DSNA 24 in Boulder, Colorado

31 May – 3 June 2023

Conference Details

About the Conference

The 24th Biennial Dictionary Society of North America Conference will be held at the University of Colorado, Boulder, 31 May to 3 June, 2023. The conference will feature presenters from ten countries speaking about dictionaries, lexicography, and lexicology in more than a dozen languages, including many indigenous North American languages. There will also be papers about cutting-edge technologies at the intersection of lexicography, NLP, and artificial intelligence. In addition to individual papers, the conference will feature panels on lexicography of indigenous North American languages, perspectives on synonym relations, relational lexicography, and the role of lexicons and lexicography in natural language processing. A final special treat will be an exhibit of materials from the University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center, materials from the Philip B. Gove papers.

The program will begin with workshops on the afternoon of Wednesday, 31 May and will run through Saturday afternoon, 3 June 2023.

Program

View the final program here (updated 5 June 2023).

Registration

Register for DSNA 24 here! Registration closes 30 May 2023.

Registration rates:

  • DSNA member, early bird (until April 1): 295USD
  • DSNA member, regular rate (after April 1): 325USD
  • DSNA student members, early bird (until April 1): 195USD
  • DSNA student members, regular rate (after April 1): 225USD
  • Non-member rate: 400USD
  • Friday night banquet tickets (not included in registration cost): 70USD per guest, with the option of buying more tickets for non-conferencing guests during registration. As of 17 May, banquet tickets are sold out. If you’d like a ticket, please inquire at check-in or contact Orin Hargraves.

Join or renew membership here.

Lodging

Hotels: Two Boulder hotels will offer special rates to conference attendees. Please note that these hotels are not within walking distance of campus, but a $3 10-minute bus ride gets you to CU’s campus easily.

Embassy Suites by Hilton Boulder
2601 Canyon Blvd, Boulder, CO 80302
720-510-3693
Reservations: https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/cu-dsnaconference523/ or call 800-HILTONS (800-445-8667)
Group Code: CU DSNA
Cutoff Date: May 3, 2023

  • Arrival Date: May 31, 2023
  • Departure Date: June 2, 2023
  • Free Wi-Fi
  • Free breakfast and evening reception
  • $15 per night parking
  • Cancellation: 48 hours prior to arrival
  • Group Rate: $229 single/double

Hilton Garden Inn Boulder
2701 Canyon Blvd, Boulder, CO 80302
303-443-2200
Reservations: https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/cu-dsnaconference523/ or call 800-HILTONS (800-445-8667)
Group Code: CU DSNA
Cutoff Date: May 3, 2023

  • Arrival Date: May 31, 2023
  • Departure Date: June 2, 2023
  • Free Wi-Fi
  • $15 per night parking
  • Cancellation: 48 hours prior to arrival
  • Group Rate: $209 single/double

On-Campus Lodging and Dining Package: Lower-cost accommodation is also available in an on-campus residence hall. This option comes with a mandatory meal plan: your 1 June to 3 June breakfasts and lunches will be provided at C4C (Center for Community), the university’s main dining hall that features a variety of cuisines, as well as excellent food choices for people with allergies and dietary restrictions. Book directly through CU Conference Services.

Other: Airbnb and other services offer accommodations close to campus or bus lines serving campus.

Food

For attendees staying in dorms, breakfast and lunch at C4C will be included in lodging costs.

There are also numerous restaurants walking distance from campus on “the Hill,” and there will be adequate time at lunch to walk to and from the restaurants. For dinner, you’re on your own, and Boulder is a foodie town; there are no end of choices. As usual, the conference will include an optional banquet on the Friday evening.

Transportation

A variety of services will help you to get to, and to move around in Boulder during the conference. The main concerns you will have are addressed below but don’t hesitate to email Orin Hargraves for any particular queries not answered here.

Private shuttles and rideshares can get you to and around Boulder, but public transit is reliable and efficient. RTD is the authority that oversees public transportation for the Denver metropolitan area, which includes Boulder. If you plan to rely on buses when you’re here (and I recommend that), you may want to download one or more of the RTD Apps, the most important one being RTD Mobile Tickets. This will enable you to purchase tickets with your phone, and save you the trouble of having exact cash fare (which is required in the absence of a paper or electronic ticket).

Moving between the airport (DEN) and Boulder
The easiest and best choice is the AB1 bus, a dedicated route that connects Boulder with the airport. It takes about an hour and there is one bus per hour, with two buses per hour at peak travel times. You can find schedules here. Westbound bus travels to Boulder. Eastbound bus travels to the airport. There are separate weekday and weekend departure times, so make sure (using the navigation buttons at the top of the linked page) you are looking at the right schedule. The fare is $10.50 / $5.25 for seniors 65 and over.

To find the bus at the airport: follow the signs to the Transit Center at the south end of the terminal. Walk outside, descend a long escalator, turn left twice at the bottom and you’ll see the bus bays. The AB1 bus is signposted. Get off the bus at the stop called Euclid – University of Colorado. It’s right in front of the UMC, where our conference is held.

To find the bus in Boulder:  you can board the AB1 on Broadway, right across the street from the UMC. Walk under Broadway through the underpass and turn left. The airport is the last stop.

If you’re very adventurous and comfortable with public transportation (and you just missed the airport bus by 5 minutes), you can take the train from the airport to Union Station in downtown Denver and then take the FF1 bus to Boulder from there. Get off at the same stop in Boulder as above. This takes a bit over an hour.

If the AB1 schedule does not suit your arrival or departure times, you can use Uber or Lyft. It’s an hourlong ride and will cost anywhere from $65 to $150. Finally, there are other bookable-in-advance shuttle services that run between Boulder and the airport. Google it. “boulder airport shuttle service”

Moving between the conference hotels and the UMC
Both of our partner hotels, Embassy Suites and Hilton Garden Inn, are near the corner of 28th and Canyon in Boulder. The HOP bus stops right in front of them and brings you directly to campus. The HOP bus route is circular and runs in both directions, so make sure that you board the right bus for your destination! You’ll always get there in the end but it will take you longer if you board in the wrong direction. The fare is $3.00 and the ticket is good for 3 hours on any Boulder bus.

To find the bus at the hotels: The bus stop for the HOP Clockwise on Canyon, right in front of the Hilton Garden Inn. It will bring you directly to campus. Get off at Euclid – University of Colorado.

To find the bus on campus: You can board the HOP Counterclockwise at either of two stops. (1) see To find the bus in Boulder, above. (2) Bus stop on Euclid, between 18th and 19th. Walk out the south door of the UMC, turn left, and walk over to CASE (the Center for Academic Success & Excellence). From either stop you get a fairly direct run to the hotels. Get off at 28th and Canyon and cross the street to your hotel.

Of course you can also Uber or Lyft between the hotels and campus. Finally, you can rent an e-bike. Pick up a bike at either the UMC or near the hotels and drop it off at the other end. You can learn more about Boulder’s e-bike rental program here. If this is your choice, it’s worth downloading the app. The bike station near the UMC is out the south door and to the right. The bike station near the hotels is at 28th and Canyon.

Moving around Boulder
RTD buses and e-bikes will probably take you wherever you want to go. Or more expensively, there’s Uber and Lyft. Finally, Boulder is not that big, modestly scenic, and highly walkable. All places are safe by day and most places are safe by night, though the unlit Boulder Creek path is probably not a good idea after dark.

Downtown Boulder (roughly, the rectangle bordered by 9th Street, 16th Street, Pine Street, and Arapahoe) is where a lot of Boulder eating and shopping happens. It’s a 15-minute walk downhill from campus. Easiest way is to follow the sidewalk on Broadway to the right outside of the UMC, continue on the pedestrian path down to the creek and across it. This will land you at 13th Street. Continue north.

Driving around Boulder?
Parking on or near campus can be an expense and hassle. If you drive, the Euclid Parking Garage, near 18th and Broadway, is the best bet. Details here. There is some free on-street parking near the UMC but most of it requires that you move your car every two hours. See the map here for information.   

Call for Papers

The 24th Biennial Dictionary Society of North America Conference will be held at the University of Colorado, Boulder, 31 May to 3 June, 2023. The conference will feature a workshop and plenary panel on lexicography of indigenous North American languages.

Presentations on any aspect of dictionaries, lexicography, and lexicology, in any language, historical or contemporary, are welcome. Those focused on aspects of lexicography and lexicology of the American West are particularly encouraged.

All presenters of conference papers must be members of the DSNA but you need not be a member to submit an abstract. To join or renew membership, click on the “Join Us!” link at the website www.dictionarysociety.com.

The program will begin with workshops on the afternoon of Wednesday, 31 May and will run through Saturday afternoon, 3 June 2023.

Papers/presentations: abstracts of 300 to 500 words excluding references for presentations of 20 minutes, 10 minutes Q&A, are invited. Submission of abstracts is via EasyChair (https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=dsna24). Please omit any self-identifying references in your abstract.

Panels and/or workshops: We have room for two or three workshops or panels about various aspects of lexicology or lexicography (e.g., computational linguistics and lexicography, dictionaries in the classroom, etc.), and we invite panel or workshop proposals in addition to papers. Proposals should include a list of presenters, focus of the panel/workshop, duration (2 hour limit), and a description of its aims. Submit these to Orin Hargraves, the conference organizer, at orin.hargraves@colorado.edu. Please put “DSNA panel/workshop proposal” in the subject line.

Abstract submission for papers (via EasyChair, see link above)  22 August to 9 December 2022.

Panel/Workshop submissions (to conference organizer, see email above) is open from 22 August to 1 Dec 2022.

Information about the sponsor: The Dictionary Society of North America promotes the development, practice, and study of lexicography, and the use, compilation, curation, marketing, maintenance, and scholarly examination of dictionaries and related reference works. It provides forums for discussion and dissemination of information on all of these topics, including a peer-reviewed journal, a newsletter, a blog, and biennial meetings. The DSNA was formed in 1975 to bring together people interested in dictionary making, study, collection, and use. Our members include people working on dictionaries, academics who engage in research and writing about dictionaries, dictionary collectors, librarians, booksellers, translators, linguists, publishers, writers, collectors, journalists, and people with an avocational interest in dictionaries. The only requirement for membership is an expression of interest in language, in words, dictionaries and lexicography, or any combination of these.

More about the Conference

Orin Hargraves, Conference Organizer

The 2023 DSNA conference will be held at the University of Colorado, Boulder, or CU as the locals call it. Many of you know that I have worked there for the last several years in various capacities, none of which credentials me to host a conference at the institution. Happily, a colleague has agreed to be our faculty sponsor. So firstly, hats off to Laura Michaelis-Cummings, who is currently Chair of Linguistics at CU, a former student of Charles Fillmore at Berkeley where she did her PhD, and also the editor of the CUP journal Language and Cognition.

CU Boulder is the largest research university in Colorado with a total enrollment over 30,000. Boulder is located in northern Colorado, less than an hour from the capital Denver, and well served by public transportation links. Renowned for its location at the foot of the majestic Rocky Mountains, Boulder is also home to the only Chautauqua still in operation west of the Mississippi. It is the closest metropolitan area to Rocky Mountain National Park, the third most visited national park. Federal agencies NCAR, NIST, and NOAA all have labs in Boulder. The city is a destination for climbers, astrophysicists, geologists, sightseers, foodies, and  now: lexicographers!

The conference will take place May 31-June 3, 2023. It is in the planning stages now but it’s never too early to put forth your fantastic ideas about how to make the conference a success, nor too early to pledge dollops of sponsorship cash to make the conference more enjoyable for everyone. This will be a “standalone” DSNA conference, not coincident with SHEL, who was our partner in 2019 (Indiana) and 2015 (Vancouver).

We have not yet teamed with a conference hotel but we have designated a likely banquet venue and have also secured space for our use at the University Memorial Center (UMC), a centrally located campus building that houses the bookstore, a food court, a ballroom, and numerous offices and meeting rooms. There will be dormitory accommodation available for those who want it, and we do encourage this because there are contractual minimums that we must pay for, whether people are sleeping in the rooms or not.

The conference committee is made up of DSNA vice president Kory Stamper, president Ed Finegan, executive director Lindsay Rose Russell (she’s from Boulder!) and myself (Orin Hargraves). Please feel free to contact any of us. We are especially interested in hearing from members who have ideas for symposia, workshops, and panels to be offered during or immediately before the conference.