We are pleased to invite submissions for ISLA2026: Isolated Languages Workshop, to be held at Ghent University on March 19-20, 2026. This conference aims to bring together scholars from various disciplines to explore the linguistic, sociocultural, and genetic aspects of speakers of isolated languages — languages that cannot be (straightforwardly) incorporated into larger genealogical units. Isolate languages and small language families with no connection to higher-order branches of known phyla offer limited possibilities for studying their linguistic past using traditional linguistic methodology. We seek to highlight the resilience, dispersal, and narratives of these languages and their speakers. This conference targets our understanding of a specific linguistic reality, but we welcome multiple perspectives from adjacent research fields beyond linguistics to examine it.
As an extension of our Orphan Languages workshop at the 2025 Societas Linguistica Europaea (SLE) Annual Meeting, the conference will focus on the innovative methodologies and challenges in studying languages that are isolated or part of small families. The aim is to better understand the historical, cultural, and linguistic significance of these languages and their speakers and to explore how they have persisted and evolved over time.
We welcome submissions on, but not limited to, the following topics:
- Problems and innovations in the comparative method for language isolates and small language families.
- Sociolinguistic aspects and linguistic attitudes toward these languages.
- Ethnic identity and its relationship with linguistic identity in isolates and small families.
- Commonalities and differences in historical development across isolates and small families.
- The emergence and evolution of language isolates and small language families.
- Interdisciplinary approaches that integrate linguistics, genetics, and ethnography.
Submission Guidelines:
We invite researchers working on isolated and small language families to submit abstracts (max. 300 words) along with a short biography (100 words max). Abstracts should be sent to abbie.hantgan-sonko@cnrs.fr by October 15. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by October 30.
Update: The submission deadline has been extended to 24 October 2025
Eventual Publication:
Selected papers from the conference may be invited for inclusion in a special issue of the LSP: Language and the Human Past series.
Important Dates:
Abstract Submission Deadline: October 24, 2025
Notification of Acceptance: October 30, 2025
Conference Dates: March 19-20, 2026