ODAL 2027 Signed Languages – Call for Papers

The use and form of proper nouns in signed languages are deeply rooted in the structure of the languages themselves, as well as in the conventions of the Deaf community. Therefore, studying names allows insight into these aspects of signed languages and Deaf culture.

In signed languages, proper nouns fulfil the same basic functions as in spoken languages. The most important is to uniquely identify and refer to specific entities. Additionally, signed names also carry sociocultural, symbolic, and ideological meanings. However, signed languages operate in the visual-gestural modality, rather than the verbal-auditory. This mean that signed names can have different forms, namely, being fingerspelled using the manual alphabet; being initialised by using the first letter(s) of the spoken name; a descriptive representation of a physical or other characteristic of the entity; or a combination thereof. Name signs can also be replaced during conversation by establishing a referential location.

On a sociocultural level, agreeing upon a specific sign is an important aspect of Deaf interaction, whether it is for the course of a conversation or a more generally conventionalised sign. Likewise, the assignation of a personal name-sign is an essential marker of Deaf culture.

This thematic dossier invites abstracts that explore onomastics in signed languages, including but not limited to:

• The linguistic forms of signed names.
• Syntactic or grammatical analyses of the introduction and use of names in signed discourse.
• Tactics to establish or agree upon a specific name sign(s).
• Change in name signs or name-signing conventions over time.
• The social, cultural, political, economic, symbolic or ideological dimensions of signed names.

With this thematic focus, the dossier aims to explore and highlight the rich linguistic and cultural facets contributed by names in signed languages; and thereby build greater understanding of human language.

DETAILS

Authors can submit their abstracts (300 words), including title and 3-5 keywords, until 16 March 2026 directly to the journal Editors and guest-editors: Marcia.Seide@unioeste.br, yolalf@unam.mx , alexandre.sousa@fale.ufal.br , Lothc@ufs.ac.za.

Guidelines for abstracts: The word count including the title is 300 words. Provide a complete and concise description of the most important parts of the research to be reported in the article: context, purpose and/or objectives, methodology, results obtained and contribution of the research to the field of Onomastics. Include three to five keywords separated by a comma.

The outcome of the selection process will be communicated via email. Authors of approved abstracts should be ready to submit the complete articles on the journal website  Onomastics from Latin America to the dossier section in April 2026.

Guidelines for articles:  Submissions | Onomastics from Latin America.