LASSO AnnuaL MEETING
LASSO 2026
The LASSO Annual Meeting is distributed across the LASSO area, from Louisiana to the Pacific Coast.
The meeting includes research presentations, workshops, and opportunities for members to connect and share their knowledge.
The Linguistic Association of the Southwest (LASSO) invites abstract submission for papers and group panels for its 55th Annual Meeting. LASSO is a U.S.-based organization dedicated to promoting the scientific study of language. Although many of our members focus on the languages spoken in the southwestern United States, LASSO maintains a global perspective. We welcome members and research on all languages and regions worldwide.
Conference website: lasso 2026 website
For this year’s conference, we welcome papers in all areas of linguistic inquiry, including but not limited to:
- Language attitudes and ideologies
- Linguistic landscape
- Indigenous, heritage, and world language education
- Language policy and planning
- Language variation and change
- Sociolinguistics and anthropological linguistics
- Phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
The theme for this year is Language as Political Action and as Social Practice. As such, we especially encourage papers that examine how language shapes—and is shaped by—structures of power, resistance, and community. From sociolinguistics and discourse studies to education, translation, and applied linguistics, we will explore how language practices enact identity, challenge inequality, and foster change.
We strongly encourage junior faculty and graduate students to submit.
LASSO 2026
MEETING DETAILS
Keynote Speaker:
- José Del Valle, CUNY Graduate Center
Presidential Address:
- Sheryl Bernardo-Hinesley, Western Washington University
Presentation Format:
Abstracts may be written in English or Spanish. Presentations should be delivered primarily in the same language as the abstract, though we do not discourage the use of either language for examples or discussion.
Only one abstract as single author and a second as co-author will be accepted from any one individual. Presentation time for papers will be 20 minutes plus 10 minutes for discussion.
Proposals for complete panels with multiple speakers are also welcome but must fit within a 90-minute time frame that includes discussion.
Call for Papers: https://easyabs.linguistlist.org/conference/LASSO55/
DO NOT WAIT
UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!
Conference Dates:
- October 8th to 10th, 2026
Location:
- Towson University
Conference Website:
Submission Deadline for panels:
- May 15th, 2026
Abstract Submission Deadline:
- May 15th, 2026
Participation in LASSO is a privilege of membership. This means that an individual must be a current member in order to present a paper and be listed in the conference program. You may fill out a membership form at the same time as you register for the conference at http://www.lassoling.org/membership/.
Helmut Esau Prize
for Graduate Students
DO NOT MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY!
This award is named in honor of Professor Helmut Esau, who died in an automobile accident shortly after he was elected to the LASSO presidency.
Recipients of this prestigious prize receive a $500 plus a waived LASSO membership fee.
In order to be considered for this unique opportunity, students must first present at the Annual Meeting and then submit a revised, polished version of their paper.