2026 Summer School
Academia Grammaticorum Salensis Vigesima Tertia
Language change inside and out
July 26 – August 1 2026, Antalieptė, Lithuania
Triggers of language change generally fall into two types: a) language-external motivations or event-based triggers (Bickel 2015), the major one being language contact; and b) language-internal motivations, or functional factors independent from contingent historical events, rooted in biological or communicative conditions of language (Bybee et al. 1994, Cristofaro 2003, Roberts & Roussou 2003, Traugott & Dasher 2003). These are usually associated with different subfields in linguistics – historical linguistics on one side, areal linguistics and typology on the other. The aim of the summer school is to promote innovative approaches that combine insights from cutting-edge theories, large-scale empirical data, and quantitative methods that now underpin much of historical and areal research.
The courses will be taught by Prof. Dr. Stefan Hartmann (HHU Düsseldorf), Dr. Max Wahlström (University of Helsinki), and Prof. Dr. Alena Witzlack-Makarevich (University of Bremen).
All three courses are at the PhD level. Participants who attend all courses and complete all tasks will be awarded 3 ECTS credits by Vilnius University.
Programme
The summer school will feature two advanced theoretical courses on language change, both with a focus on quantitative methods. The third course will be introductory and will focus on statistical methods of hypothesis testing, providing foundational knowledge and hands-on skills that are required when investigating language change in modern frameworks. Each day will end with a tutoring/groupwork session.
- Diachronic Construction Grammar
Prof. Dr. Stefan Hartmann, HHU Düsseldorf
Construction Grammar has become one of the most successful approaches to linguistic analysis over the last few decades. While it was initially mostly limited to synchronic analyses, it quickly came to be extended to diachrony. Especially the usage-based branch of Construction Grammar lends itself very well to accounting for diachronic phenomena as it sees all aspects of linguistic knowledge as fundamentally shaped by usage – and language use in turn is characterized by variation, which almost necessarily leads to change. A number of theoretical accounts have been proposed to account for the diachronic development of constructions, i.e. form-meaning pairs, from their emergence to diachronic changes they undergo to their eventual demise. In this course, we will get to know the basic assumptions of Construction Grammar and discuss how they can be transferred to diachrony, and how they have been applied to the analysis of diachronic phenomena by different scholars. We will explore influential approaches to diachronic Construction Grammar such as Traugott & Trousdale’s concepts of constructionalization and constructional changes, and we will take a closer look at empirical case studies that aim at testing specific hypotheses of diachronic Construction Grammar using corpus-based methods.
- Contact-induced language change
Dr. Max Wahlström, University of Helsinki
This course seeks to offer an up-to-date picture of research into contact-induced language change, with a focus on morphology and syntax. Contact-induced language change is addressed by case examples, illustrating different types of contact phenomena. A portion of the course will concentrate on discerning contact-induced language change from internal developments. For this discussion a brief excursion to areal linguistics is needed with an overview of both bottom-up and top-down approaches to areality. Additionally, social and other extra-linguistic factors will be discussed as shaping factors regarding outcomes of language contact.
- Topics in inferential statistics
Prof. Dr. Alena Witzlack-Makarevich, University of Bremen
This course introduces students to the principles and practice of inferential statistics, with a particular focus on the fundamentals of null hypothesis significance testing. Students will learn how to formulate research questions in a way that allows for statistical hypothesis testing, and how to match different types of research questions and datasets with appropriate quantitative methods. A central component of the course is the critical evaluation of the assumptions underlying common statistical procedures, as well as an exploration of frequent misunderstandings in statistical inference. The course includes a substantial hands-on component in which participants work with a selection of example datasets drawn from the topics covered in Courses I and II. Students will be guided through the full research process: identifying and refining research questions, operationalizing them for hypothesis testing, selecting and justifying appropriate statistical tests, implementing these analyses in R, and critically interpreting the results.
- Tutoring sessions
A valued tradition of the summer school is the daily tutoring session at the end of each day. These sessions are designed to help participants consolidate and deepen the knowledge gained during the lectures by offering space to revisit the material, discuss concepts in detail, and clarify any remaining questions together with peers and lecturers. Participants also benefit from the opportunity to seek feedback from lecturers on their own research projects. This format not only strengthens understanding but also fosters peer-to-peer learning, collaboration, and exchange among linguists across diverse fields and career stages.
Conference
One day of the summer school is dedicated to a conference with presentations and a poster session, which forms an integral part of the program. This event gives participants the chance to present their research and receive constructive feedback in an encouraging setting. It underscores our focus on collaboration by enabling participants to refine their work through feedback, share research interests, engage in dialogue with peers, and establish new academic contacts.
Preliminary schedule
Target group
The summer school is primarily aimed at advanced MA and PhD students and early-career researchers in linguistics who wish to deepen their understanding of language change from both a theoretical and methodological perspective. The core audience includes students specializing in historical linguistics, areal linguistics, sociolinguistics, and typology, but the school is also relevant to participants from related fields such as corpus, experimental, and theoretical linguistics. While the focus of the courses is on the study of language change, the methodological training – particularly the course on statistical testing – will be of value to any participant seeking to strengthen their empirical toolkit for linguistic research more generally. For this reason, we expect to attract students from a wide range of linguistic backgrounds, including those whose work may not directly address diachrony but who wish to incorporate quantitative and corpus-based methods into their projects.
Accommodation and board
The summer school will take place at the “Inovatorių slėnis” (Innovators’ Valley) cultural hub in Antalieptė, a small charming village in northeastern Lithuania. Attendants of the summer school will be accommodated in one of two distinctive locations, each offering its own special appeal:
- The “Medus” (“Honey”) laboratory: Spacious and cozy rooms (4-5 beds each) ensure a comfortable rest after a day of engaging lectures. This area is located in the same building where the lectures and coffee breaks take place, meaning it will be a lively and dynamic environment throughout the day.
- The Discalced Carmelites Monastery: More basic accommodation with rooms for 4–8 people. It provides an unforgettable atmosphere as it is a fascinating historic site which has served various purposes over the years. Besides having been a monastery, throughout history it has also served as an orphanage, a school, a military base, and an agricultural technical school. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served in the monastery.
As you’ve probably gathered, participants will share rooms. Although this might make you remember times in a summer camp, this experience fosters a strong sense of community and creates opportunities for late-night linguistic discussions—if your roommates are up for it, of course! And if you are a fan of an active lifestyle, a morning swim in the pond might be just the thing you didn’t know you needed. There is also a lake 2 km away.
While there is a café in the monastery, full board (i.e. breakfast, lunch, and dinner) is provided by the organizers and included in the attendance fee. The food is hearty and tasty, rooted in the local cuisine and prepared with care and dedication by the Antalieptė locals. Vegan and vegetarian options will be available. If you have special dietary needs, please let us know in the registration form, and our cooks will do their best to accommodate you. There is also a shop in the village where you can buy basic food items, sweets, snacks, and drinks.
Social program
The uniqueness of the summer school is also connected to its venue. The event takes place in a historic monastery complex in the small village of Antalieptė in North-Eastern Lithuania. Participants get away from all other distractions and spend a week solely in the company of nature and other linguists. They live in the monastery complex, share meals, and spend evenings by the lakeshore or around the campfire, engaging in lively discussions and singing along in a variety of languages. The pond right beside the monastery (or a lake 20 minutes away by foot) offers the possibility for a swim – even during the break between the lectures. One of the available evening activities is a traditional sauna session.
The summer school traditionally has been accompanied by other cultural events: concerts, theater performances, village fairs. This year is also set to include a range of activities which are usually attended not only by linguists, but also by the locals from Antalieptė.
How to apply
To apply, please fill in this form by May 3rd, 2026. Successful applicants will be asked to proceed with registration until May 24th.
Participation fee
The participation fee of 320 euros covers:
- attendance in three courses (4 lectures each) and daily tutoring/group work sessions
- participation in the conference day (oral or poster presentations)
- accomodation in shared rooms
- full board (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
- coffee breaks
- opening and closing receptions
- bus trip from Vilnius and back
Reduced participation fee of 270 Eur applies to members of “Academia Salensis” association.
How to get to Antalieptė
A bus will be arranged for participants traveling from Vilnius to Antalieptė. It will depart from Vilnius University on Sunday, July 26, and return to Vilnius on Saturday, August 1. The journey takes approximately 2.5 to 3 hours.