 | ICLDC10: 10th International Conference on Language Documentation & Conservation Hawaii Imin International Conference Center Honolulu, HI, United States, March 4-7, 2027 |
| Conference web page | https://ling.lll.hawaii.edu/sites/icldc/ |
| Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=icldc10 |
The Department of Linguistics and the College of Arts, Languages & Letters at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa are pleased to announce the…
10th International Conference on Language Documentation & Conservation:
Arts Sustaining Language
March 4-7, 2027
Honolulu, Hawai‘i, USA
Language lives not only in grammar and lexicon but also 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, poetry, 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?
In recognition of this conference theme, in addition to traditional presentations we also welcome and encourage performance-based contributions that demonstrate the connections between art and language. These might include (but are not limited to) storytelling sessions, musical or theatrical presentations, poetry readings, and multimedia installations. We especially invite contributions from language community members and artist-scholar collaborations that center community voices and priorities.
The conference program will feature Keynote talks, Talk Story and Workshop sessions, papers, performances, and posters. An optional Hilo Field Study (on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi) to visit Hawaiian language revitalization programs in action will take place immediately after the conference (March 8-9).
We have two separate Calls for Proposals:
- Workshops and Talk Story sessions - deadline August 31, 2026
- General sessions (Papers, Performances, & Posters) - deadline September 30, 2026
For details about each Call for Proposals type and its requirements and timelines, please see visit the links above. We look forward to your submissions and participation at the conference!
TIMELINE
- Early May, 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