Linguists Collective Conference - International Mother Language

Linguists Collective Conference & International Mother
Language Day Celebration 2026

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Celebrate Languages • Connect Globally • Learn & Grow

Join us on 21^stFebruary 2026 for the Linguists Collective Conference & International Mother Language Day Celebration.
A global online event bringing together linguists, educators, translators, researchers and cultural advocates from around the world.

Date: Saturday, 21^st February 2026

Discover the Conference
Line-Up

The UK is a thriving multicultural, and multilingual society. In this insightful session, Raisa McNab, CEO of the Association of Translation Companies, explores the nation’s linguistic and cultural heritage alongside its current demographics, highlighting linguistic diversity, multi-ethnic communities, and the delivery of multilingual services in today’s society.

In this thought-provoking talk, explore the ongoing efforts to elevate Sylheti from a regional dialect to a recognised language with its own literary and academic standing. It will highlight the cultural, social, and linguistic significance of this movement, and how these initiatives contribute to the broader global effort to preserve and promote linguistic diversity.

When children and adolescents are relocated from the environment where their mother tongue is spoken, their language development can be disrupted, often leading to rapid language loss. This deterioration can be made worse by trauma and sudden changes in surroundings. Refugee children tend to assimilate quickly into their new culture and language, often without realising that they are forgetting their home language until communication with family members becomes difficult or impossible. In this talk, Professor Schmid will share insights from her research on German-Jewish Holocaust survivors and refugees from Ukraine, exploring how migration and trauma affect language retention and what the loss of a mother tongue means for identity, family bonds, and the possibility of return.

This engaging 40-minute session will help linguists master the art of compelling, credible and effective communication, both in person and over video calls. Learn how to present yourself effectively, avoid distracting looks, and perfect your background, lighting, camera and sound setup. The session will also cover how to craft clear key messages and structure presentations for maximum impact. By the end, you’ll understand how to use tone, pace, and body language to enhance your professional presence, connect with diverse audiences and communicate confidently while interpreting in public settings and accurately deliver the meaning of the message.

Many people regret not maintaining their study and use of languages later in life, but it is worth remembering that more people worldwide are bilingual or multilingual rather than monolingual. At any level, all languages are valuable for personal and professional growth. They help build stronger relationships, foster cultural understanding, create meaningful connections and provide significant cultural and personal benefits. Even a few words can show genuine interest and respect, while broader language skills open doors to new people and opportunities. Since language learning takes time and practice, valuing the languages we already have through upbringing, work, and life experience is essential. At the LC Conference and IMLD Celebration 2026, John Worne will showcase why every language and every level of ability is worth nurturing.

Writing and literacy are crucial to language maintenance, yet literacy in minoritised languages remains marginalised, particularly where a distinct script is used whether heritage or newly developed. Communities with minority writing traditions face many challenges including limited educational resources, digital disadvantages, lack of acceptance and political hostility. New efforts are beginning to address these commonly overlooked problems through new theoretical research on minority, endangered and indigenous language and writing traditions and through practical community support. This talk will explore the challenges surrounding writing and literacy, examining how they relate to broader issues of language endangerment, including limited structural support and digital inclusion. It will also introduce the ongoing work of the Endangered Writing Research Network and Script Keepers Network.

Professor Bell’s presentation introduces how large language models can be used as tools for investigating word meaning and linguistic structure. Building on the principle that “you shall know a word by the company it keeps”, she explains how distributional semantics underlies both traditional linguistic analysis and modern computational systems. She will present recent work using a large language model to explore links between word meaning and lexical tone in Mandarin Chinese, showing how such models can reveal patterns that support second language learning and deepen our understanding of how meaning is encoded in language. Her talk also offers reflections on how linguists and translators can use these tools responsibly in professional contexts, including considerations for research accuracy, translation consistency, and best practices when integrating AI into linguistic or translation workflows.

In this talk, Dennis explores the deep cultural significance of the Igbo kola nut ritual, revealing how its traditional practices embody a sophisticated, ancestral framework for truth, trust, and community protection. By highlighting the ritual’s linguistic and cultural symbolism, he demonstrates how the sacred “Receive → Inspect → Decide” sequence can inform modern approaches to communication and digital discernment. Through this lens, he connects Igbo cultural wisdom to contemporary challenges, showing how the practice of obele anya (a careful communal vigilance) offers a powerful model for safeguarding both personal and collective wellbeing in today’s digital world.

This talk introduces the emerging pedagogical research area of ‘Interpreters in Film’, which uses film material as case studies to simulate real-life professional contexts for diplomatic interpreting. Participants will explore three key learning areas: language acquisition and cultural competence, interpreting in specialised contexts, and ethical issues and professional conduct. The session highlights the challenges of training interpreters in confidential and specialised settings, demonstrates how films can provide authentic scenarios from diplomatic meetings, crisis situations, and international settings, and offers practical guidance on using these materials to examine professional, linguistic, and ethical challenges commonly faced by interpreters.

This presentation explores whether inter-professional competence can be explicitly taught within interpreter training, rather than left to develop through workplace experience. While interpreter education has traditionally focused on specialised terminology, ethical decision-making, and interactional management. More complex professional abilities such as negotiating role boundaries, proactively coordinating with service providers, and making context-sensitive decisions, are often assumed to emerge later in practice. Drawing on a pedagogical intervention based on an interpreter-mediated neuropsychological assessment simulation inspired by a real-life clinical case, the session aims to stimulate discussion on how these critical competencies can be integrated more intentionally into interpreter education.

This session explores how a mother language shapes identity through the intimate and powerful lens of a mother responding to her child’s question, “Who are we, Mom?” Drawing on a read-aloud and reflective discussion of We Are Tatars, the talk highlights how minority cultures are preserved through storytelling, emotional memory, and the transmission of language across generations. It weaves personal narrative with wider themes of linguistic heritage, diaspora, and belonging, offering a meaningful reflection on the role of language in shaping who we are.

This talk will examine the challenges the organisation faces in putting its multilingualism policy into practice, along with the pervasive language ideologies and practices that serve to undermine the goals of the Multilingualism Resolution.

Professor Chondrogianni’s presentation explores the teaching and learning of under-studied and minoritised languages, focusing on Kîîtharaka, the mother tongue of the Atharaka people in eastern Kenya. She discusses how linguistic research can support community-driven language preservation and revitalisation, and how collaboration between researchers and local speakers can promote linguistic equity. Her talk sheds light on what studying such languages reveals about multilingual development and the wider sociolinguistic challenges faced by minoritised language communities worldwide.

This presentation reflects on how artificial intelligence can serve as a creative and cultural bridge to preserve endangered languages through their songs and poetry. Speaking from a poet’s perspective, she envisions AI as a “digital muse” capable of capturing, transcribing, and revitalising the artistic essence of vanishing oral traditions. Her talk invites linguists, artists, and technologists to view AI not only as a technical instrument but also as a companion in safeguarding the world’s poetic and linguistic heritage for future generations.

This talk will explore DEX’s community research on assessing the language endangerment status of British Sign Language (BSL) and other national sign languages. It will examine patterns of linguistic decline and highlight the common tendency within language communities to resist recognising endangerment, even when evidence is clear. The session will also discuss why acknowledging this status is essential and how communities can mobilise support to protect and revitalise their languages.

Dr. Sabit’s presentation explores the influence of smartphone predictive text on writing habits, language accuracy, and creative expression. She examines how predictive technology, while intended to assist users, can negatively affect spelling, grammar, and critical thinking, especially among learners of English as a foreign language. Drawing on her teaching experience and research, she discusses both the linguistic and psychological implications of relying on predictive text, offering practical recommendations and solutions to help writers use technology responsibly without diminishing their language proficiency.

Carmen Álvarez-Mayo will give a short talk on the importance of language learning, interculturality, and identity, highlighting how these elements shape our understanding of ourselves and others. Her session will offer a brief but meaningful insight into why these themes matter in today’s multilingual world.

In this practical, skills-focused session, Marta Leigh will guide bilingual and heritage-language speakers through the key pathways into public service interpreting and translation in the UK. Drawing on extensive experience across legal, medical and community settings, the talk will break down how existing language skills can be developed into a sustainable professional career. Attendees will gain clear, actionable insight into qualification routes. This will include Level 3 community interpreting, Level 6 professional pathways and translation-focused options, alongside guidance on choosing training providers, assessments and next steps for career progression. The session will also highlight the vital role public service linguists play in ensuring effective communication, dignity and equality, making this an ideal training opportunity for those looking to enter the profession or strengthen their position within it.

In this session, Valda Liepina examines the relationship between language, culture and identity through the lens of mother-tongue translation. She challenges the assumption that native speakers, particularly those who have grown up in diaspora communities or who work across two equally strong languages, automatically possess complete mastery of their mother language. Drawing on her own experiences translating and working in Latvia and Australia, as well as managing translators at the European Commission, Valda explores how diaspora mother-tongue skills stand the test of time. Her talk highlights the surprises, challenges and cultural revelations that can emerge when translating into or from one’s mother language, and the importance of continually refining these skills in professional translation practice.

This engaging session explores the idea that there is far more to interpreting than we think. While introductions, interventions, and impartiality are key, the talk also brings in other important elements such as intention, interaction, inference, information, and impact. Framed as a drive through interpreting, it offers a concise overview of the skills and challenges that define the profession.