LATEST EVENTS

People’s Action for Learning(PAL) Network Conference 2021

People’s Action for Learning (PAL) Network along with Uwezo Tanzania and Facilidade Mozambique has organized the second International Virtual Conference on Building Better: Ensuring Learning Continuity for All

Dates: 2nd to 4th  November 2021

Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMkfumgqTkiGdBa9YvNsk4q7rl2RSwvS7SD

Tai Khamti: Representing Tai Kadai, the 5th Language Family of India

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/91080264638?pwd=M1hUaGJJWXpteW92c0JKTFFJRFdNZz09

SOAS Linguistics Webinar

Webinar on the topic “Indigenous Research Methodologies and Field Linguistics Training: a Crucial Inclusion” by Adrienne Tsikewa (Zuni Pueblo), University of California, Santa Barbara Linguistics Dept

Date: October 27, 2021 (Wednesday)

Time: 4p.m. (London Time)

Join the webinar via Zoom: https://bit.ly/3FLUv0Q

International Congress on Pluricentric Languages

The International Congress on Pluricentric Languages is a Three day Online event focussing on Linguistic Policies and Multilingualism from 20th to 22nd October, 2021

Coordinated Table 1 topic: Pluricentric Languages of the SAARC Nations in the Digital Age

Date: 20th October, 2021

Time: 10:30-12:30 Brazilian Standard Time (BRT) GMT-3

For the entire schedule check their Website.

Link: https://doity.com.br/1congresso-internacional-linguas-pluricentricas

Three Day National Seminar

A Three Day National Seminar is organised on the topic “TRIBAL SOCIETY: PRESENT STATUS & FUTURE DIRECTIONS” by Gondwana Swadesh, Raipur Chhattisgarh. Interested researchers, scholars writers, activists, journalists and other community elders are requested to send their papers to the e-mail address mentioned below.

Email ID: gondwanaswadesh2021@gmail.com

Last Date of Submission: 20 October 2021.

Seminar Dates: 28th October to 30th October 2021.

Venue: New Circuit House, Civil Lines, Raipur, Chhattisgarh

Fall 2021 Language Documentation Webinar

Language Documentation Training Center and Endangered Languages Project (ELP) are organising Fall 2021 Language Documentation Webinar.

First Session topic: Language Diversity, Endangerment, and Documentation will be conducted by Anna Belew.

Date: 10th October, 2021 (First Session)

Time: Saturdays at 10am Pacific/1pm Eastern/6pm Lagos/7pm CEST/8pm Nairobi/10:30pm India.

Time zone calculator: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

To join the Webinar, join this group: https://m.facebook.com/groups/LDWebinar

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi1AHEhhW1UTP5xyTRNFrNg

7 Day Workshop on FLEX

A 7 day workshop (subject to change) on FLEX from 13th October, 2021 to 20th October 2021 is organised by Team Corsal. The workshop will be conducted by Prof. Shobhana Chelliah of University of North Texas. FLEX is a wonderful tool to record words of a language and create digital dictionaries.

Registration link: https://forms.gle/7zGqpTCS3TW6eriL6

Last date for Registration: 9th October, 2021

Special Talk Series on Tibeto-Burman Languages of North East India

Tibeto-Burman Linguistics Association of North-East India (TiBLANEI) is organising Special Talk Series from October to December, 2021 (2 talks each month) on Tibeto-Burman Languages of Northeast India. The first speaker is Prof. Tanmoy Bhattacharya from University of Delhi, and he will delivering his talk on “Relating Tibeto-Burman to Dravidian: an unfinished story”.

Topic: TiBLANEI_Special Talk Series_Talk-1_Prof. Tanmoy Bhattacharya

Date: 9th October, 2021

Time: 06:00 PM India

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84074588951?pwd=L1NYckJIT3JKblZiZWcxZmN4ak9pUT09

Meeting ID: 840 7458 8951
Passcode: TIB2021

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/G0DidzV-G7g

Language Policy Virtual Research Seminars

The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL, The Netherlands) and the Heritage Linguistics Lab (HerLing) are delighted to announce the second segment of our LUCL Language Policy Virtual Research Seminars on Language Policy and Practices in the Global North and South.

Schedule: Every week on Wednesday, until Dec 15, 2021, 11 occurrence(s)

Meeting Registration: https://universiteitleiden.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Atf-CrrDIpHtTalMQ7CV6Kbm9DRFJtOmPh

International Webinar on “The Place of Language Documentation in Linguistics “

The Department of Linguistics, Central University of Kerala are pleased to welcome you for an international webinar on “The Place of Language Documentation in Linguistics”

Date: 7th Oct 2021(Thursday)

Time: 6:00PM in IST & 8:30AM in New York, USA.

To join click this link: https://meet.google.com/gqf-mtgi-adx

Linguistic Imperialism and Linguistic Profiling in Global Perspective

Department of Linguistics, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh presents WebTalk On “Linguistic Imperialism and Linguistic Profiling in Global Perspective” by Prof. John Baugh, Washington University in St. Louis, USA

Date : Monday 27 September, 2021

Time: 05:00 pm (IST)

Live Stream on: @Youtube/Linguistics Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh

6th National Webinar on Myth, Environmental Activism and the New Age storyteller

Folklore Foundation, Odisha Cordially invites you to its 6th National Webinar on Myth, Environmental Activism and the New Age storyteller

Date: 26th September, 2021

Time: 11:00 am to 1:30 pm (IST)

Pandemic Pedagogies in Language Education (PPLE 2021)

Pandemic Pedagogies in Language Education (PPLE 2021) is a 3 day online conference organized by the Department of English and Culture Studies, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), BGR Campus, in collaboration with the Linguistic Empowerment Cell, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, and Dhofar University, Salalah, Oman, aims to enable discussions around pandemic pedagogies that would inform and shape the language education of the future.

Important Dates:

Date of Conference: October 28, 29, & 30th, 2021.

Abstract Submission: 30 September 2021

Notification of abstract selection: 10 October 2021

Submission of PPT: 20 October 2021

Keynotes Speakers:

Keynote Address Day I
Title: Changing Paradigms of English Language Education
Dr. Z N Patil

Keynote Address Day II
Title: Engendering a Culture of Wellbeing During the COVID 19 Pandemic: Coming to Terms with an Ecological Perspective and Dialogism in Language Education
Dr. Sivakumar Sivasubramaniam
Department of Language Education
University of the Western Cape (UWC)

Plenary Session Day III
Title: Training Social Actors in ELT: Pedagogic Perspectives, Motivations, and Directions
Dr. Vijay Singh Thakur
Department of English Language and Literature
College of Arts and Applied Sciences
Dhofar University
Salalah, Oman

More details can be found at : https://sites.google.com/conference.christuniversity.in/pple-2021/home

The International Week of the Deaf (IWD) 2021

Linguistic Empowerment Cell, Jawaharlal Nehru University in Collaboration with Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center observes The International Week of the Deaf (IWD), 2021 with a half-day online interactive workshop about the Indian Sign Language on 28th September, 2021 from 10 A.M onwards.

Innovation Week

Amity University School of Languages, Gurugram presents Innovation week from 20th September 2021 to 24th September. The 5 day event includes:

International Quiz Competition on 20th September from 3pm to 4pm
Presentation by Students on the topic ” Potential and Benefits of Learning a Foreign Language” on 21st September from 10.15 am to 11.15 am
Singing Competition in Foreign Language on 22nd September from 2pm to 3pm
Cultural Video Competition on 23rd September from 2pm to 3pm
International Movie Screening(German) and talk on 24th September from 3pm onwards

International Literacy Day Event: Narrowing Digital Divide

People’s Action for Learning Network (better known as the PAL Network, based out of Nairobi, Kenya) working across fifteen countries had organized a Discussion Forum involving top educationists and literacy specialists titled “#ILD2021 Dialogue: Literacy for a Human Centered Recovery: Narrowing the Digital Divide” on 8th September 2021 at 4 pm Nairobi time. Watch the event at the following link: https://fb.watch/7WF0797bHn/

The participants in the above included: Ms Moitshepi Matsheng (Botswana), Ms Zaida Mgalla (Tanzania), Ms Edith Mendez Olarte (Mexico), Dr Emmanuel Manyasa (Kenya), Mr Armando Ali (CEO, PAL) and the moderator was Dr Rajarshi Singh (PAL, Director Program).

ETCDI, or Emerging Technologies & Changing Dynamics of Information, a UNESCO sponsored event

The Three Day Online International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Changing Dynamics of Information (ETCDI) is being held from September 7-9, 2021. The conference is being organized by the University of Hyderabad, India along with several international research institutions at Russia, Brazil, Morocco, South Africa and India. The focus of the conference lies in six priority areas namely, Information for Development, Information Literacy, Information Preservation, Information Ethics, Information Accessibility, and Multilingualism.

Spearheading Possible Arguments Against a Multilingual Policy in the ETCDI conference is Prof. (Dr.) Udaya Narayana Singh, Chair-Professor and Dean (Faculty of Arts), Amity University Haryana (AUH) and Co-Head of the Mediating Multilingualism Project, AUH.

Refer to the abstract of his paper and a short bio here:

Creolizing English and Decolonizing Linguistics

A Talk by Suresh Canagarajah, Penn State University, USA

In this lecture, Canagarajah pushes back against “creole exceptionalism” to treat creolization as the normal process whereby all languages develop. He reviews key moments in the formation of English through nation-state formation, colonialism, postcolonial resistance, and late modernity to bring out ongoing creolization of the language. He concludes by drawing from land-based and ecological conceptions of indigenous linguistic ideologies to promote alternatives to European modernity that favored autonomy, genealogy, and progressivity which inform creole exceptionalism in mainstream linguistics.

See the Video here: https://www.academia.edu/video/jXQAw1?email_video_card=description-read-more&pls=RVP

OTHER RECENT EVENTS

Colloquium on Mediating Multilingualism

1. In the first year of the project i.e. 2018-19, a Two-day Colloquium on Mediating Multilingualism was held at Amity University Haryana (the lead Indian institutional partner) on 18-19 March 2019 to discuss about Video-Ethnography as a methodology for documenting languages of marginalised speech communities in India.

1.1.The first day’s session began with the experiences and problems in order to improve upon the theoretical bases and methodologies with presentations by research groups followed by open-house discussion among scholars in Communication, Culture Studies, Social Anthropology and Linguistics. The Vice-Chancellor, an Engineer trained in the University of Birmingham, UK, Prof. P.B. Sharma, talked about multicultural communities in India, importance of video-ethnography, multilingualism, and opined that India’s diversity must always be maintained but not at the cost of her unity. Prof Conchur delivered the background of the SOILLSE Network, and how it worked for the revival of Gaelic. The speakers like Dr. Atanu Saha (Jadavpur University, Kolkata) talked about the challenges in documenting linguistic diversity, the less studied languages of West Bengal where he focused on the role of software such as FLEX, ELAN and DSpace repository. Professor Madhumita Borbora (Tezpur University) shared the impact of Multilingualism in the lesser known languages of North East India – esp. Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. The participants were enriched by the description of Island Voices: Language Capture and Curation Project by Gordon Wells. From the ethnographic videos on YouTube, the dictionary software (Clilstore) and Island Voices website were introduced. Professor Shailendra Kr Singh (NEHU, Shillong) talked about developing and promoting smaller languages in Meghalaya and Mizoram, whereas Dr. Pushpa Renu Bhattacharya (Tezpur University) narrated her experiences in the survey of sociolinguistic pattern of Khelma. Dr. Arimardan Kr Tripathy (CFEL, Visva-Bharti, Santiniketan) talked about measuring linguistic endangerment in India in a parametric manner. An example or two could be seen then from the documentaries made by Prof Singh on Totos of North Bengal and also on the Lepchas. The issues of Language Documentation were explained through a joint paper by Ms Esha Jainiti (Dy Director, ASCO, AUH) and Prof Udaya Narayana Singh (Dean, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, AUH).

1.2. The second day’s session, chaired by Dr Rupendra Guha Mazumder (Dept of English, University of Delhi) emphasized on the issue of smaller languages and the much needed development activities to infuse new life into them. It opened with a talk by Dr. S. Thennarasu (CFEL, Central University of Kerala) on the status of endangered languages of Tamil Nadu, while Dr. G. Palanirajan (CFEL, Central University of Kerala) shared Kerala’s endangered languages project. Mr Zamark Shinwari (Nangarhar University & AUH) and Prof Udaya Narayana Singh (AUH) shared a profile of selected Indic endangered languages in Afghanistan in the colloquium followed by two more detailed presentations by Prof. Conchur on the methodology used in SOILLSE Project as well as documentation methods by Gordon Wells. In the last session (post-lunch) was chaired by Dr. Savita Khan (Dept. of History, University of Delhi) where Dr. Prasannanshu (National Law University, Delhi) gave a detailed discourse on language endangerment and legal issues.

Revitalization of Heritage Languages and Culture

2. As a prelude to the above Mediating Multilingualism event, AUH (ACLiS) had also organised a National Seminar-Cum-Workshop on ‘Revitalization of Heritage Languages and Culture with Special Reference to the NER’ in collaboration with Sahitya Akademi, (http://sahitya-akademi.gov.in/e-newsletter/march-april_2018_Newsletter.pdf) Ministry of Culture, Govt of India on 27-28 March 2018. In this event, the eminent participants included Prof. K.V. Subbarao (Delhi University); Meiraba Takhellambam (Sikkim University); Prof. Madhumita Borbora (Tezpur University); Prof. Shailendra K.R. Singh (NEHU, Shillong); Dr. Tariq Khan (CIIL, Mysore); Dr Sriparna Das (CALTS, University of Hyderabad); Swati Chakraborty ( Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy, Kolkata); Dr. Kakoli Dey (Galgotia, Noida); Dr. Rajarshi Singh (Athena Infonomics, Chennai); Ladly Mukhopadhyay (Freebird Productions, Kolkata-Santiniketan), Sneha Choudhury (Sahitya Akademi, Delhi); Jyoti Bhushan Verma (Sahitya Akademi, Delhi); Dr. Sanjay Kumar Jha (AUH); Prof. Kiran Devendra (AUH); Prof. Esha Jainiti (AUH); Dr. Varoon Bakshi (AUH); Dr. H.K. Jha (AUH); Dr. Sunil Mishra (AUH); Prof. Udaya Narayana Singh (AUH); Prof. Ashok Tiku (AUH); and Dr Suvro Parui (AUH).

Faculty Development Programme

3. A Faculty Development Programme (FDP) Workshop was given by Vishu Aggarwal, a Senior Technical Staff of ASCO, AUH for both faculty members and researchers in the area of Photo Editing using Adobe Photoshop on 20th and 21st June 2019, attended by 15 staff members and researchers. The focus was on video materials during ethnographic work.

Field Work

4. In the second year of the project, the focus was on fieldwork to test out new recording methods and assistive dissemination platforms as well as develop research agenda with a focus on the societal context of language endangerment. In October 2019, International Language Fest on Indigenous and Endangered Languages (ILFIEL) was organised by the Dept. of Linguistics, North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong as part of the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages. Gordon Wells, Soillse Manager (http://www.soillse.ac.uk/en/) recorded a film that covers this event in all its beauty. Watch the film here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSVFn79rb2w&t=1s

Currently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, focus has shifted to online data curation with a view to adapt the Clilstore platform (https://multidict.net/clilstore/about.php) to accommodate Indian languages and scripts.