Methods in Dialectology and Language Diversity XIX
Short Title: Methods XIX
Theme: Rethinking Our Assumptions

Date: 04-Aug-2026 - 07-Aug-2026
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada, Canada
Contact Email: [email protected]
Meeting URL: https://easyabs.linguistlist.org/conference/MethodsXIX/

Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics; General Linguistics; Historical Linguistics; Language Documentation; Sociolinguistics

Submission Deadline: 31-Oct-2025

Methods in Dialectology and Language Diversity is a traditionally triennial conference that originated in Canada as a forum for discussing methodological issues in dialect research. Methods conferences have progressively extended their topical range and now include the whole spectrum of regional, historical, and social language variation, as reflected in the now expanded conference name.

The Methods series welcomes contributions investigating any of the world’s languages.

In recent years Methods has been hosted in Japan (2017), Germany (2022) and Australia (2024). In 2026, the conference returns to Canada and will be held, in person, in the west coast city of Vancouver. This marks a return to the traditional triennial schedule that was disrupted in 2020 by Covid-19.

Methods XIX at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Methods XIX invites submissions for paper and poster presentations, as well as proposals for special sessions. The conference will be held on UBC’s Point Grey Campus, hosted by the Department of English Language and Literatures and the Department of Linguistics.

Plenary Speakers:
Anita Auer (Université de Lausanne, Switzerland)
Andrew Garrett (University of California, Berkeley, United States)
Ruth King (York University, Canada)

Conference Theme: “Rethinking Our Assumptions”
Building on the Indigenous focus of Methods XVIII in Melbourne 2024, the conference theme encourages researchers to also reflect on their tradition’s presuppositions. For instance, UBC is built on unceded Indigenous land, as is much of Canada. Dialectologists have often played key roles in processes of colonization, enabling the dominance of colonial languages and ignoring or subjugating Indigenous languages. As conduits in the creation of nation states, dialectologists have had their fair share in the making and unmaking of (standardized) varieties. We, as their in-field successors today, ought to confront our own work with that disciplinary legacy.

Important Dates for Methods XIX:
Special Session proposal deadline: 31 October 2025 (results communicated by 20 Nov. 2025)
Abstract deadline: 30 November 2025 (results communicated by 21 Jan. 2026)

Registration opens: 1 Feb. 2025
Early bird rate ends: 1 March 2025
Registration closes: 21 July 2025 (anticipated registration fees: Cdn$ 230 regular, $120 student)

Call for Special Session proposals (due 31 October 2025)
We invite proposals for special sessions, which will be held throughout the conference.
Such sessions may be concerned with particular methodological instruments, technological innovations, special themes, or a focus on a language or language group.
Each session proposal should explain the rationale for the session, including an overview of the topic and a statement about its relevance to Methods XIX. The rationale must not exceed 500 words and should be followed by the individual presenters’ abstracts (in accordance with the below general session guidelines). Include at least 50% of the contributions with full-length abstracts.
If you would like to organise a special session, please submit your proposal with a complete list of speakers and the necessary number of abstracts (4-8 slots available per special session, 2-4 hours in total) by October 31, 2025. Results will be communicated by 30 November 2025.
Send your special session proposal to [email protected]

Call for abstracts: general session (due 30 November 2025)

We invite abstracts for the following presentation formats:
- full paper (20 mins presentation + 10 mins discussion)
- poster (incl. a 5-minute presentation in the Poster Pitch Session)
Abstracts must be anonymous and not exceed 300 words for full papers and posters. References are not included in the word count. Please submit anonymous files in pdf format. When submitting, please select for which submission type you’d like to be considered. Authors are allowed to submit two abstracts if at least one submission is co-authored.
Submit your abstracts to EasyAbs at https://easyabs.linguistlist.org/conference/MethodsXIX/
Abstract deadline: 30 Nov. 2025. Results will be communicated by 21 January 2026.

Conference website: http://methodsxix.ubc.ca