Tulane Conference of Linguistics 2026

The Linguistics Program at Tulane University is pleased to announce the Eighth Annual Tulane Conference 

on Linguistics (T-CoL), to be held on April 11, 2026. This year’s theme is “Language: Bridges, Borders, 

& Contours.”

“A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.” Behind the apparent simplicity of Max Weinrich’s oftquoted observation lie questions that continue to challenge our understanding of language: What is (in) a 

language? What defines its contours? Where does one language end and another begin? These deceptively 

simple questions open onto complex issues of identity, authority, and linguistic determination within speech 

communities. This year’s conference seeks to foster a conversation about the physical, political, and cultural 

(or their absence) bridges, borders, and contours that frame, contest, and transform our understanding of 

language as both a semiotic and social system.

Please contact Keara Sparks at ksparks2@tulane.edu at least two weeks in advance of the event if you have accessibility needs and need a disability-related accommodation to participate.