BeNeCLA Blog

We are happy to announce that CogLing Days 2026 will take place in Leuven on 10 and 11 December 2026. CogLing Days is the biannual conference of the Cognitive Linguistics Association of Belgium and the Netherlands (BeNeCLA). The conference is first and foremost intended to spark local collaborations, foster the exchange of new ideas, and provide a place to present the latest research conducted in the Low Countries.

The theme of CogLing Days 2026 is ‘the role of meaning in language variation and change’. Though we welcome all contributions in cognitive linguistics or related fields, we particularly encourage papers related to the dynamic and multidimensional nature of meaning in language. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
– variation of meaning synchronically and/or diachronically
– variation and change in iconic form-meaning correspondences
– meaning in usage-based grammar
– variation and change in multimodal meaning
– the impact of non-referential (e.g. social, interactional) meaning on language variation and change
– challenges related to studying meaning in empirical data
…

Call for papers
We welcome papers related to cognitive linguistics in general, or related fields such as sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics or cognitive science. We particularly invite proposals related to the central theme of the conference. Starting and early-career researchers are especially encouraged to submit.
All talks will take the standard format of 20 minutes presentation, plus 10 minutes discussion time. Authors can submit only one abstract as a first author, but they can be co-author of multiple submissions.
Abstracts must not exceed 500 words, excluding references and figures, and should mention the main research question(s), methodology, data and (expected) results. You can submit your abstract in English, Dutch, French, Frisian or German, but the language of the abstract should be the same as the language in which you will give your talk. Please anonymize your abstract sufficiently. Format your reference list according to the unified style sheet for linguistics: https://langsci-press.org/unifiedstylesheet
Please submit your abstract via https://forms.office.com/e/9qqL0Fge36. While the abstract text should be anonymous, be sure to mention all author names and their affiliations in the submission form.

The deadline for submission is 21 June 2026.

Plenary speakers
We are pleased to announce our first plenary speaker, Bodo Winter (University of Birmingham). A second plenary speaker will be announced shortly.

Important dates:
Submission deadline: 21 June 2026
Notification of acceptance: 15 September 2026
Deadline for registration: 31 October 2026
Conference dates: 10-11 December 2026

Organizing committee
Karlien Franco (KU Leuven)
Isabeau De Smet (KU Leuven)
Alek Keersmaekers (KU Leuven)
Toon Van Hal (KU Leuven)
Thomas Van Hoey (KU Leuven)

Contact: coglingdays2026@kuleuven.be

Cognitive linguists study, as their name indicates, how individuals cognitively process language. At the same time, they stress that language use is an inherently social activity, as a primary function of language is to facilitate communication between individuals. So how does the cognitive processing of individuals lead to tendencies and changes in language at the community level? And conversely, how are those community level tendencies or social categories processed and represented in the mind of the individual?

These are some of the questions that we aim to answer at the CogLing Days of 2024. The Cogling Days constitute the biennial conference of BeNeCla , the cognitive linguistics association of Belgium and the Netherlands. The conference is first and foremost intended to spark local collaborations, foster the exchange of new ideas, and provide a place to present the latest research conducted in the Low Countries.

In addition to a plenary talk and the regular talks, the present edition features a panel on the question how to study the interplay between the individual and the community.

The program and book of abstracts can be found here.

Registration is now closed.

Plenary speakers and panelists

Freek Van de Velde

Freek Van de Velde is appointed as professor of Dutch linguistics and historical linguistics at KU Leuven. His research interests comprise several interlocking domains: the history of the Dutch language (and related languages), general mechanisms of diachronic morphosyntax, the interplay of external and internal factors in language change, quantitative linguistics, and Cultural Evolution.

Marie Barking

Marie Barking recently defended her dissertation with the title “A Usage-Based Account of Language Transfer – A Case Study of German Speakers in the Netherlands”. In her research, she explores the German as spoken by native German speakers living in the Netherlands and shows that these speakers, due to their frequent use of Dutch and the similarity between Dutch and German, often experience extensive transfer from their second language Dutch to their native language German. She uses this case study to explore both the cognitive and the social factors involved in (bilingual) speakers’ language use. Marie Barking now works as an Assistant Professor at the department of Communication and Cognition at Tilburg University.

Peter Petré

Peter Petré is an associate research professor of English linguistics at the University of Antwerp, holding a PhD from KU Leuven. Combining linguistics and history with data-oriented methodologies, his current research focuses on grammar change across the lifespan and how community grammar emerges out of, and feeds into individual interactions. He acquired funding for this research from ERC (Mind-Bending Grammars, 2015-2021), and FWO (2021-2025). Next to numerous publications in journals and monographs on these topics (e.g., with Freek Van de Velde in Language 2018, with Lauren Fonteyn in Language Variation and Change in 2022), he authored a monograph withOxford UP on constructional change (2014), and co-edited a book on English philology (2018, Benjamins), and the special issue Constructionist Approaches to Individuality in Language (Cognitive Linguistics, 2020).

Arie Verhagen

Arie Verhagen (www.arieverhagen.nl/) is professor emeritus of Dutch Linguistics, and of Language, Culture, and Cognition at Leiden University, The Netherlands. He has worked on several grammatical topics (e.g. word order, causatives, complementation) from a cognitive-pragmatic theoretical perspective, and served as editor of a number of journals, including Cognitive Linguistics as editor-in-chief. His 2005 monograph Constructions of Intersubjectivity (Oxford University Press) contributed to the ‘social turn’ in cognitive linguistics. Recent projects include stylistics and the (cultural) evolution of language.  Results of the former are presented in Stijl, Taal en Tekst (co-authored with Ninke Stukker; Leiden University Press, 2019), and of the latter in Ten Lectures on Cognitive Evolutionary Linguistics (Brill, 2021). This recent work has recently also led to papers and lectures on conceptual/​terminological foundations of linguistic research (“philosophy of linguistics”).

University of Antwerp, 12-13 December 2024

Cognitive linguists study, as their name indicates, how individuals cognitively process language. At the same time, they stress that language use is an inherently social activity, as a primary function of language is to facilitate communication between individuals. So how does the cognitive processing of individuals lead to tendencies and changes in language at the community level? And conversely, how are those community level tendencies or social categories processed and represented in the mind of the individual?

These are some of the questions that we aim to answer at the CogLing Days of 2024. At the same time, we welcome submissions on all topics in cognitive linguistics or related fields such as psycholinguistics or cognitive science. The Cogling Days constitute the biennial conference of BeNeCLA, the cognitive linguistics association of Belgium and the Netherlands. The conference is first and foremost intended to spark local collaborations, foster the exchange of new ideas, and provide a place to present the latest research conducted in the Low Countries. In addition to a plenary talk and the regular talks, the present edition will also feature a panel on the question how to study the interplay between the individual and the community.

Call for papers

We welcome all contributions reporting on recent research in the various strands of cognitive linguistics or cognitively inspired approaches that relate to language, discourse and cognition. Starting and early-career researchers are especially encouraged to submit.

All talks will take the standard format of 20 minutes presentation, plus 10 minutes discussion time. Authors can submit only one abstract as a first author, but they can be co-presenters of multiple submissions. Abstracts must not exceed 500 words, excluding references and figures, and should mention the main research question(s), methodology, data and (expected) results. You can submit your abstract in English, Dutch, French, Frisian or German. The language of the abstract should be the same as the language in which you will give your talk. Please anonymize your abstract by omitting the authors’ names and anonymizing all references to work of the authors if these references make it clear who the authors are. Format your reference list according to the unified citation style for linguistics, and use Times New Roman, font size 12, justified, line spacing 1.15, with the title and the heading ‘references’ in bold.

Please submit your abstracts in docx- or odt-format via https://forms.uantwerpen.be/en/faclw/cogling-days-abstract-submission/.

While the submitted file should be anonymous, be sure to mention all author names and affiliations in the submission form. The deadline for submission is June 17, 2024.

Plenary speaker

Prof. Dr. Freek Van de Velde (KU Leuven)

Panel: How to study the interplay between the individual and the community?

Panel members:

• Arie Verhagen (Leiden University)
• Marie Barking (Tilburg University)
• Peter Petré (University of Antwerp)

Important dates:

Submission deadline: June 17, 2024 EXTENDED DEADLINE June 24, 2024

Notification of acceptance: September 16, 2024

Deadline for registration: October 15, 2024

Conference dates: December 12-13, 2024

Organizing committee

• Dirk Pijpops (University of Antwerp)
• Astrid De Wit (University of Antwerp)
• Frank Brisard (University of Antwerp)
• Rianne van Lieburg (University of Antwerp)
• Margot Vancauwenbergh (University of Antwerp)
• Kristel Van Goethem (F.R.S.-FNRS & UCLouvain)

Scientific committee

• Members of the organizing committee: Dirk Pijpops, Astrid De Wit, Frank Brisard, Rianne van Lieburg, Margot Vancauwenbergh, Kristel van Goethem
• Renata Enghels (Ghent University)
• Timothy Colleman (Ghent University)
• Maria Mos (Tilburg University)
• Ted Sanders (Utrecht University)
• Ninke Stukker (University of Groningen)
• Reinhild Vandekerckhove (University of Antwerp)
• Peter Petré (University of Antwerp)
• Tanja Mortelmans (University of Antwerp)
• Lot Brems (ULiège)
• An Van linden (ULiège)
• Freek Van de Velde (KU Leuven)
• Dirk Speelman (KU Leuven)
• Julien Perrez (ULiège)

Contact: coglingdays2024@uantwerpen.be

After a four-year break, The CogLing Days 2022 will again offer all cognitively inspired linguists the opportunity to catch up with each other and to share recent research.

The updated version of the program can be found here.

The updated version of the list of posters can be found here.

The updated version of the book of abstracts can be found here.

Language, Discourse and Cognition: Interdisciplinary Approaches

Tilburg University, 8-9 December 2022

Cognitive Linguistics is concerned with language and its cognitive underpinnings from a broad methodological perspective. The methodological approaches range from text or corpus analysis to ethnography, and from experiments to focus groups.

Almost by definition, the topics that cognitive linguists look at and the methods they use are also of interest for researchers with a background in related fields such as cognitive science, psychology or culture studies.

After a two-year break, we want to offer all cognitively inspired linguists the opportunity to catch up with each other and to share recent research. At the same time, we would like to invite researchers from adjacent fields to join us and present work that relates to language, discourse and cognition in a broader sense.

The CogLing Days are intended to be a place of meeting, interaction and discussion. For that reason, there is room for oral presentations and posters.

Call for papers

We welcome contributions reporting on recent research in the various strands of cognitive linguistics or cognitively inspired approaches that relate to language, discourse and cognition.

Abstracts must not exceed 500 words, excluding references, and should mention the main research question(s), methodology, data and (expected) results. Abstracts can be submitted for an oral presentation (20’ + 10’ discussion time) or a poster and will be reviewed anonymously. Please submit your anonymous abstract (Word file) via EasyChair and indicate your preference for an oral presentation or a poster. The conference languages are English and Dutch.

Invited speaker

Robert Hartsuiker (Universiteit Gent)

Important dates and deadlines

• Abstract submission: 15 September 2022
• Notification of acceptance: 15 October 2022
• CogLing Days: 8-9 December 2022

Organizing committee

• Allmanns Lora (Université catholique de Louvain)
• Barking Marie (Tilburg University)
• Enghels Renata (Universiteit Gent)
• Gras Pedro (Universiteit Antwerpen)
• Mos Maria (Tilburg University)
• Pérez Fernández Sofía (Universiteit Antwerpen)
• Sanders José (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen)
• Sanders Ted (Universiteit Utrecht)
• Stukker Ninke (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)
• Van Den Driessche Nele (Universiteit Gent)
• Van Goethem Kristel (F.R.S.-FNRS & Université catholique de Louvain)

Scientific committee

• BeNeCLA board:
• Enghels Renata (Universiteit Gent)
• Gras Pedro (Universiteit Antwerpen)
• Mos Maria (Tilburg University)
• Sanders José (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen)
• Sanders Ted (Universiteit Utrecht)
• Ninke Stukker (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)
• Van Goethem Kristel (F.R.S.-FNRS & Université catholique de Louvain)

Contact: Maria Mos (Maria.Mos@tilburguniversity.edu)

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that the 4th conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS) will take place on July 2-4,
2020 at RWTH Aachen University in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), Germany.

IACS 4
2-4 July 2020
SEMIOTIC COMPLEXITIES: Theory & Analysis Aachen, Germany (co-organized with KU Leuven, Belgium) https://iacs4.signges.de/aachen2020/call-papers

Plenary Speakers:

– Morana Alač (University of California, San Diego)
– Riccardo Fusaroli (Aarhus University)
– Sybille Krämer (Free University Berlin)
– Pamela Perniss (University of Cologne)
– Eve Sweetser (University of California, Berkeley)
– Linda R. Waugh (University of Arizona)
– Jordan Zlatev (Lund University)

Pre-conference workshops (July 1st, 2020):

– John Bateman: ‘Multimodal Analysis: Towards semiotically-motivated methodologies for empirical research’
– Cornelia Müller, Jana Bressem, Silva Ladewig: ‘Gesture Analysis’
– Geert Brône & Bert Oben: ‘Eye-tracking in Interaction’
– Jan Alber & Ralf Schneider: ‘Cognitive & Empirical Analysis of Literature’

Important Dates:

Deadlines for submissions (through EasyChair conference tool:
https://easychair.org/cfp/iacs4):

– Theme session proposals: November 15, 2019
– Abstracts: November 30, 2019
– Notification of acceptance: January 15, 2020

The IACS conference series seeks to gather scholars and scientists in semiotics, cognitive science, linguistics, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, art history and theory, media studies, and related fields, who wish to share their research on meaning and contribute to the interdisciplinary endeavor of cognitive semiotics. Previous conferences were held in Lund (2014), Lublin (2016), and Toronto (2018).
http://iacs.dk/

Conference theme
The conference theme of IACS4 is “SEMIOTIC COMPLEXITIES: Theory & Analysis”. It aims to account for the complexities of semiosis, that is, for the intricacies of semiotic processes in a broad range of semiotic systems, with a focus on either cognitive, monomodal, crossmodal or multimodal processes of meaning construal. While the theme is rather broad and non-restrictive, it is intended to encourage contributions showing how theoretical frameworks and methods of analysis may mutually enhance each other and thus offer truly new insights into the merits of semiotic inquiry and advance the cross-disciplinary enterprise of cognitive semiotics.
In this light, THEORY here is meant to include influential semiotic theories (as proposed by, e.g. Eco, Greimas, Jakobson, Lothman, Peirce, Saussure), as well as theoretical concepts and principles that are central to cognitive linguistics, general linguistics, philosophy, psychology, anthropology, and the cognitive sciences more broadly.
ANALYSIS encompasses qualitative, quantitative and experimental methods and tools, as well as mixed-methods approaches developed to derive emerging patterns and regularities but also unique instances of meaning-making in both static and dynamic semiotic fabrics.

Local/transregional organizing committee:

•    Irene Mittelberg (RWTH Aachen University)
•    Geert Brône (KU Leuven)
•    Paul Sambre (KU Leuven)
•    Kurt Feyaerts (KU Leuven)
•    Gabriele Gramelsberger (RWTH Aachen University)
•    Jessica Vaupel (RWTH Aachen University)

Call for Papers (https://iacs4.signges.de/aachen2020/call-papers):

To submit your abstracts, please go to the conference website:
https://iacs4.signges.de
or use this EasyChair link:
https://easychair.org/cfp/iacs4

Topics: Topics of the conference include (but are not limited to):
•    semiotic theory
•    cognitive linguistics
•    cognitive poetics
•    cognitive anthropology
•    gesture and sign language
•    embodied interaction
•    ecological approaches to meaning-making
•    phenomenology
•    embodiment, enaction
•    multimodality (e.g. film, music, cartoons, comics, advertisement)
•    modality-specificity and crossmodal principles of meaning-making
•    narrativity across different media
•    semiotics and art history/archeology/architecture/aesthetics
•    visual analysis (images, the visual arts, architecture, etc.)
•    iconicity and indexicality (incl. viewpoint) in language and other
semiotic resources
•    metonymy and metaphor across modalities
•    intersubjectivity and mimesis in evolution and development
•    linguistic and cultural relativity
•    semiotic and cognitive development in children
•    biological and cultural evolution of human cognition/communication
•    embodiment and spatial cognition
•    semiotic foundations of digital humanities
•    experimental semiotics
•    biosemiotics / neurosemiotics
•    technosemiotics (e.g. social robotics)

If you have any questions, please contact us at:
iacs4.2020@signges.rwth-aachen.de

We hope IACS-4 will spur your interest and that we will see you in Aachen next year!

Best wishes – on behalf of all the conference hosts and IACS board members,

Esther Pascual, IACS President

Announcement:

The 9th International Conference of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association (DGKL/GCLA-9) takes place at the University of Erfurt (Erfurt, Germany) from 23rd to 26th September 2020.

Its framing topic is “Cognitive Linguistics as an Interdisciplinary Endeavour: Theoretical and Methodological Challenges”.

The conference will also make an active contribution to the further development of the vibrant Cognitive-Linguistics community of Europe. More specifically, we seek to develop new forms of cooperation between the national Cognitive-Linguistics associations whose representatives are kindly invited to join us.

Plenary speakers:

Framing the conference by bringing in a broad repertoire of methods from corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycho-/ neurolinguistics, typological linguistics and language-acquisition research, the plenary lectures highlight important dimensions of the interdisciplinary approaches that characterise much empirical work in contemporary Cognitive Linguistics.

We look forward to welcoming the following colleagues to Erfurt:

Ewa Dabrowska (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg),

Dirk Geeraerts (KU Leuven),

Natalia Levshina (Universität Leipzig),

Sabine Stoll (UZH, University of Zurich),

Kristian Tylén (Aarhus University),

Stefanie Wulff (University of Florida).

Specialized workshops:

“Cognitive Linguistics and the Cognitive Neuroscience of Language” (organised by Friedemann Pulvermüller)

“Sprache und gesellschaftliche Öffentlichkeit” (organised by Anatol Stefanowitsch, Alexander Ziem and Thomas Herbst)

More info: 

https://www.uni-erfurt.de/tagungen/DGKL_2020/

Metaphor Festival Amsterdam 2019

CALL FOR PAPERS

Amsterdam, 28 – 31 August 2019

The Metaphor Lab Amsterdam is delighted to announce that the next Metaphor Festival will take place in Amsterdam from 28 – 31 August 2019. The Metaphor Festival is an annual conference on the use of figurative language and other modes of figurative expression. It offers an opportunity to present and learn about research findings concerning the structures, functions, and effects of figurative language in human communication. Contributions to the Festival can address tropes such as metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole and irony.

Please go to http://metaphorlab.org/metaphor-festival/metaphor-festival-19/ or our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/metaphorfestival) for more information. Deadline for submissions is 15 March.