SIGUL

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Language Technology and Under-Resourced Languages: Community Survey
by Sakriani Sakti 24 Jun '26

24 Jun '26

Dear Colleagues, We invite you to participate in a survey on language technology for Indigenous, minority, and under-resourced languages. The purpose of this survey is to better understand the current state of language technology, community perspectives, existing skills, and training interests related to Indigenous, minority, and under-resourced languages. We welcome responses from language community members, educators, linguists, researchers, developers, language activists, and others who work with or support these languages. The survey takes approximately 10–15 minutes to complete. The results will help us better understand current needs, priorities, and experiences related to these languages and may inform future community activities and initiatives. Survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdXwfTA8pZrefZ1oU_KvrEUPqMYTMt0hmB… We would greatly appreciate your participation and would be grateful if you could share this survey with other language communities, colleagues, or organizations that may be interested. Thank you very much for your time and support. Kind regards, Sakriani Sakti ELRA/ISCA SIGUL Board ISCA Board Geographical Outreach

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SIGUL Board Transition and Proposed Officer Appointments
by Sakriani Sakti 24 Jun '26

24 Jun '26

Dear SIGUL Members, In October 2025, we issued a call for nominations for the positions of SIGUL Chair and Secretary. Unfortunately, despite extending the nomination period, we did not receive enough nominations to proceed with an election. One nomination was received through the open call, and a second candidate agreed to serve after being approached by the Board. Although we are grateful for their willingness to contribute, the number of candidates remained insufficient to support an election process. At the same time, our current Chairs and Secretary have taken on additional professional and personal commitments, making it difficult for them to continue carrying the full responsibilities of their roles. To ensure the continued operation of SIGUL and to provide a sustainable distribution of responsibilities, the Board proposes the following arrangement: * The two new candidates, *Atul K. Ojha*and *Alice Millour*, will assume the roles of Co-Chairs. * The current Secretary, *Maite Melero*, will continue in the role of Secretary. * The current Chairs, *Sakriani Sakti*and *Claudia Soria*, will remain on the Board to provide continuity, advice, and support during the transition period. If there are no objections from the membership, these changes will take effect on *30 June 2026*, and the proposed officers will formally assume their responsibilities from that date. Should you have any concerns or objections regarding this proposal, please let us know before 30 June 2026. Thank you for your continued support of SIGUL and for helping us ensure the continued success of our community. Kind regards, Sakriani Sakti, Claudia Soria, and Maite Melero On behalf of the current SIGUL Board

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CALL FOR PARTICIPATION - NLPAICS 2026
by Ranasinghe, Tharindu 27 May '26

27 May '26

Second International Conference on Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence for Cyber Security (NLPAICS 2026) The Second International Conference on Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence for Cyber Security (NLPAICS 2026) invites researchers, practitioners, industry experts, and students to participate in this international forum dedicated to the latest advances in NLP, Artificial Intelligence, and Cyber Security. The will take place in Alicante, Spain, on 11–12 June 2026. The list of accepted papers is published at: https://nlpaics2026.gplsi.es/ . Further details about keynote speakers, and submissions are also available on the official conference website. The conference programme will be announced shortly. Researchers and attendees interested in participating are encouraged to register as soon as possible to secure the reduced rates and join the NLPAICS 2026 community. Early registration must be completed before Monday, 25 May 2026 in order to benefit from the discounted registration fees. Special fee rates are also available for participants attending NLPAICS + Summer School: “The Paradigm Shift: From Rules to Models in Natural Language Processing” (https://summer-school.gplsi.es/) that will be held from 15-17 June 2026 in Alicante. For updates and additional information, please visit the official conference website. Best Regards Organising committee, NLPAICS

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CfP: Pivotal Players: Academic reflections special issue
by Menno Van Zaanen 26 May '26

26 May '26

Dear Colleague, We are writing to invite you to contribute to a curated collection of articles titled Pivotal Players: Academic reflections on major works that have shaped research across the Arts, Humanities, and Social Science. ABOUT THE COLLECTION The collection is premised on a deceptively simple observation: while researchers regularly build on prior scholarship, we rarely pause to reflect explicitly on which works have shaped us, and how. This collection creates a dedicated space for exactly that reflection. Contributors are invited to select a publication from before 2000 that has inspired them in their own research; this may include, but is not limited to, a seminal book, article, or comparable scholarly work, and write a reflective piece examining its impact: on the field broadly, on your own intellectual and methodological development, or both. Contributions need not be uncritical. The collection welcomes honest assessments of a work's limitations, contested legacies, or the ways a field has moved beyond, or failed to move beyond, its foundational assumptions. The collection is anchored in Digital Humanities but is explicitly transdisciplinary. Given that Digital Humanities is a relatively young field, contributors are encouraged to draw on influential works from cognate disciplines, including the social sciences, humanities, media studies, information science, musicology, education, and beyond, and to articulate how those works connect to current digital scholarship. At a moment when knowledge production is accelerating, and the boundaries of the digital humanities are being actively renegotiated, this kind of reflexive scholarship helps the field understand its own genealogy, surface underrepresented intellectual lineages, and think more carefully about the assumptions embedded in foundational texts. Routledge Open Research uses a transparent, post-publication peer- review model that enables rapid publication and ongoing scholarly dialogue. The format itself, reflective, personal, and rigorous, also offers academics the rare opportunity to be truly transparent about the works that have genuinely formed their thinking. For more information about this new publication format, please contact Kristen Brida <Kristen.Brida(a)taylorandfrancis.com>. SUBMISSION DETAILS Final submission deadline (with rolling submission): 31 March 2027 Collection page and submission portal: https://routledgeopenresearch.org/collections/academic-reflections-major-wo… We would warmly welcome your contribution. If you are interested or would like to discuss a potential piece before committing, please do not hesitate to contact us directly. Janelize Morelli <Janelize.Morelli(a)nwu.ac.za> Menno Van Zaanen <Menno.VanZaanen(a)nwu.ac.za> -- Prof Menno van Zaanen menno.vanzaanen(a)nwu.ac.za Professor in Digital Humanities South African Centre for Digital Language Resources https://www.sadilar.org ________________________________ NWU PRIVACY STATEMENT: http://www.nwu.ac.za/it/gov-man/disclaimer.html DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message and attachments thereto are intended solely for the recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorised review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you have received the e-mail by mistake, please contact the sender or reply e-mail and delete the e-mail and its attachments (where appropriate) from your system. ________________________________

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CfP Journal of the Digital Humanities Association of Southern Africa (JDHASA)
by Menno Van Zaanen 20 May '26

20 May '26

Call for Submissions The Journal of the Digital Humanities Association of Southern Africa (JDHASA), ISSN 3006-6492, invites innovative and exploratory contributions that push the boundaries of digital humanities research and practice, especially those engaging with emerging technologies, critical data studies, and culturally situated methodologies. We particularly encourage submissions that foreground underrepresented voices, languages, and epistemologies, or that critically examine the social, political, and ethical dimensions of digital scholarship in the Global South and beyond. Submissions that demonstrate interdisciplinary collaboration or address teaching and pedagogy in digital humanities are especially welcome. JDHASA remains committed to fostering inclusive scholarly exchange and building a vibrant community of practice. Potential topics include, but are not limited to * Digital humanities in the Global South * Artificial intelligence in humanities research * Decolonial and postcolonial approaches to digital scholarship * Infrastructure, access, and digital divides * Computational linguistics and low-resource languages * Human language technologies for African languages * Digital literary studies and text analysis * Digital storytelling and multimedia narratives * Digital arts and creative practice * Media studies in the digital age * Critical data studies and data ethics * Social media analysis and public discourse * Digital archives and preservation * Library and information science in digital contexts * Cultural heritage digitisation * Interdisciplinary methods in digital humanities * Digital pedagogy and teaching practices * DH curriculum development and programme design * Digital mapping and spatial humanities * Community-based and participatory digital projects Contributions may include research articles, case studies, methodological interventions, project reports, book reviews (max. 2 pages), and reflective essays. Research articles may be submitted as short papers, e.g. for work in progress (max. 8 pages), or long papers (max. 20 pages). Articles should follow the ACL style guidelines (https://2023.aclweb.org/calls/style_and_formatting/). Prospective authors should ensure that submissions align with the journal’s open-access ethos and undergo rigorous peer review. Please consult the journal guidelines for formatting and submission details (https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/dhasa/about/submissions#authorGuideli… ), and watch for announcements of upcoming special issues that highlight timely and emerging themes. JDHASA aims to release at least two issues annually. Submission deadline for the first issue of 2026 is the 30th of June, 2026, but rolling submissions are accepted throughout the year. The cut-off date for the second issue is the 31st of December 2026. Link to the journal website and submission system: http://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/dhasa/ Contact: journal(a)digitalhumanities.org.za About JDHASA The Journal of the Digital Humanities Association of Southern Africa (JDHASA), ISSN 3006-6492, is a peer-reviewed open-access journal that publishes research from DHASA members and the wider scholarly community, with a focus on Digital Humanities in the Global South. Its scope spans areas such as computational linguistics and literary studies, digital arts, media, technology criticism, and information and archive studies, among others. Established alongside DHASA in 2016, the journal supports an interdisciplinary network of scholars and aims to foster a “methodological commons” while encouraging dialogue and critical reflection on teaching and research in the field. -- Prof Menno van Zaanen menno.vanzaanen(a)nwu.ac.za Professor in Digital Humanities South African Centre for Digital Language Resources https://www.sadilar.org ________________________________ NWU PRIVACY STATEMENT: http://www.nwu.ac.za/it/gov-man/disclaimer.html DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message and attachments thereto are intended solely for the recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorised review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you have received the e-mail by mistake, please contact the sender or reply e-mail and delete the e-mail and its attachments (where appropriate) from your system. ________________________________

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3rd Workshop on Language Models for Underserved Communities (LM4UC)
by Fred PHILIPPY 27 Apr '26

27 Apr '26

We are excited to announce the 3rd Language Models for Underserved Communities (LM4UC) workshop, co-located with IJCAI 2026. The workshop will take place in person and virtually between August 15-17, 2026, in Bremen. LM4UC invites researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to address challenges and propose innovative solutions for building and deploying language models (LMs) for underserved languages and communities. Underserved communities often lack adequate access to advanced NLP technologies due to limited linguistic data, insufficient computational resources, or inadequate AI governance frameworks. This gap hinders equitable access to NLP advancements, exacerbating the digital divide. Our workshop aims to address this by fostering a multidisciplinary dialogue around the development of LMs that prioritize cultural sensitivity, resource efficiency, and sustainable AI practices. Topics of Interest We invite submissions of full papers, ongoing work, position papers, and survey papers on topics including, but not limited to: 1. Evaluation Design: Evaluations are no longer passive datasets. They are mechanisms that shape model development. We invite research that focuses on principled, technically grounded benchmark design. 2. Cultural Alignment & Safety: Most alignment research assumes Western norms. We invite papers that focus on technically grounded alignment methods that generalize across cultures and languages. 3. Agentic Systems in Global Environments: As LLMs become agents, we need formal evaluation and control in multilingual, multi-cultural environments. Submission Guidelines We welcome long papers (8 pages) and short papers (4 pages), excluding references. Submissions must follow the IJCAI 2026 style guidelines. Important Dates * Submission deadline: May 24, 2026 * Notification of acceptance: June 7, 2026 * Camera-ready paper due: August 1, 2026 * Workshop dates: August 15/16/17, 2026 Submit your paper via OpenReview: https://openreview.net/group?id=ijcai.org/IJCAI/2026/Workshop/LM4UC Contact Us: For inquiries, please contact the workshop organizer: lm4uc.organizers(a)gmail.com<mailto:lm4uc.organizers@gmail.com>

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Call for Participation for the 7th RAIL WORKSHOP
by Menno Van Zaanen 14 Apr '26

14 Apr '26

Call for Participation for the 7th RAIL WORKSHOP RAIL workshop https://sadilar.org/en/seventh-workshop-on-resources-for-african-indigenous… Co-located with LREC 2026 https://www.elra.info/lrec2026 RAIL workshop date: 12 May 2026 Conference venue: Palau de Congressos de Palma, Palma de Mallorca (Spain) Theme: Creating resources for less-resourced African languages The seventh Resources for African Indigenous Languages (RAIL) workshop will be co-located with the LREC 2026 conference in Palma, Mallorca (Spain), on 12 May 2026. The RAIL workshop is an interdisciplinary platform for researchers working on African indigenous language resources such as natural language processing (NLP) tools, Human Language Technologies (HLT), data collections, and annotations. This workshop aims to foster a scientific community of practice that focuses on computational linguistic tools and data that are designed for or applied to the indigenous languages of Africa. Many African languages are under-resourced, while only a few are considered to be somewhat better resourced. These languages often share interesting properties such as writing systems, making them different from most high-resourced languages. From a computational perspective, these languages lack enough corpora to undertake high-level development of NLP and HLT tools, which in turn impedes the development of African languages in these areas. During previous workshops, it was noted that the problems and solutions presented were not only applicable to African languages but were also relevant to many other low-resource languages across the world. Because these languages share similar challenges, this workshop provides researchers with opportunities to work collaboratively on issues of language resource development and learn from each other. The RAIL workshop has several aims. First, the workshop brings together researchers who work on African indigenous languages, forming a community of practice for people working on indigenous languages. Second, the workshop aims to reveal currently unknown or unpublished existing resources (corpora, NLP tools, and applications), resulting in a better overview of the current state-of-the-art, and also allows for discussions on novel, desired resources for future research in this area. Third, it enhances the sharing of knowledge regarding the development of low-resource languages. Finally, it enables discussions on how to improve the quality as well as the availability of the resources. Organising Committee Muzi Matfunjwa, South African Centre for Digital Language Resources Mmasibidi Setaka, South African Centre for Digital Language Resources Rooweither Mabuya, South African Centre for Digital Language Resources Menno van Zaanen, South African Centre for Digital Language Resources -- Prof Menno van Zaanen menno.vanzaanen(a)nwu.ac.za Professor in Digital Humanities South African Centre for Digital Language Resources https://www.sadilar.org ________________________________ NWU PRIVACY STATEMENT: http://www.nwu.ac.za/it/gov-man/disclaimer.html DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message and attachments thereto are intended solely for the recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorised review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you have received the e-mail by mistake, please contact the sender or reply e-mail and delete the e-mail and its attachments (where appropriate) from your system. ________________________________

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7th Call for Papers – LaTeLL 2026 (Low-Resource Languages)
by ernesto.estevanell＠ua.es 08 Apr '26

08 Apr '26

International Conference 'LAnguage TEchnologies for Low-resource Languages' (LaTeLL '2026) Fes, Morocco 30 September, 1 and 2 October 2026 www.latell.org/2026/ [1] 7th Call for Papers The conference Natural Language Processing (NLP) has witnessed remarkable progress in recent years, largely driven by the emergence of deep learning architectures and, more recently, large language models (LLMs). Nevertheless, these advances have disproportionately benefited high-resource languages that possess abundant data for model training. By contrast, low-resource languages which account for at least 85% of the world's linguistic diversity and are often spoken by smaller or marginalised communities, have not yet reaped the full benefits of contemporary NLP technologies. This imbalance can be attributed to several interrelated factors, including the scarcity of high-quality training data, limited computational and financial resources, and insufficient community engagement in data collection and model development. Developing NLP applications for low-resource languages poses major challenges, particularly the need for large, well-annotated datasets, standardised tools, and robust linguistic resources. Although several workshops have previously addressed NLP for low-resource languages, _LaTeLL_ represents the first international conference dedicated specifically to the automatic processing of such languages. The event aims to provide a forum for researchers to present and discuss their latest work in NLP in general, and in the development and evaluation of language models for low-resource languages in particular. Conference topics We invite submissions on a broad range of themes concerning linguistic and computational studies focusing on low-resource languages, including but not limited to the following topics: Language resources for low-resource languages * Dataset creation and annotation * Evaluation methodologies and benchmarks for low-resource settings * Lexical resources, corpora, and linguistic databases * Crowdsourcing and community-driven data collection * Tools and frameworks for low-resource language processing Core language technologies for low-resource languages * Language modelling and pre-training for low-resource languages * Speech recognition, text-to-speech, and spoken language understanding * Phonology, morphology, word segmentation, and tokenisation * Syntax: tagging, chunking, and parsing * Semantics: lexical and sentence-level representation NLP Applications for low-resource languages * Information extraction and named entity recognition * Question answering systems * Dialogue and interactive systems * Summarisation * Machine translation * Sentiment analysis, stylistic analysis, and argument mining * Content moderation * Information retrieval and text mining Multimodality and Grounding for low-resource languages * Vision and language for low-resource contexts * Speech and text multimodal systems * Low-resource sign language processing Ethics, Equity, and Social Impact for low-resource languages * Bias and fairness in low-resource language technologies * Sociolinguistic considerations in technology development * Cultural appropriateness and sensitivity Human-Centred Approaches in low-resource languages * Usability and accessibility of low-resource language technologies * Educational applications and language learning * Community needs assessment and technology adoption * User experience research in low-resource contexts Multilinguality and Cross-Lingual Methods for low-resource languages * Multilingual language models and their adaptation * Code-switching and code-mixing * Cross-lingual transfer learning in low-resource languages. Special Theme Track 1 -- Building Applications Based on Large Language Models for Low-Resource Languages _LaTeLL'2026_ will feature a Special Theme Track dedicated to the development of applications based on Large Language Models (LLMs) for low-resource languages. This track aims to explore innovative methodologies, architectures, and tools that leverage the power of LLMs to enhance linguistic processing, accessibility, and inclusivity for underrepresented languages. Contributions are encouraged on topics such as model adaptation and fine-tuning, multilingual and cross-lingual transfer, ethical and fairness considerations, and the creation of datasets and benchmarks that facilitate the integration of LLM-based solutions in low-resource settings. Special Theme Track 2 -- Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Arabic Dialects This special track addresses the unique challenges and opportunities in processing Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and the rich landscape of Arabic dialects. The diglossic nature of Arabic, where the formal MSA coexists with numerous, widely used spoken dialects, presents a significant hurdle for NLP. While MSA is relatively well-resourced, Arabic dialects are quintessential examples of low-resource languages, often lacking standardised orthographies, annotated corpora, and dedicated processing tools. This track invites submissions on novel research and resources aimed at bridging this gap and advancing the state of the art in Arabic language technology. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: * Dialect identification and classification * Creation of corpora and lexical resources for Arabic dialects * Machine translation between MSA and dialects, and across different dialects * Speech recognition and synthesis for dialectal Arabic * Computational modelling of morphology, syntax, and semantics for dialects * NLP applications (e.g., sentiment analysis, NER) for dialectal user-generated content * Code-switching between Arabic dialects, MSA, and other languages Submissions and Publication _LaTeLL'2026_ welcomes high-quality submissions in English, which may take one of the following two forms: * Regular (long) papers: Up to eight (8) pages in length, presenting substantial, original, completed, and unpublished research. * Short (poster) papers: Up to four (4) pages in length, suitable for concise or focused contributions, ongoing research, negative results, system demonstrations, and similar work. Short papers will be presented during a dedicated poster session. The conference will not consider submissions consisting of abstracts only. All accepted papers (both long and short) will be published as electronic proceedings (with ISBN) and made available on the conference website at the time of the event. The organisers intend to submit the proceedings for inclusion in the ACL Anthology. To prepare your submission, please make sure to use the LaTeLL'2026 style files available here: LaTeX: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RceWyUqjFLEbv_oNto-x2Quop7qT4-wf/view?usp=… [2] Word: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m6VeC9jtMpe-Ku2QREgrPlE2-NTDvJvZ/edit?u… [3] Overleaf: https://www.overleaf.com/read/ttzzfcnjrgvw#e82bef [4] Papers should be submitted through Softconf/START using the following link: https://softconf.com/p/latell2026 Authors of papers receiving exceptionally positive reviews will be invited to prepare extended and substantially revised versions for submission to a leading journal in the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP). The conference will also feature a Student Workshop, and awards will be presented to the authors of outstanding papers. Important dates * Submissions due: 1 June 2026 * Notification of acceptance: 21 July 2026 * Camera-ready due: 31 July 2026 * Conference: 30 September, 1 October and 2 October 2026 Keynote speaker Nizar Habash (New York University Abu Dhabi) Organisation Conference Chair Ruslan Mitkov (Lancaster University and University of Alicante) Programme Committee Chairs Saad Ezzini (King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals) Salima Lamsiyah (University of Luxembourg) Tharindu Ranasinghe (Lancaster University) Organising Committee Maram Alharbi (Lancaster University) Salmane Chafik (Mohammed VI Polytechnic University) Ernesto Estevanell (University of Alicante) Milica Ikonić Nešić (University of Belgrade) Further information and contact details The follow-up calls will provide more details on the conference venue and registration. The conference website is www.latell.org/2026/ [1] and will be updated on a regular basis. For further information, please email 2026(a)latell.org Registration will open before the end of April 2026. Links: ------ [1] http://www.latell.org/2026/ [2] https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RceWyUqjFLEbv_oNto-x2Quop7qT4-wf/view?usp=… [3] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m6VeC9jtMpe-Ku2QREgrPlE2-NTDvJvZ/edit?u… [4] https://www.overleaf.com/latex/templates/latell-26-template/kfcvbgxmccvb

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6th Call for Papers – LaTeLL 2026 (Low-Resource Languages)
by ernesto.estevanell＠ua.es 27 Mar '26

27 Mar '26

International Conference 'LAnguage TEchnologies for Low-resource Languages' (LaTeLL '2026) Fes, Morocco 30 September, 1 and 2 October 2026 www.latell.org/2026/ [1] 6th Call for Papers The conference Natural Language Processing (NLP) has witnessed remarkable progress in recent years, largely driven by the emergence of deep learning architectures and, more recently, large language models (LLMs). Nevertheless, these advances have disproportionately benefited high-resource languages that possess abundant data for model training. By contrast, low-resource languages which account for at least 85% of the world's linguistic diversity and are often spoken by smaller or marginalised communities, have not yet reaped the full benefits of contemporary NLP technologies. This imbalance can be attributed to several interrelated factors, including the scarcity of high-quality training data, limited computational and financial resources, and insufficient community engagement in data collection and model development. Developing NLP applications for low-resource languages poses major challenges, particularly the need for large, well-annotated datasets, standardised tools, and robust linguistic resources. Although several workshops have previously addressed NLP for low-resource languages, _LaTeLL_ represents the first international conference dedicated specifically to the automatic processing of such languages. The event aims to provide a forum for researchers to present and discuss their latest work in NLP in general, and in the development and evaluation of language models for low-resource languages in particular. Conference topics We invite submissions on a broad range of themes concerning linguistic and computational studies focusing on low-resource languages, including but not limited to the following topics: Language resources for low-resource languages * Dataset creation and annotation * Evaluation methodologies and benchmarks for low-resource settings * Lexical resources, corpora, and linguistic databases * Crowdsourcing and community-driven data collection * Tools and frameworks for low-resource language processing Core language technologies for low-resource languages * Language modelling and pre-training for low-resource languages * Speech recognition, text-to-speech, and spoken language understanding * Phonology, morphology, word segmentation, and tokenisation * Syntax: tagging, chunking, and parsing * Semantics: lexical and sentence-level representation NLP Applications for low-resource languages * Information extraction and named entity recognition * Question answering systems * Dialogue and interactive systems * Summarisation * Machine translation * Sentiment analysis, stylistic analysis, and argument mining * Content moderation * Information retrieval and text mining Multimodality and Grounding for low-resource languages * Vision and language for low-resource contexts * Speech and text multimodal systems * Low-resource sign language processing Ethics, Equity, and Social Impact for low-resource languages * Bias and fairness in low-resource language technologies * Sociolinguistic considerations in technology development * Cultural appropriateness and sensitivity Human-Centred Approaches in low-resource languages * Usability and accessibility of low-resource language technologies * Educational applications and language learning * Community needs assessment and technology adoption * User experience research in low-resource contexts Multilinguality and Cross-Lingual Methods for low-resource languages * Multilingual language models and their adaptation * Code-switching and code-mixing * Cross-lingual transfer learning in low-resource languages. Special Theme Track 1 -- Building Applications Based on Large Language Models for Low-Resource Languages _LaTeLL'2026_ will feature a Special Theme Track dedicated to the development of applications based on Large Language Models (LLMs) for low-resource languages. This track aims to explore innovative methodologies, architectures, and tools that leverage the power of LLMs to enhance linguistic processing, accessibility, and inclusivity for underrepresented languages. Contributions are encouraged on topics such as model adaptation and fine-tuning, multilingual and cross-lingual transfer, ethical and fairness considerations, and the creation of datasets and benchmarks that facilitate the integration of LLM-based solutions in low-resource settings. Special Theme Track 2 -- Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Arabic Dialects This special track addresses the unique challenges and opportunities in processing Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and the rich landscape of Arabic dialects. The diglossic nature of Arabic, where the formal MSA coexists with numerous, widely used spoken dialects, presents a significant hurdle for NLP. While MSA is relatively well-resourced, Arabic dialects are quintessential examples of low-resource languages, often lacking standardised orthographies, annotated corpora, and dedicated processing tools. This track invites submissions on novel research and resources aimed at bridging this gap and advancing the state of the art in Arabic language technology. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: * Dialect identification and classification * Creation of corpora and lexical resources for Arabic dialects * Machine translation between MSA and dialects, and across different dialects * Speech recognition and synthesis for dialectal Arabic * Computational modelling of morphology, syntax, and semantics for dialects * NLP applications (e.g., sentiment analysis, NER) for dialectal user-generated content * Code-switching between Arabic dialects, MSA, and other languages Submissions and Publication _LaTeLL'2026_ welcomes high-quality submissions in English, which may take one of the following two forms: * Regular (long) papers:Up to eight (8) pages in length, presenting substantial, original, completed, and unpublished research. * Short (poster) papers:Up to four (4) pages in length, suitable for concise or focused contributions, ongoing research, negative results, system demonstrations, and similar work. Short papers will be presented during a dedicated poster session. The conference will not consider submissions consisting of abstracts only. All accepted papers (both long and short) will be published as electronic proceedings (with ISBN) and made available on the conference website at the time of the event. The organisers intend to submit the proceedings for inclusion in the ACL Anthology. To prepare your submission, please make sure to use the LaTeLL'2026 style files available here: LaTeX: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RceWyUqjFLEbv_oNto-x2Quop7qT4-wf/view?usp=… Word: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m6VeC9jtMpe-Ku2QREgrPlE2-NTDvJvZ/edit?u… Overleaf: https://www.overleaf.com/read/ttzzfcnjrgvw#e82bef [2] Papers should be submitted through Softconf/START using the following link: https://softconf.com/p/latell2026 Authors of papers receiving exceptionally positive reviews will be invited to prepare extended and substantially revised versions for submission to a leading journal in the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP). The conference will also feature a Student Workshop, and awards will be presented to the authors of outstanding papers. Important dates * Submissions due: 1 May 2026 * Reviewing process: 20 May - 20 June 2026 * Notification of acceptance: 25 June 2026 * Camera-ready due: 10 July 2026 * Conference camera-ready proceedings ready 10 July 2026 * Conference: 30 September, 1 October and 2 October 2026 Keynote speaker Nizar Habash (New York University Abu Dhabi) Organisation Conference Chair Ruslan Mitkov (Lancaster University and University of Alicante) Programme Committee Chairs Saad Ezzini (King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals) Salima Lamsiyah (University of Luxembourg) Tharindu Ranasinghe (Lancaster University) Organising Committee Maram Alharbi (Lancaster University) Salmane Chafik (Mohammed VI Polytechnic University) Ernesto Estevanell (University of Alicante) Milica Ikonić Nešić (University of Belgrade) Further information and contact details The follow-up calls will provide more details on the conference venue and registration.The conference website is www.latell.org/2026/ [1] and will be updated on a regular basis. For further information, please email 2026(a)latell.org Registration will open in April 2026. Links: ------ [1] http://www.latell.org/2026/ [2] https://www.overleaf.com/latex/templates/latell-26-template/kfcvbgxmccvb

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CfP Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence in African Studies workshop, Stellenbosch, South Africa
by Menno Van Zaanen 18 Mar '26

18 Mar '26

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ ═ CALL FOR PAPERS ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ ═ A DFG Programme Point Sud Workshop Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence in African Studies: Towards Sustainable and Equitable Practices 21–24 September 2026 · STIAS, Stellenbosch, South Africa ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ABOUT THE WORKSHOP The integration of digital humanities (DH) and artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the production of knowledge in African Studies, offering new opportunities for innovative analysis, dynamic visualisation and cross-cultural research. Yet this shift raises urgent questions regarding equitable access, the representation of African languages, and the suitability of methodologies. Current large language models underrepresent African languages, digital scholarly infrastructures remain optimised for English, and digitisation pipelines that produce AI-ready data are themselves shaped by political choices about what to digitise, how to describe it, and who controls access. While recent initiatives on digital sovereignty in Africa have centred on policy and regulation, this workshop shifts attention to methodological practice. It asks how DH methods and AI transform research in African Studies, and how we can design, evaluate, and sustain these methods under African conditions. By bringing together scholars, independent researchers and practitioners from Africa, Europe, and beyond, the event will foster North–South and South–South dialogue at the intersection of African epistemologies and digital methods, moving from description to design. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── CONVENORS - Frédérick Madore, University of Bayreuth - Vincent Hiribarren, King's College London - Emmanuel Ngue Um, University of Yaoundé 1 - Menno van Zaanen, South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── THEMATIC AXES The programme is structured around the following thematic axes: 1. Transforming Research Methods through AI and Digital Tools in African Studies This axis asks a fundamental question: how are AI and DH methods changing the study of African cultures, languages, and histories? Participants will present concrete uses of AI to analyse multilingual texts, employ computer vision to study visual culture and historical artefacts, and develop digital mapping to trace cultural movements and connections. We will evaluate what works for different kinds of African cultural materials, identify adaptations required for local contexts, and specify where computational approaches can complement—rather than replace—interpretive scholarship. The goal is clear: practical guidance for integrating these methods while preserving the interpretive richness that defines the humanities. 2. Building Sustainable Research Infrastructures from African Perspectives Moving beyond policy discourse, this axis asks what it takes to build and sustain digital research capacity within African institutions and communities. We will examine practical obstacles—limited connectivity, unstable funding, and scarce training data for local languages—and showcase South–South collaboration models that have navigated these constraints. Participants will share strategies for developing tools that utilise available resources rather than assuming high-end infrastructure. Key questions include how to keep research outputs accessible to the communities being studied, how to train the next generation of African DH scholars, and how to secure sustainable funding that does not depend solely on institutions in the Global North. The focus is on concrete, scalable approaches to durable capacity. 3. Centring African Knowledge Systems in Digital Research Design This axis poses a methodological challenge: how can digital research tools respect and incorporate African ways of knowing? Rather than retrofitting existing techniques to African materials, we explore how African epistemologies can shape the tools themselves. Case studies will show community knowledge informing database structures, oral traditions testing text-centred analytical frameworks, and local classification systems improving standard metadata schemas. We will consider protocols for culturally sensitive materials, interface design that does not privilege European languages, and criteria to ensure that AI systems trained on African data primarily serve African research needs. Here, decolonisation moves from critique to construction. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── WORKSHOP FORMAT & LANGUAGE POLICY The workshop will run in a hybrid format to maximise participation and impact. In-person sessions at STIAS will be paired with remote access via Zoom for those unable to travel. Participants will pre-circulate draft papers in English or French one month in advance, each with a bilingual abstract to support preparation. To address language barriers, the workshop will operate bilingually in English and French. Presenters may speak in either language; where possible, a bilingual chair will moderate discussion and provide brief consecutive interpretation where needed. Recent advances in AI speech recognition and machine translation now enable near-real-time captioning; we will deploy these tools in the room and on Zoom. All presenters will supply slides with bilingual titles and key terms, and a one-page terminology handout in both languages. Together, these measures encourage meaningful participation in Africa’s Anglophone and Francophone communities, which are often divided by institutional and linguistic boundaries, and provide immediate, practical benefits for multilingual colleagues. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── SUBMISSION GUIDELINES We invite proposals for individual papers (20-minute presentations). Submissions may be in English or French. Proposals of up to 500 words should be emailed to the convenors by 30 April 2026. Each submission must include: (i) a title; (ii) an abstract outlining the context, central question, and methodological approach; and (iii) a 100-word biographical note indicating the applicant’s discipline and institutional affiliation. Please send your proposals to the following addresses: - Frédérick Madore: frederick.madore(a)uni-bayreuth.de - Vincent Hiribarren: vincent.hiribarren(a)kcl.ac.uk - Emmanuel Ngue Um: ngueum(a)gmail.com - Menno van Zaanen: menno.vanzaanen(a)nwu.ac.za ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── PUBLICATION Our goal is to publish selected papers from the workshop as a special issue in the Journal of the Digital Humanities Association of Southern Africa (JDHASA), subject to agreement with the journal’s editorial board. All submitted full papers will undergo peer review. Authors whose papers are selected for the special issue will be expected to revise their manuscripts in line with reviewer feedback before final publication. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── SELECTION CRITERIA & INCLUSIVITY Selection will prioritise gender equity, support for early-career scholars based in sub-Saharan Africa, and balance across disciplines and regions. In addition to scholars, we will include practitioner-developers by directly engaging the teams behind DH tools. Their participation will help us to assess user needs and the feasibility of embedding African ways of knowing in tool design. DH remains gender-imbalanced; accordingly, the open call will explicitly encourage applications from women and weight gender equity in review. We will intentionally include Africa-based, diasporic, and returning scholars. Recognising uneven DH capacity, particularly in several Francophone regions, we will aim for a majority of Africa-based participants and amplify Francophone voices through targeted outreach and reserved places for early-career researchers. The workshop will uphold equal opportunity regardless of gender, religion, or other sociocultural differences. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEY DATES - Submission Deadline: 30 April 2026 - Notification of Acceptance: 15 May 2026 - Deadline for Full Papers: 15 August 2026 - Workshop Dates: 21–24 September 2026 ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ ═ https://fmadore.github.io/stias-dh-ai-workshop-2026 ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ ═ -- Prof Menno van Zaanen menno.vanzaanen(a)nwu.ac.za Professor in Digital Humanities South African Centre for Digital Language Resources https://www.sadilar.org ________________________________ NWU PRIVACY STATEMENT: http://www.nwu.ac.za/it/gov-man/disclaimer.html DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message and attachments thereto are intended solely for the recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. 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