Call for Papers | Workshops

10/08/2026 -
10/09/2026 ZAS, Berlin

Register Variation in Spontaneous Speech

This international workshop explores the dynamic nature of register variation in spontaneous speech, examining how situational contexts, cognitive processes, and developmental pathways shape our adaptive language use. To advance a comprehensive understanding, we invite contributions from diverse theoretical frameworks and linguistic sub-disciplines.

To increase communicative efficiency, speakers adapt their speech to different audiences and circumstances according to socio-culturally recognisable and agreed-upon norms of social behaviour – producing distinct speech registers. Drawing on the conception of linguistic register as “those aspects of intraindividual variation in linguistic behaviour that are influenced by situational and functional settings” (Lüdeling et al., 2024), this workshop seeks to deepen our understanding of variation in spontaneous spoken registers, in both first (L1) and additional languages (L2/Ln).

Register variation permeates all levels of language production, including phonetic, morphological, lexical, syntactic, and discourse-organisational adaptations to the situational-functional properties of communication.  Extra-linguistic contexts are understood as configurations of parameters pertaining to physical circumstances (e.g., location, occasion, time) and interlocutor relationships, e.g. based on assessments of socially relevant characteristics such as age, gender, social role, and status (Biber et al., 2021). We welcome contributions addressing situational-functional parameters that influence linguistic realisations, such as Bell’s Audience Design (1984), Lindblom’s H&H Theory (1990), SFL models (Halliday & Hasan, 1976), or multidimensional models (Biber, 2009).

Furthermore, register production is continually modulated by cognitive and affective factors such as memory, attention, motivation, or language anxiety. These factors should therefore be accounted for in analyses of spoken register variation and in models of register acquisition and use, where the distinct profiles of L2 learners and multilingual speakers present a critical area of inquiry.

A central issue is the development of register flexibility which is closely linked to an individual’s socialization and to the acquisition of further languages. The interplay between specialised linguistic resource accumulation and increasing metalinguistic awareness represents a key concern in register acquisition studies (Ravid & Tolchinsky, 2002; Berman, 2018). Consequently, the relationship – and potential tension – between the development of spoken and written academic registers in educational settings provides a rich field for investigating register acquisition from multiple theoretical perspectives.

We particularly encourage submissions on, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Empirical studies of situational parameter effects on spontaneous speech
  • Modelling cognitive and affective influences on online register production
  • The development of spoken register flexibility across the lifespan
  •  Register variation in different spoken academic and specialised contexts (schools, universities…)
  • Acquisition of academic and professional spoken registers
  • Methodological innovations for analysing spontaneous register variation
  • Integrating theoretical perspectives (sociolinguistic, corpus-linguistic, systemic-functional, psycholinguistic)
  •  Speaking style/spoken register variation in first, second, and foreign languages
  • The interaction of register and (morpho-)phonetic parameters in spontaneous speech
  • Effects of spacial characteristics on speech

The workshop will feature keynote lectures, themed paper sessions, and poster panels.

Confirmed keynote speaker: Alfred Lameli (Marburg)

Key Dates

  • Submission Deadline: May 1, 2026
  • Notification of Acceptance: June 1, 2026
  • Workshop Dates: October 8-9, 2026
  • Workshop Venue: Leibniz-Zentrum Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft (ZAS), Pariser Str. 1, 10719, Berlin, Germany
  • Organisers: Milena Kühnast (HU Berlin), Miriam Oschkinat (ZAS Berlin), Nicole Schumacher
    (HU), Theres Weißgerber (HU), Samantha Weller (HU), Malte Belz (HU), Melissa Ebert (HU),
    Stephanie Jannedy (ZAS), Anke Lüdeling (HU), Beate Lütke (HU), Christine Mooshammer
    (HU), and Melanie Weirich (FSU Jena)

Unfortunately, we cannot offer travel bursaries. Attending the conference itself is free of charge.

Submission Guidelines and Types

We invite abstracts up to 500 words (excl. bibliography and figures). Abstracts must be submitted as a single PDF file and should follow APA style (7th edition) for in-text citations and the reference list. Please send your submission to spospe26-sfb1412@lists.hu-berlin.de by May 1, 2026. Abstracts must be anonymised for peer review.

The workshop offers the following presentation formats:

1) Talk: 20-minute oral presentation, followed by a 10-minute discussion;
2) Poster presentation: poster accompanied by a short introductory pitch.

Please indicate your preferred presentation format: talk, poster, or no preference. While we will endeavour to honour indicated preferences, the final decision on presentation format (talk/poster) rests with the workshop organisers based on programme constraints.

Contact Information

For any inquiries, please contact the workshop organisers at spospe26-sfb1412@lists.hu-berlin.de.
We look forward to receiving your submissions and welcoming you to our workshop “Register Variation in Spontaneous Speech” (SpoSpe2026).

References

Bell, A. (1984). Language style as audience design. Language in Society, 13(2), 145-204. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4167516
Biber, D., & Conrad, S. (2009). Register, genre, and style. Cambridge University Press.
Biber, D., Egbert, J., Keller, D., & Wizner, S. (2021). Towards a taxonomy of conversational discourse types: An empirical corpus-based analysis. Journal of Pragmatics, 171, 20-35. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2020.09.018
Berman, R. A. (2018). Language development and literacy. In R. J. R. Levesque (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Adolescence (pp. 2093-2103). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33228-4_19
Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1976). Cohesion in English. Longman.
Lindblom, B. (1990). Explaining Phonetic Variation: A Sketch of the H&H Theory. In W. J. Hardcastle & A. Marchal (Eds.), Speech Production and Speech Modelling (pp. 403-439). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2037-8_16
Lüdeling, A., Szucsich, L., Zeige, L. E., Adli, A., Alexiadou, A., Belz, M., Bouzouita, M., Bunk, O., Dreyer, M., Egg, M., Feulner, A. H., Fleischer, J., Gagarina, N., Hirsch, A., Jannedy, S., Knoeferle, P., Krause, T., Kutscher, S., Liu, M.,…Wiese, H. (2024). Register: Language Users’ Knowledge of Situational-Functional Variation. Register Aspects of Language in Situation, 3(1), 1-53.
Ravid, D., & Tolchinsky, L. (2002). Developing linguistic literacy: a comprehensive model. Journal of Child Language, 29(2), 417-447. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000902005111