Conference Theme

Migration Linguistics and Global South Perspectives

University of Santo Tomas, December 4-5, 2025

Migration has long been a defining force of globalization, but its impact is experienced unequally across different regions. The Global South, in particular, bears the brunt of migration’s complex social, economic, and linguistic ramifications. Whether driven by economic disparity, political unrest, or digital labor economies, migration reconfigures how language functions. It not only serves as a medium of communication, but it is used as a tool of power, negotiation, resistance, and identity formation in migration circuits.

This year’s conference foregrounds the perspectives of the Global South as it emphasizes how migration, be it internal rural-to-urban, transnational South-to-North, or through emerging digital platforms, transforms linguistic practices, language ideologies, and communicative norms. We aim to foster critical dialogue on how language mediates mobility, labor, belonging, marginalization, and resilience in the context of migration from and within the Global South – a much fitting theme for the migration linguistics conference happening in a country whose economy is deeply affected and driven by migration.

In this second international conference on migration linguistics, plenary and invited speakers who will discuss the nexus of language and migration include:

• Hans Ladegaard (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

• Stefanie Shamila Pillai (Universiti Malaya)

• Ron Bridget Vilog (De La Salle University)

• Anitha Devi Pillai (National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University)

We welcome proposals for paper presentations, panels, workshops, and creative formats that engage with the following (but not limited to) sub-themes:

1. Language and Labor Migration in and from the Global South

2. Language, Power, and Resistance in Migrant Communities

3. Digital Migration and Linguistic Shifts

4. Language Loss, Maintenance, and Revival in Diasporic Communities

5. Language Policy, Citizenship, and the Migrant Experience

6. Multilingualism, Translanguaging, and Identity among Migrants

7. Migration Narratives and Discourse Analysis

8. Education, Language Access, and Migrant Learners

9. Contemporary Migration, Social Transformation, and Sustainable Development

Submissions may be made through the link below until July 31, 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be sent on a rolling basis. 

https://forms.gle/JDNZyX9ByEG8S5P86


Information regarding registration will be announced soon.

This conference is organized by the University of Santo Tomas (Manila, the Philippines) in partnership with Southern Luzon State University (Lucban, the Philippines), De La Salle University (Manila, the Philippines), and the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (Japan) in collaboration with the Migration Linguistics Research Network (ReN) of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA).

Conference Theme

Processes, Programs, Practice, Progress

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (onsite and online), December 14-15, 2024

As migrations have been instrumental in the development and progress of societies past and present, so have migrations affected the evolution of languages. Migrations and mobilities continue to comprise significant dimensions in creating new sites and players for contact dynamics and language change and evolution, and in shaping sociolinguistic conditions and psychological processes in how languages are learned, acquired, and used. Critical study of representations of migrant and migration scenarios, linguistic rights in the migrant condition, and societal policies and programs can offer instruction and recommendations for practice and progress in this age of migration. 

In this first international conference on migration linguistics, plenary and invited speakers who will discuss the nexus of language and migration include: 

• Tony Capstick, University of Reading

• Lisa Lim, Curtin University

• Loy Lising, Macquarie University

• Kazuko Matsumoto, The University of Tokyo

• Edgar W. Schneider, University of Regensburg

The conference will also feature panels with government officials and migrant representatives, as well as talks regarding language resources, and creative outputs relating to linguistic dimensions of migration.

Proposals for 30-minute onsite or online presentations (20-minute paper, 10-minute Q&A) are welcome in relation to, though not exclusively to, the following:

(1) Linguistic Aspects and Issues in Migration 

(2) Psycholinguistic Processes in Migration

(3) Sociolinguistic Conditions in Migration

(4) Methodologies and Resources in Migration Linguistic Research

(5) Constructions of Representations of Migrants and Migration in Media and Art

(6) Migration and Linguistic Human Rights 

(7) Language Policies and Programs for Migrants

(8) The Future of Language in the Age of Migration

Submissions may be made below until 15th of October 2024. Notifications of acceptance will be sent on a rolling basis. 

https://forms.gle/jPrdcfXKLVbJWtGv5 

Participation in the conference is FREE for all. To register, please complete the form below.

https://forms.gle/gozaZJikFX8WBfAW6 

This conference is organized by the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS, Japan) and the Migration Linguistics Research Network (ReN) of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA) in collaboration with Curtin University (Perth, Australia) and Southern Luzon State University (Lucban, the Philippines) and in partnership with the United Nations (UN) International Organization for Migration (IOM) Tokyo Office and the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).

This conference is organized with the support of the TUFS Fund.