LING 344: The Languages of South Asia

Suggestions for coursepapers

1. The paper may build on one of the general themes of the lectures and/or 
readings. These include: 

a.  South Asia as a linguistic area.
   i.	Compared with other linguistic areas in the world.
   ii.	A more detailed pursuit of a particular phenomenon in a set of 
	South Asian languages.
   iii.	Compare & contrast a particular phenomenon in South & Central (or 
	Northeast) Asian languages.
   iv.	Contrast a particular phenomenon in South versus East and/or 
	Southwest Asian languages.
b.  Writing systems in South Asia (comparison, origins, politics, etc.) 
c.  Linguistic history and pre-history of South Asia.
d.  The reflection of society and social structure in South Asian languages. 
 			i.    Diglossia. 
			ii.   Politeness and deference. 
			iii.  Caste and dialect.
			iv.   Language mixing.
e.  Language and politics in South Asia.

2. A paper may reflect your readings on one of the topics listed under 1, 
with a discussion of your own views.  Or it may be original research. 

3. The paper may compare South Asian languages from two or more different 
families.  Or two or more languages within a single family.  Or two or 
more time periods for a single language. 

4. The paper should draw on at least three print sources.  In addition, 
you may use sources on the Web and personal knowledge or acquaintances. 

5. If possible there should be a theme, a hypothesis, and an evaluation of 
the hypothesis. 

6. Paper should be about 10 pages in length, longer if a joint effort or 
submitted in 2 courses. 

7. More ideas for course papers. Usually the best ideas for course papers 
are the ones that come from their future authors.  However, if you are 
stuck, come and see me.

8. Timetable: 

      a. My reaction to specific ideas? Office hours: Wednesdays, 12:30-1:30 
	 or by appt or phone/e-mail.
      b. Bring an outline on or before 15 Mar.
      c. Submit a draft version to me for comments one week before day of 
	 oral presentation.
      d. Presentations start from Monday 5 April, 2 per day.
      e. Final written version due at 5 pm, 28 April, 3070 Frieze Bldg.

9. Readings (I'll add to this list from time to time):

a. Mukherjee, Aditi. 1996. Language maintenance and language shift: 
   Panjabis and Bengalis inDelhi. New Delhi: Bahri Publications. (192 p.)
b. Patel, Kunjaban. 1996. Reporting in Oriya and English: A study in 
   contrastive discourse analysis. Jaipur: University Book House. 253 pp
c. Abdullah, Sayyid Muhammad. 1997. Language controversies in the 
   Indo-Pak sub-continent. Lahore: West Pakistan Urdu Academy. (76 p.)
d. Eisenlohr, Patrick. Creole Island or Little India? The Politics of 
   Language & Diaspora. (See me for a preliminary draft of this study of 
   the politico-linguistic situation on Mauritius)
e. ...	

Last updated 22 March 2004.