Welcome to the Association of Contemporary African Linguistics!

We’re under some construction! Rebuilding this website after the June crash has taken some time, and we ask for patience as we fill the site with the content previously held here. In particular, the Members Only tab is not yet functioning, but will be.

The Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL) was first convened in 1970 and has since been held every year at various sites throughout North America. The affiliated Association of Contemporary African Linguistics, founded in 2013 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, has the same mission: to advance and sustain the linguistic study of African languages. The Association (with the same acronym) seeks to continue and provide stability to that tradition and to the conference itself. The Association solicits support from ACAL’s attendees to guarantee the conference’s stability into the future.

We as an organization welcome all members from any country or background.

Next ACAL Conferences

FUTURE HOSTS NEEDED! For 2024 and beyond, we are looking for a university to host ACAL. Email Laura Downing if potentially interested.

ACAL 54 will be hosted by the University of Connecticut, June 12-14, 2023. The abstract deadline is January 20, 2023. Conference web site is here.

ACAL 53 was hosted virtually by the University of California – San Diego, April 7-9,  2022. The conference website, including schedule of papers, is here.

ACAL Awards

The first ACAL Lifetime Achievement Award was given in 2018 to Professor Dr. Eyamba Bokamba of the University of Illinois. He has been a leading scholar in the field of African linguistics, and has been a leading figure in ACAL conferences, with Illinois hosting the conference several times.