Success for the 14th Day of Swiss Linguistics

On Wednesday, 3 June 2026, USI hosted the 14th Day of Swiss Linguistics, titled "Challenges in Linguistic Research", which brought together around seventy participants from all over Switzerland. The initiative provided an important opportunity for discussion of the current state of linguistic research and the discipline's future prospects.

The event was organised by the Institute of Argumentation, Linguistics and Semiotics (IALS) at USI's Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society, directed by Sara Greco, in collaboration with the Osservatorio linguistico della Svizzera italiana (OLSI) in Bellinzona, and in close cooperation with the Swiss Linguistics Society (SSG/SSL). The event also highlights Prof. Greco's active commitment to the SSG/SSL, which she led as President from 2023 to 2025 and where she still serves on the executive committee. The initiative was made possible thanks to the support of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (SAGW), the Centro di dialettologia e di etnografia, and USI.

The organisation of the event involved collaboration among several research institutions active in linguistics in Italian-speaking Switzerland, connecting them with the discipline's main national benchmarks. The 14th Day of Swiss Linguistics concluded with the annual general assembly of the Swiss Linguistics Society.

Held biennially, the Swiss Linguistics Day is a major gathering for the scientific community, offering an overview of ongoing linguistic research and new projects through flash talks and poster presentations. The event also places particular emphasis on the active participation of early-career researchers at doctoral and postdoctoral levels, who once again contributed a significant number of presentations to the 2026 edition.

Diversity and common ground were the defining themes of this edition. While the variety of topics and disciplinary approaches — spanning dialectology, sociolinguistics, argumentation, experimental pragmatics, and frame semantics, among others — testified to the richness and vitality of linguistic studies in Switzerland, the presentations and discussions also highlighted crucial points of convergence. These included the promotion of multilingualism — clearly demonstrated by contributions in Italian, French, German, and English; the importance of the relationship between research and society; and a critical, informed approach to generative artificial intelligence, all of which are set to represent major challenges for the future of research and education.