Shimla: More than 50 scholars from USA, Japan, China, Nepal and India are to converge upon the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS) from October 22 to 24 for the 13th symposium to discus various aspects of Himalayan languages.
Institute spokesman Ashok Sharma said that Himalayan Languages Symposium is an annually convened scholarly forum for persons working on Himalayan languages. “It serves as a podium for contributions on languages of the Himalayan region, whether it is “Burushaski, Kusunda”, a Tibeto-Burman language, or an Indo-Aryan tongue or other languages belonging to other families spoken in Himalyan region.
Linguists as well as specialists from related disciplines like philology, history, anthropology, archaeology and prehistory also make their contributions in the study of Himalayan languages and Himalayan language communities. The symposium is devoted to the study of the languages and language communities which make up the complex ethno-linguistic tapestry of the Indo-Chinese borderlands, a culturally rich and vast territory extending from the Caspian into mainland Southeast Asia.
Aspects such as phonology, morphosyntax, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, semantics, lexical studies and mother-tongue education are discussed.
Anil Wilson, Vice Chancellor Himachal Pradesh Unirversity will inaugurate the symposium and LM Khubchandani, a renowned sociolinguist of India would deliver the keynote address, the institute spokesman disclosed.
Earlier the symposia have been held in Thailand, Bhutan, Switzerland, Sweden, Nepal, Netherlands and in USA. In India, it has been held on two occasions at Pune and Mysore. IIAS will be hosting the meet for the first time.
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