Awards
Each year, LSA recognizes a wide range of contributions to the discipline of linguistics through the bestowal of awards. Both self-nominations and nominations of colleagues are welcomed. Click on a specific award to learn more about the nomination and selection process as well as to see a list of past winners.
Congratulations to the 2024 Award Winners!
Arnold Zwicky Award
This award, given for the first time in 2021, is intended to recognize the contributions of LGBTQ+ scholars in Linguistics and is named for Arnold Zwicky, the first LGBTQ+ president of the LSA.
Best Paper in Language Award
This award, made the first time in 2012, is given for the best paper published in the journal Language in any given year. All papers published in that year are eligible for review and then ranked by the Awards Committee.
C.L. Baker Award
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.
Early Career Award
Instituted in 2010, the LSA Early Career Award recognizes scholars early in their career who have made outstanding contributions to the field of linguistics.
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
This travel award is intended to enable graduate students pursuing topics in sociolinguistics to attend the LSA Annual Meeting.Excellence in Community Linguistics Award
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.
Kenneth L. Hale Award
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
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
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
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 reflect accuracy and timeliness as regards the materials but is also appealing to non-specialist audiences.
Linguistics, Language, and the Public Award
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
First presented in 2007, this award honors members of the LSA who have performed distinguished service to the Society.
Mentoring Award
Instituted in 2019, this award recognizes the work of individuals who, or organizations that, have exhibited sustained commitment to mentoring linguists.
Morris Halle Memorial Award for Faculty Excellence in Phonology
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 $500 for the best abstract submitted by a student for a paper or poster presentation at the next Annual Meeting. It awards $300 for the submitters of the abstracts rated 2nd and 3rd best.Victoria A. Fromkin Lifetime Service Award
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 to the Society throughout their career.
Victoria A. Fromkin Memorial Prize for Student Excellent in Phonology
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
Funded by the Dennis R. and Carol Guagliardo Preston Fund for Diversity in Linguistics, the CEDL Travel Grant was established to support travel awards for linguistics students from underrepresented groups to attend the Annual Meeting.
FGAE Travel Grant
The FGAE Travel Grant 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 Grant
The COGEL Travel Awards are intended to increase the participation of gender-diverse student members in the next LSA Annual Meeting. Awardees will get the opportunity to engage with linguistic research and to network with other researchers and peers.
COZIL Travel Grant
The LSA Committee on LGBTQ+ [Z] in Linguistics (COZIL) is offering two (2) travel grants in the amount of $500 each to support the participation of LGBTQ+ individuals in the 2025 LSA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia from January 9-12.