SALALS Conference 2024

25-27 June 2024

The annual conference of the Southern African Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Society (SALALS) will be hosted by the University of Johannesburg’s Department of Languages, Cultural Studies and Applied Linguistics from 25 to 27 June 2024.

Theme: Navigating and Embracing Language, Linguistics, and Technology – Future Directions in the Era of Digital Humanities and the Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolutions (4IR / 5IR)

How far away are we from reaching ‘The Singularity’, that future point in time when the human will essentially be replaced by technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) systems will surpass human intelligence? Will humans merge with AI by the year 2045, as Ray Kurzweil predicted in 2005? What are the consequences for Linguistics, Applied Linguistics and Language Practice?

The theme for the 2024 SALALS conference is a springboard to engage with such predictions.

Considering the foregoing, several pertinent questions arise that require interrogation on the deepest levels. As linguists, we need to be aware of and understand the potential consequences of technological advances in our fields of enquiry, namely linguistics, applied linguistics and language practice.

Some of the important questions that we hope will be addressed during the conference include the following:

• What are the implications of the rapid development of language technologies, machine translation systems, and AI text generators for the future of language practitioners?
• What strategies can be adopted to ensure indigenous languages’ sustainability and vitality?
• How can technology be used to enhance indigenous languages documentation and analysis?

Abstracts for papers and posters, and proposals for workshops, are therefore invited in the following areas and any other areas of Linguistics, Applied Linguistics and Language Practice.

• Translation, interpreting and text editing in a digital world
• Accessibility and inclusivity: equitable access to language resources
• The future of the language professional
• Digital tools for language research
• Computational methods for language data analysis
• Forensic linguistics
• Phonology
• Phonetics
• Morphology
• Semantics
• Syntax
• The use of digital tools in multilingual contexts
• Documentary linguistics and language analysis in the 4IR/5IR
• Language and education
• Language and identity
• Language and migration/globalisation

This conference will provide academics, researchers, language practitioners and students in these diverse fields not only an opportunity to share their research, but also network with others in the same communities of practice.

Registration fees

Normal registration: 1 January 2024 to 2 June 2024
ZAR 3 630 for non-members
ZAR 2 750 for paid-up members*
ZAR 1 500 for students that are not paid-up members
ZAR 1 250 for students that are paid-up members

Late registration: 3 to 17 June 2024
ZAR 3 960 for non-members
ZAR 3 300 for paid-up members*
ZAR 1500 for students that are not paid-up members
ZAR 1 250 for students that are paid-up members

*SALALS members with outstanding membership fees will pay an additional amount of R880 for registration.

Important dates

1 January 2024 (Monday) – Normal registration opens
2 February 2024 (Friday) – Deadline for submission of proposals (workshops)
23 February 2024 (Friday) – Authors notified of acceptance (workshops)
15 March 2024 (Friday) – Deadline for submission of abstracts (papers and posters)
12 April 2024 (Friday) – Authors notified of acceptance (papers and poster)
29 April 2024 (Monday) – Provisional conference programme published
6 May 2024 (Monday) – Registration for workshops open
24 May 2024 (Friday) – Final conference programme published
3 June 2024 (Monday) – Late registration opens
17 June 2024 (Monday) – Registration closes

Conference Website and Email

Please visit the conference website for more information and abstract submission guidelines: https://salalsconference2024.com/

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us: info@salalsconference2024.com