Call for Papers: New Ways of Analyzing Variation 53
Short Title: NWAV 53
Theme: Sociolinguistics, Conflict, Justice, and Peace

Date: 06-Nov-2025 - 08-Nov-2025
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Contact: Jessi Grieser
Contact Email: [email protected]
Meeting URL: http://nwavconference.org

Linguistic Field(s): Sociolinguistics

Submission Deadline: 15-Jun-2025

Deadline for Abstracts: June 15, 2025

The Organizing Committee of New Ways of Analyz(s)ing Variation 53 (NWAV 53), invites abstract submissions for the conference, which will be held at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, November 6-8, 2025. The theme for this year’s conference is Sociolinguistics, Conflict, Justice and Peace.

New Ways of Analyzing Variation (NWAV) originated at Georgetown University in October of 1972 as a site for the young field of sociolinguistics to explore the study of language change in progress, language variation, and the complex relationship between language and society. We welcome quantitative and qualitative work on variation at all levels of linguistic practice in the field of language variation, language change, language in society, and the scholarly teaching thereof.

Abstracts submissions should be no more than five hundred (500) words, confined to one (1) page of text. (Bibliography, glossed/transcribed examples, and images may appear on a second page and do not count toward the word limit.) Abstracts should be anonymized to omit all information about the author(s).

Following precedents set in this sixth decade of NWAV, we welcome submissions of three types:

Abstracts for Regular Papers and Posters: Papers will be presented in person, with discussion, and posters will have an option for both virtual and in-person presentation. The default presentation length will be 10 minutes with 5 minutes for discussion. A smaller number of papers will be selected for 20-minute presentation.

Project Launch Submissions: Project Launch proposals are an opportunity for researchers in the early stages of a new project to present and discuss their plans with constructive feedback from the NWAV community. We particularly encourage submissions from junior scholars. To promote the individual conversations which best befit this kind of presentation, all project launch submissions will be presented as posters.

Proposals for special sessions: We welcome themed sessions, particularly those in line with the theme of the conference. Themed sessions should include an abstract for the special session itself, accompanied by an additional abstract for each paper proposed for the special session. Proposals are to be submitted electronically by the organizer as a single PDF, with separate pages for each individual abstract.

Abstracts should follow the guidelines below, although the abstract for the special session itself does not have to be anonymous if information about the proposed authors is important for the review of the proposed special session. (Individual paper abstracts should still be anonymized.) Please check the appropriate box to indicate that it is a proposal for a special session. If you are interested in organizing a special session, we ask that you also contact the organizers as soon as feasible via e-mail at [email protected].

Although we welcome submissions on all areas of language variation and change, for NWAV 53 we particularly welcome submissions for papers aligned with our theme:
- Variation in underrepresented, minoritized, and oppressed communities
- Language in zones of political and social conflict
- Language study as a mechanism for the promotion of justice and peacemaking
- New at NWAV 53: Scholarly Teaching of Sociolinguistics and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning as it relates to sociolinguistics.

Authors may submit one single-authored and one joint-authored abstract, or two joint-authored abstracts. This limit applies to all presentations, regardless of type (paper, poster, or part of a special session).

Abstract submission will take place on Oxford Abstracts and begins 1 May 2025 and remains open until 15 June 2025.
Visit us at nwavconference.org to learn more.