The Department was established in 1972 through the initiative of Professor Rohini Kumar Mahanta. Prof Mahanta had trained at the School of Oriental and African Studies where he completed his Ph.D. in Firthian Phonology under the supervision of Prof. Eugenie Henderson. For about eight years since the inception the department ran a one-year PG Diploma course in Linguistics. In 1980, this was replaced by a two-year M.A. course in Linguistics.
Linguistics was introduced as an elective subject at the undergraduate level from 1995.
In 2001, the Department collaborated with the allied department of English Language Teaching to run a joint M.A. programme called LELT (Linguistics and English Language Teaching) with a provision for interdisciplinary intake.
In recent years, the department has worked collaboratively with linguists from international organizations such as Summer Institute of Linguistics, RCLT of La Trobe University, Australia, CNRS, Paris & University of Oregon, USA. Such collaborations have resulted in a training workshop on linguistics software and opportunities for students to conduct linguistic fieldwork under the guidance of Australian and American scholars.
The Department of Linguistics aims at promoting the intrinsic and scientific study of language, with particular focus on the structure of the indigenous languages of Assam, including Assamese.
It seeks to foster, promote and establish a sound tradition of documentation, description and analysis of the indigenous languages of the linguistically rich and diverse region of Assam, through teaching, research, training, consultancy and collaboration with institutions at the regional, national and international levels.
Department of Linguistics
Gauhati University, Guwahati 781014, Assam
Phone : +91-91018-12551
Email : linguistics@gauhati.ac.in
Web : gauhati.ac.in/arts/linguistics
Post Graduate Programme:
a) Name of the Programme: Master of Arts in Linguistics
The Department of Linguistics collaborates with the allied Department of English Language Teaching in offering a joint programme called LELT (short for Linguistics and English Language Teaching) leading to an M.A. in Linguistics. The masters programme in Linguistics is designed to promote scientific study of language with particular focus on the structure of the indigenous languages of Assam and its neighboring states of Northeast India. Moreover, in response to the unprecedented level of language endangerment, we aim to equip our students with the basic skills necessary for analyzing and describing undocumented languages through this programme.
b) Duration of the Programme: 4-Semesters, 2-Years
c) Intake Capacity: 11
d) Admission Process:
Graduates from SCIENCE, COMMERCE and ARTS are eligible to apply provided they fulfill (i) or (ii).
(i) Secured Major in English
(candidates who fail to secure a minimum of 40% marks in English Major will not be eligible to apply)
(ii) If they have secured Major in any other subject, or graduated with Pass Course, they must score at least 50% in English as a subject at graduation (or equivalent degree).
Selection is based on a two hour Proficiency Test in English for 100 marks.
This test is intended to find out whether the applicant has the necessary level of command in the English Language required for the LELT Programme. The areas covered in the test will include the following: vocabulary knowledge and usage, grammar in context, reading skills (i.e. ability to read a text and comprehend, infer meaning, find out specific information, etc.), and knowledge of communication in English language.
Since applicants from all the three streams (Arts, Science and Commerce) are eligible to apply, the test will not be based on any formal knowledge of English Grammar or Linguistics.
General category applicants and reserved quota applicants must secure the minimum pass percentage of 50% and 45% respectively in the proficiency test in order to be considered for admission.
e) Programme Structure under CBCS
Please refer to the syllabus for details on the programme structure and courses offered.
Download the syllabus
Research Programme
a) Name of the Programme: PhD in Linguistics
PhD research is usually undertaken either in language description or in language education.
b) Duration: Minimum of 3 Years, Maximum of 5 Years
c) Intake Capacity: As per Availability of Seats
MA Courses
LEL 1016 Introduction to Language and Linguistics
Course type: Core, Credits: 6; Provides beginner students an introductory glimpse at language and language study as a discipline.
LEL 1026 Phonetics and Phonology
Course type: Core, Credits: 6; Explores speech sounds in general as well as specific to English.
LEL 1036 Introduction to Language Teaching
Course type: Core, Credits: 6; Helps students build a theoretical basis of language teaching, and apply it to actual teaching process.
LEL 1046 Study Skills in English
Course type: Core, Credits: 6;
LEL 1054 Academic Reading I
Course type: Value Added, Credits: 4;
LEL 2016 Semantics
Course type: Core, Credits: 6
LEL 2026 Sociolinguistics
Course type: Core, Credits: 6
LEL 2036 Morphology and Syntax
Course type: Core, Credits: 6; Introduces grammatical categories at a general as well as language particular level, with special reference to English.
LEL 2046 Introduction to Language Analysis
Course type: Core, Credits: 6; Introduces students to linguistic analysis in different domains, such as phonology, morphology, syntax, and discourse.
LEL 2054 Academic Reading II
Course type: Value Added, Credits: 6;
LIN 3016 Functional Syntax I
Course type: Core, Credits: 6; Introduces students to the functional-typological-diachronic approach to syntax; concentrates mainly on the morphosyntax of simple clauses.
LIN 3026 Linguistic Fieldwork
Course type: Core, Credits: 6; Supervised linguistic fieldwork with a native speaker of a relatively little-studied language of Northeast India.
LIN 3036 Corpus Linguistics
Course type: Core, Credits: 6; Introduces students to corpus linguistics, involves corpus generation and investigation of a certain aspect of a language using a corpus.
LIN 3046 Historical Linguistics
Course type: Core, Credits: 6; Introduces Historical Linguistics, teaches the methods and techniques of linguistic reconstruction.
LIN 4016 Functional Syntax II
Course type: Core, Credits: 6; Introduces syntax from a functional-typological-diachronic perspective, concentrates mainly on morphosyntax of complex sentences, and aspects of discourse or information structure.
LIN 4026 Projects in Linguistics
Course type: Core, Credits: 6; students conduct original research leading to their MA dissertation.
LIN 4036 Lexicography
Course type: Core, Credits: 6; Introduces Lexicography, and the methods of compiling dictionaries.
LIN 4046 Literacy and Language Education
Course type: Core, Credits: 6: Develops awareness about the wider function of language in education and the role of literacy as an empowering agent.
Prafulla Basumatary
UGC Post Doctoral Fellow (2017-2022)
Research interests: MTB-MLE, Initial Literacy in Boro, Tibeto-Burman Linguistics
Email: prafulla@gauhati.ac.in
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