On September 23–25, 2026, Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences is organizing the conference “Linguistic Forum 2026: Sign Languages in the Focus of Contemporary Linguistics: Structure, Functioning, and Development.” This event continues the tradition of annual Linguistic Forums initiated by the Institute in 2019, each addressing a key issue in linguistic science. This year, the Forum will be held as part of a major international conference “Sign Languages in an Interdisciplinary Paradigm: Inclusion, Research, Education, Interpretation” dedicated to the centenary of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf (VOG).
The conference will be held in a hybrid format with both on-line and in-person participation available. The working languages are Russian, Russian Sign Language, English, and International Sign. Interpretation to and from the specified languages will be provided.
The Forum is open both to specialists in sign language studies and to scholars in related linguistic fields with an interest in sign language research. We welcome contributions on a wide range of topics within sign language linguistics, including but not limited to:
Theoretical linguistics
- the internal structure of signs;
- morphology, syntax, and lexicon of sign languages;
- discourse structure, semantics, and pragmatics of signed communication.
Sociolinguistics
- variation (regional, social) and language contact in signing communities;
- language policy and the status of sign languages.
Typology and Comparative Studies
- cross-linguistic comparison of sign languages;
- comparing linguistic structures across sign and spoken languages.
Methodology and Applied Research
- fieldwork methods for documenting sign languages;
- corpus linguistics: building and analyzing sign language corpora;
- psycholinguistic and cognitive aspects of sign language production and perception;
- sign language lexicography.
Call for Papers
Abstracts should be a maximum of 1 page A4 (a second page may be used for examples and references); formatting: Times New Roman, 12 pt, single spacing, 2.5 cm margins.
Submissions should be made via email to lingforum@iling-ran.ru. Please include the following in the body of your submission letter:
- the title of the presentation;
- author information: full name(s) and affiliation(s).
- contact details (email address and phone number).
Submission deadline (preliminary): 26 April 2026
Notification of acceptance: 27 July 2026
For more information, consult the website: https://iling-ran.ru/web/en/conferences/2026_lingvoforum or contact the organisers at: lingforum@iling-ran.ru.
P.S. Please note that the conference includes multiple events, and the Linguistic Forum is event number two.
