SHESL Conference 2027
Esperanto – 140 years: this is no longer a project

9–11 June 2027, Campus Condorcet, Paris

Organised by Sébastien Moret (UNIL-SHESL) and Pascal Dubourg Glatigny (Centre Alexandre Koyré, CNRS-EHESS-MNHN)

Call for Papers

In 1887, Lazare Louis Zamenhof launched from Warsaw his project for an international language through a series of brochures—published in Russian, Polish, French, and German—that outlined the linguistic and intellectual principles of a future “international language.” The work included a draft of a linguistic system, complete with grammar and vocabulary, and demonstrated its application through a few examples. This proposal was not merely intended to become humanity’s second language of communication; its author also asserted his conviction that it would help mitigate the antagonisms and hostilities arising from inequalities among peoples and nations.

To mark the 140th anniversary of this foundational publication, an international conference aims to bring together specialists from various disciplines to examine this singular experiment, which began as a linguistic and local project before gradually expanding into a global social and cultural phenomenon.

Europa-Universität Flensburg, 16–19 June 2027
“Language abuse and language criticism in the history of linguistics / Sprachmissbrauch und Sprachkritik in der Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft / Abus des mots et critique du langage dans l’histoire de la linguistique”

From 16–19 June 2027, the international conference “Language abuse and language criticism in the history of linguistics” will take place at Europa-Universität Flensburg (EUF). Proposals for presentations may range from antiquity to the present day. Interdisciplinary topics are also very welcome.

Since Plato’s Cratylus, the problem of the antagonism between words and things has held a central position in theoretical and critical discussions of language. Against this backdrop, a heightened engagement with questions of language criticism and the theme of the ‘abuse of words’ developed particularly in 17th-century Europe. By introducing empiricism and its inductive-experimental character—in contrast to the axioms of Scholasticism—Bacon revolutionised modern scientific thought, whilst also paving the way for a massive linguistic scepticism, as he regarded language as an obstacle to the process of human knowledge.

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).