The American Dialect Society will hold its annual meeting in conjunction with the Linguistic Society of America Thursday, January 4, through Sunday, January 7, 2024, in New York, NY. The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Times Square.
Please read these instructions carefully as they have changed from previous years.
Monday, August 28, 2023 is the deadline for poster and 20-minute paper proposals.
Proposals should address topics related to English varieties in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages that influence or are influenced by these varieties. We also encourage topics related to lexicography, linguistic atlas projects, linguistic landscapes, language and society, and public language-awareness programs.
Important: You should only include the title of the study at the top of the abstract. Do not include your name or other identifying information on the abstract. Abstracts that include author’s names will not be considered. Please indicate in your abstract if the proposal is for a paper or poster. Do not send the same proposal to both ADS and LSA, and do not submit proposals based on research that has been previously presented elsewhere (e.g., NWAV).
Submissions are limited to two per author, one paper and one poster, one of which must be co-authored. If you submit two co-authored proposals with the same or different co-author(s), only one proposal can be for a paper and the other must be for a poster.
Posters: At this meeting the poster session will be online in Gather, an online community platform. We encourage those of you who may not be able to attend the meeting in-person to submit a proposal for the poster session.
Abstracts of no more than 500 words as a PDF will be submitted, reviewed, and processed for ADS2024 via the EasyChair system using the following website:
https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ads2024
Three important notes about submitting through EasyChair, especially if you’re new to this system: (1) because EasyChair publishes conference proceedings, you’ll see the option to upload a complete paper—just ignore that option; (2) EasyChair is based in England and its clock keeps Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), so submissions will close automatically at 23:59 GMT, which is not a North American end of the day. We recommend submitting your abstract on or before August 27th because the system will not accept late submissions; and (3) the system will not allow you to upload an abstract longer than 500 words, including title, references, etc. If the system won’t accept your submission, check to see if you’ve inadvertently exceeded the word limit.
Proposals will be judged anonymously by a minimum of two reviewers. If your proposal is accepted, you’ll be asked for an abstract of no more than 100 words for the LSA program.
Presenters must be current members of the American Dialect Society.
Panels: The ADS Executive Committee has the following policy regarding panels (besides the teaching panel): only especially timely panels will be considered for the programs of annual meetings. Typically, panels are given an hour and a half to present and may be limited to three presenters to allow for an overall introduction, conclusion, and discussion. If you have questions about the policy or would like to propose an especially timely panel, please contact Patricia Cukor-Avila patricia.cukor-avila@unt.edu
Audio-visual equipment: An LCD projector with sound will be available for all presentations, along with a microphone. If you will need other equipment, please say so when you send your proposal.
Schedule: The meeting will begin on Thursday afternoon, January 4 with the Executive Council and annual business meeting, followed by program sessions. The Word of the Year (WOTY) nominations will be held Thursday evening with the WOTY vote in the early evening of Friday, January 5. The Annual ADS luncheon will be held on Saturday January 6. The meeting will end early afternoon on Sunday January 7.
WOTY: As we have done for a quarter of a century, we will choose candidates for Word of the Year on Thursday and vote for our WOTY the next day. Nominations for WOTY can be submitted all year long to woty@americandialect.org.
Session chairs: If you’re interested in chairing a session, contact Patricia Cukor-Avila patricia.cukor-avila@unt.edu
Travel grants for students: Two travel grants of $500 each will be awarded at the meeting to students whose papers or posters have been chosen for the program. Nominations from the student’s advisory or other professor in the form of a letter to ADS Vice President and Program Chair, Patricia Cukor-Avila patricia.cukor-avila@unt.edu. The deadline for nominations is November 15, 2023. Nominations will not be accepted after this date.
Travel grant for an ADS member: The ninth annual Audrey Duckert Memorial Travel Award of $500 to attend the Annual Meeting will be given to an ADS member. Audrey Duckert was a long-time member of ADS and co-founder of the Dictionary of American Regional English. The recipient will be chosen by ADS President, Kathryn Remlinger: remlingk@gvsu.edu. Applications in the form of a letter to President Remlinger are due November 15, 2023. Applications sent after this date will not be considered.
Presidential Honorary Membership Award
American Dialect Society members are invited to nominate outstanding students for a Presidential Honorary Membership. Each year the American Dialect Society president awards three of these memberships. The award includes four years of complimentary membership and recognition at the ADS 2023 annual luncheon where recipients can attend free of charge as honored guests of ADS. Any student, graduate or undergraduate, is eligible. Any American Dialect Society member may nominate a candidate by sending an explanatory letter of recommendation to American Dialect Society President, Kathryn Remlinger, remlingk@gvsu.edu. Relevant attachments may be included with the recommendation. The deadline for nominations is December 20, 2023. Nominations received after this date will not be accepted.
The Roger Shuy Best Paper of the Year in American Speech Award
This award honors the best paper to appear in the American Dialect Society’s journal, American Speech, in the previous year. The selection criteria for the award will be based on some or all of the following: research excellence, exemplification of the mission of the journal, depth and thoroughness of the analysis, innovation, style, anticipated impact, and social relevance. The recipient of the award will be decided by a committee consisting of the society’s president, its past president, the editor of American Speech, and the managing editor and associate editor of the journal’s pedagogical section. The award has been funded by Professor Roger Shuy. The recipient will receive a $100 award, presented at the ADS annual luncheon, where the recipient can attend free of charge as an honored guest of ADS.
Meeting and hotel registration: ADS members are eligible to reserve rooms and register for the meeting at LSA member rates. If you are not a member you can access membership information at https://www.americandialect.org/membership. ADS members will need to register for both ADS and LSA through the LSA website. Registration for the ADS luncheon can be done at the same time through the LSA website.