Grammar and Corpora 2025

In recent years, the field of linguistics has seen an increasing demand for corpus-based analysis of natural language data amidst a general revival of interest in the empirical foundations of linguistic theory. Contemporary digital corpora offer as yet unprecedented opportunities for all kinds of linguistic research, where traditional linguistic analysis in its various theoretical and methodological paradigms originating in part in different philological and linguistic traditions of the past co-exists with and is reinforced by advanced statistical and corpus-linguistic methods made possible by modern data processing and annotation techniques. Since corpora can be used in both synchronic and diachronic analyses of language material, they provide an ideal basis not only for effectively utilizing traditional and already established methods, but also for developing new theoretical and empirical approaches to studying the grammatical system of natural languages and language varieties.

The Department of Latvian and Baltic Studies of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Latvia is pleased to announce the 10^th international conference on Grammar and Corpora (G&C), which will be held on-site at the University of Latvia from Thursday, 26 June 2025, to Saturday, 28 June 2025.

The conference continues the series of “Grammar and Corpora” conferences, which began in Prague, at Charles University, in 2005. Subsequently, G&C conferences have been held at various locations and universities: in Liblice (2007), Prague (2012), Warszaw (2014), Mannheim (2009, 2016), Paris (2018), Kraków (2020) and Ghent (2022). The 2025 “Grammar and Corpora” conference in Riga, at the University of Latvia, seeks to provide a forum for exchange of novel and creative ideas between researchers interested in studying various aspects of grammar and its interfaces, in the broadest sense, using different types of corpora and corpus-linguistic approaches, methods and techniques.

We welcome submissions that contribute to our theoretical and practical understanding and knowledge of the structure, patterns and regularities of the grammatical system of natural languages using corpora and corpus-linguistic methods in the description and theoretical analysis of individual languages, language varieties and language contacts. Although our special focus is on the Baltic languages (Latvian and Lithuanian), submissions are equally welcome for Germanic languages, including English, Romance, Finno-Ugric, Slavic and other languages.

Relevant topics and areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

1) the use of corpora in the analysis of grammatical patterns (incl. inflectional and derivational morphology, syntax and phonetics) in individual languages and language varieties, as well as from contrastive, typological and cognitive perspectives

2) exploring the relationship between discourse and grammar through the use of different types of corpora

3) grammar–semantics interface in corpus analysis

4) derivational morphology, creativity and corpora

5) application and development of tools, methods and techniques for grammar-related analysis of corpus data

6) the relative characteristics (and combinations) of different types of corpora in the study of various aspects of grammar

7) statistical and quantitative methods in studying synchronic and diachronic phenomena in grammar

8) the use of corpus-linguistic methods in historical linguistics

9) language change, its representation and analysis in different types of corpora

SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS

We invite submissions for 20-minute presentations (plus 10 minutes for questions and discussion). The conference is held on-site, and the conference language is English.

The deadline for submissions is 30 December 2024. Abstracts should be submitted through https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=gc2025 (you may have to register first). Each participant may submit up to two abstracts – one as the only or the first author and another as a co-author. Notification of acceptance will be given by 27 March 2025.

Abstracts should be anonymous and clearly state the research questions, methodology, data types and sources and (expected) results. Abstracts should be 500 words or less, excluding references and figures, typed in Times New Roman 12 pt and submitted as Word or PDF files through https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=gc2025.

Each submission will be reviewed anonymously by at least two reviewers from the scientific committee.

IMPORTANT DATES

30 December 2024 – deadline for abstract submission

27 March 2025 – notification of acceptance/rejection

10 April 2025 – registration opens

15 May 2025 – deadline for revised abstracts, if accepted

01 May 2025 – end of early-bird registration

26 June – 28 June 2025 – conference

The conference is organized under the auspices of the Latvian Research Council’s project “Database of Latvian Morphemes and Derivational Models (DLMDM)” (No. lzp-2022/1-0013)