Conference Overview

LabPhon 20 will be held in Montréal, Québec, Canada from June 26-28, 2026 (Friday-Sunday), with June 25 reserved for pre-conference workshops. The conference is being organized by a multi-university team from McGill University (Morgan Sonderegger and Meghan Clayards), Carleton University (Beth MacLeod), and the University of Ottawa (Suzy Ahn).

Conference Theme

The general theme for LabPhon 20 is Looking Back and Looking Forward. As we mark the 20th LabPhon meeting, we take stock of how far the field of laboratory phonology has come—its theoretical insights, methodological innovations, and interdisciplinary reach—while charting bold new directions for the decades ahead. This theme invites reflection on foundational work and celebrates the evolving tools, questions, and collaborations shaping the future of laboratory phonology.

Important Dates

• Call for Abstracts: late August 2025
• Submission Deadline: December 1, 2025
• Notification of Acceptance: mid February 2026
• Dates for Satellite Workshops: June 25, 2026
• Date of Pre-conference Lecture: June 25, 2026
• Dates of Conference: June 26-28, 2026

Conference Format

The proposed format includes:

• 3 thematic sessions (each with one invited talk + 2-3 submitted talks)
• 8 general sessions (each with 3 submitted talks)
• Pre-conference lecture
• Daily afternoon poster sessions coinciding with coffee breaks

Thematic Sessions

There are 3 thematic sessions, each of which will have an invited speaker.

1. Looking back and looking forward
2. Multilingualism
3. Computational LabPhon

Venue and Facilities

The main conference will be held at Coeur des Sciences (https://coeurdessciences.uqam.ca/) at L’Université du Québec à Montréal. 

Pre-conference workshops will be held at McGill University.

Social Events and Catering

Planned social events include:

• Welcome reception on Thursday evening (June 25)
• Student social event on Friday evening (June 26)
• Conference dinner on Saturday evening (June 27)

Daily catering will include lunch and coffee breaks.

Accommodation

• TBD

Travel Information

Montreal is served by Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), with non-stop connections to ~150 destinations worldwide. The city is also accessible by train and bus for regional travelers. Local public transit includes the STM metro system and BIXI bike-share system.