NEWS Researchers from universities in 18 countries gathered on 23–25 June at Campus Umeå to participate in SALC—a conference and research network dedicated to the relationship between language, cognition, and learning. The conference, the tenth of its kind, was organised by the Department of Language Studies.
Photos from SALC10 held at Campus Umeå 20206.
Image Sandra Lundström
“Researchers in this field aim to advance the understanding of how language, thought and experience interact,” says Kajsa Törmä, associate professor at the Department of Language Studies and a member of the organising committee.
The conference brought together over 80 participants, who took part in a comprehensive programme including plenary lectures, general sessions and themed sessions across five tracks: Motion Events in Focus, Metaphor and Learning, Metaphorical Competence, Cognitive Aesthetics and Learning new languages.
“A key part of the conference was the opportunity to network and exchange ideas across disciplines. We welcomed participants from a wide range of research areas including linguistics, psychology, neuroscience and communication studies,” says Kajsa Törmä.
The plenary lectures were held by Marianne Gullberg (Lund University), Lars Nyberg, (Umeå University), Reyes Llopis-García (Columbia University), and Mikkel Valentin, (Aarhus University).
The main goal of SALC is to promote the study of the relationship between language and cognition both in the Nordic countries and more generally. This involves any type of research in which language is not treated in isolation, but as based on structures and processes of general cognition and social cognition, and as affecting such structures and processes. The conference is intended to be a forum for cooperation and exchange of ideas between disciplines, fields of study and theoretical frameworks for the study of language and cognition.
The conference is organised every two years. The next is scheduled for 2028 and will be organised by the University of Copenhagen.
