Spanish in Society

20 years of "Spanish in Society": Una celebración

On Monday 2nd December, we will be celebrating 20 years of "Spanish in Society". The online session will last about 45 minutes and will be a chance for us all to get together (on Zoom) and raise a glass to twenty years of the Association. Our past presidents – Clare Mar-Molinero, Nuria Lorenzo-Dus, Miranda Stewart and Nicola Bermingham – will be reflecting on our achievements to date, and we will be talking about potential future directions of the Association. Bring your memories, bring your ideas and, if you’d like, a glass of something sparkling! Let’s celebrate twenty years of this fantastic group of people!

Please sign up using the following Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/20-years-of-spanish-in-society-una-celebracion-tickets-1058993561249?aff=oddtdtcreator. We will send out Zoom details nearer the time.

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El lunes 2 de diciembre, celebraremos los 20 años de "Spanish in Society". La sesión en línea durará unos 45 minutos y será una oportunidad para que todos nos reunamos (en Zoom) y brindemos por los veinte años de la Asociación. Nuestros ex-presidentes – Clare Mar-Molinero, Nuria Lorenzo-Dus, Miranda Stewart y Nicola Bermingham – reflexionarán sobre nuestros logros hasta la fecha, y hablaremos sobre posibles direcciones futuras de la Asociación. Traigan sus recuerdos, sus ideas y, si lo desean, una copa de algo con burbujas. ¡Celebremos juntos estos veinte años de este fantástico grupo de personas!

Por favor, inscríbanse utilizando el siguiente enlace de Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/20-years-of-spanish-in-society-una-celebracion-tickets-1058993561249?aff=oddtdtcreator. Enviaremos los detalles de Zoom más cerca de la fecha.

2025 Conference

Spanish in Society Conference: 5-6 June 2025. University of Bristol (UK)

Confirmed plenaries: Nelson Flores (University of Pennsylvania), Nicola Bermingham (University of Liverpool), Daniel Amarelo (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya).

The International Association for the Study of Spanish in Society aims to promote the study of Spanish and the languages with which it is in contact through a focus on the study of sociolinguistics, sociology of language, discourse analysis, pragmatics, applied linguistics, intercultural communication, conversation analysis and anthropological linguistics. Our eleventh conference will take place at the University of Bristol (UK) in June 2025, and will provide a moment for scholars in these areas to reflect on what issues face the study of Spanish (and related languages) in society. The event will bring various groups into dialogue, opening the floor to the innovative ways in which scholars can address contemporary research problems and questions and become actively involved in advancing the field of Hispanic sociolinguistics.

In addition to keynote presentations and thematic panels, the conference programme will include coffee breaks, extended lunch breaks, a closing reception and an evening meal (all of which are included in the registration fee) to allow for more informal networking opportunities for all atendees. Please note that we are planning to hold the conference in person, and there will be no hybrid alternatives offered.

We invite proposals (for thematic panels and individual presentations) from any of the following linguistic disciplines or approaches:

Sociolinguistics
Sociology of Language
Dialectology
Bilingualism and Language Contact
Pragmatics
Discourse Analysis
Applied Linguistics
Corpus Linguistics
Historical Linguistics
Intercultural Communication
Linguistic Anthropology
Language Teaching and Pedagogy

Contributions must focus on either Spanish or a language with which Spanish finds itself in contact. Presentations may be delivered in any of these languages, though are most often in English or Spanish.

Submission guidelines

Abstracts should be submitted via https://easyabs.linguistlist.org/submit/sis2025/ containing the title of the paper and a 300 word max. description of the proposed talk, including: the aims, methodology and main findings of the study upon which it is based, as well as a list of bibliographical references.

If you wish to propose a panel (rather than an individual presentation), please be sure to provide the following:

Title of the panel
Name of the person who will chair the panel
Names of the speakers
Titles and abstracts for each paper

Any queries, please email: sis.conference2025@gmail.com

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Conferencia ‘Español en la Sociedad’: 5 y 6 de junio de 2025. Universidad de Bristol (Reino Unido)

Ponencias magistrales confirmadas: Nelson Flores (University of Pennsylvania), Nicola Bermingham (University of Liverpool), Daniel Amarelo (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya).

La Asociación Internacional para el Estudio del Español en la Sociedad (EES) tiene como objetivo promover el estudio del español y de las lenguas con las que está en contacto, a través de un enfoque multidisciplinario que abarca la sociolingüística, la sociología del lenguaje, el análisis del discurso, la pragmática, la lingüística aplicada, la comunicación intercultural, el análisis de la conversación y la lingüística antropológica. Nuestra undécima conferencia se llevará a cabo en la Universidad de Bristol (Reino Unido) en junio de 2025. Este evento brindará un espacio para que investigadores en estas áreas reflexionen sobre los desafíos que enfrenta el estudio del español (y de lenguas relacionadas) en la sociedad. La conferencia fomentará el diálogo y proporcionará un foro en el que los académicos puedan abordar de manera innovadora preguntas de investigación contemporáneas y participar activamente en el avance del campo de la sociolingüística hispánica.

Además de las ponencias principales y los paneles temáticos, el programa de la conferencia incluirá pausas para el café, descansos prolongados para el almuerzo, una recepción de clausura y una cena (todo lo cual está incluido en la cuota de inscripción) para facilitar oportunidades de networking más informales entre los asistentes. Cabe destacar que planeamos realizar la conferencia en persona, y no se ofrecerán alternativas híbridas.

Invitamos a los participantes a proponer paneles temáticos o presentaciones individuales en cualquier tema relacionado con el tema del congreso en las áreas de:

Sociolingüística
Sociología del lenguaje
Análisis del discurso
Pragmática
Lingüística aplicada
Comunicación intercultural
Análisis de conversación
Lingüística de contacto
Antropología lingüística
Enseñanza de lengua y pedagogía

Las presentaciones deben centrarse en el español o en una lengua con la que el español esté en contacto. Las presentaciones pueden hacerse en cualquiera de estos idiomas, aunque lo más frecuente es que sean en inglés o español.

Las propuestas deben enviarse a través del sitio web https://easyabs.linguistlist.org/submit/sis2025/ con el título del trabajo y una descripción máxima de 300 palabras de la charla propuesta, incluyendo: los objetivos, la metodología y los principales hallazgos del estudio en el que se basa, así como una lista de referencias bibliográficas.

Si desea proponer un panel (en lugar de una presentación individual), es necesario incluir la siguiente información:

Título del panel
Nombre del moderador/a
Nombres de los participantes
Títulos y resúmenes de cada artículo

Para cualquier consulta: sis.conference2025@gmail.com

2023 Conference

Hispanic? Sociolinguistics at a Crossroads

X International Conference of Hispanic Linguistics

VIII Biennial Meeting of the International Association for the Study of Spanish in Society

University of Liverpool, 8 - 9 June 2023

Conference programme - click here

Book of abstracts - click here

Plenary Speakers

Prof Anna De Fina (Georgetown University)
Dr Miguel Pérez-Milans (University College London)

Book Launch

Professor Rosaleen Howard, Professor Emerita in the School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University, will present her latest book: Multilingualism in the Andes: Policies, Politics, Power (Routledge Critical Studies in Multilingualism).

The launch will include a Q&A with the author and with the series editor, Professor Marilyn Martin Jones, Professor Emerita at the Mosaic Group, School of Education, University of Birmingham.

Deadlines

Submission of abstracts: 30 November 2022
Notification of acceptance: 15 January 2023
Early-bird registration: until 31 March 2023
Late registration: until 30 April 2023

Registration Fees

You can access ticket details and further information at our Eventbrite link.

Early-bird standard rate: £180
Early-bird students and concessions: £120
Late registration standard rate: £220
Late registration students and concessions: £160

Note regarding online participation: We are planning to hold the conference in person. However, we acknowledge that some researchers are usually excluded because of the cost of travel and the exorbitant price of the conferences; as such, we can make arrangements for online/hybrid participation if you are unable to attend. If you cannot participate on-site, or would prefer to present online, please indicate this in your proposal.

Online participation standard rate: £60
Online participation concessions: £40

Conference Theme

At this particular juncture in academic scholarship we are rethinking approaches to research in Hispanic sociolinguistics, prompted in part by the pandemic but also by developments in the wider fields of sociolinguistics and Hispanic Studies. This conference, then, will bring together scholars working in Hispanic sociolinguistics to explore the novel ways in which we do research, especially in light of the challenges of the ongoing pandemic. The event will bring various groups into dialogue, opening the floor to the innovative ways in which scholars can address contemporary research problems and questions and become actively involved in advancing the field of Hispanic sociolinguistics.

The following questions will guide the conference:

Who does the term ‘Hispanic’ include/exclude? While past conferences have sought to foreground both the pluricentric nature of Spanish and the multilingualism of the Spanish-speaking world, how do we respond to wider discussions concerning the limitations of the term ‘Hispanic’ as a potentially homogenising label that reinforces the colonial centre?
How do we foreground/address social justice in our work? As recent linguistics research has sought to foreground the centrality of language in connection to ideas of race and reproducing structural violence (Avineri, Graham, Johnson, Conley Riner and Rosa 2019), how do we as researchers seek to address and further social justice through our work?
How do we address the effects of the pandemic and travel restrictions on sociolinguistic research methods? In light of travel restrictions imposed by the pandemic, as well as longer term technological developments, what new sociolinguistic methods have and should be developed to respond to rapidly changing research contexts?

In addition to keynote presentations and thematic panels, the conference programme will include coffee breaks, extended lunch breaks, a closing reception and an evening meal (all of which are included in the registration fee) to allow for more informal networking opportunities. Please note that we are planning to hold the conference in person.

We invite proposals (for thematic panels and individual presentations) from any of the following linguistic disciplines or approaches, in line with the conference theme:

Sociolinguistics
Sociology of Language
Dialectology
Bilingualism and Language Contact
Pragmatics
Discourse Analysis
Applied Linguistics
Corpus Linguistics
Historical Linguistics
Intercultural Communication
Linguistic Anthropology
Language Teaching and Pedagogy

Submission guidelines

Abstracts should be sent to spanishinsocietysis@gmail.com as a Word attachment containing the title of the paper and a 300 word max. description of the proposed talk, including: the aims, methodology and main findings of the study upon which it is based, as well as a list of bibliographical references. Contact details (name, affiliation and postal/electronic address) should be included only in the body of the email, together with the title of the paper.

If you wish to propose a panel (rather than an individual presentation), please provide the following in one Word document:

title of the panel
name of the person who will chair the panel
names of the speakers
titles and abstracts for each paper

Full details of the webinar series can be found here

2019 Conference

Transnational Perspectives on the Study of Spanish in Society

IX International Conference of Hispanic Linguistics

VII Biennial Meeting of the International Association for the Study of Spanish in Society

University of Edinburgh, 5 - 6 September 2019

You can find this conference on the BAAL Sociolinguistic Events Calendar

Confirmed Plenary Speakers

Jennifer Leeman, George Mason University.
Rosina Márquez Reiter, University of Surrey.

Conference Programme (final version) - click here

Deadlines

Early-bird registration: 10 June 2019
Late registration: 6 August 2019

Practical Information

Here you can find all the practical information you need:

Conference Theme

Languages travel and adapt to the new circumstances faced by their speakers. The growth of the Spanish language has always been transnational in nature, insofar as any expansion has been grounded in cultural and economic exchange. Therefore, at this conference, we wish to bring together those with scholarly interests in the situation of the Spanish language in the contemporary world. Almost twenty years into the new millennium, we want to reflect on how Spanish speakers, be they in their countries of origin or in the diaspora, construct and negotiate concepts of community. How is this achieved by recourse to ideas of borders, migration and contact? How do speakers move beyond notions of physical space, and push social, political, cultural and commercial boundaries, in order to break through the limits imposed on them by nations and continents? (Mar-Molinero and Stewart 2006; Foner 2005; Jackson et al. 2004)

We wish to explore the following questions: Are we at present witnessing processes of homogenisation and standardisation of norms and uses, thanks to the global space in which Spanish speakers move and communicate, all made possible by technological advances, and policies of a Pan-Hispanic nature? Or, in fact, do we find ourselves in an unprecedented social situation which allows language to be more pluricentric, local, innovative and 'superdiverse' than ever before? (Lebsanft, Mihatsch and Polzin-Haumann 2012; Zimmermann 2014; Blommaert 2015; Arnaut 2016) Now is the time to debate what methods and research protocols are the most effective at capturing the complexity that arises from such situations. What does it mean to view things transnationally? How can such a perspective benefit the study of the relationships between Spanish speakers in a global world?

These will be the triggers for discussion at our conference which, three years on, will bring everyone together in Edinburgh, in order to celebrate a hundred years of Hispanic Studies at the University of Edinburgh.