Full Title: 57th Annual Conference on African Linguistics
Short Title: ACAL57

Date: 21-May-2026 - 23-May-2026
Location: Buffalo, New York, USA

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics

Call Deadline: 09-Jan-2026

Call for Papers:

The 57th Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL 57) will be held at the University at Buffalo, May 21–23, 2026. ACAL welcomes papers on any area of African linguistics for paper or poster presentations. The University at Buffalo will also be hosting the third Conference on Bantoid Languages on May 19–21, 2026, and a separate call for papers for that conference will be made available soon.

Points to Note:
- Detailed submission guidelines are posted on the conference website (https://sites.google.com/view/acal57/)
- Abstracts may be submitted for consideration for oral session (“paper”) presentation, poster presentation, or either format
- Paper presentations will be 20 minutes long, with 10 minutes for questions
- Poster format details and information on local printing options will be released closer to the date of the conference
- The conference will be held in person with a remote component (i.e., hybrid format) for some sessions, with details to be determined
- We are offering an early abstract deadline of October 15 with a rolling review process for those who need extra time to apply for a visa

Abstract Guidelines:
Abstracts should be submitted in English and in PDF format. The main text of the abstract should not exceed one page with 1-inch margins and 12 points font. A second page can be used for data, figures, tables, and references. Non-English language data should include interlinear glosses following the Leipzig Glossing Rules. All abstracts will be subject to blind review, and so they must be anonymized.

Submission Instructions:
Use this online form (https://sunybuffalo.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8kq7hXCRC2KUXA2) to submit abstracts. You will be asked to provide information about authors and to upload your PDF abstract as an attachment. Please note that in order to present a paper or poster at ACAL 57, presenting authors must be members of the Association of Contemporary African Linguistics (ACAL). Information on joining the Association or renewing your membership can be found at: https://acalafrica.org/membership/#join.

Contact:
All questions about abstract submission should be emailed to [email protected].