The International Conference on Dialect Mapping – Tunisia (ICDMap Tunisia 2026) is the first international forum fully dedicated to the scientific, technological, and cultural dimensions of dialect mapping and linguistic spatial representation, with a special focus on the Linguistic Atlas of Tunisian project (LAT). Dialect mapping stands at the fascinating crossroads of linguistics, geography, and technology, illuminating the rich tapestry of human language variation across regions and communities.

1st International Conference on the Linguistic Atlas of Tunisia

Presentation

The International Conference on Dialect Mapping – Tunisia (ICDMap Tunisia 2026) is the first international forum fully dedicated to the scientific, technological, and cultural dimensions of dialect mapping and linguistic spatial representation, with a special focus on the Linguistic Atlas of Tunisian project (LAT). Dialect mapping stands at the fascinating crossroads of linguistics, geography, and technology, illuminating the rich tapestry of human language variation across regions and communities.

Organized by the research laboratories ESLI (Semantic and Computational Linguistics), G&G (Geomatics and Natural Systems), SILAB (Information Science), and the Center for Economic and Social Researches and Studies (CERES); the conference aims to bring together scholars, digital humanists, geolinguists, computational linguists, and field researchers to explore innovative methods and approaches in the documentation, analysis, and visualization of dialectal variation.

Topics

The conference topics include but are not limited to:

Dialect Mapping and Linguistic Challenges

• Phonetic, morphological, lexical, syntactic, and semantic analysis of dialects
• Cognitive dialect spatialization and mapping methodologies
• Language variation and change as visualized through mapping

Digital Perspectives and Linguistic Intelligence

• Dialectal language resources (Corpora and databases, multimodal and audio-visual archives, lexical resources, knowledge graphs, etc.)
• Dialect mapping applications (digital and Interactive Atlases, tools for dialectal preservation and promotion, geolinguistic collaborative platforms, etc.)
• AI & Dialect NLP (dialect Identification and classification, dialectal Speech recognition, dialect text to speech, dialect WSD, dialect translation, etc.)

Participatory Geomatics & Digital Humanities

• Integration of GIS and dialect databases into multilingual and multi-scale web mapping environments.
• Applications of digital humanities for the valorization of dialectal heritage: storymaps, immersive visualizations, and interactive linguistic pathways.

Socio-economic fallout of dialectology and dialectography 

• Social dialect remapping: start points and objectives
• Economic dialect remapping: strategies and impacts

Cross-disciplinary approaches combining linguistics, geography, and data science

Workshop Proposals – ALT International Conference

Workshop 1: Sociolinguistic data

Objective: Introduce participants to cognitive conceptualization of dialect data using the free and open-source software.

Target Audience: Linguists, students, humanities researchers

Content:

- Introduction to sociolinguistic data

- Importing and referencing dialect data

- Creating basic thematic mapping

- Exporting and sharing dialect cognitive maps

Duration: 3–4 hours

Workshop 2: Mapping Linguistic Data with QGIS 

Objective: Introduce participants to spatial visualization of dialect data using the free and open-source GIS software QGIS.

Target Audience: Linguists, students, humanities researchers

Content:

- Introduction to GIS and geolinguistics

- Importing and georeferencing dialect data

- Creating basic thematic maps

- Exporting and sharing maps

Duration: 3–4 hours

Field Trip Proposal

Old Medina, November 7, 2026 (Afternoon)

Traditional lunch at a typical restaurant

Paper Submission and Publication 

Abstract Submission

Initial proposals of contributions (title, abstract of 300–500 words, keywords, author's name, affiliations, and contact details) should be submitted via Google Forms (Submission link).

Full paper submission

Full papers must be submitted electronically in standard IEEE Conference Proceedings format (max 8 pages, templates at https://www.ieee.org/conferences/publishing/templates.html). All submitted papers will be reviewed by at least 2 program committee members based on their contribution, quality, relevance, significance, and clarity.

Publication

Accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings by publisher. A selection of papers will be published in a collective volume or in a peer-reviewed indexed journal.

Key Dates

• Call for paper: June 16, 2025

Abstract submission deadline (300 words): November 17, 2025

• Reminder: September 20, 2025
• Notification of abstract acceptance: January 05, 2026
• Full paper submission (8000 words): Mai 15, 2026
• Notification of full paper acceptance: July 15, 2026
• Conference: November 5–7, 2026

Committees and organizers

Chair:

Dr. Wissem Aribi, wissem.aribi@flah.uma.tn

Co-chairs:

Dr. Rim Katlane, rim.katlane@flah.uma.tn

Dr. Ibrahim Bounhas, ibrahim.bounhas@isd.uma.tn

Conference Venues

• Center for Economic and Social Researches and Studies (CERES), 9 Docteur Conseil - Le Belvédère, Tunis, 1002 Tunis, Tunisia
• Faculty of Letters, Arts and Humanities, University of Manouba, Campus universitaire de la Manouba, 2010 Manouba, Tunisia
• Higher Institute of Documentation, University of Manouba, Campus universitaire de la Manouba, 2010 Manouba, Tunisia

Contact & Further Information

Email: contact.labo.esli@gmail.com

Email: wissem.aribi@flah.uma.tn

Registration Fees

Registration fees include access to all scientific sessions, conference materials, coffee breaks, and daily lunches.Registration fees include access to all scientific sessions, conference materials, coffee breaks, and daily lunches.

Early Bird Rate (before July 30, 2026)

• Students (Master’s / PhD) : 200 TND
• Researchers / Academics : 300 TND
• Professionals / Institutions : 350 TND

Standard Rate (after July 30, 2026)

• Students (Master’s / PhD) : 250 TND
• Researchers / Academics : 350 TND
• Professionals / Institutions : 400 TND

Optional Add-ons (not included in the base fee)

• Workshops (hands-on sessions) 150 TND
• Field Trip + Gala Dinner 130 TND