Call for Papers

Abstracts are invited for conference presentations addressing any aspect of the analysis, description or comparison of Bantu languages.

Important dates

Workshop proposals: Call is closed, and workshops have been selected.

Call for Papers and Posters.
The call is closed – thank you for the many interesting submissions!

Notification of acceptance for abstracts: 8 December 2015

Registration opening in early 2016; a preliminary programme will then also be made available

Conference 20-23 June 2016 (Mon-Thu); Workshops are held on 22 and 23 June 2016

Instructions for abstract submissions

Abstracts in English or French should be no longer than 300 words, in addition to references and examples. Altogether the length of one page A4 may not be exceeded. All abstracts will be reviewed anonymously by at least two reviewers. Please make sure that all examples are carefully glossed (using the Leipzig Glossing Conventions and explaining any supplementary glosses) and that tones are marked on all examples in tone languages. All theoretical approaches are welcome, but abstracts should provide a clear research question and an indication of the relevance of its conclusions for a broad audience of linguists interested in Bantu languages. Keynote presentations will be chosen from among the submitted abstracts.

When submitting your abstract, you will have a choice between three categories: “oral”, “poster” and “oral or poster”. The latter category means that you prefer an oral presentation but can also do a poster. If there are more good abstracts than we can accommodate, some will be scheduled as posters. If you choose either category “poster” or “oral or poster” you will increase your chances of acceptance.

If you choose “oral”, you will also need to indicate whether your submission is intended for the “general session” or one of the workshops. (No poster presentations in workshops!) If you intend to present in a workshop session, please select the name of the workshop from the list. Time for oral presentations in the general sessions will be 30 minutes, including 10 minutes for discussion. The format of workshop presentations may differ. For more information on these, please contact the respective workshop organizer.

All abstracts (poster, oral, general and workshop sessions) should be submitted to us via an electronic form (see below) until 15 Sept 2015. Abstracts should be submitted as a pdf- file according to the specifications below, unless the workshop description for which the abstract is intended specifies otherwise. Please consult these workshop description carefully!

  • Make sure that you use a Unicode compliant font.
  • You will be requested to submit two versions of the abstract. One should be anonymous (please, submit as indicated below under “Version 1”); the other should include your name, affiliation and email at the top of the page, directly below the title (please, submit with the file name as indicated under “Version 2”).

Please follow the file naming conventions:

Version 1: Anonymous abstract title_of_the_presentation.pdf
Version 2: Abstract with identifying information title_of_the_presentation_surname_firstname.pdf

Before you proceed to the e-form available here , please have both files ready. Due to technical constraints,  files cannot be accessed or modified any more once they are uploaded! Also, be aware, that due to a technical problem, the form may send a message about a submission after filling the form but before actually submitting the files. If this should happen, just submit the files as normal.