National Seminar on Sociology of Linguistics Report

Inaugural Session
Department of Linguistics and Department of Sociology by realising the importance of boosting
academic dialogues that can reveal the dynamic relations between sociology and linguistics in this
age of multidisciplinarity, proposed a joint venture. It resulted in organising a National Seminar on
Sociology of Linguistics on 28-29 January 2016 at Seminar Hall, Department of Linguistics.
The inaugural session began at 10. 00 am by invoking God Almighty. Dr. S Kunjamma, Associate
Professor, Department of Linguistics welcomed the gathering. Presidential address was deleivered
by Dr. S A Shanavas, Associate Professor and Head of the Department, Department of Linguistics.
Professor G K Panikkar, Director, ISDL delivered inaugural address. Professor G K Panikkar, a well
known linguist in academic circles gave noteworthy information regarding the deep rooted tendency
of language to adapt to the changing socio-cultural scenarios. Drawing examples from day to day
affairs he explained how caste divisions influence local dialectics. The key note address delivered
by Professor B Sreedevi, Emeritus Professor, Department of Linguistics University of Kerala was
notable for the tactful application of the critically acclaimed Derridean notion of Langue-Parole in
understanding the close association between social phenomena and language systems. Professor A
K Parasad, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences felicitated the gathering. He emphasised the need to
explore the relation between mode of production and language. Professor C R Prasad, Director
School of Indian Languages elaborated on the creative aplication of linguistics in marketing fields
especially in advertisements on the basis of a simple example. Dr. M Pushpam, Head of the
Department, Department of Sociology delivered vote of thanks. She gave a basic understanding
about the theme of the seminar and about the interdisciplinarity of the two disciplines.
Techinical Session - 1
Now the floor was open for technical sessions. The first session was chaired by Professor B
Sreedevi and co-chaired by Dr. Darwin L, Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics. Ms.
Sanjitha, research Scholar, Department of Linguistics was the first paper presentor. The paper titled
Role of Language in Mapping the Sociocultural Configuration of Reality in the Poetry of Meena
Alexander focusedly covered the diasporic dilemma of an internationally reputed poet and its
widespread presence in her poems. Mr. Ameen Algamal, Reasearch Scholar, Department of
Linguistics presented a paper on The Speech Act of Compliment Response as Realized by Yemeni
Arabic Speakers- A Sociolinguistic Study. He could draw certain significant statistical inferences
on the compliment response data that he collected from the Yemeni Arabic speakers. Ms. Lekshmi
Ashok, post graduate student, Department of Linguistics presented a paper Terms in Indigineous

Medicine: Change from Tradition to Modern. Her paper was an argument in favor of the
preservation of indigenious language systems which were used as the medium of writing treatises
on traditional medicines.
Techinical Session - 2
The second technical session was chaired by Dr. A K Prasad and co-chaired by Dr. S. Kunjamma.
The paper Challenges of Globalization and Democracy presented by Teshome Abera Tessema,
research scholar, Department of Sociology explained the difficulty of grasping the implications of
the term Globalization because of its ever increasing permeability into the systems of production
and systems of thoughts. Samseer R H, Research scholar, Department of Sociology presented a
paper titled Weberian Sociology and Hermeneutics: The Idea of the Interpretation of Social
Reality. The paper dealt with the discontinuity occurred in the history of thought in the latter half
of Nineteenth Century with the emergence of interpretation as a major methodological paradigm
challenging the positivism`s predominant position. It was followed by the presentation of
Muhammed Ashraf A on Use of Pronouns in Political Rhetoric: A Comparative Study Among
Indian Prime Ministers. The study on the basis of analysis of the speeches made by two Prime
Ministers during their tenure presented some interesting statistical inferences that signifies the
political attitude of these leaders.
Techinical Session - 3
The Third Technical session of the National Seminar was on 29th January 2016 and it began at 9 30
am. The Session was Chaired by Dr. Jayakumar and co-chaired by Dr. Pushpam. Suma, research
scholar, Department of Linguistics, presented a paper on Rhetorical Devices in Malayalam
Advertising Languages. The paper attempted to demonstrate the rhetorical usages of Malayalam
that are popularly applied in advertisements. Reflection of Religion in Malayalam was the title of
the paper presented by Dr. A Shanavas, Head of the Department, Department of Linguistics. The
paper enlisted the Malayalam words that signify certain religious denominations. Next paper on the
technical session was presented by Aiswaria titled Socio-Linguistic Aspects of Paniya Tribe. The
paper comprehensively dealt with the notable linguistic adaptations that happens as a result of the
tribe associating with the mainstream communities. The paper could explicitly grasp the probable
social dynamics underlying the changes in the language of the Paniya tribe. The Relevance of
Summarization in Social Media, the paper presented by Kanitha, research scholar, emphasised the
technological application of linguistic analysis in order to deliver efficiently coordinated
summarizations of the data demanded by social media consumers. The paper marked the end of the
third technical session.

Techinical Session - 4
The fourth technical session was chaired by Dr. Shobha B Nair, Associate Professor, Department of
Sociology and Dr. Kunjamma. The first paper in this session was presented by Dr. Shobha B Nair.
Her paper, Language and Culture was an account of the finest sociological theories such as
symbolic intereactionism that act as the connective tissue between language and culture. The
emphasis was on the inevitability of exploring cultural episteme in the actual interpretation of the
meaning of the symbolic representations used by the people who belong to that particular cultural
setting. It was followed by the presentation of Mr. Sreekumar, Lecturer, Department of Social Work.
His paper was titled Sociological Analysis of Tribal Communities in Kerala. Ms. Daliya presented
a paper on Sociological Analysis of Female Offenders in India that has drawn some critical
insights into the socio-cultural aspects that if reversed can serve as a solution to drastically reduce
the number of femal offenders in the country. Dr. Pushpam, Head of the Department, Department of
Sociology, presented a paper on Sociology of Language: Theoretical Perspectives. The paper
extensively dealt with the core sociological theories that have close affinity with linguistics.
Techinical Session - 5
The fifth and final session was chaired by Dr. Bushrabeegom. Dr. Laila, PDF Scholar, Department
of Linguistics presented a paper titled Sociology of Linguistics in Literature.

Sruthi, Post

graduate student of the Department of Linguistics presented a paper on Language and Social
Variable. After the presentation the chair, Dr. Bushrabeegom shared some critical information
regarding the UGC project she was working on that deals with the Development induced displaced
people. The session ended at 3 00 pm.
Valedictory Session
Valedectory session began at 3 15 pm. Dr. Shobha B Nair, welcomed the gathering. Presidential
address was delivered by Dr. M Pushpam, Head of the Department, Department of Sociology. The
Seminar report was presented by Dr. L Darwin, Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics. Dr.
Rosamma Philips made a remarkable valedictory address. The vote of thanks was delivered by Dr.
Bushrabeegom and it was the end of the two day national seminar.
The Technical sessions were vibrant with constructive academic arguments and discussions that
enabled the achievement of the prime objective of the national seminar, namely, to understand the
interdisciplinarity of the two sciences.