Protolang Conference - Event Note
From 15 to 17 September 2025, the ninth edition of the interdisciplinary Protolang conference series took place at the Department of English and American Studies at the University of Vienna. First established in 2009 in Toruń (Poland), Protolang is held biennially and brings together researchers “from A(rcheology) to Z(oology), and all disciplines in between” to investigate the origins and evolution of human symbolic communication.
This year’s conference was organised by Theresa Matzinger (Department of English and American Studies), Andreas Baumann (Department of German Studies), Hannes Fellner (Department of European and Comparative Literature and Language Studies, Department of Linguistics), and Felix Haiduk (Austrian Academy of Science).
With 76 participants from 19 countries, Protolang 9 offered a valuable opportunity to connect across disciplines, exchange ideas, and broaden perspectives.
©Philippe Colling
The conference opened with a workshop led by Sasha Newar and Tom Jenks (both University of St. Andrews), where early-career researchers presented work on language evolution through studies of animal communication, followed by activity-based discussions in break-out sessions.
Over the following two days, participants could attend 63 talks and engage in lively discussions of cutting-edge research in the field of language evolution. Topics included the role of facial expressions in the development of multimodal language signals (Nölle et al.), the relationship between autism and language evolution (Benítez-Burraco & Progovac), correlations between the duration of European colonial occupation and threats to both language diversity and biodiversity (Lenzner et al.), the effects of word and sentence length on the perceived sincerity of apologies (Lev-Ari), and how dog brains may attribute meaning to words (Rácz, Boros & Andics), among many other contributions. (For further information, consider the Book of Abstracts linked below).
©Philippe Colling
Research from the Department of English and American Studies was presented by Irene Böhm and Nikolaus Ritt, who investigated the historical emergence of English monosyllabic words containing short vowels. Also from the Department of English and American Studies, co-organiser Theresa Matzinger presented research that compares the perceived aesthetic appeal of American Sign Language and French Sign Language and explores whether aesthetic judgements might stem from intrinsic appeal or cultural associations.
The breadth of approaches within Protolang was also reflected in the choice of plenary speakers. Linguist Pritty Patel-Grosz (University of Olso; Directive gestures on the primate gestural meaning continuum), applied mathematician Anne Kandler (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig; Bridging theory and data in cultural evolution), and biologist and cognitive scientist Tecumseh Fitch (University of Vienna; Protolanguage(s) revisited) delivered engaging and thought-provoking talks that were accessible to participants from diverse backgrounds.
Evening programme at the "Heurigen" wine tavern (©Philippe Colling)
The conference concluded with a trip to the Cobenzl viewpoint, led by linguists-turned-tourist-guides Hannes Fellner and Felix Haiduk, who shared historical and etymological trivia about Vienna.
In true Viennese spirit, the evening then culminated in a visit to a charmingly rustic Heurigen (a wine tavern) where attendees enjoyed traditional Austrian cuisine and locally produced white wine. In this convivial setting, attendees could not only look back on a successful Protolang 9 but also look ahead to the much-anticipated Protolang 10: For its 2027 jubilee edition, the conference is set to return to its roots in Toruń.
Event review by Michelle van de Bilt