From the 9th to the 10th of April 2018, a conference entitled “Categories and Units in Language and Linguistics” will be held in Wałbrzych, Poland, at the Angelus Silesius University of Applied Sciences. The purpose of the conference is to bring together scholars of varied disciplines to explore categories and units used in language study, language pedagogy, psychology of language and psychology from a range of perspectives. More specifically, this interdisciplinary conference will address how categories and units influence and/or possibly constrain theory and model-building. The deadline for scientific abstracts is December 20, 2017. The primary language of the conference is English, but presentations in Polish are also welcome. More details about this special event can be found at the website.

Since the 1980’s, the name “halal” has been increasing used in business and product naming. From halal food-processing to halal fashion, the breadth of goods and services that feature this name has grown dramatically. From the 24th to the 25 of April 2018, a unique conference exploring the modern uses of “halal” labelling will be explored at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Entitled “Rethinking Halal: Genealogy, Current Trends, and New Interpretations”, the conference is currently accepting abstracts for scientific presentations. The call for papers can be found here. Interested researchers are asked to send prospective abstracts (max. 1,000 words) to the following address: halal.conference.ucl.2018 AT gmail.com. The deadline is Monday, 8 January 2018.

From the 21st to the 24th of May 2018, an onomastic conference on the German language will be held in Kiel. The official call for papers can be found here. The conference is being sponsored by the Verein für niederdeutsche Sprachforschung. Scientific presentations on names and naming in Low German are currently being solicited. The focus will be on “Namenkunde”.  The deadline for submission is October 31, 2017. Researchers interested in holding 45-minute presentations are encouraged to send an abstract (max. 200 words) to the following address: elmentaler AT germsem.uni-kiel.de

The 45th Annual Children’s Literature Association Conference will be held from the 28th to the 30th of June 2018 at the Sheraton Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. The exact theme of the conference is “Refreshing Waters: Eternal Springs, Winding Rivers, and Other Literary Oasis.” As a part of the conference, a special panel focused on Germany is planned for the conference. Interested researchers are asked to submit abstracts (max. 500 words) with professional bios (max. 250 words) dealing with any aspect of German children’s literature. Abstracts should be sent to the International Committee, Children’s Literature Association, at vanessa.joosen AT uantwerpen.be with the subject line “International Committee Paper Submission.” The deadline for submissions is September 15, 2017.

From the 14th to the 15th of December 2017, a workshop devoted to the question “What is a word?” will be held in Zurich, Switzerland. From formal grammar to comparative linguistics, the workshop will examine this question from a variety of different research perspectives. Among the confirmed list of guest speakers are Professor Heather Newell (Université de Québec à Montréal), Dr. Eric Lander (Göteborgs Universitet), and Professor Götz Keydana (Universität Göttingen). Detailed information about the workshop can be found at the website of The Zurich Center for Linguistics at the University of Zurich. The deadline for abstract submissions is the 31st of August 2017.

The 20th International Conference on Cartography and Geoinformation Science will be held in Paris, France from the 25th to the 26th of January 2018. The purpose of the conference is to provide an interdisciplinary research forum to discuss the most recent trends, innovations, and challenges in the field of Cartography and Geoinformation Science. Researchers working within the areas of cartography and toponymy are invited to submit an abstract by the 31 of July 2017. Detailed information about the conference, requirements, and the event timeline can be found at the website.