International Conference
‘LAnguage TEchnologies for Low-resource Languages’ (LaTeLL ’2026)
Fes, Morocco
30 September, 1 and 2 October 2026
6th Call for Papers
The conference
Natural Language Processing (NLP) has witnessed remarkable progress in recent years, largely driven by the emergence of deep learning architectures and, more recently, large language models (LLMs). Nevertheless, these advances have disproportionately benefited high-resource languages that possess abundant data for model training. By contrast, low-resource languages which account for at least 85% of the world’s linguistic diversity and are often spoken by smaller or marginalised communities, have not yet reaped the full benefits of contemporary NLP technologies.
This imbalance can be attributed to several interrelated factors, including the scarcity of high-quality training data, limited computational and financial resources, and insufficient community engagement in data collection and model development. Developing NLP applications for low-resource languages poses major challenges, particularly the need for large, well-annotated datasets, standardised tools, and robust linguistic resources.
Although several workshops have previously addressed NLP for low-resource languages, LaTeLL represents the first international conference dedicated specifically to the automatic processing of such languages. The event aims to provide a forum for researchers to present and discuss their latest work in NLP in general, and in the development and evaluation of language models for low-resource languages in particular.
Conference topics
We invite submissions on a broad range of themes concerning linguistic and computational studies focusing on low-resource languages, including but not limited to the following topics:
Language resources for low-resource languages
Core language technologies for low-resource languages
NLP Applications for low-resource languages
Multimodality and Grounding for low-resource languages
Ethics, Equity, and Social Impact for low-resource languages
Human-Centred Approaches in low-resource languages
Multilinguality and Cross-Lingual Methods for low-resource languages
Special Theme Track 1 — Building Applications Based on Large Language Models for Low-Resource Languages
LaTeLL’2026 will feature a Special Theme Track dedicated to the development of applications based on Large Language Models (LLMs) for low-resource languages.
This track aims to explore innovative methodologies, architectures, and tools that leverage the power of LLMs to enhance linguistic processing, accessibility, and inclusivity for underrepresented languages. Contributions are encouraged on topics such as model adaptation and fine-tuning, multilingual and cross-lingual transfer, ethical and fairness considerations, and the creation of datasets and benchmarks that facilitate the integration of LLM-based solutions in low-resource settings.
Special Theme Track 2 — Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Arabic Dialects
This special track addresses the unique challenges and opportunities in processing Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and the rich landscape of Arabic dialects. The diglossic nature of Arabic, where the formal MSA coexists with numerous, widely used spoken dialects, presents a significant hurdle for NLP. While MSA is relatively well-resourced, Arabic dialects are quintessential examples of low-resource languages, often lacking standardised orthographies, annotated corpora, and dedicated processing tools. This track invites submissions on novel research and resources aimed at bridging this gap and advancing the state of the art in Arabic language technology. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
Submissions and Publication
LaTeLL’2026 welcomes high-quality submissions in English, which may take one of the following two forms:
The conference will not consider submissions consisting of abstracts only.
All accepted papers (both long and short) will be published as electronic proceedings (with ISBN) and made available on the conference website at the time of the event. The organisers intend to submit the proceedings for inclusion in the ACL Anthology.
To prepare your submission, please make sure to use the LaTeLL’2026 style files available here:
LaTeX: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RceWyUqjFLEbv_oNto-x2Quop7qT4-wf/view?usp=sharing
Overleaf: https://www.overleaf.com/read/ttzzfcnjrgvw#e82bef
Papers should be submitted through Softconf/START using the following link: https://softconf.com/p/latell2026
Authors of papers receiving exceptionally positive reviews will be invited to prepare extended and substantially revised versions for submission to a leading journal in the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP).
The conference will also feature a Student Workshop, and awards will be presented to the authors of outstanding papers.
Important dates
Keynote speaker
Nizar Habash (New York University Abu Dhabi)
Organisation
Conference Chair
Ruslan Mitkov (Lancaster University and University of Alicante)
Programme Committee Chairs
Saad Ezzini (King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals)
Salima Lamsiyah (University of Luxembourg)
Tharindu Ranasinghe (Lancaster University)
Organising Committee
Maram Alharbi (Lancaster University)
Salmane Chafik (Mohammed VI Polytechnic University)
Ernesto Estevanell (University of Alicante)
Milica Ikonić Nešić (University of Belgrade)
Further information and contact details
The follow-up calls will provide more details on the conference venue and registration.The conference website is www.latell.org/2026/ and will be updated on a regular basis.
For further information, please email 2026@latell.org
Registration will open in April 2026.