Dec. 3, 2025 - Dec. 4, 2025
Background:
Language and identity are deeply and strongly interconnected. In today’s world marked by globalization, digital communication, migration (both forced and voluntary), accessibility of cultural exchange, power dynamics, this relationship is more complex and dynamic than ever. Identity is a complex construct that has given rise to a range of views and perspectives. Within the essentialist framework, it is perceived as fixed and naturally determined. Constructivists, however, consider it as very evolving and liable to change because it is constantly negotiated and shaped by a myriad of factors, including biological, personal, social, economic, political and even digital ones. Identity is described as achieved or ascribed depending on whether it emanates from self-categorization or other-categorization, giving rise in many cases to identity conflict and crisis. Also, identity is multidimensional, including different types such as social, cultural, ethnic, religious and national identities among others. Since the beginning of humanity and throughout history, language has been perceived as one of the defining features of identity. A language reflects not only who we are, but also how we relate to others who share or do not share the same space, history, culture, ethnicity or religion. Languages are markers of group membership, helping individuals identify with specific social, ethnic, regional or religious groups. Dialects, accents, and linguistic styles can signal an individual’s association with one or more groups.
Aim of the conference:
This conference aims to provide a platform for scholars to examine this complex and dynamic relationship between identity and language from linguistic, cultural, literary, historical, sociological, psychological and political perspectives. It invites participants to reflect on questions such as: How do languages contribute to the building and sustaining of national identity? How do multilinguals construct their multiple identity through code-switching and translanguaging? How is identity shaped when there is language contact? How do gender, age and social class shape social identity? How do speakers of minority and indigenous languages resist assimilation and preserve linguistic heritage? How does language intersect with identity in diasporic contexts, leading to language loss, language resistance, or hybrid identities? How do marginalized people, with limited access to power, express or are denied to express their identity through their native languages?
Themes of the conference:
We welcome abstracts for both oral presentations (20 min talk and 10 min discussion) and poster presentations on any one of the following topics:
- Language and national identity
- Mother tongue and identity
- Identity and minority languages
- Dialect and identity
- Diglossia and identity
- Multilingualism and multiple identities
- Language contact and identity
- The linguistic identity of the marginalized
- Language and identity in diaspora
- Language and identity in literature
- Colonial and postcolonial voices in literature
- The formation of cultural identities
- Modernism: Dismantling language and identity
- Linguistic heritage and identity
- Language and gender identity
- Language and youth identity
Keynote speakers: TBC
Submission instructions:
Abstract submission guidelines:
- Abstracts should be anonymous and no longer than 300 words (excluding references).
- All abstracts will be evaluated through a double-blind peer review.
- The body of the email should include authors’ full name, affiliation, and position.
- Authors are requested to specify in the body of their email whether to be considered for an in-person or online presentation.
- Abstracts are submitted to the following e-mail address: [email protected]
The languages of the conference are: English, Arabic, and French. The conference will be hybrid.
Publication:
A selection of the papers presented will be published as articles in an indexed international journal or in a book.
Important dates
- Abstract submission deadline: extended to Sept 26th
- Notification of acceptance: October 8, 2025
- Conference dates: December 3-4, 2025
Registration fees:
Regular registration: 600 MAD
Student presenters: 300 MAD
Student attendees: Free
Fees will cover access to the conference presentations and facilities, conference pack, participation certificate, two lunches and coffee breaks.
Organizers:
Mina Afkir
Hassan II University of Casablanca
[email protected]
Halima Ouamouch
Hassan II University of Casablanca
[email protected]
Submissions open: July 31, 2021 - Sept. 26, 2025
Abstract review period: Sept. 22, 2025 - Oct. 8, 2025
Contact Email: [email protected]