The 3-day International Conference of Linguistic Society of India (ICOLSI-43) cohosted by the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru, got underway in the virtual mode on Tuesday.
It is being held in association with the Linguistic Society of India, Pune. G. Umamaheshwara Rao, President of LSI, inaugurated the conference and delivered the inaugural address with focus on ‘Languages of India and their Economic Contributions’.
He said languages are the landmarks of human heritage, as they reflect the way of life and thoughts and also preserve the diversity of human civilisation. He said linguistic diversity may increase employment opportunities and also stressed upon the importance of mother tongue.
Prof. Rao emphasised the significance of education in mother tongue and said that both developed and developing countries should continue to use mother tongue as the medium of education in accordance with the principles of social and civic justice.
Where there is no space for mother tongue instruction, the classroom becomes irrelevant, said Prof. Rao adding that the concept of teaching in the language of people is the source of strength for democracy.
Martin Haspelmath of Max Planck Institute for Science of Human History, Germany, delivered the keynote address on the topic ‘Language descriptions and language universals’.
Shailendra Mohan, Director, CIIL, in his presidential remarks emphasised the social roles of linguists and said that to realise the vision of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat’ linguists have the additional responsibility of promoting interaction and mutual understanding between people of different cultures and traditions through their academic efforts and initiatives.
Delving on the research activities of CIIL Prof. Mohan said the institute will release the language archive repository for Indian languages in due course, and this will include major as well as minor languages, especially that of the North-Eastern region and other indigenous communities. CIIL also plans to release language archive and children literature databank for the stakeholders of language education and academic researchers, he added.
