Conference theme: “Arts Sustaining Language”

Language lives not only in grammar and lexicon but in the creative practices of its speakers, as expressed through song, story, performance, crafting, and visual arts. Though traditionally viewed as ancillary to the documentary process, these creative practices are increasingly being incorporated into language documentation workflows. Moreover, the arts play a critical role in furthering and supporting language maintenance and reclamation efforts, helping to sustain intergenerational transmission among minoritized, ancestral, and diaspora languages.

At ICLDC 2027 we hope to facilitate a dialogue that places artistic and creative practice at the heart of language documentation and conservation. The possibilities are vast. Oral literature, theatre, music, dance, visual arts, film, and digital media all offer pathways for strengthening speaker identity and language awareness, for reaching new generations of learners, and for documenting language in ways that recognize its creative potential. These possibilities also present challenges for the discipline. How do creative practices reshape documentation methodologies? How can collaborations between artists and language activists be structured equitably? What role do emerging media play in amplifying minoritized languages, and what risks do they carry? 

While we especially welcome abstracts that address the conference theme, we also welcome abstracts on other subjects in language documentation and conservation, which may include but are not limited to:

• Archiving and mobilizing language materials 
• Assessing success in documentation and revitalization strategies 
• Community experiences of revitalization
• Ethical issues
• Indigenous language education
• Indigenous sign languages
• Justice in language work
• Language and its relation to health and well being
• Language planning
• Language reclamation and revitalization
• Lexicography, grammar, orthography and corpus design
• Methods of assessing ethnolinguistic vitality
• Multidisciplinary language documentation
• Recognizing/fostering relationships in language work
• Remote language work
• Technology in documentation and reclamation
• Topics in areal language documentation
• Training and capacity building in language work

Presentation formats

Papers will be allowed 20 minutes for presentation with 10 minutes of question time.

Performances will be allowed 20 minutes for performance and 10 minutes of discussion time.

Posters will be on display throughout the day of presentation. Poster presentations will run during the lunch period. Poster presentations are recommended for authors who wish to present smaller, more specific topics, or descriptions of particular projects. 

How to prepare your abstract proposal

• Content: Abstracts should describe the content of the proposed paper or poster.
• Abstract Length: Please limit your proposal to 400 words, not including references. 
• Summary: Please provide a summary of your abstract (50 words maximum), which will be used in the conference program if you are accepted.
• Format: Upload your abstract as a PDF or MS Word file. 
• Language: Abstracts should be submitted in English, but presentations can be in any language. We particularly welcome presentations in languages of the region discussed.
• Authors may submit no more than one individual and one co-authored proposal (including participation in a Workshop or Talk Story Session proposal), or no more than two co-authored proposals. In no case may an author submit more than one individually-authored proposal.
• Proposals will undergo blind review, so so please do not list your name, affiliation, or contact information within the proposal file. (Author names appearing in reference lists or citations are fine and don’t need to be anonymized.)
• Proposals for general sessions are due by September 30, 2026, with notification of acceptance by November 1, 2026.

The call for Workshop & Talk Story proposals can be found here, with a deadline of August 31, 2026.

Timeline

• May 8, 2026: Call for Proposals announced
• August 31, 2026: Proposals for Workshops and Talk Story Sessions deadline
• September 15, 2026: Notification of acceptance to Workshops and Talk Story Sessions
• September 30, 2026: Proposal deadline for General sessions
• November 1, 2026: Notification of acceptance for General sessions
• November 1, 2026: Accepted Presenter Registration opens
• November 30, 2026: Accepted Presenter Registration deadline
• December 1, 2026: Registration opens to the general public and continues until full.
• March 4-7, 2027: 10th ICLDC

Questions?  Feel free to contact us at icldc@hawaii.edu