1^st call for papers/posters/workshops

SALALS conference 2022

27–30 June 2022

The annual conference of the Southern African Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Society (SALALS) will be hosted by the North-West University’s School of Languages on the Potchefstroom campus from 27 to 30 June 2022. This will be an in-person conference.

Bridging the gaps

The notion of “bridging gaps” is prominent in linguistic, applied linguistic and language practice research. In linguistics, some scholars are involved in bridging theoretical gaps or interdisciplinary gaps, and there is a call for more scholars to be involved in bridging potential gaps between descriptive work and theory building. In applied linguistic work, for example in the field of language-in-education policy, there is a continuous conversation about the gap between language policies and struggles for implementation. In a recent issue of SALALS (2021), the language practice community addressed the gap between research and language practice.

With this call for papers, scholars are invited to share their research within the broad ambit of bridging the gaps that are relevant to their work. We would also like to bridge the gap between emergent and more experienced researchers by inviting our emergent scholars to submit abstracts. Please take note of the Young Linguist Award that is presented annually to the best first-time presenter.

The first day of the conference will be for hosting workshops and day two, three and four will be for paper and poster presentations. Workshop proposals and abstracts for papers and posters are invited in all areas of general linguistics, applied linguistics and language practice.

Important dates:

The submission deadline for abstracts for papers, posters and workshops is at midnight (23:59) South African Standard Time on 31 March 2022, with notice of acceptance in the week of 9 May 2022. Registration for the conference will open on 25 May 2022 and close on 10 June 2022.

Abstract guidelines:

• All abstracts must be submitted online via EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=salals22
• Abstracts are invited for papers, posters, or workshops in all areas of general linguistics, applied linguistics and language practice. Please indicate your preference for paper, poster, or workshop in the keywords field of your abstract submission and also in the header of your abstract document.
• The length of the abstract must not exceed 500 words, including examples and references.
• Authors who wish to submit more than one abstract should fill out a separate online submission form for each abstract.
• Abstracts for workshops should include a description of the aim of the workshop and include a list of proposed presenters.
• All abstracts will be peer-reviewed, and the final selection will be made by the organising committee.
• No accepted abstract will be included in the programme unless registration has been completed and payment has been received. All accepted presenters must be registered and fully paid by 10 June 2022.
• Abstracts may be submitted in any official language of South Africa. Should you wish to submit an abstract in a language other than English, please accompany your abstract with an English translation.
• Please indicate in the heading of your abstract in which language you are planning to present your paper/poster/workshop.

It is the author’s own responsibility to submit a correct abstract. Any errors in spelling, grammar or scientific fact will be reproduced in the conference booklet as submitted by the author. We will, however, offer authors the chance to revise their abstracts according to the reviewers’ comments and resubmit the abstract before 3 June 2022 to be included in the booklet.