Call for Papers

We are happy to announce the call for papers for the 39th Annual Conference on Human Sentence Processing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology to be held March 26 to 28th, 2026.

The NSF-funded special session for this year's conference is entitled "Language and Thought in Minds and Machines". The special session explores the interface between the linguistic ability and the human capacity for abstract thought. This is an age-old question from the philosophy and psychology literature, ranging from ideas from Plato, Wittgenstein, and Chomsky in philosophy to proposals from Sapir, Whorf and Levinson in the linguistics literature.

We are delighted to welcome the following speakers:

• Rosemary Varley, University College London
• Anna Papafragou, University of Pennsylvania
• Gary Lupyan, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Cristine Legare, University of Texas at Austin
• Julian Jara-Ettinger, Yale University
• Ray Jackendoff, Tufts University
• Anna Ivanova, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Jacob Andreas, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

We welcome abstract submissions for the special session, as well as abstracts related to the general theme of language processing. Abstracts may be submitted for posters or for podium presentations. Abstracts are due on Friday, December 12th, 2025, 11:59:59 PM anywhere on Earth. We will not have any extensions. Dr. Maayan Keshev has put together a document for how to write a good HSP abstract.

Abstract specifications:

• The text of the abstract is limited to a single page. Tables, examples, data charts and references may be placed on a second page.
• Abstracts should not include authors or affiliations in the PDF. Please also avoid any identifying information about the authors in the text of the abstract itself (e.g., “In our previous work, we found…”).
• Please be sure your abstract mentions the language(s) being investigated. Do not omit the language under investigation if it is English.
• Format:
  • 1" margin all around
  • 11pt Arial font
  • U.S. Letter size document (8.5 x 11") in portrait orientation