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2026 University of Nagoya, Japan
IcoLL2026: Joint conference of the 4th Iconicity Seminar (IcoSem) and the 15th International Symposium on Iconicity in Language and Literature (ILL) 21-23 February 2026, University of Nagoya, Japan
Conference website: ianjoo.github.io/icosem/4
Call for Papers: Variations and Dynamics of Iconicity
We invite the submission of abstracts to IcoLL 2026: Joint conference of the 4th Iconicity Seminar (IcoSem) and the 15th International Symposium on Iconicity in Language and Literature (ILL). For the first time, the two international conferences on iconicity will take place together, on 21-23 February 2026 at Nagoya University (Nagoya, Japan).
The topic of iconicity – resemblance between form and meaning – continues to be highly relevant for the study of language (in both spoken and signed modalities) and literature, but also for other semiotic systems and media involving gesture, depiction and music, and for interdisciplinary fields such as cognitive science and cognitive semiotics.
The special topic for this conference will be “Variations and Dynamics of Iconicity”. We therefore particularly invite contributions that explore the multifaceted nature of iconicity, encompassing its variations and dynamics across different conceptual domains, languages, cultures, and developmental stages. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Iconicity in the speech signal (sound symbolism, phonaesthemes, ideophones)
- Iconicity in grammar and text
- Iconicity in literature
- Iconicity in signed language
- Iconicity in gesture
- Iconicity in pictures and other visual media
- Iconicity in music
- Iconicity in narration
- Iconicity in imagination (mental imagery)
- Iconicity across sensory modalities (multimodality and cross-modality)
- Iconicity in evolution
- Iconicity in child development
- Iconicity across different forms of intelligence (animals, humans, AI, etc.)
Invited speakers
Abstract submission: We invite abstracts in English (max 2 pages, including references) of unpublished work for oral presentations, posters, and theme sessions.
Please submit your anonymous abstract via Easychair. Your abstract will then be reviewed by two anonymous reviewers. The deadline is 31 August 2025, but we encourage you to submit as soon as you are ready to, as decisions will be communicated to you on a rolling basis within two weeks from your submission (and not necessarily after the deadline). This will allow you to plan your trip well in advance.
Each submission will be allocated as either an oral presentation (20min talk + 10min Q&A) or a poster presentation, based on the review and the presenter’s preference. Only one abstract submission is permitted per each first author - there is no restriction on the number of abstracts as a non-first author.
Local Organizing Committee: Hinano Iida, Ian Joo and Kimi Akita
Permanent Organizing Committee: Olga Fischer and Christina Ljungberg