HISPhonCog 2026 (Seoul)
Hanyang International Symposium on Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language 2026 (22-23 May, 2026)

HIPCS (Hanyang Institute for Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language) at Hanyang University, together with Department of English Language and Literature and Chinese Language and Literature, holds its 5th annual international symposium on current issues on phonetics and cognitive sciences of language (HISPhonCog) 2026 on May 22-23, 2026.
 

Theme for HISPhonCoG 2026

Speech Across the Lifespan: From Early Acquisition to Skilled Interaction

Over the past decades, research on speech has increasingly highlighted the importance of a lifespan perspective. Speech is not a static capacity acquired once in childhood but a continuously developing system shaped by motor growth, social interaction, and cognitive maturation. From the earliest stages of acquisition, children’s developing motor control, perceptual attunement, sensitivity to linguistic regularities, and prosodic patterning intertwine to establish the foundations of linguistic communicative competence. As individuals mature, these skills expand into more complex forms of interaction, supporting nuanced communication, pragmatic adaptation, and stylistic variation. At the same time, speech across the lifespan reveals vulnerabilities: atypical developmental pathways, age-related changes in motor or cognitive systems, the demands of second-language use, and neurocognitive conditions all offer windows into the mechanisms linking phonetics, phonology, and broader communicative functions. Prosody and fine phonetic detail emerge as central, linking speech production and perception with motor skill, linguistic structure, and social cognition. 

HISPhonCog 2026 invites contributions that address these interrelated perspectives, especially by providing some empirical (experimental) evidence. We particularly welcome studies examining the linguistic and cognitive functions of fine phonetic detail as they manifest in speech development, skilled interaction in adulthood, and variation across typical and atypical populations. Submissions from articulatory, perceptual, sociolinguistic, and neurocognitive approaches, in both native and non-native contexts, are encouraged.
 

Invited speakers

• Amalia Arvaniti (Radboud University, Netherlands)
• Cathi Best (Western Sydney University, Australia)
• Jason Bishop (City University of New York, USA)
• Sam Kirkham (Lancaster University, UK)
• Benjamin Munson (University of Minnesota, USA)
• Meghan Sumner (Stanford University, USA)
• Megha Sundara (UCLA, USA)
• Patrick Wong (Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
   

A possible Special Issue to be published in a journal

• We are tentatively planning on compiling a limited number of selected papers (including invited talks) as a Special Issue, which best fit to the conference theme Speech Across the Lifespan: From Early Acquisition to Skilled Interaction in a peer-reviewed international journal.
• The target journals (to be determined): Journal of Phonetics, Linguistics Vanguard, Laboratory Phonology, Language and Speech etc.
• Please note that the special issue plan may be subject to cancellation if an adequate number of papers cannot be compiled or if journal selection does not succeed.
   

Support for international student participants (*free accommodation*)

• We are pleased to announce that we have secured funding to provide complimentary accommodations for up to three nights in a twin room (two single beds to share) for international student presenters affiliated with institutions abroad. Each room is intended to be shared by two presenters; however, if a co-author is traveling with the presenter and attending the conference in person, they may also be eligible to share the room with the presenter—pending prior approval.
   

Free registration for all (with a free banquet)

• We are very pleased to inform you that we will be able to make registration free as before.
• Free registration will include a free banquet, free munches for breakfast, free refreshments and a free conference handbook
• Pre-registration should be made by no later than April 1, 2026 to be guaranteed for possible accommodation support (for international student presenters) and free registration (for all foreign and domestic participants and audience).
• A pre-registration form that arrives a few days after April 1 may still be considered for free registration, depending on the budget and availability. Please contact us at hanyang.hipcs@gmail.com if you miss the deadline by a few days but still would like to register in advance.
• On-site registration will be possible for small fees, but with no guarantee for lunches and banquet admission.
• For further information about how to register, please check the website later.
   

Abstract submission instruction

• A PDF file of a two-page abstract (single-spaced with 12 pt font size *without* a list of authors’ names and their affiliations) should be submitted through EasyChair by January 31, 2026, observing the "Anywhere on Earth" deadline (according to Niue time zone). (Submission will open December 1, 2025)
• Abstracts should be written in English and must not exceed one page of text, totaling a maximum of 600 words. References, examples, and figures can be included on a second page.
• The submitted abstracts should be in PDF format, using Times New Roman font with a font size of 12. Margins should be set at 2.54 cm or 1 inch on an A4 page format, and single spacing must be applied with no page numbers.
• The file name of the abstract should adhere to the format: Paper_title.pdf. The file name must match the paper title up to the first 9 words. For instance, “Speech Across the Lifespan: From Early Acquisition to Skilled.pdf”
• Do not include author names or affiliations within the filename or the content of the abstract.
• URL for EasyChair: Please check https://site.hanyang.ac.kr/web/hisphoncog/about-hisphoncog/2026 for an update

Call for Satellite Workshop proposals

• We set aside May 21 (Thursday), 2026 (the day before the main conference) for one or two possible satellite workshops. 
• We will provide lecture rooms for the workshop free of charge with support of our onsite personnel. 
• If you are interested, please contact Taehong Cho with proposal directly at tcho@hanyang.ac.kr. 
• Proposal deadline: January 31, 2026

Timeline

• Deadline of submission of a two-page long abstract: January 31, 2026
• Notification of Acceptance: No later than March 1, 2026
• Free Registration with free accommodation: No later than April 1, 2026
• Satellite Workshop (if organized): May 21, 2026
• Symposium dates: May 22-23, 2026 
• (Submission of 'full' invited papers to a special issue, if materialized: September 30, 2026)

Local Organizing Institute and Committee

Organizing Bodies of HISPhonCog:

• HIPCS (the Hanyang Institute for Phonetics and Cognitive Sciences of Language)
• CRC for Articulatory DB and Cognitive Sciences
• Department of English Language and Literature; Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Hanyang University
   

Organizing Committee:

• Taehong Cho (Chair, HIPCS, Hanyang University)
• Sahyang Kim (Hongik University & HIPCS)
• Sang-Im Lee-Kim (HIPCS, Hanyang University)
• Say Young Kim (HIPCS, Hanyang University, Seoul)

Contact

• Contact person: Mr. Eunhwan Lee at hanyang.hipcs@gmail.com 
• https://site.hanyang.ac.kr/web/hisphoncog/about-hisphoncog/2026

Registration Info