Linguistics – University of Mumbai

ABOUT

MA in Linguistics: Admissions Open (2023-24)
Notification of Ph.D. Admissions (2022-23)
Certificate Course poster 2022-23
Poster for MA Admission 2022
Notification of Ph.D. Admissions (2021-22)
MA Linguistics: Admissions Open (2021-22)
Online Certificate Course in Phonetics and Phonology: Admissions Open
Timetable of Rescheduled Exams
Exam timetable for the Department of Linguistics
Sample MCQ language Culture Nation_SampleQP
Sample MCQ Media Semiotics sampleQP
Sample MCQ Analyzing_Structure_Modern_IndianLanguages_SampleQP
Sample MCQ LEXICOGRAPHY_SampleQP
Sample MCQ Linguistics_Language&Philosophy_SampleQP
Sample MCQ Stylisticsand_Discourse_Analysis_SampleQP
Admissions to the MA Linguistics programme (2020-21)
Workshop on Acoustic Phonetics for Indian Languages
Workshop on Agreement in Indian Languages
Winter School in Scientific Theory Construction
Reading, Brain and Dyslexia”from 31st October to 2nd of November, 2019

About Us

Established in 1964, the Department of Linguistics, University of Mumbai is one of the oldest Departments in India to offer a Post-Graduate programme in Linguistics. The Department is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee Year in 2023-24.

The Department is known for the intensive training offered to the students and its research-orientation in both the MA and PhD programmes. The pedagogy followed in the Department is constructionist, highly interactive, discursive. It focuses on imparting transferable analytic and reasoning capabilities to the students and researchers.

The Department is one of the few Linguistics Departments in India which actively engages in linguistic field-work as part of its MA programme. It offers the MA students a unique and memorable experience of working on a language unknown to them by closely collaborating with the community speaking those languages. The Department has analyzed structures of over 30 linguistic varieties, most of which are lesser-known and understudied languages. Several of these languages are spoken by tribal and marginalized communities.

The Department strives to create an exciting academic atmosphere by organizing intensive workshops and winter-schools, special lecture-series and special courses to enhance the knowledge-creating capacity of its students, researchers and faculty. It collaborates with the experts of international repute in the Universities in India as well as abroad.

Moreover, the faculty members of the Department engage in several outreach programmes, and work in close association with school-teachers, educators and education activists.

Programmes offered by the Department of Linguistics are:

MA in Linguistics (regular, full-time, 2 year i.e. 4 semester programme)
PhD in Linguistics (regular, full-time programme with mandatory 1 year coursework)

In addition, the Department also offers a part-time course:

Certificate Course in Phonetics and Phonology : A very popular part-time course, introducing the students to the world of speech sounds, offering ear-training in perceiving the speech sounds and honing the skills of transcribing them using the IPA. This course is being offered in the Online Mode since 2020-21.

Our Vision

The Department seeks to promote actionable research in the domain of human languages and fulfil its mandate of promoting and strengthening participatory democratic practices. This involves research in sound patterns, word formation processes, sentence structures, the emergence of linguistic meaning, processes of language change, language use, the relationship between language and society etc. In line with the mandate, special attention is given to the languages of linguistic minorities of India. Such an orientation sensitizes the students to the diversity of language structures found in human languages.

Given the importance of linguistic resources for a thriving participatory democracy, the teaching and research programmes in the Department are geared towards equipping students with research tool-kits which would enable them to understand, describe and work with these resources. Working with lesser-known and understudied languages instils in the students a sense of responsibility and respect towards the linguistic diversity of the world, by developing an attitude which is responsive to the needs of the plurilingual ethos prevalent in human societies.

What is Linguistics?

Linguistics is a discipline that studies the structure, functions and use of human languages. In Linguistics, we study properties of specific languages as well as seek to search for the properties which are common to all human languages.

While examining the structure of languages, a linguist addresses the questions such as:

What are the units of a language? How do these units come together to build larger units in a systematic manner? e.g sounds combine to form words, words combine into larger words and phrases, phrases into sentences.

How are various languages different from each other and how are they similar?

How do children acquire any language, without being taught and in a very short period of time?

The part of Linguistics that studies the structure of languages is divided into the following subfields:

Phonetics: Study of the physical properties of speech sounds (articulation and acoustics)

Phonology: Study of the patterns of speech sounds in languages

Morphology: Study of processes of word formation

Syntax: Study of the structure of sentences

Semantics: Study of linguistic meaning

Linguistics also studies how linguistic structures exhibit variation across space and time. A subfield of Linguistics called Historical Linguistics also studies how languages change over the period of time, and in contact with each other.

Linguistics also concerns itself with the study of functions and use of human language. Languages are used for expression: for communication as well as for thinking. A subfield of Linguistics called Pragmatics studies the use of language in society and its use in communication.

Various functions of languages, such as establishing identities, organizing the relations between individuals, groups and communities etc. are studied in a subfield called Sociolinguistics. Here, the complex relationship of language and society is investigated.

Linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of knowledge. It not only interacts closely with literature, culture studies, sociology, politics, philosophy, media studies, anthropology, psychology but also with education, health science, computer science and neuroscience.

Application of Linguistics extends to research in linguistics and language studies, language teaching, translation, media and journalism, special education, speech pathology etc. Many IT companies also need linguistics in the domains such as machine translations, speech-to-text conversions etc.

Studying Linguistics sensitizes one to this extremely complex knowledge system called language and to its intricate patterns. It also sensitizes one to the strengths and challenges of the multilingual situations such as India. It further makes one realize the role of languages in building a strong participatory democracy. There are around 6000-7000 languages in the World today, and many of them are on the brink of extinction. In India alone, there are 750+ languages, a majority of which are being spoken by marginalized groups and are in a grave danger of being forced out of use. It is not only important to document these languages, but also to save them from extinction. Linguistics would help one to the understanding of the forces and conditions responsible for the plight of languages and of the societies speaking them, thereby opening up possibilities of bringing about positive social change.

Contact Us:

Postal Address:
Department of Linguistics
Ground Floor, Ranade Bhavan,
University of Mumbai
Vidyanagari,
Kalina, Santracruz (East)
Mumbai-400 098
E-mail: linguistics@linguistics.mu.ac.in

Visit our website www.mumbailinguisticcircle.com to know more about us and recent updates about our research and teaching activities.

FACILITIES

Facilities

Labs and well-equipped classrooms

The Department has a well-equipped classroom which often also serves as a seminar room for departmental seminars, students’ presentations etc. The Department also has a sound-proof recording room, equipped with computers as it also functions as a computer lab.

In addition, the Department has established a Language Lab with exclusive access to 25 well-equipped computer systems at the Centralized E-Learning and Computational Facility of the University of Mumbai.

Equipment

The Department is well-equipped with digital instruments such as high-definition recorders, camera-s, sound-systems, and computer software, required for recording, analyzing and documenting linguistic data. It also has LCD projectors and a TV along with good-quality sound-systems required for the use of ICT in teaching and training. The Department is also in the process of developing a Computational Linguistics lab, which will be useful for research as well as industrial application.
Library

The Department has a very rich section dedicated to Linguistics in the Jawaharlal Nehru Library of the University of Mumbai, which is updated regularly. We also subscribe more than 20 high-quality academic journals.

In addition to that, we also have a Departmental Library with a small reading area for the students located in the office of the Department in Ranade Bhavan. It contains more than 900 titles and is also updated regularly. Some of these books are a generous donation by eminent linguists Profs. K.P. and Tara Mohanan.

Hostels

The Department has a quota of seats reserved for our students in the MDKK Girls’ Hostel, SSP Girls’ Hostel and KBP Boys’ Hostel in the Kalina campus of the University. In addition, the Department also has a quota of 2 seats at the Madam Bhaikaji Cama Girls’ Hostel of the University located at Nariman Point, Mumbai.

Scholarships

1) GOI Scholarships and freeships
2) Merit Scholarship for M.A. Student

COURSES

Courses

The MA in Linguistics programme

The MA in Linguistics programme of the Department is a 2-year (4 semesters) regular programme. The Department has adopted the CBCS system for this programme since 2016-17. It offers 4 compulsory courses in the first 2 semesters and a wide variety of elective courses for the students to choose from in the next 2 semesters. The courses have a balanced thrust on the theoretical Linguistics, incorporating current trends in the research field, as well as on applications of Linguistics in the areas such as translation and human-machine interaction. The Department also offers a range of Interdisciplinary courses in the 4^th semester, which can be opted by the students in other Departments in the University.

The distinctive feature of the MA programme of our Department is its focus on the language analysis and field work, which is clearly projected in the form of a Field Methods course in the Programme. As part of the Field Methods course, the MA students in their 3^rd semester, learn to collect the data of a language not known to them from the speakers of that language, and analyse various aspects of the same. The students write a dissertation based on the findings of their analysis. The MA students also write another dissertation as part of their Project-Based course in their last semester. For Through these two dissertations, the MA students are trained towards conducting independent research in Linguistics.

In nearly all the course in the MA programme, the students are encouraged and trained to look closely into and analyse their native languages. They work in groups and also make several presentations in their classes.

For the detailed Syllabus of Sem I and II, click on this link.

For the detailed Syllabus of Sem III and IV, click on this link.

Programme Outcomes and Course Outcomes

For the details of the admission procedure, click on the link: https://www.mumbailinguisticcircle.com/admissions/

Ph.D. in Linguistics programme

The Department’s Ph.D. in Linguistics programme focuses on inquiry-based research approach, rather than on information-based approach. The Department has designed a rigorous coursework of 1 year (2 semesters) as part of the PhD programme, which aims to sharpen the analytic abilities and inquisitiveness of the research scholars, to inculcate the scientific temper in them as well as to imbibe in them ethical practices of research and publication. We also promote collaborative research instead of competitive and individualistic research.

For every admitted PhD scholar in the Department, a Research Advisory Committee is formed which includes all the PhD supervisors in the Department as well as a subject-expert outside of the University of Mumbai. The Department ensures to invite internationally renowned experts on the RAC-s of its researchers. Currently, experts such as Prof. Anna Arregui (Massachusetts University, Amherst, USA), Prof. Miriam Butt (Konstanz University, Germany), Prof. Ashwini Deo (University of Austin-Texas, USA), Prof. Samir Karmakar (University of Jadavpur, India), Prof. Sandhya Sunderesan (Stonybrooks University, USA) are part of the RAC-s of our researchers. The RAC-s meet every six months to review the progress of the PhD scholars and offer them constructive suggestions to move forward in their research.

The Department seeks the candidates interested in working in the areas of the structure and the use of language, especially in the fields of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics and sociolinguistics. As per the UGC regulations, the Ph.D. intake capacity of the Department is 08. Six researchers are currently working on their doctoral thesis.

For the Syllabus of the PhD Coursework in Linguistics, click on this link.

Check out the admission Procedure by clicking the link https://www.mumbailinguisticcircle.com/admissions/

An Online Certificate Course in Phonetics and Phonology (part-time)

A certificate course in Phonetics and Phonology is a year-long part-time course which runs weekly, usually only on Sundays. It is a very interesting option for teachers of languages, school-teachers, language-learners, soft-skill trainers, speech therapists, forensic scientists, and anyone interested in languages. The course hones the skills of the students in perceiving, identifying and describing speech sounds, as well as discover patterns of sounds in human languages and how they may associate with writing systems in the world. Any HSC (12^th std) pass-out can opt for this course.

For the Syllabus, click on the link.

For the details of the admission procedure, click on the link: https://www.mumbailinguisticcircle.com/admissions/

STAFF

Faculty

Faculty

Dr Renuka Ozarkar (Assistant Professor & Head) has been teaching in the Department of Linguistics, University of Mumbai since 2012. She is currently heading the Department. Her research interests include structure of Indic languages especially Marathi, syntax-semantics of verbs, language in society, language standardization etc. She publishes in both English and Marathi.
For the Full profile click here.

Dr Avinash Pandey (Associate Professor) has been a faculty member in the Department of Linguistics, University of Mumbai since 2004. His recent publications have been in areas such as Semantics/Pragmatics, Educational Linguistics (especially Multilinguality in Education), Language in Society etc. He has carried out research projects in the areas of Machine-Human interaction, Linguistic Landscape as well as Orality. He publishes in both English and Marathi.
For the Full profile click here.

Ms. Archana Thool (Assistant Professor)
Qualification : MA (Language technology), M.Phil. (Language technology), NET
For the Full profile click here.

Admin Staff

Our Office responsibilities are carried out by Mr Hemant Sakpal (Jr Typist-Clerk)

RESEARCH

Recent research publications by faculty:

Books:

Pandey, Avinash. 2022. Apprehending Language, Anchoring Linguistics: Analogies at work in the Saussurean Theory of Language. Deccan College Bicentenary Monograph Series. Deccan College PG & RI, Pune.

Pandey, Avinash & Vinaya Malti Hari (eds.). 2018. बहुभाषिकता : गुणवत्तापूर्ण शिक्षणाचा पाया. Pune: Unique Academy. ISBN: 978-81-936051-3-4

Articles in the last 3 years:

पांडे, अविनाश व रेणुका ओझरकर. २०२३. ‘भाषा, राष्ट्र व राष्ट्रनिर्मिती : काही समीकरणे’, बदलता भारत : पारतंत्र्यातून महासत्तेकडे…, संपा. दत्ता देसाई, मनोविकास प्रकाशन.
(Pandey, Avinash & Renuka Ozarkar. 2023. ‘Language, Nation and Nation-building: some equations), in Badalta Bharat: Paratantryakadun Mahasattekade, ed. Datta Desai, Manovikas Prakashan.)
Pandey, Avinash. 2023. ‘Language, Mother-Tongue Education and Sustainable Development: Some Reflections on Gandhian Thought’. Contemporary Education Dialogue, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09731849221148801
ओझरकर, रेणुका व अविनाश पांडे. २०२१. ‘मात्रा की शिरोबिंदू? मराठीतील लेखनसंकेतांची श्रमविभागणी’.मुक्त शब्द,ऑगस्ट २०२१, वर्ष बारावे अंक चौथा, पृ.३४–४२. ISSN: 2347-3150. (UGC-CARE list 1, 2020-21) (‘Maatraa or Shirobindu? Division of labour of Marathi writing conventions) (Ozarkar, Renuka & Avinash Pandey. 2021. ‘Maatraa or Shirobindu? Division of labour of Marathi writing conventions), Mukt Shabda (Marathi monthly), August 2021, Issue 12-4, Pp, 34-42. ISSN: 2347-3150. (UGC-CARE list 1, 2020-21).
ओझरकर, रेणुका व अविनाश पांडे. २०२१. ‘लैंगिक विषमता आणि भाषिक संघर्ष’, संभाषित १–५, जानेवारी, (स्त्रीवाद विशेषांक), पृ. १४७-१६४.(Ozarkar, Renuka & Avinash Pandey. ‘Gender inequality and linguistic conflict’, Sambhashit vol. 1-5, January (Special issue on Feminism), Pp. 147-164. (Marathi))
Ozarkar, Renuka. 2020. “A special case of long distance agreement in Marathi”. In Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics, vol. 5(1):93, pp. 1-31. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.698

Research projects completed:

Lexicalization patterns in Gorboli (Banjara language) (2018-19)
Verbal morphology of Gorboli (Banjara language) (2018-19)
A comparative study of case systems of Zhadi boli and Marathi (2018-19)
“Development of pronunciation lexicon and associated experimental study of phonemic, phonetic and acoustic features for Indic languages (Marathi)”: a two year project funded by DIT, New Delhi. Collaboration with TIFR, Mumbai (2012-2015).
“Orality in the Structuralist Philosophy of Language” – a two year project funded by ICPR, New Delhi (2011-13).
“Linguistic Landscape of Vasai” – a UGC funded minor research project (2011-12) on a relatively less researched area of linguistic landscape and multilingualism.

Ongoing PhD research in the Department:

No	Name of the researcher	Title of the Dissertation	Supervisor	Qualification/Scholarship
1.	Anusha Ramasubramoney	Multani (Saraiki) in India: A Linguistic Inquiry	Dr Renuka Ozarkar	MA, NET (Linguistics)
2.	Edna Vaz Fernandes	Expressions of Space in Konkani : A Cognitive-Semantic Analysis	Dr Avinash Pandey	MA, NET-JRF (Linguistics)
3.	Niranjan Tambe	A Study of Personal Pronouns in Marathi	Dr Renuka Ozarkar	MA, NET (Linguistics)
4.	Pradnya Sawant	Modelling A Standard Marathi Language	Dr Avinash Pandey	MA, NET (Linguistics)
5.	Priyakhi Khanikar	Aspect in Assamese	Dr Renuka Ozarkar	MA, M.Phil, NET (Linguistics), NFOBC grant
6.	Purva Patankar	Expressions of Modality in Marathi	Dr Avinash Pandey	MA, NET (Linguistics)

M.Phil and Ph.D. research in the past years:

Ph.D. degrees awarded in the recent years

Year of awarding degree	Name of the student	Title of the dissertation
2017	Ms. Shaima Al-Issa	Literary Narratives, Culture and Ideology : A Semiolinguistic Study of OrhanPamuk’s Fictional Discourse
2015	Ms. Renuka Ozarkar	Structures of Marathi Verbs
2012	Ms. Anjali Singh	English in India and Japan
2012	Mr. Mohammad B. Aghaei	A Semiotic Analysis of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Novels
2010	Mr. Rajeev Jalvi	Hearing Impairment & Linguistic Development : Issues and Perspectives

M.Phil. degrees awarded in the recent past

The Department started M.Phil programme in 2012-13. As per the new regulations of the UGC, the M.Phil programme is discontinued w.e.f. 2022-23. During these years, 3 students have been conferred the M.Phil degree.

Year of awarding degree	Name of the student	Title of the dissertation
2021	Ms. Priyanka Dingankar	Measure of Textual Lexical Diversity (MTLD) Tool for Marathi*
2014	Ms. Manasi Nadkarni	Phonological & Morphological Patterns in Antruzi, Bardesi, & Saxti Konkani: A Comparative Study
2014	Ms. Vrushali Surve	Stylist Analysis of Jhumpa Lahiri’s “The Lowland”

Languages analysed in the Department :

As part of the Field Methods course and Project-based courses in the MA programme, the students of the Department collect the data and analyse aspects of some language which is not adequately analyzed previously. It is often some minority language or a tribal language. They present a dissertation based on their analysis of the language. Some of the languages worked upon in recent year are:

Language Family	Languages
Indo-Aryan	Banjara (Lamani/Gorboli)
	Bhili – Mawchi varieties (Indo-Aryan)
	Konkani
	Kulluvi
	Kutchi
	Maithili
	Multani (Saraiki)
	Parushi (a secret language of Davri Gosawi community)
	Wadvali
	Warli
Sino-Tibetan	Mizo
	Poula
	Tanghkhul Naga
Dravidian	Telugu
	Tulu
Austro-Asiatic	Khasi

ACADEMIC EVENTS

Academic Events

Academic events organized in the Department in recent years:

GIAN courses:

The Department organized two international workshops each one as a 2-credit course, under the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) scheme of the Government of India:

3^rd-13^th January, 2018 :

Topics in the Interface between Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics: Asserting, Asking and Answering.

Guest faculty: Prof. Veneeta Dayal, Department of Linguistics, Rutgers University, USA.

Link of the lecture-videos:

https://mu.ac.in/workshop-on-topics-in-the-syntax-of-modern-indo-aryan-languages-with-focus-on-western-indo-aryan-languages-gian-programme/

21^st-30^th December, 2016 :

Topics in the Syntax of Modern Indo-Aryan Languages (course offered under the GIAN initiative of Govt of India) (2 credit course) from 21^st– 30^th December, 2016.

Guest faculty: Prof. Rajesh Bhatt, Department of Linguistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.

Link of the lecture-videos: https://mu.ac.in/gian-3rd-jan-13th-jan-2018/

Both the GIAN courses of the Department were rated very high by the expert scrutiny committee of GIAN. Each course was attended by between 25-30 students, researchers and young faculty in Linguistics from all over India.

Seminars/Symposia

2018 :	National Seminar on “Multilingualism in India: Issues and Challenges” from 6^th-7^th March.
2015 :	National Symposia of “Right to Education and the future of our languages” from 9th – 11th of March.
2011 :	National Seminar on “The Role of Language & Culture in the makings of a nation” from 27th to 29th January.
2010 :	The 4^th International Students’ Conference of Linguistics in India (SCONLI) from 18^th– 24^th February.

Workshops/Lecture-series

2019-20 :	A special lecture series on “Mixed Languages” by Dr. Peggy Mohan	26^th – 31^stof August, 2019
	A workshop on “Basics of Latex for Linguists” by Mr. Niranjan Tambe	26^th – 28^th of August, 2019
2018-19 :	An innovative workshop on “Language in Schools” for school teachers, educators and language reseachers. (organized with Unnati Sanstha)	31^st May – 4^th of June, 2019
	A workshop on Basic Computational Linguistics Guest faculty: Dr. Sanjukta Ghosh & Dr. Anil Thakur (IIT-BHU)	17^th – 21^st December, 2018
	A workshop in Experiment Design & Analysis in Linguistics Guest faculty: Dr. Samar Husain & Dr. Ashwini Vaidya (IIT Delhi)	10^th – 14^th December, 2018
2017-18 :	A special series of two lectures on “Philosophy of Language” by Prof. Pradeep Gokhale, Central University of Tibetan Studies, Sarnath.	25^th September, 2017
2016-17 :	Special Lecture on “Advances in Substantivist Linguistics” by Prof. Probal Dasgupta, ISI Kolkata.	20^thMarch
	A special lecture series on Diachronic Semantics and Indo-Aryan Diachrony”, by Dr. Ashwini Deo, The Ohio State University, USA.	2^nd– 4^th February
2015-16 :	Workshop course on “Acoustic Phonetics of Indian Languages”, by Dr.Indranil Dutta, EFL-U, Hyderabad.	29^th February – 4^th March
	Course on “Quantitative Research Methods in Linguistics” by Dr.Tarun Menon, TISS-Mumbai.	January-February
	A special lecture on “Tasks before Linguistics” by Prof. Probal Dasgupta, ISI, Kolkata.	3^rd-5^th February
2014-15 :	Workshop on the “Phonology of Indian Languages” by Dr.ParomaSanyal, IIT-Delhi.	5^th-14^th February
	Course on “Graph Theory” starting in June (20 lectures).	Throughout the year
2013-14 :	A special lecture series on “Negating”, “Linguistic Negations” & “The Problem of Existential Import” by Prof. Fabian Schang.	24^th-25^th February
2012-13 :	A special lecture series on “Bhartrhari’s Philosophy of Language” by Prof. Kapil Kapoor	11^th-12^th March
	A workshop on “Phonology” by Prof. K.P.Mohanan	4^th-5^th March
	A special lecture on “Indian Language and Split Lexis” by Prof. Probal Dasgupta, ISI Kolkata	5^th February

OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

Outreach Activities

OUTREACH INITIATIVES:

Language in Education

The Department has sought to actively intervene in the area of language in education in line with its vision and commitment to the future of the lesser known languages. As part of this effort, faculty members interacted with school teachers, critically discussed policy documents concerned with the role of language in education etc.

The Department invited school teachers from various parts of the Maharashtra to participate in the National Seminar on “RTE and the future of our languages” hosted by the Department in collaboration with Dr. Rakhmabai Educational Research and Resource Center, Unique Foundation, Pune.

While this national seminar was conducted in English, the organizers of the Seminar made concerted efforts to publish the proceedings of the Seminar in Marathi in order to reach teachers and education activists in the State of Maharashtra. This involved an additional effort of translation, which was undertaken as part of our commitment. The book has been received well by various sections of society. The details of the publication are as follows:

Pandey, Avinash & Vinaya Malti Hari (eds.). 2018. बहुभाषिकता : गुणवत्तापूर्ण शिक्षणाचा पाया (Multiligualism: Foundation of quality education). Pune: Unique Academy. ISBN: 978-81-936051-3-4.

In continuation with the efforts of actively intervening in the domain of language in education, the faculty members of the Department interacted with school teachers through a 3-day Workshop on “Right to Education and Development of Languages”, for school teachers, organized by Dr. Rakhmabai Educational Research and Resource Center, Unique Foundation, Pune with SRT Marathwada University, Nanded at SRT Marathwada University, Nanded from 17th to 19th November, 2015.

Furthermore, the faculty members of the Department actively intervened in the ongoing process of policy development for the field of education, through active suggestions made to the government, papers published in the book mentioned above, published articles in various journals as well as talks.

Panini Linguistics Olympiad programme, India

(an outreach initiative of the Department of Linguistics, MU, 2012-16)

The Department of Linguistics served as the parent institution for the Panini Linguistics Olympiad, India Programme as an outreach programme of the Department from 2012-16, through my initiative. This Programme sought to spread the awareness of Linguistics and of linguistic diversity in the world among the school and college-going students. During this period India has bagged 1 Silver medal, 5 Bronze medals, 2 Best Solutions awards and 4 Honourable Mentions in the International Linguistics Olympiads.

Programmes conducted under the Panini Linguistics Olympiad programme, India

Competitions:

The 14th International Linguistics Olympiad was held in Mysore, India from 25^th – 29^th July 2016. 43 teams from 30 countries participated. The University of Mumbai was one of the co-partners in the organization of this major international event.
The Open Round of the Panini Linguistics Olympiad (Junior & Senior) on 9^th of January, 2016. 25 students were selected for the Invitational Round.
The Open Round of the Panini Linguistics Olympiad (Junior & Senior) on 11^th of January, 2015. 25 students were selected for the Invitational Round.
Participation in the International Linguistics Olympiad held in Beijing, China from the 21st – 25th of July, 2014. The Indian team won two bronze medals and one best solution award.
The Invitational Round was held in Bangalore from 12-19 April, 2014. 4 students were selected from the participants to be part of the Indian contingent in the International Linguistics Olympiad, 2014.
The Open Round of the Panini Linguistics Olympiad on 5th January, 2014 in 9 cities across India. 88 students had participated in our Junior and Senior Olympiads. 25 students were selected for the Invitational Round.
Inter-School Linguistics Competition (Juinors and Seniors) was conducted in the Department of Linguistics, University of Mumbai on the 20th of September, 2013. 8 schools from Mumbai participated in the competition.
The Open Round of the Panini Linguistics Olympiad (Junior & Senior) on 3^rd of February, 2013. 25 students were selected for the Invitational Round.

Workshops:

A Beginners’ Workshop in Linguistics, organized in the Department of Linguistics, University of Mumbai, under Panini Linguistics Olympiad, India programme, 23^rd– 28^th December, 2014.

Workshop titled “Fun with Languages” in the Kala Ghoda Festival on the 3rd of February, 2014, for children between the age group 10-15 years. It was attended by more than 40 children.
Pre-conference Workshop on Linguistics Olympiad and Popularizing Linguistics in Schools conducted during the 10th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (ICON 2013) held in Noida from 18th – 20th December, 2013.
A Beginners’ Workshop in Linguistics, organized in the Department of Linguistics, University of Mumbai, under Panini Linguistics Olympiad, India programme, 25^th-27^th December, 2013.

A National Level intensive workshop to train and select students for the International Olympiad was organized in the Department of Linguistics, University of Mumbai, under Panini Linguistics Olympiad, India programme from 3^rd – 8^th of June, 2013.

A five day Preparatory Workshop in Linguistics to train students for the National Olympiad was organized in the Department of Linguistics, University of Mumbai, under Panini Linguistics Olympiad, India programme from 24^th – 29^th December, 2012.

Esperanto Club

The Department has recently initiated The University of Mumbai’s Esperanto Club where lovers of Esperanto language gather to learn, discuss and share aspects of Esperanto language.

Outreach