Linguistics

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.

• Equipment

The Department is well-equipped with digital instruments such as high-definition recorders, a handicam, 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.

 

Scholarships

1)      GOI Scholarship
2)      Merit Scholarship for M.A. Student
3)      Non- NET fellowship for M.Phil. and Ph.D. student

4)      Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha fellowship for MA students in Linguistics: Since 2017-18 Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha, Mumbai gives fellowship to the MA Linguistics students. In 2017-18, four students of our Department secured the scholarship.

Courses

Courses

 

• MA in Linguistics :

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. Through these two dissertations, the MA students are trained towards conducting research in Linguistics.

For the detailed Syllabus, click on this link M.A.-Linguistics-Semesters-1-and-2 and M.A.-Linguistics-Semesters-3-and-4.

Programme Outcomes and Course Outcomes

 

Admission procedure: The admission to the MA programme is through a written entrance test, which is usually conducted in the months of June or early July. Students from any discipline, with good grade in their Bachelors programme, can apply for the Programme. The intake capacity is 75. Students can apply for the course by writing to us at linguistics@linguistics.mu.ac.in

 

• M.Phil in Linguistics : The Department started M.Phil programme in Linguistics in 2012-13. The M.Phil in Linguistics is a 2-year programme including 1 year of coursework followed by the dissertation year.

For the Syllabus, click on this link.

 

Admission procedure: The admission to the M.Phil. programme is through a PET examination conducted centrally by the University of Mumbai. Candidates who have passed the PET will be asked to make a presentation in front of the Admissions Committee of the Department on the proposed topic on which the candidates wish to conduct research. The selected candidates can enrol in the M.Phil. programmes. The rules of exemption from the PET apply as per the University rules. Currently, in accordance with the UGC regulations, the intake capacity of the M.Phil programme is 01.

 

• Ph.D. in Linguistics : The Department also offers a Ph.D. in Linguistics which involves one year of coursework. The Department seeks the candidates working in the areas of structure of language as well as the use of language.

For the Syllabus, click on this link.

Admission procedure: The admission to the Ph.D. programme is through a PET examination conducted centrally by the University of Mumbai. Candidates who have passed the PET will be asked to make a presentation in front of the Admissions Committee of the Department on the proposed topic on which the candidates wish to conduct research. The selected candidates can enrol in the Ph.D. programmes. The rules of exemption from the PET apply as per the University rules.

As per the UGC regulations, the Ph.D. intake capacity of the Department is 04.

 

• Certificate Course in Phonetics & Phonology: 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.

 

Admission procedure: The admission to the Certificate Course in Phonetics and Phonology opens in the month of May every year and is given on the first-come-first-served basis. The intake capacity for the Course is limited to 50. The Course usually commences in the first week of August and goes on till the end of March when the written exam and a viva-voce for the same will be conducted. Interested candidates can visit the Office of the Department during the office hours on working days for applying to the course.

Faculty

Faculty

• Avinash Pandey : Head and Assistant Professor

Qualification : MA (Linguistics), Ph.D. (Linguistics)

For the Full profile click here.

 

• Archana Thool : Assistant Professor

Qualification : MA (Language technology), M.Phil. (Language technology)

For the Full profile click here.

 

• Renuka Ozarkar : Assistant Professor

Qualification : MA (Linguistics), Ph.D. (Linguistics)

For the Full profile click here.

 

 

Administrative staff:

• Hemant Sapkal Jr. Clerk (Temp)
• Ashish Jadhav Peon (Temp)
• Sunil Patil Peon (Temp)

 

RESEARCH

Research activities in the Department in recent years

 

Ongoing research projects:

1. Lexicalization patterns in Gorboli (Banjara language)
2. Verbal morphology of Gorboli (Banjara language)
3. A comparative study of case systems of Zhadi boli and Marathi

 

Research projects completed:

1. “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).

 

2. “Orality in the Structuralist Philosophy of Language” – a two year project funded by ICPR, New Delhi (2011-13).

 

3. “Linguistic Landscape of Vasai” – a UGC funded minor research project (2011-12) on a relatively less researched area of linguistic landscape and multilingualism.

 

 

Languages analysed in the Department (as part of MA programme):

As part of the Field Methods course in the MA programme, the students of the Department analyse aspects of some language which is not adequately analysed previously. It is often some minority language or a tribal language. Some of the languages worked upon in recent year are:

Language Family	Languages worked upon as part of MA programme
Indo-Aryan	Banjara (Lamani/Gorboli)
	Bhili – Mawchi varieties (Indo-Aryan)
	Konkani
	Kutchi
	Maithili
	Parushi (a secret language of DavriGosawi community)
	Warli
Sino-Tibetan	Mizo
	Poula
	Tanghkhul Naga
Dravidian	Malayalam
	Telugu
	Tulu
Austro-Asiatic	Khasi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees awarded in recent years:

• D. :

 

Year of awarding degree	Name of the student	Topic of the dissertation
2017	Ms. Shaima Al-Issa	Literary Narratives, Culture and Ideology : A Semiolinguistic Study of Orhan Pamuk’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 if Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Novels
2010	Mr. Rajeev Jalvi	Hearing Impairment & Linguistic Development : Issues and Perspectives

 

• Phil. :

The Department started M.Phil programme in 2012-13.

Year of awarding degree	Name of the student	Topic of the dissertation
2014	Ms. Manasi Nadkarni	Sociolinguistic Variation in Konkani of Goa
2014	Ms. Vrushali Surve	Stylist Analysis of Jhumpa Lahiri’s “The Lowland”
Ms. Priyanka Dingankar is working for M.Phil degree in the area of Language in Education

 

 

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:

 

3rd-13th 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/
21st-30th 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 21st– 30th 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 6th-7th 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 4th International Students’ Conference of Linguistics in India (SCONLI) from 18th– 24th February.

 

• Workshops/Lecture-series

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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:

1. 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.
2. The Open Round of the Panini Linguistics Olympiad (Junior & Senior) on 9^th of January, 2016. 25 students were selected for the Invitational Round.
3. The Open Round of the Panini Linguistics Olympiad (Junior & Senior) on 11^th of January, 2015. 25 students were selected for the Invitational Round.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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:

1. 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.

 

2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

 

5. 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.

 

6. 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

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:

1. 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.
2. The Open Round of the Panini Linguistics Olympiad (Junior & Senior) on 9^th of January, 2016. 25 students were selected for the Invitational Round.
3. The Open Round of the Panini Linguistics Olympiad (Junior & Senior) on 11^th of January, 2015. 25 students were selected for the Invitational Round.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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:

1. 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.

2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.