New Perspectives on Prosody: Typology, Interfaces, and Linguistic Diversity

Date:19^th April 2027

Location: Somerville College, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6HD, UK.

Prosody is an important dimension of language, encompassing patterns of pitch, prominence, rhythm, duration, and phrasing that contribute to the organization and interpretation of linguistic structure. Prosody also provides important cues to constituent boundaries, information structure, discourse organization, and pragmatic meaning (Nespor & Vogel, 1986; Ladd, 2008; Jun, 2005, 2014). Research on the interfaces between prosody and grammar has demonstrated that prosodic phrasing and prominence are shaped by interactions among phonological, morphological, syntactic, and information-structural constraints. These interactions also exhibit cross-linguistic variation (Selkirk, 2011; Féry, 2017).

Despite significant advances in prosodic theory and experimental research, the diversity of prosodic systems across the world's languages remains underexplored. Evidence from under-documented languages offers opportunities to evaluate existing theoretical assumptions, identify previously unrecognized patterns, and develop more comprehensive accounts of the relationship between prosodic form and linguistic function. Cross-linguistic and typological approaches are therefore essential for understanding both the diversity of prosodic systems and the principles that may underlie their organization (Jun, 2005, 2014; Himmelmann & Ladd, 2008).

This one-day workshop aims to bring together researchers investigating prosody, its interfaces with morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, and its role in linguistic diversity. Contributions are particularly encouraged on endangered and tonal languages, as well as studies that integrate theoretical analysis with corpus-based and language-documentation approaches. Research based on field recordings and naturalistic speech are welcomed alongside methodological innovations in computational and AI-assisted prosodic analysis, particularly where annotated speech resources are limited.

Contributions are invited on topics including, but not limited to:

· Prosody in under-documented languages. Prosodic analysis using small corpora, field recordings, and naturalistic speech.

· Prosody-grammar interfaces. Interactions between prosodic structure, morphology, and syntax.

· Prosodic mismatches and variation. Mismatches between prosodic and morphosyntactic structures.

· Prosody and epistemic stance. Prosodic expression of epistemic stance, speaker commitment, and evidential meanings.

· Prosodic boundaries and pauses. Acoustic cues to prosodic boundaries, pauses, and their relationships to grammatical and discourse structure.

· Pitch, tone, and intonation. The roles of pitch and intonation in marking lexical, grammatical, and discourse-pragmatic distinctions.

Keynote speaker: Professor Aditi Lahiri

Abstracts should not exceed 300 words, excluding references and examples.

Submission link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=npp2027

Key dates:

Abstract submission deadline: 8^th January 2027

Notification of acceptance: 1^st Feb 2027

Workshop date: 19^th April 2027

Contact: Dr Naijing Liu: naijing.liu@ling-phil.ox.ac.uk

Selected references:

Féry, C. (2017). Intonation and prosodic structure. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139022064

Himmelmann, N. P., & Ladd, D. R. (2008). Prosodic description: An introduction for fieldworkers. Language Documentation & Conservation, 2(2), 244–274.

Jun, S.-A. (Ed.). (2005). Prosodic typology: The phonology of intonation and phrasing. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199249633.001.0001

Jun, S.-A. (Ed.). (2014). Prosodic typology II: The phonology of intonation and phrasing. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567300.001.0001

Ladd, D. R. (2008). Intonational phonology (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Nespor, M., & Vogel, I. (1986). Prosodic phonology. Foris Publications.

Selkirk, E. (2011). The syntax–phonology interface. In J. Goldsmith, J. Riggle, & A. C. L. Yu (Eds.), The handbook of phonological theory (2nd ed., pp. 435–484). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444343069.ch14