Welcome to PhilSoc

The Philological Society (PhilSoc) was established in 1830 and  is the oldest learned society in Great Britain devoted to the scholarly study of language and languages. As well as encouraging all aspects of the study of language, PhilSoc has a particular interest in historical and comparative linguistics, and in the structure, development, and varieties of Modern English.

Next Meeting

Jun
13
2026

June 2026

AGM and Lecture: Repertoire, control, and awareness: How individual cognition drives group change in London English
Devyani Sharma (University of Oxford)

The AGM and this talk will take place at St Catharine's College, Cambridge.

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Latest Recordings

From the PhilSoc Blog

OCP23 Conference Report: The 23rd Old-World Conference in Phonology

Written by Yutong Wang and Yuri Makarov. The organising committee of the 23rd Old-World Conference in Phonology (OCP23) wishes to record its gratitude to the Philological Society for its support of the meeting, which took place in Cambridge from 13 to 16 January. The conference brought together speakers and participants from across the international phonological community to discuss contemporary research in the field. Continue reading

The 27th International Conference of Historical Linguistics

Written by Fae Hicks (University of Edinburgh), recipient of a travel and fieldwork bursary from the Philological Society. Thanks to the support of PhilSoc’s Travel and Fieldwork bursary I was able to present my research, The myth of phonetic erosion: grammaticalisation, … Continue reading

Edinburgh Symposium in Historical Phonology

Written by Fae Hicks (Edinburgh) In the depths of Scottish winter, 1st – 2nd December, we welcomed over 50 Historical Phonologists to Edinburgh for the 7th Edinburgh Symposium in Historical Phonology (ESHP). ESHP is a biannual event that brings together … Continue reading

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News & Announcements

Funding & Bursaries

Information about funding support available from PhilSoc may be found here