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The Department of Linguistics was started in 1963 with Dr.
Chandresekhar 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. An advanced diploma course in applied linguistics and the M.Phil. Programme, in place of the earlier M.Litt. Programme, were introduced in 1979. The department has been fortunate in attracting linguists trained in good academic institutions, today it is regarded one of the major centers for linguistics in India. 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 at least ten countries indicate the international academic recognition that the department enjoys. The fact that 20 students of the Department have been selected by American and British Universities in the last few years for pursuing doctoral research further speaks of the academic reputation of the Department. Eminent Indian linguists who have taught at the Department include Dr. A. Agesthialingom (ex-Vice Chancellor Tamil University), Dr. B.G. Mishra (ex-Director of the Central Institute of Hindi, Agra), Dr. C.J. Daswani, and Dr. 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 Kissebirth, Franklin C. Southworth, Richard Mckee, Yamuna Kachru, George Lakoff, Peter Trudgill, Alice Davison, Peter Hook, Hans Hock, Rajendra Singh, Kashi Wali, K.S. Yadurajan, J.P.S. Uberoi, Andre Beteille, Sisir Kumar Das, B. Jernudd and J. Neustupny. The Department had the privilege of welcoming and listening to such great linguists as Noam Chomsky, Andre Martinet, David Abercrombic, George Cardona, Eric Hamp, Peter Ladefoged, G. Nickel, R.M.W. Dixon, Anoop Mahajan, and R. Posner. It also had the honour of organizing the golden jubilee of the Linguistic Society of India and the Decennial celebration of the Dravidian Linguistics Association. |
