We are pleased to announce the call for papers for ‘The English Noun Phrase 2027 (ENP2027)’, an international conference devoted to the study of the English NP from a broad range of theoretical, descriptive and empirical perspectives.

ENP2027 builds on a long-standing tradition of international scholarly exchange devoted to the synchronic and diachronic study of the English NP. The conference series was launched in 2009 by the LVTC research group in Vigo, in collaboration with the Universities of Newcastle, Leuven and Santiago de Compostela. Subsequent editions were held in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2011, Leuven in 2013 and Vienna in 2019. ENP2027 continues this established tradition, bringing together researchers working on the English NP and providing a forum for new empirical, theoretical and methodological approaches to its study.

The NP lies at the heart of many fundamental questions in linguistic theory. Its internal structure and the complex interactions between syntax, semantics and pragmatics have been the subject of extensive research, particularly with regard to determination, reference, modification, complementation and interpretation. The complexity of English NPs, in terms of both their internal structure and their processing and use in discourse, also raises important questions about how linguistic complexity is defined, measured and distributed across different contexts and varieties of English. At the same time, corpus-based research has highlighted substantial variation in the form and use of noun phrases across registers, genres and communicative contexts.

ENP2027 aims to bring together researchers working on the English NP across different theoretical frameworks and methodological traditions. We particularly welcome empirical and theoretical contributions that explore the NP in relation to syntax, semantics, pragmatics, morphology, discourse, language variation and change, corpus linguistics, psycholinguistics and language acquisition.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• internal structure and syntax: headedness (including ellipsis, nominalisation and pronominalisation); prenominal and postnominal expansion (including determiners, quantifiers, modifiers and complements); word order; linguistic complexity; coordination; agreement and concord within the NP and the clause; discontinuity
• interpretation: definiteness and indefiniteness; countability; reference; specificity; semantics of dependents
• information structure and discourse: discourse functions and use; experimental and psycholinguistic approaches
• variation across registers, genres and varieties of English
• historical development and change
• acquisition and processing.

The conference will provide an opportunity to discuss current research, foster dialogue across theoretical and methodological traditions, and explore new directions in the study of English NPs.

Submission of abstracts

Submission period: 21 September 2026 – 15 January 2027.

Abstract must be submitted to  enp2027@uvigo.gal.

Abstracts should not exceed 400 words, excluding references, and should clearly state the research questions, theoretical or analytical approach, methodology, data and results (or expected results, where appropriate).

Notifications of acceptance will be sent by 15 March 2027.

Presentation format

20-minute papers + 10 minutes for discussion