Invited Speakers

• Anna Borghi, Sapienza Università di Roma, IT: abstract 

• Laura Hidalgo Downing, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, SP: abstract 

• Chloe Harrison, Aston University, UK: abstract 

• Francisco José Ruiz de Mendoza Ibañez, Universidad de La Rioja, SP: abstract 

Call for papers 

The 7th International Symposium on Figurative Thought and Language (FTL 7) will be organised by the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Genoa. Following the previous biannual meetings, which have gathered scholars working on the broad spectrum of figuration, the theme of this year’s meeting is Cognitive, bodily, and cultural processes in Figurative Thought and Language. 

We invite contributions from different theoretical (cognitive linguistics, cognitive science, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, cognitive anthropology), methodological (experimental protocols, cross-linguistic comparison, synchronic and diachronic analyses, corpus studies, quantitative and qualitative analyses), and applied perspectives dealing with the role of figuration in motivating linguistic phenomena and conceptual processes.

Suggested topics include (but are not restricted to): 

• role of figuration in morphology, syntax, lexis, semantics, pragmatics;

• role of figuration in grammar (grammatical constructions, grammatical categories, parts-of-speech);

• role of figuration in grammaticalization;

• role of figuration in synchronic and diachronic language change and variation;

• figurative elaboration of perceptual stimuli;

• figuration in different types of discourse (e.g., business, media, literature, law, politics, science, sports, religion, psychotherapy, etc.);

• cognitive stylistics

• corpus-based approaches to figuration;

• experimental protocols, quantitative and statistical analyses of figurative mechanisms;

• cultural variation of figurative mechanisms;

• emotional aspects of figurative language;

• development of figurative language in first and second language acquisition;

• figuration in artificial intelligence;

• figuration in gestures and sign languages;

• multimodal figuration in images, music, cultural artifacts and practices;

• humour, irony, sarcasm;

Submission of abstracts

Abstract submission deadline: 31st May  2023

Notification of acceptance: 30th June 2023

Presentation will last 25 minutes (20 minutes for paper presentation and 5 minutes for discussion). This 25-minute slot will be followed by 5 minutes for changing rooms. 

• The working language of the conference is English.

• The abstract, both in a .pdf and a .doc(x) format, should be sent to the following address: ftl7symposium@gmail.com

• Abstracts should not exceed 500 words (including examples, and excluding figures and references), and should include 5 keywords and state research questions, approach, method, data and (expected) results.

• Abstracts should be written using Times New Roman 12, single spaced, with a minimal use of special fonts, a minimum of figures and tables, and no footnotes.

• All abstracts will be reviewed anonymously by two referees, members of the Scientific Committee.

• Please, do not mention the author's name, institution or address in the abstract.

• The subject header of your email should include: FTL7 submission – name(s).

• Please include the following information in the main body of your email: (1) name of author(s), (2) affiliation, (3) title of the presentation, (4) email address(es).

SUBMITTING MULTIPLE PAPERS. In order to guarantee diversity, nobody is allowed to present or co-present more than two papers (EITHER one as first author and one as co-author OR two as co-author).