In this interview, we talk to Ryan Nefdt about the light latest work in “artificial intelligence” can cast on questions of linguistic relativity.
Read more ›Cfp: SHESL Conference 2027
History of terminology – Diachronic terminology
The emergence of a terminological conscienceness
organized by Danielle Candel (SHESL / HTL), Pascaline Dury (CeRLA) & John Humbley (ALTAE)
28 – 29 January 2027
Maison de la recherche, 4 rue des Irlandais, Paris 5e
This conference, which follows the second francophone conference on diachronic terminology (held in Lyon in 2023), is intended to take stock of research in terminology carried out in a historic or evolutionary perspective. Two collective works have been published as an outcome of this second conference (Dury and Picton eds., 2024, and Humbley and Dury eds., in press). The former focuses on short-term diachrony in a contemporary context using large corpora with a view to tracking terminology as it changes over time in various areas (scientific and technological but also in the field of research or in the corporate sector). The latter publication is more historic in scope. It covers states of terminology from the more distant past and how they may evolve. In addition to these two orientations, a further perspective illustrates terminology as it has emerged as a discipline (as reflected in the recent publication Warburton and Humbley eds. 2025).
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Posted in Conferences and workshops
Recent publications in the history and philosophy of the language sciences – March 2026
Miras, Grégory, Isabel Colón de Carvajal, Nathalie Blanc & Shona Whyte, ed. 2026. 60 Years of Applied Linguistics. Toward more engaged research. Amsterdam: Benjamins (AILA Applied Linguistics Series, 22) . 204 p. ISBN 9789027233929
Publisher’s website
Book in open access
For sixty years, applied linguistics has stood at the crossroads of language and society, by meeting real-world needs. 60 Years of Applied Linguistics: Toward more engaged research offers a compelling reflection on the field’s evolution while calling for a renewed commitment to socially responsive, ethically grounded scholarship. Inspired by the momentum of the 2023 AILA World Congress in France, this collective volume brings together leading international applied linguists to examine how applied linguistics has transformed in response to shifting political landscapes, technological change, and global challenges. From different perspectives, the contributors explore how research has both shaped—and been shaped by—the world we live in. Looking ahead, the book advocates for research that reaches beyond academic borders, engaging with communities, policymakers, and practitioners to confront contemporary issues. This book is an essential reference for scholars, students, and practitioners. It celebrates a rich intellectual legacy while charting bold new directions.
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Posted in Publications
Podcast episode 57: Brigitte Nerlich
In this interview, we talk to Brigitte Nerlich about her career in the history of linguistics and the public understanding of science
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Posted in Podcast
cfp: 13th International Conference on Missionary Linguistics
13th International Conference on Missionary Linguistics
Contributions to the Safeguarding of the World’s Linguistic and Cultural Heritage
University of Vigo, Spain (March 31 – April 1, 2027)
University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal (April 2–3, 2027)
Web: https://icml-xiii.utad.pt/
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Posted in Announcements, Conferences and workshops
Podcast episode 56: Nick Enfield on linguistic signs and concepts
In this interview, we talk to Nick Enfield about his research into the connections between linguistic signs and concepts.
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Posted in Podcast
Recent publications in the history and philosophy of the language sciences – February 2026
Вельмезова, Екатерина, ред. 2025. Тарту в истории славянской филологии, Вып. 3: Из истории Тартуско-московской семиотической школы. [Tartu in the History of Slavic Philology, Issue 3: From the History of the Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School]. University of Tartu Press. 204 стр. ISBN 978-9908-57-136-2
Publisher’s website
История Тартуско-московской / Московско-тартуской семиотической школы до сих пор привлекает к себе внимание ученых — специалистов в самых разных областях научного знания: историков науки, семиотиков, славистов — лингвистов и литературоведов. В посвященном интеллектуальному наследию Школы сборнике собраны работы ученых разных поколений, работающих в разных странах. Их статьи и подготовленные ими материалы содержат размышления о трудах известных ученых, когда-то входивших в Тартуско-московскую / Московско-тартускую семиотическую школу: это Ю. М. Лотман и Вяч. Вс. Иванов, Б. А. Успенский и Т. М. Николаева, П. Тороп и Б. М. Гаспаров, Б. Ф. Егоров и еще многие другие. Содержащиеся в книге размышления о научном языке Школы, об интересовавших ее участников теоретических проблемах, об истоках их работ, об организации научного знания, о человеческом факторе и роли личности в науке подтверждают, что об истории Тартуско-московской / Московско-тартуской семиотической школы сказано еще далеко не все.
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Posted in Publications
Podcast episode 55: Janette Friedrich
Posted in Podcast
Podcast episode 54: Neil Cohn on Speaking in Pictures
In this interview, Neil Cohn tells us about his theory that visual art and spoken language draw on the same underlying cognitive abilities.
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Posted in Podcast
Recent publications in the history and philosophy of the language sciences – January 2026
Historiographia Linguistica 52(2). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 211 p. ISSN 0302-5160
Publisher’s website
Articles
The conjunction between coordination and subordination in missionary grammars of Aymara and Quechua
Annamaria Bartolotta
The many lives of a dictionary: An analysis of how Dutch lexicography was received and repurposed in Early Modern Japan
Lorenzo Nespoli
Germanic affixoids in Jacob Grimm
Douglas Lightfoot
Continu et Discontinu : Antoine Meillet’s sociolinguistic theory of change between philosophy and physics
Lin Chalozin-Dovrat
The prehistory of generative grammar and Chomsky’s debt to Emil Post
Geoffrey K. Pullum
Posted in Publications
History and Philosophy of the Language Sciences 