contributions addressing questions such as:
 - How are list constructions coordinated with gesture and gaze?
 - What similarities and differences emerge between list constructions
in spoken and signed languages?
 - How do multimodal resources associated with lists contribute to
categorization, stance-taking, and discourse organization?
 - What can cross-linguistic and cross-cultural comparisons reveal
about the multimodal realization of lists?
 - How do list constructions vary across interactional settings and
communicative genres, including everyday face-to-face interaction,
institutional discourse, public speeches, and social media?
 - How are multimodal list constructions acquired, designed, and used
in the course of language development and language socialization?
Examining listing practices from a comparative and cross-cultural
perspectives may offer an opportunity to investigate the interplay
between language, embodiment, cognition, and social interaction. By
bringing together scholars working on gesture, sign languages,
cognition, and spoken interaction, the panel aims to foster
cross-disciplinary dialogue and advance our understanding of
multimodal phenomena in human communication.
Organizers: Anna Inbar (Bar Ilan University), Nadav Matalon (Hebrew
University of Jeruslaem)
Online abstract submission (min. 250 and max. 500 words) via
https://pragmatics.international/page/CfP2027
References:
Barsalou, L. W. (2021). Categories at the interface of cognition and
action. In C. Mauri, E. Goria, & I. Fiorentini (Eds.), Building
categories in interaction: Linguistic resources at work (pp. 35–72).
John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.220.03bar
Dankel, P., Titze, S., & Schröder, U. (2024). Grounding lists.
Interactional Linguistics, 4(2), 193–224.
https://doi.org/10.1075/il.24002.dan
Inbar, A. (forthcoming). Visualizing discourse functions: The analysis
of gestures associated with List Constructions in Israeli Hebrew.
Inbar, A. (2020). List constructions. In R. A. Berman (Ed.),
Usage-Based Studies in Modern Hebrew: Background, Morpho-lexicon, and
Syntax (pp. 623–658). John Benjamin.
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.210.18inb
Inbar, A. (2018). List construction as a multi-modal phenomenon:
Syntax, prosody, and gestures, 51st Annual Meeting of the Societas
Linguistica Europaea (SLE), Tallinn, Estonia
Jefferson, G. (1990). List construction as a task and resource. In G.
Psathas (Ed.), Interaction competence (pp. 63–92). University Press of
America.
Masini, F., Combei, C. R., & Cicchirillo, R. (2025). The prosody of
list constructions. In K. Nikiforidou & M. Fried (Eds.), Multimodal
Communication from a Construction Grammar Perspective (pp. 116–151).
John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/cal.38.04mas
Masini, F., Mauri, C., & Pietrandrea, P. (2018). List constructions:
Towards a unified account. Italian Journal of Linguistics, 30(1),
49–94.
Matalon, N. (2021). The Camel Humps prosodic pattern: Listing for
Disaffiliating in Spoken Hebrew. In C. Mauri, E. Goria, & I.
Fiorentini (Eds.), Building categories in interaction - Linguistic
resources at work (pp. 155–186). John Benjamins.
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.220.06mat
Sánchez-Ayala, I. (2003). Constructions as Resources for Interaction:
Lists in English and Spanish Conversation. Discourse Studies, 5(3),
323–349. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614456030053003
Schiffrin, D. (1994). Making a list. Discourse Processes, 17(3),
377–406. https://doi.org/10.1080/01638539409544875
Selting, M. (2007). Lists as embedded structures and the prosody of
list construction as an interactional resource. Journal of Pragmatics,
39(3), 483–526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2006.07.008
Tao, H. (2019). List gestures in Mandarin conversation and their
implications for understanding multimodal interaction. In X. Li & T.
Ono (Eds.), Multimodality in Chinese Interaction (pp. 65–98). De
Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110462395-004
Wilcox, S., Xavier, A. N., & Siltaloppi, S. (2024). List constructions
in two signed languages. Language and Cognition, 16(1), 57–92.
https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2023.19
Xavier, A. N., & Wilcox, S. (2026). Pinkie first: Digital list
constructions in Brazilian Portuguese. Gesture.
https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.25018.xav

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