UiO - MultiLing - Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan

21/04/2026

The one-day conference Neurodiversity and Communication marked the conclusion of the NFR-funded AttCom project. Researchers from multiple disciplines came together to explore how ADHD and autism shape language processing, social interaction, and language learning across the lifespan.

Many thanks to everyone who contributed and participated, with special thanks to the keynote speakers Prof. Wenche Andersen Helland (University of Bergen) and Dr. Kirsten Abbot-Smith (University of Kent), and to the organizers, Franziska Köder and Marianna Kyriacou ☀️

15/04/2026

📢 Save the date for a Conference on Communication and Neurodiversity, the closing conference of the project “The role of attention in communication” (AttCom).
This 1‑day conference explores how neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD and autism influence language and communication, bringing together researchers from linguistics, psychology, education, and related fields. 🎓📚
🎤 Keynote speakers
• Prof. Wenche Andersen Helland (University of Bergen)
• Dr. Kirsten Abbot‑Smith (University of Kent)

When?
April 17th 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where?
Helga Engs hus - Seminarrom 234
Sem Sælands vei 7, 0371 Oslo

Talks will be streamed on Zoom.

Visit https://www.hf.uio.no/iln/english/research/projects/adhd/attcom-closing-conference/ for more information and to stream the talks.

Meet you there!

Read this story on the University of Oslo's website.

21/01/2026

❗Please feel free to ignore this post if you are not a Hindi-speaking parent of a child aged 8-36 months living in India, as this post is intended for them.❗

🌿 हिंदी भाषा पर एक महत्वपूर्ण शोध में आपका सहयोग आवश्यक है 🌿
नमस्कार 🙏
दुनिया में यूरोपीय भाषाओं पर बहुत शोध हुआ है, लेकिन भारतीय भाषाओं, विशेषकर हिंदी, पर अभी भी बहुत कम जानकारी उपलब्ध है। हम एक शोध परियोजना पर काम कर रहे हैं, जिसका उद्देश्य हिंदी भाषी छोटे बच्चों (8 से 36 महीने) के भाषा विकास को समझना है।
यदि आपकी मातृभाषा हिंदी है और आपका बच्चा 8 से 36 महीने की आयु का है, तो कृपया इस शोध में भाग लेकर हमारा साथ दें।
आपका हर एक उत्तर हमें हिंदी भाषी बच्चों के पहले बोले और समझे जाने वाले शब्दों की सूची बनाने में मदद करेगा। यह ज्ञान हमारी भारतीय भाषाओं की पहचान और महत्व को मजबूत करेगा।
📌 बिना आपके सहयोग के यह शोध संभव नहीं है।
कृपया नीचे दिए गए लिंक पर क्लिक करके फ़ॉर्म भरें :
🔗 [https://nettskjema.no/a/539547]
आपका सहयोग हमें हिंदी भाषा की समझ को और समृद्ध बनाने में मदद करेगा।
कृपया इस संदेश को उन मित्रों, परिजनों और समूहों तक भी पहुँचाएँ, जिनके 8 से 36 महीने के बच्चे हैं।
🙏 आइए, मिलकर हिंदी भाषा की धरोहर को और मज़बूत करें।

28/09/2025

We are still excited after The Einar Haugen Lecture that took place on Friday, September 26th! 🎉
The thought-provoking lecture by Lindsay Ferrara, who provided insights into sign language and sign language communities in the Nordics, was well-attended both on-site and online.
What a wonderful way to celebrate the European Day of Languages! 🌍🗣️
A big thank you to Lindsay Ferrara for this electrifying talk, to Pia Lane for the introduction, to the interpreters into Norwegian sign language who made this lecture inclusive and accessible to such a broad audience, and to Franziska Köder and David Thornton for organising this event for us. 🙏
We look forward to seeing you at the Einar Haugen Lecture next year! 😊

25/08/2025

We are delighted to announce the online publication of the edited volume Language Activism: The Role of Scholars in Linguistic Reform and Social Change https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/language-activism/16035EA7653190AE73F60B0BB5A44C1C by Cambridge University Press. This volume was co-edited by former MultiLing Director Unn Røyneland along with her colleagues Cecelia Cutler (CUNY) and Zvjezdana Vrzić (NYU). Several MultiLing scholars and collaborators have contributed to the volume. CONGRATULATIONS! 👏🏻🎉

A big and heartfelt thank you to all of the authors for their thought-provoking contributions, which form the basis for the success of this book!❤️


We are proud to see that the volume, with its many insightful and inspiring articles, has received a very encouraging review:

«This astonishing collection of researchers, theories, and ideas is a profound addition to the studies on (language) activism. Apart from the minor shortcoming, that is the inconsistency in the term and the conceptualization of ‘language activism,’ the authors nevertheless manage to approach the issues connected to language activism in a diverse and structured manner. They manage to shine a bright light on the issues at hand and calibrate the roles of scholars in a modern academia. This volume can be placed with a possible new paradigm on the studies on language activism, moving toward a new linguistics containing decolonizing and egalitarian approaches. The personal and inspiring stories call in unison to leave the ‘ivory tower’ behind and rethink our research as something to be done with languages, communities, and society. To echo a point mentioned by many authors in this volume, they might be taking small steps, but this impressive collection is nothing short of a big leap for the field.»

Cambridge Core - Sociolinguistics - Language Activism

20/06/2025

We had a wonderful time at ISB15 in San Sebastián with the MultiLingers community last week! 🌟
Pia Lane delivered a truly captivating keynote lecture, and it was fantastic to see so many of us share our papers and posters✨

Such a joy to reconnect with MultiLingers from all different periods of the center! 🤝❤️ Plus, the SPEAKERS project team got an extra day to enjoy a seminar in this beautiful setting! Huge thanks to everyone for making this experience so unforgettable! ☀️✨

26/04/2025

MultiLing was well represented at the 1st AMMS Conference on Multilingualism, organised by the Warsaw University. Thank you to Piotr Romanowski for hosting us! https://amms.wls.uw.edu.pl/conference-2025/

08/04/2025

To all interested in Workshop on forensic interaction 10-11 April. The location has changed! Updated program here:

Oslo, 10-11 April 2025
Thursday
Seminarrom 360, PA Munchs hus, Blindern
09.00 Emma Richardson: How does ‘vulnerability’ manifest in investigative police interviews with
complainants of R**e and Serious Sexual Offence (RASSO)
10.00 Pawel Urbanik: (Un)cooperativeness in police interviews: When suspects challenge the
formalities and procedures
11.00 Aneta Pavlenko: Feigned comprehension and its consequences in the criminal justice
system
12.00 Lunch
Seminarrom 152, Georg Morgenstiernes hus, Blindern
13.00 James Tompkinson: Exploring person perception in the context of police interviews
14.00 Aafke Diepeveen: “Wait a minute.. that’s not what I said”: Suspects’ comments and
negotiations over content and wording when reviewing the written statement
15.00 Sebastian Muth: “How are we supposed to know he didn’t understand a thing?” Language
assistance at prisons in England and Wales
16.00 Kristina K. Jakobsen: «Reduction in sentence for confession» - The intentions of the Law
and how police officers communicate it
Friday
Grupperom 1, Georg Sverdrups hus, Blindern
09.00 Jan Svennevig: Communicative challenges in presenting evidence to suspects
10.00 Søren S. Sørensen: Hva tenker du ’what are your thoughts’ in Norwegian police interviews:
Understanding problems and the role of context
11.00 Plans for future activities and collaborations
12.00 Lunch

Organized by the project Police investigative interviews in Norwegian as a Second
Language – Communicative Challenges and Solutions, University of Agder

Happy seminar! :)

24/03/2025

Exciting Event Announcement!
Mark your calendars for April 9th!
The Police Academy, along with former MultiLingers 🎓👮 , , and , is hosting an important event on forensic linguistics! 🕵️‍♀️
Dive into the world of new research on linguistic challenges in police interviews and gain valuable insights from practitioners' experiences in overcoming them. 🔍✨👮‍♂️
Join the event for a round of learning, discussion, and networking. Connect with experts and expand your understanding of forensic linguistics. Don't miss out!
More details here: https://www.litteraturhuset.no/.../sprakutfordringer-i-avhor 📚

03/02/2025

The SPEAKERS projects organized a workshop 🔧on Current directions in language revitalization research on the 28th of January, with invited guests Prof. Annika Pasanen (Sámi University of Applied Sciences), Prof. Hilde Sollid and members of the MultiTrans project (UiT the Arctic University of Norway), and Prof. Stephen May (University of Auckland) 🎓

27/01/2025

Great events this week! Stephen May will give a lecture today: "Indigenous language revitalization and linguistic racism: The case of the Māori language". On Wednesday, Mi Yung Park and Stephen May will give the opening lecture at the workshop "Working Closely with Participants: Ethical Considerations". More information on both events:

Read this story on the University of Oslo's website.