Symposium on Empirical Approaches to Meaning and Structure

Date: 22-Nov-2025 - 23-Nov-2025
Location: Nicosia, Cyprus
Contact Email: [email protected]

Linguistic Field(s): Computational Linguistics; Neurolinguistics; Psycholinguistics; Text/Corpus Linguistics; Typology

Submission Deadline: 26-Oct-2025

As part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie ONISILOS COFUND project ‘Gradience in Polarity Morphology and Diglossia’ (GraPMoD, Agreement No. 101034403), we are pleased to announce a two-day symposium. The Symposium on Empirical Approaches to Meaning and Structure (SEAMS) will take place on site at the University of Cyprus in Nicosia on November 22–23, 2025.

SEAMS will be a hybrid event, allowing participation and attendance from colleagues worldwide. It is designed as a forum for exchanging ideas and advancing our understanding of how empirical research can shed light on meaning and structure. We invite abstracts that address any topic relevant to empirical methods of meaning and structure across multiple language families.

Invited speakers:
T.B.A.

Description:
SEAMS brings together researchers using empirical methods to investigate structure and meaning in language, with an intended focus on understudied or minority languages. The symposium aims to promote the inclusion of diverse data sources that are often underrepresented in theoretical debates. Such contributions are especially valuable for testing the robustness of existing frameworks, uncovering new empirical generalizations, and expanding our understanding of the cognitive and social dimensions of language. By highlighting a broad range of methodologies, from experimental techniques (e.g., eye-tracking, self-paced reading, neuroimaging, acceptability rating) to corpus studies and computational modeling, SEAMS aims to foster dialogue across theoretical and methodological traditions. We encourage contributions that provide empirical insights as well as explore how such evidence informs linguistic theory, supports cross-linguistic comparison, and connects with related disciplines.

We welcome contributions from any linguistic subfield, including, but not limited to, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, corpus linguistics, historical linguistics, typology, and computational linguistics.

Symposium language: English

Call for Submissions:
We accept submissions for oral presentations in two categories:
- Long talks (30 minutes + 10 minutes for discussion)
- Short talks (20 minutes + 5 minutes for discussion)

Submission Guidelines:
- Abstracts should be no longer than 1 A4 page of text, with an optional second page for data, figures, and references.
- Abstract text must be single-spaced, 11pt Arial, with 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins on each side.
- The abstract title must be in 12pt Arial, bold.
- Submissions must be in PDF and fully anonymous (no self-identifying information in the abstract of the PDF file metadata).
- Abstracts must be written in English.
- Please send your abstract in PDF format to [email protected] .
- In the body of the submission email, please include: author name(s), affiliation(s), and presentation preference (in-person or online, long or short).

Important Dates:
- Submissions open: September 8, 2025
- Abstract submission deadline: October 26, 2025
- Notification of acceptance: November 3, 2025
- Symposium dates: November 22-23, 2025

For any questions, please contact us at [email protected] .

The SEAMS organizing committee:
Mina Giannoula
Kleanthes K. Grohmann
Michalis Michaelides
Maria Kambanaros
Christos Christopoulos