Linguistic Institutes

Five colorful posters from Linguistic Institutes between 1977 and 2023

Background

Since 1928, the LSA has sponsored the Linguistic Institutes, unparalleled gatherings of top linguistics students and professionals from throughout the field and around the world. Once annual events, since 1987, the Institutes have taken place in odd-numbered summers. Held on a major university campus, the Institute brings together approximately 100 faculty and hundreds more students for a month-long program of courses, lectures, workshops, and social events. The LSA supports the Institutes with seed grants, funding for endowed professorships, lectureships, and fellowships to support student members to participate in the Institute.
 

2025 Linguistic Institute: "Language in Use" 

The 2025 Linguistic Institute will be hosted by the University of Oregon from July 7 to August 8, 2025, under the direction of Vsevolod Kapatsinski, Kaori Idemaru and Spike Gildea. 

The Department of Linguistics at the University of Oregon is a leader in functional/cognitive/usage-based approaches to language. It is a vibrant community of research-active scholars that has greatly expanded in recent years. This year, faculty have won three awards from the LSA including the Early Career Award and the Bloomfield Book Award.  The University is located in Eugene, Oregon, a vibrant West Coast city of 170,000 people in the scenic Willamette Valley of western Oregon. There is a thriving food scene, as well as dozens of craft breweries and wineries in and around the city. The Pacific Ocean is an hour away by car, as are the Cascade mountains, both of which provide a wide variety of opportunities for outdoor recreation. The town boasts many miles of biking and running trails as well as hiking trails leading into the surrounding hills. There is a popular bike rental system, as well as a good rapid-transit bus system connecting the campus to major shopping centers in town. The Willamette River, which runs through town, offers kayaking and wild water rafting opportunities. The weather in July and August is wonderful, with typical highs in the low 80s and lows in the 50s, and virtually no precipitation.

Watch this space during the coming months as plans for the 2025 Institute develop. We are grateful to the local linguistics community for the hard work they will be undertaking over the next few years to bring the Institute to fruition.


 

Past Linguistic Institutes

Since 1928, Linguistics Institutes have provided defining moments in scholars' lives, and in the field. 
Complete list of past Linguistic Institutes. 
 

Interested in hosting a future Linguistic Institute? 

The Linguistic Institutes are held in odd-numbered summers. Please contact the LSA for more information about hosting an institute in 2027 or later. The RFP developed for 2023 provides an example of the kinds of information that needs to be included in a host proposal.