We invite papers on a broad range of topics taking a cognitive approach to the study of language. For more information, see the DGKL/GCLA website about the tenets of Cognitive Linguistics.
General session and poster session
We invite papers for oral presentation (20 minutes + 10 minutes discussion) or poster presentation in German or English. Since abstracts are submitted to blind review, please omit any author-specific information. Author names, affiliation, and contact information can be added in the finalized version.
Abstracts should clearly state the approach taken, research questions, method, and (expected) results, and should not exceed 500 words (excluding references). Abstracts should be formatted according to the Unified Style Sheet for Linguistics.
Authors may submit a maximum of one single-authored and one co-authored paper or two co-authored papers.
The deadline for the submission of abstracts is January 25th, 2026. Please submit your abstract via the Converia platform.
Theme sessions
We invite theme session proposals for 4-12 oral presentations (20 minutes + 10 minutes discussion) in German or English. Theme session proposals should not exceed 500 words (excluding references). They may include a list of potential participants but need not include individual abstracts at this stage.
Once the theme session has been accepted, theme session organizers may themselves accept abstracts for review and send out notifications of acceptance.
The deadline for the submission of theme session proposals is January 25th, 2026. Please send your proposal to dgkl2026@uni-bielefeld.de.
Call for games
In addition to the call for papers, we also invite contributions to a linguistics-themed games exhibition connected to Bielefeld University as the home of the CRC 1646 Linguistic Creativity in Communication.
The program will include a linguistics games exhibition with the opportunity to present and try out the games! We welcome games that engage with linguistic topics, including but not limited to cognitive linguistics, language structure, meaning, variation, use, and teaching. Both analogue and digital games are welcome!
If you are interested in presenting a game at the conference, please send an email until February 25th, 2026 to dgkl2026@uni-bielefeld.de. Your message should briefly describe:
- the type of game,
- its linguistic focus, and
- how it can be presented and/or played during the conference.