The 2026 Seoul International Conference on Linguistics (SICOL-2026)
Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul, Korea
August 10–11, 2026
Hosted and organized by the Linguistic Society of Korea (LSK)

Conference Theme
Theory Returns: Linguistics in the Age of AI

Conference Overview
The Linguistic Society of Korea (LSK) is pleased to announce the 2026 Seoul International Conference on Linguistics (SICOL-2026), to be held on August 10–11, 2026 at Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul, Korea (Participation mode: in person).

Recent advances in artificial intelligence—particularly large language models (LLMs)—have reshaped how language is processed, modeled, and analyzed. As AI systems increasingly simulate aspects of linguistic competence and performance, foundational questions concerning the nature of linguistic knowledge, representation, and structure demand renewed scrutiny.
In this rapidly evolving intellectual landscape, theoretical linguistics regains central importance. Systematic inquiry into the architecture of the human language faculty—its formal properties, constraints, and explanatory principles—remains indispensable for assessing both the capabilities and the limitations of AI-driven approaches to language.

SICOL-2026 aims to provide a rigorous forum for research addressing the essential properties of human language. We invite contributions that engage core theoretical questions, formal modeling, empirical methodology, and their interface with contemporary developments in AI.

Invited Speaker
• Jennifer Cole (Northwestern University)
• Hanjung Lee (Sungkyunkwan University)
Additional invited speakers will be announced.

Areas of Interest
We welcome submissions from all areas of linguistics, including but not limited to:
• Theoretical linguistics (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics)
• Sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and neurolinguistics
• Applied linguistics
• Corpus and computational linguistics
• AI and theoretical linguistics
Submissions addressing foundational issues in theoretical linguistics are particularly encouraged. Equal consideration will be given to papers directly engaging the conference theme and to contributions from all subfields of linguistics.

Presentation Format
• 20-minute oral presentation
• 10 minutes for discussion

Abstract Submission Guidelines
Abstracts must be submitted electronically via the official submission system (Microsoft CMT):
https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/SICOL2026

Submissions must comply with the following requirements:
• Anonymous abstract (double-blind review)
• Maximum 2 pages (A4 or US Letter), including references
• 12-point Times New Roman
• 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins on all sides
• PDF format only
All submissions must be fully anonymized. Authors must remove identifying information from the submission, including references. Self-citations should be anonymized (e.g., “Author 2024”) and formulated so as not to reveal the authors’ identity.
Submission limits:
Each author may submit:
• One single-authored abstract and one co-authored abstract, or
• Up to two co-authored abstracts.
Submissions that do not comply with these guidelines may be desk-rejected without review.
Accepted abstracts will appear in the official SICOL-2026 proceedings.

Important Dates
• Abstract submission deadline: May 31, 2026 (AoE)
• Notification of acceptance: June 20, 2026 (KST)
• Camera-ready abstract submission deadline: July 5, 2026 (AoE)
• Conference dates: August 10–11, 2026 (KST)

Contact
All inquiries regarding abstract submission and conference details should be directed to:
sicol2026@gmail.com