Symposium Obdobja 45

You are invited to take part in the 45th international Obdobja Symposium, titled Slovene in the Era of Smart Technology, which will take place from 18 to 20 November 2026. It will be hosted by the Center for Slovene as a Second and Foreign Language at the Department of Slovene Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana.

Life in the third millennium is shaped by smart devices, social media, the constant flow of information, and global connectivity. Everything we need is just a click or a screen tap away. Multinational corporations, online stores, streaming services, large language models, machine translation tools, and smart homes make our everyday lives easier, while at the same time transforming our language and lifestyle habits.

Obdobja 45 will explore what today’s social and technological circumstances mean for Slovene and its speakers. The digital reality we live in influences, among other things, changes in vocabulary. To name previously nonexistent concepts and phenomena, we either borrow words from other languages or form them using native linguistic devices. The symposium will also examine whether technological development indirectly affects other levels of Slovene, from phonology and morphology to syntax and entire texts, both written and spoken, including those produced with artificial intelligence and other digital tools.

Another important set of issues related to this new era focuses on language users. How do Slovene speakers use the language under the current circumstances? Which language technologies do they use, and how—if at all—does language policy respond to this? There will also be room for discussions on the role of companies, corporations, and the global market—for instance, the efforts made to ensure the presence of Slovene in various software, on the internet, and so on.

The aim is to also examine the views of various social groups, such as young people, the elderly, and immigrants, on Slovene and other languages, especially English, the most widespread global language. What do they think about them, and how do they assess the advantages and disadvantages of this new era?

Finally, the symposium will also dedicate attention to language resources and technologies themselves. Among other things, it will explore how artificial intelligence and smart technologies can be applied in research on Slovene.

The goal of Obdobja 45 is to open an interdisciplinary discussion on the current state and development of Slovene in the Slovene-speaking environment, and to engage both the Slovene and international professional community in this discussion.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Mojca Stritar Kučuk, president of the 45th Obdobja Symposium

The basis for all the thematic sections proposed is Slovene and the Slovene linguistic landscape, which can also be addressed contrastively in relation to other language(s).

The Symposium is organised by The Centre for Slovene as a Second and Foreign Language at the Department of Slovene Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Trubarjeva cesta 3, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Symposium president

Asst. Prof. Dr. Mojca Stritar Kučuk, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts
E: [email protected]

Symposium organisers

Asst. Prof. Dr. Damjan Huber, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts
Teja Rebernik, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts
E: [email protected]
T: 00386 1 241 86 76

Technical editors of symposium publications

Matej Klemen, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts
Mag. Mateja Lutar, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts

• Res. Assoc. Dr. Špela Arhar Holdt, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts; Faculty of Computer and Information Science
• Dr. Mateja Eniko, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts
• Res. Assoc. Dr. Apolonija Gantar, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts
• Asst. Prof. Dr. Lara Godec Soršak, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education
• Lect. Dr. Nataša Hribar, University of Klagenfurt, Faculty of Humanities & Education, Austria
• Asst. Prof. Dr. Mateja Jemec Tomazin, Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Fran Ramovš Institute of the Slovenian Language
• Sr. Res. Assoc. Dr. Iztok Kosem, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts; Faculty of Computer and Information Science
• Asst. Prof. Dr. Tina Lengar Verovnik, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences; Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Fran Ramovš Institute of the Slovenian Language
• Res. Assoc. Dr. Andrej Perdih, Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Fran Ramovš Institute of the Slovenian Language
• Asst. Prof. Dr. Eva Pori, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts
• Asst. Prof. Dr. Tadeja Rozman, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Public Administration
• Prof. Dr. Mojca Smolej, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts
• Prof. Dr. Marko Stabej, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts
• Asst. Prof. Dr. Mojca Stritar Kučuk, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts
• Asst. Prof. Dr. Jana Volk, University of Primorska, Faculty of Humanities
• Prof. Dr. Rok Žaucer, University of Nova Gorica, School of Humanities

University of Ljubljana (main building, 1st floor), Kongresni trg 12, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Registration will take place until 25 January 2026 via the symposium website (Symposium Obdobja 45, Registration Form). Upon registration, a summary needs to be submitted of around 250 words, including proposed references. By 10 February 2026 applicants will receive notice of acceptance.

When selecting contributions, we will take into account the theme and its relevance to the section chosen, as well as clarity, comprehensiveness, variety and innovativity.

The deadline for submission of papers is 5 May 2026 (up to 20,000 characters with spaces, including literature and notes). Guidelines for formatting the text will be sent to authors via email and will also be published on the symposium website.

Before printing, contributions will be subject to blind review by two peer reviewers, and authors will be notified of the reviewers’ evaluation by 1 July 2026 at the latest.

The final (corrected) version of the paper will need to be submitted by 20 July 2026; notification of inclusion in the symposium programme will be sent to participants by 25 September 2026.

Papers will be published in a thematically rounded monograph which participants will receive at the event and which will also be freely available on the website of the Centre for Slovene in the section Obdobja publications.

The fee for taking part and presenting a paper is 100 EUR and includes a folder containing symposium material, the publication of the paper, the symposium proceedings, the accompanying programme, lunches and event organisation. Participants will be sent an invoice via e-mail. 10 November 2026 is the deadline for the payment of the registration fee.

The time available for the presentation is 15–20 minutes. Working languages will be Slovene and English; by prior agreement with the organisers the use of another language is possible.

Participants must book and cover the cost of accommodation themselves. Addresses of Ljubljana hotels are provided below.

Hotel Emonec***
Wolfova 12, Ljubljana
T: 00386 51 399 814, 00386 1 200 15 20
E: [email protected]
W: https://www.hotel-emonec.com/sl/
Distance from the University: 5 min

Hotel Mrak***
Rimska cesta 4, Ljubljana
T: 00386 1 421 96 50
E: [email protected]
W: https://hotelmrak.si
Distance from the University: 5 min

City Hotel Ljubljana***
Dalmatinova 15, Ljubljana
T: 00386 1 239 00 00
E: [email protected]
W: https://www.cityhotel.si
Distance from the University: 15 min

Hotel Park***
Tabor 9, Ljubljana
T: 00386 1 300 25 00
E: [email protected]
W: https://www.hotel-bb.com/sl/hotel/ljubljana-park
Distance from the University: 20 min

Hotel Slon****
Slovenska 34, Ljubljana
T: 00386 1 470 11 00
E: [email protected]
W: https://www.hotelslon.com/sl
Distance from the University: 5 min