DSNA26 in Davis, California

June 23–26, 2027

Important Update: Revised Dates!

The 26th Biennial Meeting of the Dictionary Society of North America at the University of California, Davis, will now be held a week later than previously announced, from June 23–26, 2027.

Call for Papers

Abstracts for individual papers, panels, roundtables, and half- or full-day workshops are now being accepted for DSNA 26. In addition to individual papers, the conference will include moderated panels on lexicographical topics, plenary presentations, receptions, and a banquet featuring the address of DSNA President Lisa Berglund, Professor of English at SUNY Buffalo State University.

Presentations on any aspect of dictionaries, lexicography, and lexicology, historical or contemporary, are welcome. We particularly encourage presentations on artificial intelligence and lexicography, tools and processes for collaborative dictionary projects, arbitration of meaning in speech communities, and the lexicography of North American languages.

Papers/presentations: We invite abstracts for individual papers of approximately 250 words for presentations of 15 minutes. Proposals for remote presentations, or for one or more presenters to join remotely, will be considered.

Panels, roundtables, and workshops: We invite proposals for panels and roundtable discussions of up to 60 minutes, and half- or full-day workshops:

          • Proposals for panels should include a list of the moderator(s) and panel members in addition to an abstract of approximately 250 words.
          • Proposals for roundtables and workshops should include the format, a list of presenters/moderators, a topical agenda, and abstracts for any presentations.

Conference registration: Presenters must register for the conference. However, we intend to offer a hybrid attendance option for presentations and panels. If you wish to present but would need to do so remotely, please indicate this on your submission.

Deadline: Upload your submission to our submission portal by Friday, January 29, (https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/83404/submitter)

Please note: 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, visit https://dictionarysociety.com/join/.

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 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.

About the venue: We are excited to be hosted by the Native American Language Center in the UC Davis Department of Native American Studies, a hub for Indigenous language work at the confluence of the academy and the community. It’s an ideal venue for thought leadership and practical collaboration, building on the foundations laid at DSNA24 ( on the lexicography of Indigenous languages) and DSNA25 (on AI and the future of lexicography).

About the Conference

Mark your calendars for the 26th Biennial Meeting of the Dictionary Society of North America, which will be held at the University of California, Davis from June 23–26, 2027. It will begin with an optional workshop on practical lexicography and a welcome reception on Wednesday, June 23, and end with the biennial business meeting of the Society the afternoon of Saturday, June 26.

The theme of the meeting is: In the age of AI, who creates and owns meaning?

A dictionary is the quintessential collaborative enterprise: the speech community, the lexicographers, the editors, the publishers, the developers, the designers – dictionary projects are inherently the work of many hands. The era when dictionary-making was chiefly the realm of publishing houses is largely past, but the collaborative nature of the work is not. What’s shifting is the nature of how meaning is captured and communicated, with speech communities organizing language in ways that resist both traditional authority (the voice of the expert) and the entrenchment of past meanings that AI reinforces.

We are excited to be hosted by the Native American Language Center in the UC Davis Department of Native American Studies, a hub for Indigenous language work at the confluence of the academy and the community. It’s an ideal venue for thought leadership and practical collaboration, building on the foundations laid by DSNA24 (the lexicography of Indigenous languages) and DSNA25 (AI and the future of lexicography). 

Be on the lookout for a call for papers on topics such as: 

      • ​The lexicography of North American languages
      • The use of AI in dictionary making
      • The relevance of historical lexicography in the current context
      • Arbitration of meaning in speech communities
      • Tools for collaborative lexical projects

    As always, presentations on any aspect of dictionaries, lexicography, and lexicology, historical to contemporary are welcome.