Department of Linguistics

The Department of Linguistics was started in 1963 with Dr. Chandrasekhar as its head. Only a diploma course in Linguistics was offered in the beginning. The Master’s and Doctoral programmes were later introduced in 1966 when the noted Indian linguist Professor P.B. Pandit joined the Department. Dr. R.N. Srivastava joined the Department as a Professor in 1976 and subsequently an advanced diploma course in Applied Linguistics, and the M.Phil. programme, in place of the earlier M.Litt. programme were introduced in 1978 and 1979, respectively.

Recognizing its strength in its teaching programmes as well as in research, particularly in the areas of theoretical linguistics and applied linguistics, the Department has been accorded the status of Centre for Advanced Studies in Linguistics by the University Grants Commission w.e.f. 2010-11. The department has been fortunate in attracting linguists trained in excellent academic institutions located in India and abroad. The significant number of international scholars from prestigious academic institutions seeking academic affiliation with the Department and the number of students admitted to the Department from various countries, indicate the international academic recognition that the department enjoys. The fact that a number of students of the Department have been selected by premier Universities in the US and Europe in the last few years for pursuing doctoral research further speaks of the academic reputation of the Department.

A major feature of our Linguistics Programme is that unlike most other linguistics departments elsewhere in the country it offers teaching and research in a variety of diverse areas, representing both theoretical and empirical orientations in equal measure; the department has maintained this balance over time. The other strength of the departments is its work on a variety of languages, particularly Tibeto-Burman and Indo-Aryan languages, and to some extent on Dravidian and Munda languages. The Department attracts students from diverse linguistic backgrounds. The constant supply of students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds from across the country has ensured continuation of research on various language families of India and abroad.

All major areas of Linguistics, like Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Semantics, Sociolinguistics, Psycholinguistics, Historical Linguistics, etc. are dealt with efficiently at levels of the programme in terms of teaching and research.

The Department has had the privilege of having Professors like (Late) Prem Singh, (Late) A.K. Sinha, K.V.Subbarao, R.K. Agnihotri, Ravinder Gargesh, R.C. Sharma, Tista Bagchi, who superannuated from the Department after distinguished service. Other eminent Indian linguists who have taught at the Department include Prof. B.G. Mishra (ex-Director of the Central Institute of Hindi, Agra), Prof. C.J. Daswani, and Prof. C. Ramarao. In addition, many linguists of international repute have over the years been associated with the Department in various capacities. These include:
Professors Gordon Fairbanks, Robert B. Lees, Gerald Kelly, Jame D McCawley, Jean Aitchison, Charles Kisseberth, Frankin C. Southworth, Richard Mckee, Yamuna Kachru, George Lakoff, Peter Trudgill, Alice Davison, Peter Hook, Hans Hock, J.D. Singh, H.S. Ananthanarayana, Rajendra Singh, Kashi Wali, K.S. Yadurajan, J.P.S. Oberoi, Andre Beteille, Sisir Kumar Das, B. Jernudd, J. Neustupny, Peter Austin, Colin P. Masia, Norman H. Zide, Tor A. Afarli, and Ljudmila Khoklova. The Department has also had the privilege of inviting eminent scholars such as Noam Chomsky, M.A.K. Halliday, John Gumperz, Andre Martinet, David Abercormbie, George Cardona, Ashok Kelkar, Eric Hamp, Peter Ladefoged, Howard Lasnik, Rajesh Bhat, Tor. A. Afarli, G.Nickel, R.M.W. Dixon, R. Posner, Braj B. Kachru, Y. Kachru and others. The Department also had the honour of organizing the golden jubilee celebrations of the Linguistics Society of India and the Decennial celebrations of the Dravidian Linguistics Association in addition to several summer institutes, seminars and conferences.