Awards

Each year, LSA recognizes a wide range of contributions to the discipline of linguistics through the bestowal of awards. Click on a specific award to learn more about the nomination and selection process, as well as to see a list of past winners.

Arnold Zwicky Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

This award, given for the first time in 2021, is intended to recognize LGBTQ+ scholars and those whose work in linguistics benefits the LGBTQ+ community. The award is named for Arnold Zwicky, the first openly LGBTQ+ president of the LSA.

Best Paper in Language Award

This award, made for the first time in 2012, is given for the best paper published in the journal Language in any given year. All papers published in all four issues of that year will be considered for this award.

C.L. Baker Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

This award, given for the first time in 2020, honors the legacy of the late C. L. Baker (1939-1997) and is funded by a generous gift from his family. The winner receives a $500 honorarium and will be recognized at the Awards Ceremony at the LSA Annual Meeting.

Centennial Student Scholarship Award

Nomination closes at 11:59 pm PT on August 15, 2025.

Established in 2024, the Centennial Student Fund supports student attendance and participation at the LSA Annual Meeting. The funds can be used to provide travel grants for students, including both undergraduate students with a demonstrated strong interest in linguistics and graduate students in linguistics or a related field who have not yet defended their dissertations.

Early Career Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

Instituted in 2010, the LSA Early Career Award recognizes scholars who have made outstanding contributions to the field of linguistics early in their careers.

Emmon Bach Fellowship

The Emmon Bach fellowship covers tuition for CoLang workshops and practicum as well as lodging and a meal plan (weekdays only), plus limited additional funds to help defray the cost of travel.

Elizabeth Dayton Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

This travel award is intended to enable graduate students pursuing topics in sociolinguistics to attend the LSA Annual Meeting.

Excellence in Community Linguistics Award

Nomination closed for 2026. 

First established in 2013, this award recognizes the outstanding contributions that members of language communities (typically outside the academic sphere of professional linguistics) make for the benefit of their community's language.

Indigenous Scholarship Fund Award

Nomination closes at 11:59 pm PT on September 1, 2025. 

Established in 2024, the Indigenous Scholarship Fund provides financial support for individuals who have a deep and personal connection to, or abiding interest in, an Indigenous community of the Americas or the American Pacific to engage in scholarship focused on the languages of those communities, including but not limited to their documentation, preservation, and revitalization. 

Kenneth L. Hale Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

First presented in 2002, this award recognizes scholars who have done outstanding work on the documentation of a particular language or family of languages that is endangered or no longer spoken.

Leonard Bloomfield Book Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

First presented in 1992, this award recognizes a volume that makes an outstanding contribution of enduring value to our understanding of language and linguistics.

Linguistics in Practice Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

The Linguistics in Practice award honors an individual linguist or a team (including at least one linguist) that has had an influence or impact on culture or society, especially on individuals without linguistics training. It honors a career outside academia for a lifetime of achievement or an important instance of invention or innovation.

Linguistics Journalism Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

Established by the LSA in 2014, this award honors the journalist whose work best represents linguistics during the 12-month consideration period indicated in the call for nominations. The award is based on a single news story or a body of work that reflects accuracy and timeliness regarding the materials but is also appealing to non-specialist audiences.

Linguistics, Language, and the Public Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

First presented in 1997, this award honors an individual or group for work that effectively increases public awareness and understanding of linguistics and language. Works in any medium are eligible, including books, documentary films, software, and lectures.

Linguistic Service Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

First presented in 2007, this award honors members of the LSA who have performed distinguished service to the Society.

Mentoring Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

Instituted in 2019, this award recognizes the work of individuals or organizations that have exhibited a sustained commitment to mentoring linguists.

Morris Halle Memorial Award for Faculty Excellence in Phonology

Nominations closed for 2026.

First established in 2021, the Morris Halle Award for Faculty Excellence in Phonology will be used to defray expenses associated with participation in the LSA's Annual Meeting. It will be awarded for outstanding scholarship in phonology by an early career faculty member in linguistics.

Student Abstract Award

Instituted in 2010, the Student Abstract Award presents $500 for the best abstract submitted by a student for a paper or poster presentation at the next Annual Meeting. It also awards $300 to the submitters of the abstracts, rated 2nd and 3rd best.

Victoria A. Fromkin Lifetime Service Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

First presented in 2001 as the "Victoria A. Fromkin Prize for Distinguished Service," this award recognizes individuals who have performed extraordinary service to the discipline and Society throughout their careers.

Victoria A. Fromkin Memorial Prize for Student Excellent in Phonology

Nominations closed for 2026.

First established in 2021, the Victoria Fromkin Memorial Prize for Student Excellence in Phonology will be used to defray expenses (up to $500) associated with participation in the LSA's Annual Meeting. It will be awarded for outstanding scholarship in phonology by a linguistics graduate student.

CEDL Travel Grant

Nominations closed for 2026.

Funded by the Dennis R. and Carol Guagliardo Preston Fund for Diversity in Linguistics, the CEDL Travel Award was established to support travel awards to attend the Annual Meeting for linguistics students from underrepresented groups (including but not limited to scholars from under represented racial/ethnic and gender groups, first-generation scholars, and those intending to study languages and varieties that are traditionally underrepresented in the discipline).

FGAE Travel Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

The FGAE Travel Award is intended to increase the participation of first-gen students in the LSA and FGAE Committee; awardees will have the opportunity to explore linguistics topics or pursue their own areas of interest further by connecting with peers and scholars at the LSA Annual Meeting.

COGEL Travel Awards

Nominations closed for 2026.

The COGEL Travel Awards are intended to broaden participation of students of all genders in the Annual Meeting, and to support students whose research brings gender issues to the forefront.
 
(Note: this award is contingent on EC approval of the committee’s annual budget request)

COZIL Travel Award

Nominations closed for 2026.

The LSA Committee on LGBTQ+ [Z] in Linguistics (COZIL) offers travel awards to support attendance at the LSA Annual Meeting for LGBTQ+ individuals and those interested in the study of Lavender linguistics.
 
(Note: this award is contingent on EC approval of the committee’s annual budget request)

2025 Award Winners

2024 Award Winners

2023 Award Winners