22nd Conference Italian Association for Speech Sciences
Short Title: AISV 2026
Theme: Fieldwork experimental phonetics for language documentation

Date: 22-Jan-2026 - 24-Jan-2026
Location: Milan, Italy
Meeting URL: https://sites.google.com/view/aisv2026unimi/home

Linguistic Field(s): Language Documentation; Phonetics; Phonology
Subject Language(s): English (eng)
Italian (ita)

Submission Deadline: 30-Sep-2025

The thematic session of the conference aims to explore the contribution of fieldwork experimental phonetics to language documentation (Demolin 2002; Gibbon 2020), both with respect to under-researched languages and linguistic minorities, and in relation to the sociophonetic variability of these languages and the development of oral archives.

Over time, the aims of fieldwork experimental phonetics have expanded in both thematic scope and methodological techniques. In addition to acoustic data, articulatory investigations are increasingly common, especially using portable and minimally invasive equipment such as EGG (e.g., Chirkova et al. 2019; Ghio et al. 2024) or aerodynamic analysis (e.g., Bhaskararao 2004; Demolin et al. 2006); other articulatory tools are also under ongoing development (see Butcher 2013; Demolin 2016). At the same time, the systematic collection of speech data has enabled the creation of large corpora for sociophonetic research, once again with a particular focus on minority and contact varieties, also from a diachronic perspective (van de Velde et al. 1997). The structured and coherent organization of such data into digital corpora presents further theoretical and methodological challenges, including from anthropological and ethnographic standpoints, and offers the possibility of investigating real-time rather than apparent-time change.

Finally, collaboration with local communities is essential—not only for data collection, but also for the dissemination and valorisation of the materials produced. These materials can support the creation of dictionaries, grammars, oral source archives, educational resources, and language revitalization projects. Fieldwork experimental phonetics is therefore not merely a scientific practice, but (especially when applied to the preservation and transmission of endangered varieties) can also serve as a political and ethical tool for protecting linguistic diversity.

Submissions to the thematic session may address (but are not limited to) one or more of the following topics:
- Methodologies in fieldwork experimental phonetics;
- Phonetic research and language documentation of endangered languages;
- Phonetic research on linguistic minorities, particularly in Italy;
- Sociophonetic variation and language contact;
- Emergence, loss, and evolution of phonological categories in non-standardized and/or under-documented languages;
- Development of oral archives for minority or endangered language varieties;
- Documentation of non-standard varieties from web-based sources;
- Language revitalization projects, particularly those focused on phonetic-phonological aspects;
- Recovery of documentation on currently extinct language varieties;
- Ethical and political issues in the creation of spoken corpora of endangered languages.

As per AISV tradition, it will also be possible to submit abstracts on any topics related more generally to voice analysis, even if not specifically related to the theme of the conference.

Those wishing to present a paper are invited to submit an abstract in Italian or English (max. 2 pages, including references; Times New Roman 12 pt, 1.15 line spacing, justified alignment). An optional third page may be included for figures, tables, and/or images supporting the proposal.
Submissions must be anonymous and sent in both editable text format and PDF. Abstracts must be submitted no later than September 30, 2025, to the following address: [email protected].
The email must include the full details of all authors (Full Name, Affiliation, Email), as well as the title of the proposed paper. In the case of co-authored submissions, please also indicate a corresponding author to act as the contact person for the Organizing Committee.

Registration:
Please remember that anyone attending the conference must also subscribe to the AISV association. Further details will be made available by September on a dedicated page on this website.

Publication:
Proposals for publication in the Studi AISV volume (https://www.studi.aisv.it/index.php/home), which will include a selection of papers presented at the conference, must be submitted by April 1, 2026. Additional publication opportunities for thematic sessions as special journal issues will be announced during the conference.
Please note that acceptance of an abstract for presentation at the conference does not guarantee inclusion of the extended paper in Studi AISV or in any other publication venue.

Further details regarding the publication process will be provided at the end of the conference and subsequently via email to the authors.