Sept. 23, 2026 - Sept. 25, 2026
7th International Discourse-Pragmatic Variation and Change (DiPVaC) Conference
23 – 25 Sept 2026 — University of Salzburg, Austria
Unipark Nonntal, Erzabt-Klotz-Straße 1, 5020 Salzburg
DiPVaC is a biennial international conference series showcasing cutting-edge, primarily quantitative research on variation and change in what are broadly termed discourse-pragmatic features: this includes (but is not limited to) research on discourse markers or pragmatic particles whose primary functions are interpersonal and textual (e.g., well, like, you know, comme, alors, doch, zwar, diciamo, dakedo, etc.), tag questions, silence, filled pauses, adjectives, adverbs, and general extenders.
The conference builds on an extensive international research network with a track record of profiling the latest research in discourse-pragmatic variation and change in a wide variety of languages. It also provides a forum for the discussion of methodological, empirical and theoretical advancements in the analysis of variation and change in the use of discourse-pragmatic features; opportunities for the examination of the social implications and applications of research into the use of these features; and the formation of new international and multidisciplinary research networks.
We welcome abstracts for oral presentations which take a (primarily) quantitative approach to data analysis and deal with diverse aspects of discourse-pragmatic variation and change in any language or variety. The 2026 conference theme is Interfaces and, as such, research that intersects variationist approaches to discourse-pragmatic variation and change with other research traditions is particularly encouraged, such as cognition, social perception, multimodality, etc.
Talks will be 20 minutes long, followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. Presentations will be in English.
Submission instructions:
Abstracts
... should be a maximum of 300 words in length (excl. title and references); the text should preferably fit on one page.
... should be properly anonymised in order to allow for blind review.
... should use in-text citation when referring to previous work.
... must be submitted in PDF format.
When submitting your abstract
Please provide the names of all authors in the ‘Authors’ section of the abstract-submission form.
Include the affiliation of all authors in the ‘State all universities / institutions that the author(s) is/are affiliated with here’ section.
Provide all authors’ e-mail addresses in the ‘Add an email address for each author here’ section.
Timeline
Call opens on 1 October 2025.
Submit your abstract by 7 January 2026.
Notification of acceptance by 1 March 2026.
Submissions open: Oct. 1, 2025 - Jan. 7, 2026
Abstract review period: Jan. 8, 2026 - Feb. 9, 2026
Contact Email: [email protected]