Welcome to LabPhon 20!

LabPhon 20 will be held in Montréal, Québec, Canada from June 26–28, 2026, with satellite workshops on June 25 and 29, and a keynote lecture on June 25. This 20th anniversary meeting will take place at Coeur des Sciences at UQAM, located in downtown Montreal, and is being organized by a multi-university team from McGill University, Carleton University, and the University of Ottawa. Under the theme Looking Back and Looking Forward, the conference will reflect on the field’s foundational contributions while highlighting new directions in laboratory phonology.

 

Updates
A message from the Anniversary Committee (Drs. Bob Ladd, Marco Aurelio Silva Fonseca, Jeff Mielke, & Kathleen Hall)
Call for contributions

In keeping with the overall conference theme of “Looking back, looking forward”, LabPhon20 will feature an exhibit of pictures, programs, and other artifacts where people can also  write down their memories and impressions of previous LabPhon meetings or make suggestions for future conferences and perhaps new directions.  This is an appeal for contributions to this exhibit. 

If you have tangible objects like photographic prints, printed conference programs, and things like this that you would be happy to donate to the exhibit, please bring them along to Montréal.  (It would probably be best not to donate something irreplaceable that you really want to keep, but on the other hand donating might be a great way of clearing some space in a physical filing cabinet). You can print digital photos or scan and print old programs and bring them to the exhibit in physical form, or you can submit them to https://www.dropbox.com/request/zeywnhuz6mzzc26y0hdi so that they can be displayed electronically at the exhibit and added to existing digital archives on the ALP website. 

Complementing the exhibit, and making it possible to look forward as well as back, there will be a special session at the end of the first day of the conference (June 26). This will feature brief comments from a few ALP members both young and old, followed by questions and comments from the audience (and perhaps continued discussion over dinner and drinks immediately afterwards). 

 

 

Organizing Committee
  • Morgan Sonderegger (McGill University)
  • Meghan Clayards (McGill University)
  • Beth MacLeod (Carleton University)
  • Suzy Ahn (University of Ottawa)
  • Jeanne Brown (McGill University)

Contact email:  labphon20@gmail.com

 

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.

 

Hybrid Participation Options

While LabPhon 20 will be primarily an in-person conference featuring both oral presentations and poster sessions, we’re taking steps to make it accessible to those who can’t join us in Montreal. We hope these options help colleagues who are unable to travel stay connected with the exciting research and discussions happening at LabPhon 20.

  • Online poster session: One day of the program will feature a virtual poster session where presenters and attendees can interact online.  Authors may choose the online poster presentation option when submitting an abstract in addition to in-person oral presentation or in-person poster presentation.
  • Livestreamed oral sessions: All oral presentations will be livestreamed, allowing remote participants to follow along in real time. 
 
Important Dates
  • Call for Abstracts: late August 2025
  • Satellite Workshop Proposal Deadline: November 1, 2025
  • Abstract Submission Deadline: extended to December 7, 2025
  • Notification of Acceptance: mid February 2026
  • For authors: Student housing application deadline: March 13, 2026
  • For authors: Upload updated abstract to EasyChair: April 1, 2026
  • For authors: Notify us if you would like to switch to an online poster: April 1, 2026
  • Early registration period: April 1 - April 30
  • Dates for Satellite Workshops: June 25 and June 29, 2026
  • Date of Pre-conference Keynote Lecture: June 25, 2026
  • Dates of Conference: June 26-28, 2026

 

Thematic Sessions

There will be 3 thematic sessions, listed below. 

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

 

Invited Speakers

You can read about our invited speakers here.

 

Venue and Facilities

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

A pre-conference keynote and welcome reception will be held at McGill University (June 25).

Satellite workshops will be held at McGill University (June 25 and 29).

 

Social Events and Catering

Planned social events include:

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

Daily catering will include lunch and coffee breaks.

 

Our Sponsors

We are very thankful to the following groups for supporting LabPhon 20:

Association for Laboratory Phonology (ALP)

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) - Connection Grant

McGill Faculty of Arts - Arts Opportunity Fund

Centre for Research on Brain Language and Music in Montreal

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