Department of Linguistics

58th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics (ICSTLL-58)

  • Location: University of Bern, Switzerland
  • Conference dates: 3-5 September 2025
  • Email: icstll58@gmail.com

About the Conference

The International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics (ICSTLL) is a prestigious academic event that brings together scholars and researchers from around the world interested in Sino-Tibetan, as well as Tai-Kadai, Hmong-Mien and Austroasiatic languages. The first ICSTLL was held at Yale University in 1968; since then, it has been held in thirteen countries.

The conference is one of the leading platforms for scholars to present their research findings, exchange ideas, and engage in discussions on various topics, including but not limited to historical linguistics, comparative linguistics, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, language documentation, language revitalisation, and language typology within the Sino-Tibetan, as well as Tai-Kadai, Hmong-Mien, and Austroasiatic language families.

Call for Abstracts

General sessions

ICSTLL-58 will be held on 3-5 September 2025 at the University of Bern in Switzerland. Abstracts are invited for presentations on any aspect of linguistic research on Sino-Tibetan languages or any languages that have been in close contact with them, including but not limited to Tai-Kadai, Hmong-Mien, and Austroasiatic languages. Applicants are welcome to submit up to one single-authored and one co-authored abstract.

Workshops

In addition to the general session, two workshops will be held at the 58th ICSTLL: Verb stem alternations in Sino-Tibetan languages (organiser: Muhammad Zakaria) and Advances in Sino-Tibetan Historical-Comparative Linguistics (organiser: Pascal Gerber). Please mention in your abstract whether you want your abstract to be submitted to one of the workshops by writing the title of the workshop at the top of your abstract; abstracts without the title of either workshop will be considered for the general session.

Important Dates

  • Abstract Submission Opens: 1 December 2024
  • Abstract Submission Closes: 10 February 2025
  • Notification of Acceptance: 31 March 2025

Abstract Submission Guidelines

The abstract should be written in English, in Times New Roman 12 font, with single space, and be no longer than 500 words, excluding references. It should not contain any tables and figures and should be completely anonymous.

Submissions must be made via EasyAbs. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long. An additional 10 minutes are allocated for Q&A.

Organisers

  • Linda Konnerth
  • Muhammad Zakaria
  • Hunter Brown
  • Pascal Gerber
  • Ellora Hänni
  • Susie Kanshouwa
  • Jonathan Reich
  • Sara Rüfenacht
  • Sereina Waldis
  • Marius Zemp

Visa and Border Control

Please check if you need a visa to enter Switzerland and the Schengen area respectively.

→ Online visa system

In case you will need a Schengen visa for up to 90 days, you will have to submit a letter of invitation issued by the Local Organising Committee. Please contact us at icstll58@gmail.com to ask for this letter. Without exception, we will only issue letters of invitation to scholars whose panel, paper or poster has been accepted.

You can apply for a Schengen visa six months in advance, i.e. this will be possible as soon as you receive your notification of acceptance by March 31st. Please consider that the application process will take several weeks or even months. So, we urgently advise you to apply for the visa as soon as possible.

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