History
A brief history of EBSULING
Four editions since 2016, each extending the reach of a language-centred interdisciplinary conference.
The EBSULING International Conference is the flagship academic conference of the Department of Languages & Linguistics, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria. Established in 2016, EBSULING provides a platform for scholars, researchers, students and professionals to share research, exchange ideas and build collaborations around language, linguistics and their intersections with literature, culture, communication, technology and the wider society.
From its inception, EBSULING has maintained a language-centred interdisciplinary orientation. While providing a strong platform for research in core areas of linguistics and language studies, the conference encourages engagement across disciplinary boundaries and explores the place of language in responding to emerging cultural, technological and societal questions.
Over the years, EBSULING has also developed a strong interest in research capacity building. Through specialised training and workshops, the conference seeks not only to provide a forum for presenting research but also to equip scholars — particularly postgraduate students and emerging researchers — with practical tools and skills for conducting, managing, publishing and disseminating high-quality research.
2016
EBSULING 1
1–4 August 2016
Foundation
The beginning of an interdisciplinary conference tradition
The First EBSULING International Interdisciplinary Conference was held from 1–4 August 2016, organised by the then Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies under the headship of Dr Chinwe E. Obianika.
The inaugural conference established EBSULING as an interdisciplinary scholarly meeting anchored in language and linguistic studies while remaining open to conversations with literature, culture, communication, the humanities and the social sciences. It laid the institutional foundation for what would become a continuing international conference series.
2018
EBSULING 2
November 2018
The digital turn
Digital humanities and the first EBSULING workshop
“Digital Humanities and Spaces: Exploring Current Trends in Digital Linguistics and Literature”
At a time when digital technologies were becoming central to humanistic and linguistic research, the second edition brought language and literary scholarship into conversation with digital humanities, digital linguistics, digital literature, media, culture and emerging technologies.
The 2018 edition expanded EBSULING beyond conventional conference presentations to include structured research capacity development — establishing a principle that has shaped the conference since: a conference should not only provide a place to present research, it should help researchers acquire the skills to produce better research.
First EBSULING workshop · 8–12 November 2018
Pre-Conference Workshop on Digital Tools and Skills for Language Documentation, Linguistic Data Generation and Analysis, and Publishing
Training in the elicitation, creation, management, processing, analysis, documentation and archiving of textual, audio and visual language data.
Tools taught
2025
EBSULING 3
8–11 October 2025
Hybridisation
Language, technoscience and broader interdisciplinarity
“Language, Technoscience, Security, and Socioeconomic Development: Towards a Holistic Digital Society”
Following a break in the series, EBSULING returned in 2025 as a hybrid conference, considerably broadening its interdisciplinary reach. It brought language scholarship into conversation with artificial intelligence, technoscience, digital communication, governance, security, socioeconomic development, culture and religion.
The hybrid format allowed both physical and virtual participation, extending scholarly interaction beyond geographical boundaries.
2026
EBSULING 4
4–7 November 2026
Disruptive technologies
A decade on: language, communication and society
“Language, Communication, and Society in an Era of Disruptive Technologies”
The fourth edition marks ten years since the inaugural conference. Artificial intelligence, generative technologies, social media, machine translation, digital publishing and human–machine interaction are rapidly changing how people communicate, conduct research, create knowledge, teach, learn and participate in society.
At the same time, fundamental questions concerning language structure, discourse, literature, culture, identity, multilingualism, education, governance, security, health, religion, climate and development remain important. EBSULING 2026 brings these conversations together within a broad language-centred interdisciplinary framework.