Lingua Parasitica

Hampi 112010

2010-11-30T19:42:00.001+05:30

Nepali POS tagset: The Nelralec Tagset (Nt-01)

2010-11-21T20:09:00.001+05:30

The Nelralec (Nepali Language Resources and Localization for Education and Communication) tagset for Nepali was developed by a team comprising of linguists Yogendra Yadava, Ram Lohani, and Bhim Regmi and Andrew Hardie on the basis of the EAGLES guidelines for morphosyntactic annotation of corpora. The Nelralec tagset is fully hierarchical where in a tag such as VVYN1F, the initial letter V indicates the grammatical category i.e. verb. The following V indicates that the verb is finite, and the letter Y indicates third person. The fully specific tag VVYN1F indicates a very tightly defined, narrow category - feminine singular non-honorific third person finite verbs, such as "chE".

The tagset is compiled with respect to the standard Nepali; hence, the dialectal differences are not taken into consideration while compiling the tagset. Interestingly, the tagset has two main structural features that distinguishes it from a standard grammatical analysis of Nepali even though it is primarily based on previous analyses of Nepali grammar for instance Acharya (1991). As a matter of fact, the tagset is conceived and developed as a model of Nepali grammar for the purpose of POS annotation. In other words, it an abstraction designed to form a basis for manual and automatic POS annotation of tokens.

First, a single graphical token which contain multiple elements are tokenised as separate tokens i.e. break the graphical unit into several tokens, and each of them is annotated accordingly. The form which is disjointed from the start or end of another token and made into a separate token of its own is sometimes called a 'clitic' (in this tagging scheme). The token splitted and the 'clitic' are marked by symbol #. To illustrate an example, the Nepali postpositions, which are preferentially written as affixes on the noun or other word that they govern, are treated as separate tokens in this scheme of analysis. This gives the tagset the flexibility needed to handle very large array of potentially possible configurations of case markers. Second, tense, aspect and mood are not marked up on finite verbs, which are classified solely according to their agreement marking -- a necessary simplification for dealing with the complex verbal inflections of Nepali, which, together with the use of compound verbs, could not be indicated by the tagset without the use of thousands of additional categories.

On the other hand, the treatment of compound noun is very different from that of 'clitic'. In Nepali, compound as well as reduplicated words can be written in one of the three ways as shown below:

(22) chOrA chOrI (as two separate tokens) (lit. Son daughter - ‘children’)

(23) chOrA-chOrI (with hyphen) (lit. Son-daughter - ‘children’)

(24) chOrAchOrI (as a single token) (lit. Sondaughter - ‘children’)

(22) will be tagged as two separate tokens. (23&24) are tagged according to the nature of the last element of the compound i.e. the tag would be consistent as in "chOrI".

Nouns are classified into two types: proper and common. From a noun token, Case and number endings are tokenised separately. The former is treated as postposition. A model of number-gender in Nepali is developed for the purpose of POS tagging. The gender marker in Nepali like -O, -I and -A as in "chOrO, chOrI (Son - dir.sg, daughter - dir/obl.sg, Son - obl.lt/sg, respectively), and chOrA", respectively are ignored on nouns on two grounds. Firstly, as these features on noun are lexical-derivational feature, hence ignored. Secondly, there is a lack of exact symmetric counterpart with the markers regarding gender. For example, there is no masculine counterpart of the token ending with -I like AImAI (woman) -- marda (man). On the other hand, the same feature on pronouns, adjectives, non-finite verbs, etc. where the distinction is motivated by agreement are tagged accordingly. Even the noun token with honorific markers like sara, sAheba, jyU, etc. are tagged as NN (common) or NP (proper). In the Nelralec tagset, postpositions are those clitics (as defined in this tagging scheme) that are deattached from the noun token like case markers, plural suffix, etc. Similarly, Nepali classifiers are annotated separately.

Nepali adjectives, depending upon the nature of their morphological behaviour, are divided into five types. These types are primarily based on gender-number agreement i.e. masculine singular, feminine singular, other for masculine and feminine plurals, unmarked for undeclinable adjectives, and a common tag for both comparative and superlative adjectives.

As this POS tagset is developed as a model of Nepali grammar for POS annotation, pronominals are organised unlike in the traditional/descriptive grammar. Pronouns are organised as personal and reflexive. The former is organised on the basis of person as First, Second and other for unspecified person and honorificity is marked on five levels (see Hardie et al. 2005). Interestingly, in Nepali genitive case alter the phonetic form of the pronoun and cannot be separated as in the noun. Hence, it is treated as a single unit having tag like PMXKM i.e. Pronoun-1P-umarked for honorific-possessive-masculine for mErO/hAmrO. Similarly for ergative/instrumental case markers are also inseparable from the pronoun.

The pronoun-determiner is organised as a separate tag, and is subdivided into demonstrative, interrogative, relative and general (mnemonics are labelled according to their form in Nepali for the two interrogative and relative). As the pronoun-determiner functions as demonstrative and as a pronoun in Nepali, it is imperative to tag the tokens on the basis of the local phrasal context.

Nepali has a large number of TAM combinations, and if every possible combination is to be tagged separately, the tags would be unmanageable enormous. Therefore, in a case of verb, which has two verb roots but a single token, the Nelralec tagset follows a convention that the last identifiable verb is taken into consideration for annotation. For example, in "garnEcha" (do-subjective mood.BE.prs), "cha" is taken into account for annotating the verb token. However, two separate verb tokens will receive individual tags. Consequently, there is no distinction between main and auxiliary verbs in the tagset. Since, the idea behind the Nelralec tagset is to accomplish POS annotation, certain aspects of Nepali verb morphology is ignored viz. passive, causative and negative. These aspects of morphology are annotated as their counterpart i.e. active, non-causative and positive, respectively.

Within the verbal domain annotation, finiteness is distinguished on the basis of person marking. A verb with person marking on it is considered as finite opposed to without person marker for non-finite. Under the non-finite verb form, the participles like "gardO, gardI, gardA, gardai, garE, garnE, garEra" and the subjunctive e-form like garE (note that it is phonetically the same as a participle) and i-form for instance "garI" of the Nepali verbs are grouped accordingly. Similarly, command verb forms are tagged separately according to the honorific status.

In Nepali finite verbs, the distinction operates on Person (First, Second and Third), Number (Singular and Plural), Gender (Masculine and Feminine) and Honorific (Non-honorific and Medial). From the above, theoretically speaking 24 tags can be derived; however, only 10 tags are required since not all the combinations of these morphosyntactic features have separate forms in Nepali. Interestingly, separate tags are designed in this tagset for optative verbs as they behave differently in many ways from the other finite verbs.

In the Nelralec tagset, the mnemonics of the tag elements are schematised according to the Nepali form like M for first person (after "ma" (I)), T for second person (after "timI" (you)). Interestingly, there is no uniform scheme in organising tags on the basis of their types and attributes. For example, Nouns are NN and NP showing category and type - common and proper, respectively. Conversely, Adjectives are distinguished as JM, JF, JO, JX, and JT on the basis of the morphosyntactic attributes - gender and degree (see Hardie et al. ibid.: 5-11 for details of other categories). In other words, the Nelralec tagset assumes underspecification of both types and attributes among its 112 tags.

[From: Mallikarjun, B, Yoonus, M. Sinha, Samar & A, Vadivel. 2010. Indian Languages and Part-of-Speech Annotation. Mysore: Linguistic Data Consortium for Indian Language: pp. 22-25. ISBN-81-7342-197-8]

Issues in POS Tagset Design

2010-11-21T19:44:00.002+05:30

In the initial phase of POS tagset development for NLP purposes, the tagsets were designed and developed from the machine learning point of view in lieu of linguistic point of view. Under such considerations, language is arbitrarily considered as a sequence of tokens to be associated with a given set of tags. In formal terms, a set of strings over Σ (i.e. any subset of Σ*) is called a formal language over Σ. Moreover, focus on linguistic knowledge in designing tagset was neglected.

However, with the growing realisation that linguistic knowledge is essential in any work on language, the issues involved in designing POS tagset are discussed from the linguistic perspectives too as these issues have wide implications on the annotation of the linguistic data, and the resultant output and application based on it.

In this section, the following conceptual design issues are discussed with relevant illustrations from Indian languages.

1. Theoretical Background

In the development of a new tagset, the developers will analyse linguistic data in light of a particular linguistic theory that they advocate. The development of tagset, therefore, is not theory independent or theory-neutral as one often wishes it to be due to the conflicting assumptions. Consequently, the theoretical assumptions play an important role in deciding many other aspects of tagset design.

However, it is also possible that the developers are application-oriented rather than linguistic-theory oriented. For example, the Machine Learning researchers using a POS tagged corpus for their experiments are primarily concerned with Machine-Learnable tagging than with a specific linguistic theory. Therefore, such researchers will develop POS tagset accordingly. Paradoxically, this view has dominated the development of POS tagset to a large extent.

English being the first language of corpus linguistics, the grammatical framework chosen to describe its POS are Generalised Phrase Structure Grammar and Lexical Functional Grammar, which had promoted the notion that a category is composed of a bundle of features. In the Indian language POS tagset scenario, IIIT-Hindi tagset and Telugu tagset developed by CALTS, Hyderabad (Sree R. J. et al. 2008) are based on the Paninian perspective (for details see section 6). However, it is a desirable feature that tagset is not theory-laden but supports linguistic analysis also.

2. Form and Function

One of the major decisions that the tagging schema needs to resolve is a tagging decision between form and function of a token in the text. As a given word/token may function differently in different syntactic contexts, they may be assigned different tags depending upon the function rather than on the form. Such cases, however, pose a computational complexity for automatic tagging, since more than one tag is given for the same form but with different contextual syntactic functions. On the other hand, two syntactic functions of a token/word may be assigned a single tag on the basis of its form. This also leads to information loss.

To maintain a firm decision between form and function, different approaches are decided for POS tagging; and each approach has underlying assumption to validate the decision. To illustrate such an assumption, a token is POS tagged on the basis of the form rather than the function in AnnCorra (Bharti et al. 2006). This decision is based on the priority that it eradicates choices involved in manual tagging, and establishes a token-tag relation which leads to efficient machine learning. In contrast to AnnCorra, Stuttgart-Tübingen Tag-Set (STTS) for German (Atwell ms.) has made linguistically motivated distinction between attributive and predicative adjectives. However, there are other approaches where there is a division of labour with respect to the hierarchy regarding form and function. The MSRI developed ILPOSTS based Hindi tagset is such one tagset which takes morphosyntactic form into account for assigning attribute-value (the lowest in the hierarchy), and function for annotating the Type (the mid-level hierarchy).

Knowles & Don (2003) has devised another approach for Malay, a language in which words change their function according to context. For example, "masuk" is a verb in a context but it is a noun "entrance" in a context of building, car-park, etc. Acknowledging this linguistic fact in Malay, Knowles & Don's tagset for Malay separates lexical class or form from syntactic function, and give each word in the lexicon only one class-tag. They have used the term ‘tag’ to label a lexical class, and ‘slot’ to refer to a position in syntactic structure in Malay (see Atwell ms.: 19).

Yet another view on this dichotomy is expressed as the following. To illustrate the form and function dichotomy, “maaDi” in Kannada is ambiguous between plural imperative and past verbal participle. A tagger needs to resolve such ambiguity through context. However, there is no need to consider those distinctions which are entirely within the scope of syntax. For example, syntax allows, as a general, universal rule, that nouns can act as adjectival modifiers. This rule is very much a part of any syntactic system. Hence, a tagger need not tag a noun as an adjective because of its function. This is unnecessary and it adds to the complexity of machine learning (Kavi Narayana Murthy, p.c.).

This view asserts that ambiguity arising out of form needs to be disambiguated at POS level provided there are no syntactic rules to account for its function. In other words, POS tagging is primarily based on form, and function is a secondary concern of tagging to be carried out as a last resort for disambiguation.

3. Granularity: Coarse Vs. Fine

The one of the important concerns in developing a tagset for a language is granularity - coarseness and fineness. They refer to the broad annotation and the finer annotation, respectively of any grammatical category. The aim of the corpus annotation is to maximise information content so that the tagged corpus can be used for a variety of applications. But as a matter of fact, the applications are not known in advance, hence, the level of linguistic annotation required is also unknown. The general corpus developers, as a principle, prefer to maximise linguistic enrichment by designing tagset in such a way that the annotation can be customised according to the needs of the application.

However, in POS tagset design, there are two schemes for granularity. The coarse annotation has far less number of tags than the fine grained annotation, and aids in higher accuracy in the course of manual tagging and in efficient machine learning. Despite such advantages, the coarse grained POS tagset is of less use as it does not capture much relevant information on POS. On the other hand, a finer annotation provide a very large number of information but also leads to create a problem for automatic tagging as it maximises tag options for a given token leading to computational complexity.

In view of the above mentioned advantages and disadvantages of the schemes, an ideal POS tagset design makes a subtle balance for POS annotation. However, it is important to remember that all linguistic information cannot be annotated at the POS level as well as all other linguistic information cannot be recovered from other levels of annotation. As a rule of thumb, it is imperative to capture optimal information at this level of annotation. In other words, POS design has to be such that coarse as well as fine information is retrieved as per the needs of the application.

In this context of granularity, the hierarchical architecture provides an edge over the flat architecture as it allows to modularise information accordingly. This is usually conceived along the levels of hierarchy - deeper the level, finer the features are encoded. On the other hand, flat may be too coarse or too finer or may lose relevant information in the POS tagged corpus.

The Text Analytics and Natural Language Processing ( Tanl) tagset (Attardi & Simi (Ms)) used for the EVALITA09 POS tagging is one such tagset designed for both coarse and fine grained annotation. It consists of 328 tags, and provides three levels of POS tags: coarse-grain, fine-grain and morphed tags. The coarse-grain tags consist of the 14 categories, the fine-grain tags have 36 tags like indefinite pronoun, personal pronoun, possessive pronoun, interrogative pronoun and relative pronoun among pronoun, and the morphed tags consist of 328 categories, which include morphological information like person, number, gender, tense, mode, and clitic.

4. Orthographic Conventions

One of the major issues that one faces in designing a tagset is to account orthographic practices that are beyond the known linguistic principles of categorisation. It is a known linguistic fact that a single token need not necessarily express meaning but rather a group of tokens. Such linguistic unit has come to known as multi token word (MTW) (also commonly known as multiword expression in computational literature). For example, a complex postposition in Hindi, के लिए collectively expresses a single meaning of "benefaction/purposive" (as a case marker). In isolation, के is a masculine genitive case marker and लिए has no semantic content. Ideally, therefore, के लिए can be tagged in one of the three ways:

(4) के\ and लिए\ as two separate POS labels (though tag for लिए is an issue).

(5) [के\ लिए\]\ as a single complex postposition with two different POS labels.

(6) [के लिए]\ as a complex but a single POS label.

It is one of the major decisions that a tagset designing has to take firmly regarding POS labelling to different tokens of a single lexical word. It is often the case that such issues are tagged ad hoc/arbitrarily at the POS level annotation, and are resolved at the higher level like local token grouping/chunking where a group of tokens is assigned a single tag.

Apart from MTW, contractions pose as a major issue with respect to token and linguistic annotation. Contrary to MTW, contractions are those orthographic forms that are shortened than the usual form reflecting the spoken form yet it partially retains the usual orthographic form. For example in Nepali, भा'थ्यो or भा'-थ्यो is contracted form of भएको थियो. The contracted form भा is a contraction of a participial भएको which is different from a dubitative particle भा. Similarly, थ्यो is a contracted form of थियो.

There are two known approaches to tackle this orthographic convention. The first approach considers the form as an orthographic convention reflecting a spoken form of two known distinct tokens. Therefore, the contracted forms are pre-processed, and tokenised as two separate tokens after separating punctuation markers from these tokens and tagged accordingly. To illustrate the case mentioned above, भा will be tagged as a participial and थ्यो as a verb assuming them to be an alternative orthographic form of their respective category. Alternately, the contracted form is considered as a single token reflecting to a linguistic reality in the mind of the speaker/author. In accordance with the language use the token is tagged.

5. Computational Complexity

One of the important functions of POS tagging is to resolve category level ambiguity. Paradoxically, in practice, there remain many issues where ambiguity remains unresolved or partially resolved even after POS tagging, and becomes a source of ambiguity for further processing. In this context, it is important to remember that the ambiguities are related with token-tag rather than semantic or structural ambiguity.

One of the most common examples to cite is about case syncretism, where the same form of marker is used for different case markers. For example, Hindi dative and accusative case markers have a similar phonetic/orthographic form as को. In a form based approach, let’s assume that को is assigned dative consistently irrespective of linguistic context in which it is accusative. In the process, this results in a loss of linguistic information that को is also an accusative case marker in Hindi. This approach, however, facilitates an ease for machine learning algorithm to POS tag but the resultant output has a loss of relevant linguistic information. Though, such an approach solves an issue ad hoc at the POS level annotation, its result needs to be recategorised and reassign the appropriate tag in association with other levels of annotation like semantic tagging in order to regain the lost linguistic information which is significant for higher level processing.

In a function based approach, though it demands annotator to distinguish each case and tag accordingly which in turn adds cognitive load to the annotator (see section 5.6), each linguistic information is tagged appropriately despite similar forms. However, for machine, it is a more difficult task to distinguish POS tags, technically to disambiguate, as there is no linguistic supplement to distinguish the two (Bhat & Richa (ms.) for detailed discussion on the issue). Thus, a system requires other tools and techniques to disambiguate it adding to computational complexity.

As a matter of fact, these approaches is a tug-of-war between detailed linguistic tagging and an ease for cognitive load to the annotator or/and subsequent automatic tagging. In an ideal tagging scheme, these two aspects are balanced finely so that it remains optimal with respect to the design scheme and the various processes both at the manual as well as at the machine level. Therefore, it is imperative to validate POS tagset at, and across various NLP processes in order to achieve computational as well as manual optimality.

6. Cognitive Load on Annotator

One of the major objectives of corpus linguistics is to design tagger which minimises human labour for annotating the text. Such automatic tagger, however, requires linguistic knowledge. Ideally an automatic tagger is “trained” by giving it the results of a manually annotated corpus, also called "training corpus." It is on the basis of "training corpus," the automatic tagger gains linguistic knowledge in association with machine learning techniques.

With respect to POS tagging, automatic tagger is trained to acquire knowledge to establish a tag-token relationship. The tagger acquires this knowledge from "training corpus", which is manually POS annotated. This, in turn, establishes a work flow that manual annotation forms the backbone of all kinds of annotation for NLP tasks.

With the given importance of manual annotation, and of POS annotation specifically for NLP tasks, it is important to ensure that manual POS annotation has zero-error. Since manual tagging is a tedious process, it is always desirable to reduce tagging load on the annotator to ensure such a standard. It is desirable that the annotation process is simple, intuitive, easier, and makes feel-good so that the cognitive load on the annotator is reduced to maximum limit. The first most requisite is to make the user comfortable with the GUI based tool. The look and feel of the tool can be customised according to the user so that it can set to an environment in which the user would like to work comfortably.

To reduce cognitive load on the annotator, the tool can be designed in such a way that it reduces number of human annotation interference which in consequence aims to minimise human error in tagging. For example, in Nepali, Direct Case has "0" value for Case Marker, and Oblique takes morphological Case Marker as given in values. The tool needs to be programmed in accordance with the linguistic facts such that value assignment for Direct Case takes automatically whereas for Oblique, the value assignment will be carried out manually. As a consequence of such filtering program, chances of error with respect to Direct Case are reduced. The tool, therefore, needs to be flexible enough to be customised with filters to accommodate language specific tagging facts while tagging data from many languages.

It is also desirable to facilitate annotation of finite list of items automatically. For example, punctuation markers are finite, and the tool can be designed to tag them automatically reducing iteration that otherwise a manual annotator has to carry out.

The developments and incorporation of such heuristic as well as linguistic facts into the tool primarily based on POS tagset can provide an impetus to ease off cognitive load on the annotator to ensure zero-error standard.

POS Annotation Vis-A-Vis Corpus Annotation

2010-11-21T19:34:00.001+05:30

Annotation is a process of ascribing grammatical categories to token/word of a corpus. Prior to corpus annotation, Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) makes annotation of corpus reader friendly and suggests universal grammatical categories for annotations enabling corpora to be stored and transferred. Moreover, TEI uses Standard Generalised Mark-up Language (SGML), an ISO-standard 8879 technology for defining generalised mark-up languages for documents, for text encoding and annotation purpose, and more recently XML has been adopted. This enables to encode any textual resource, in a manner that is hardware, software, and application independent.

Leech (1993) describes seven maxims for annotation of text corpora:

Reversibility: Annotation should be removable and the annotated corpus can be reverted back to raw corpus.
Extractibilty: Annotations should be able to be separated from the corpus text.
Reader Friendliness: Annotation has to be such that it is reader friendly.
Maker Explicitness: Manual as well as automatic tagging should make difference to the corpus user.
Potentiality: Annotation is a potential representation rather than absolute representation.
Mentality: Annotation should be theory independent.
Non-Standardness: None of the annotation scheme is regarded as the a priori standard. Standards emerge through practical consensus, and the set of corpus tags will, very likely, be revised many times during the course, in order to find an optimal set for each language.

As a design measure of POS tagset, it is widely accepted that the POS tagset will not include any derivational, etymological, syntactic, semantic or discourse information (Hardie 2003). However, composition of tags does have its significance in annotation. Leech (1997) suggests the following criteria for labelling tag:

Conciseness: It is more convenient to use concise label than verbose, lengthy ones. For example, "mas" rather than masculine.
Perspicuity: Interpretable labels are more user friendly than which cannot. Cloeren (1999) writes, "For reasons of readability there is a preference for mnemonic tags. Full-length names may be clearer individually, but make the annotated text virtually unreadable." For example, "NMZ" is more easily interpreted as nominaliser than "NML".
Analysability: Decomposed labels are friendly to human annotator as well as machine.
Compositionality: A tag needs to be logically composed as a string of symbols representing levels of taxonomic categories. For example, a tag NC.mas.sg.dir.0.n.n in Hindi is for Category Noun, Type Common, and Attributes Gender, Number, Case, Case Marker, Distributive and Honorificity along with its valuation.

Leech & Smith (1990: 27) point out that syntactic parsing is arguably the central task of NLP, and POS tagging, being a prerequisite to parsing, is "the most central area of corpus processing.” Though POS tag has a limited scope of syntactic disambiguation, it shares a network of relationship with various other intermediate tasks in constructing an optimal system. In the architecture of corpus annotation, different levels of annotation feed POS tagging, and vice-versa. POS tagging being a mid level NLP process, ideally it can and should make use of lexical level processes and should yield results that are desired for the syntactic parsing. Therefore, both these processes are to be considered in designing POS tagsets.

Bharati et al. (2006) among others, show that features from Morph Analyser can be used for enhancing the performance of a POS tagger. Infact, they argue that Morph Analyser itself can identify the parts of speech in most of the cases, and a POS tagger can be used to disambiguate the multiple answers provided by Morph Analyser. In retaliation, POS tagged data is used for other higher level processes like chunking, parsing, etc.

Similar view on POS tagging is expressed by Kavi Narayana Murthy (p.c.), who considers POS annotation as a mid level process depending on lexical level annotation and processes. In his view, Lexicon, in a sense, can be considered a tagger that it tags root forms of words/lemmata with 'all possible' tags. Morpho Analyser deals with inflected and/or derived forms of words and assign ‘all possible tags' to all valid forms of all valid words in a given language. Given this, a tagger that tags words/tokens in a running text can be viewed as a disambiguater rather than as an assigner of tags. All possible tags have already been assigned by the Lexicon/Morph Analyser and the task of POS level annotation is only to eliminate or at least reduce ambiguities if any. Further, he opines that this approach to POS tagging has several advantages:

Impossible tags are never assigned.
Words which have only one possible tag need not even be considered, only ambiguous cases need to be considered by the tagger.
The degree and nature of ambiguities can be studied, both at the root word level (from the Lexicon) and at the running text level (from a tagged corpus).
All types of ambiguities are not of the same nature. Therefore, different strategies can be formulated to handle them. For example, some kinds of ambiguities are easily solved using local context while others may inherently need long distance dependencies to be considered.
In the context of Indian languages, he emphasises that Indian languages are morphologically very rich and a Morph Analyser is the most essential component for processing which can substantially reduce the ambiguities at the Lexicon though it can also introduce some ambiguities of its own. But the ambiguities introduced by the Morph Analyser are always uniform and fully rule governed. This helps us to design a judicious combination of linguistic (rule based/knowledge based) and statistical/machine-learning approaches.

[From: Mallikarjun, B, Yoonus, M. Sinha, Samar & A, Vadivel. 2010. Indian Languages and Part-of-Speech Annotation. Mysore: Linguistic Data Consortium for Indian Language: pp. 2-4. ISBN-81-7342-197-8]

POS Annotation

2010-11-21T19:19:00.004+05:30

The ultimate goal of research on Natural Language Processing (henceforth, NLP) is to understand human language, and to facilitate human-machine interaction through human, natural language (weak AI) and to model theory of mind (strong AI). To achieve such a Promethean mission, research on NLP has focussed on various intermediate tasks that make partial sense of language structure without requiring complete understanding; consequently, contributing in developing a successful system. Part-of-Speech (henceforth, POS) tagging is one such task.

In corpus linguistics, POS tagging, also called grammatical tagging or word-category disambiguation, is a classification system, a process of marking up the words in a text corpus as corresponding to particular parts of speech, based on both its definition, as well as its context i.e., relationship with adjacent and related words in a phrase, clause, or sentence. It is the most common form of corpus annotation and is widely accepted as the first stage of a more comprehensive syntactic annotation. It serves wide number of applications like speech synthesis and recognition, information extraction, partial parsing, machine translation, lexicography, etc., to name a few.

However, it is important to remember that POS tag is different from parts of speech label (as understood in general parlance). The latter captures the basic grammatical category of word/token in a given language without any specific information about its morphosyntactic content and about punctuation markers. On the other hand, POS tag is annotation of word/token in its entirety following the writing convention that a language/script/orthography follows which includes punctuations and other conventions followed in the writing. Hence, it needs to accommodate many non-linguistic but writing convention based issues too.

As a process, POS tagging assigns a tag to a specific unit of natural language text. Hence, the text to be tagged is first passed through a tokeniser which applies various formatting rules to divide the text into tokens, a unit of written material divided by white space.

At a formal level of description, POS tagging can be stated as in (1), where a sequence of tokens W= w1...wn corresponds to a sequence of tags T=t1...tn, drawn from a set of tags {T}.

(1) S = argmax P (t1...tn | w1...wn) (Dandapat 2008: 4)

t1...tn

This description (1) implies that the input to the tagger is a whole sentence and the output is a whole sequence of tags. Such formalisation also assumes that tagging is an independent process, independent of the dictionary and morphology. The task is to assign tags. It is possible that a word/token is tagged with a category which is not at all possible. For example, "in" can be tagged as a verb by a POS tagger. However, it explicates that a token is given a tag in context of the adjacent tokens, and has no relationship between a token and a tag based on the morphosyntactic cues of the former. On the other hand, tagsets are designed to capture finer morphosyntactic details; consequently, a large number of tags are devised as a relationship between a token and a tag without any dependence on the former's contextual position. Under such criteria, POS tagging can be stated as,

(2) S = argmax P (t | w) (Kavi Narayana Murthy, p.c.)

On the other hand, a large of POS tagset is designed to annotate based both form and function of a token in a given clause/sentence. Consequently, such tagging is neither solely based on form nor on function, and can be formally expressed as,

(3) S = argmax P (ti | w1...wi...wn) (Kavi Narayana Murthy, p.c.)

t1...tn

The basic requirement for POS tagging is a POS tagset, a tagging scheme, practical definitions of each tag and tag elements with words and contexts where each tag and tag elements applies. For manual annotation, it requires graphical user interface (GUI) based annotation tool designed to assign tags from a specific tagset. At the level of automatic tagging, a tagger, a program for assigning a tag to each token in the corpus, implementing the tagset and tagging scheme in a tag assignment algorithm is required. Ideally an automatic tagger is “trained” by giving it the results of a manually annotated corpus. The tagger then tags unknown text corpora from a set of rules or of a statistical analysis of the results of the manually tagged corpus. There are large numbers of methods, techniques and free/open source tools available for automatic tagging (visit http://www-nlp.stanford.edu/links/statnlp.html#Taggers).

Glossary

Ambiguity: In computational linguistics, ambiguity refers to a state where there is a choice of tag to a given token.

Annotation Tool: A tool used for tagging.

Decomposable: A tag is known as decomposable if the string representing the tag contains one or more shorter sub-strings that are meaningful out of the context of the original tag. It is a desirable feature of the hierarchical tagset.

Hierarchical: The term “hierarchical”, when used of a tagset, means that the categories in that tagset are structured relative to one another. Rather than a large number of independent categories, a hierarchical tagset will contain a small number of categories, each of which contains a number of sub-categories, each of which may contain sub-sub-categories, and so on, in a tree-like structure (Hardie 2003: 48).

Lexicon: A list of possible tags for the root forms of all the valid words in a given language.

Local Token Grouping: A group of tokens that form part of a single linguistic word.

Morph Analyser: A tool that splits a given word into its constituent morphemes and identifies their corresponding grammatical categories.

Multi Token Word: It refers to a collection of separate tokens which is a single lexical expression in a language though written separately and independently these tokens may have an independent meaning or nonce but other than as a single lexical expression.

Part-of-speech: Categories [that] group lexical items which perform similar grammatical functions (Greene & Rubin 1971: 3).

POS Tag: A POS label given to a token (optionally along with its morphosyntactic attributes).

Pre-processing: A process of normalisation of text before tokenisation.

Tag element: It is a part of a tag which provides information about individual elements that makes up a tag. Prototypically, it includes Type and other morpho-syntactic Attributes.

Tagset: A set of defined tags. A set of word categories to be applied to the word tokens of a text (Hardie 2003).

Tagging: The process of assigning a tag to a token. Also known as annotation.

Token: A printed item separated by white space.

Training corpus: A manually annotated corpus on which automatic or semi automatic tagger is trained to acquire linguistic knowledge.

Underspecification: A lack of feature in a given tagset in comparison with another tagset.

Darjeeling Photos 102010

2010-10-25T22:01:00.003+05:30


सूर्यास्त पछिको एक क्षण

A moment after sun set as seen from Rangbull during dashain. Pic from the verandah at Rangbull home.


धान बारी

Paddy field before harvest at Bong Busty, Kalimpong.


धानको बाला

A ripening stalk of paddy at Bong Busty, Kalimpong.


रुख टमाटर

An egg-shaped native Latin American edible fruit Tamarillo (Solanum betaceum (syn. Cyphomandra betacea)) at Rangbull.

पारी भित्तामा घाम-छायाँ

The play of the rays of the rising sun and shadow on the Pokhrebong and the Mirik ranges. Pic from Rangbull home.

काराङ-किरिङ बाटो र खोला

A winding tea garden road at Raney and the Balasun and her tributaries in the foothills. Pic from Rani Kup, Kurseong.


नेभाराको पात पछिको दृश्य

A view of Namchi where the statue of Guru Rinpoche, the patron saint of Sikkim is erected. Pic from Lopchu.

हरियो गोदावरी

A green chrysanthemum plant grown by my maila mama at Rangbull.

हाम्रो घर, रुख-पात माझमा

A view of my home at Rangbull which is 100 steps down from NH 55.

टाइगर हिल, दार्जीलिङ्ग

A view of the Tiger Hill at dusk from Bhotay Busty, Darjeeling.

नीलो पहाड़ र नीलै बादल, एक साझँमा

A view from Bhotay Busty, Darjeeling on an autumn evening.

Mysore Photo 092010

2010-09-25T22:05:00.003+05:30

सीता हरण
A lump of monsoon clouds brings an image to my mind as titled. Pic. at Mysore Palace

वर्ण मन्थन-गन्थन

2010-09-25T12:05:00.011+05:30

A causerie on churning of speech sounds

Speech (वाक) and sign (सङ्केत) (of the Deaf) are the two basic manifestations of language (भाषा). People know how to speak/sign is as instinctive as spiders know how to spin webs even though both the manifestations are of transitory nature. On the other hand, writing (लेखाई) is an artifact – a significant cultural accomplishment designed to capture and record the transitory nature of speech.

Acknowledging this transitory nature of speech, shiksha (शिक्षा meaning phonetics), one of the six vedanga (lit. 'limbs of the Vedas') under the purview of linguistics in the Indian grammatical tradition, was intended for proper pronunciation of the sacred text (Cardona 1994). In the similar spirit, the Brahmi script and its derivatives like Devanagari, Sarada, Gurumukhi, Bangla, Assamese, Grantha, Kannada, Malayalam, etc. collectively called the Indic scripts, were primarily based on articulatory phonetics, and the units of orthography were designed to exhibit one to one correspondence with the speech sounds (see Murthy 2006: 273). This shows that there is a systematic relationship to language and has a systematic internal organisation. In other words, it follows certain principles and rules which qualifies to be called grammar, or grammar at the level of scripts. Panini's Shiva Sutra is one such formalisation of the Sanskrit language which Kiparsky (1991) refers to as an akshar-samamnaya, an ennumeration, exhaustive listing of sounds of Sanskrit.

1. Writing system and Orthography

In the study of writing, writing system refers to a set of visible or tactile signs used to represent units of language in a systematic way (Coulmas 1999: 560). These signs are individually termed 'character' (the Unicode Standards 4 includes letter, diacritic, numeral, punctutation, technical notation) and collectively called a script (लिपी). A single language may utilise several scripts. For example, Nepali can be written in the Devanagari script as well as in the Roman script as we do in sms. However, we follow at least one set of rules and conventions for using script in a particular language which is understood and shared by a community. A set of rules which defines the set of signs used, and the rules about how to write these signs including punctuation and spelling is called orthography (lit. 'correct writing') (वर्णविन्यास in Nepali).

The Nagari or Devanagari is used to write many languages of the Indian sub-continent viz. Hindi, Marathi, Bodo, Konkani, Sanskrit and Nepali. Though these languages share a single script, their orthography is different from each other. To cite an illustration, at the level of speech sounds Marathi has ळ and Nepali does not have. In other words, each language uses a subset of the Devanagari, and form their respective orthography. Similarly, Hindi case markers are written separately with nouns like राम ने but conjoined with pronouns like उसको whereas Nepali case markers are attached in the both as चामेले, उसलाई. Interestingly, a document entitled 'Sikkim Debt Law of 1910' shows, in the past, case markers with Nepali nouns were written separately.

2. Devanagari: Principles & Organisation

The Devanagari script is based on phonetic principles which consider both place and manner of articulation of the speech sounds (Bright 1996: 384). In the context of writing, the written form of these speech sounds are called (lit. 'letters representing modulation of voice'), and the systematic arrangement of the वर्ण is usually referred to as (lit. 'garland of letters'). However, in the Indian grammatical tradition, varna-samamnaya (as in TaittirÁya-PrÀtiÌÀkhya) and akshar-samamnaya are often used as near synonyms though they belong to the different knowledge domains (Kapoor 2007: 6 fn. 34). Vishnumitra-Vritti on the Rig Veda Pratisakhya uses the term mala (ibid.).

वर्णमाला is organised broadly on the basis of vowels (स्वर lit. 'voice') and consonants (व्यञ्जन lit. 'embellishment'), and the series of vowels and consonants is called स्वर वर्ण and व्यञ्जन वर्ण, respectively. The canonical order of स्वर वर्ण proceeds from short vowel (ह्रस्व स्वर) to the corresponding long vowel (दीर्घ स्वर) followed by diphthongs (संयुक्त स्वर/द्विस्वर). The names of vowels consist of their sounds sometimes followed by कर (lit. 'maker'); thus अ is called अ-कर (ibid.). It is interesting to note that the Devanagari vowels other than अ following a consonant are written with मात्रा corresponding to each vowel like पा, पि, etc. In other words, compositionally पा is made up of प् + आ, and पि is made up of प् + इ.

व्यञ्जन वर्ण is primarily based on the place of articulation (उच्चारण-स्थान). Further, speech sounds are organised on the basis of manner (प्रयत्न) – stops (स्पर्श), nasal (नासिक्य), approximant (अन्त:स्थ), fricative (उष्म/संघर्षी); voicing (घोषत्व - घोष/अघोष) and aspiration (प्राणत्व - अल्पप्राण/महाप्राण).

The series of speech sounds belonging to स्पर्श and नासिक्य (lit. 'pertaining to the nose') (collectively called occlusives) are organised into वर्ग (lit. 'class') on the basis of their symmetric articulatory phonetic properties, and each वर्ग is usually known by the initial letter of the particular वर्ग of the वर्णमाला. Such types of व्यञ्जन is called वर्गीय व्यञ्जन.

The fundamental principle of the Devanagari script is that each consonant carries an inherent schwa vowel (अमूर्त/निरपेक्ष स्वर) अ. This principle is graphically represented by a verti-bar called कन in all the consonants like क, ग, ट, etc. with an exception of र. To illustrate an example, प्‍ + अ = प.

Apart from the वर्ण, there is a group of characters which is collectively called diacritic (उपचिन्ह). In the articulation of speech sounds, it is observed that the initial nasal sound is assimilated to the following sound sharing the same place of articulation. This kind of regressive assimilation is called nasal homorganicity. Since, the Devanagari is based on the articulation of the speech sounds it is a convention following which the respective nasal of the each वर्ग is used. However, when followed by अवर्गीय व्यञ्जन – य र ल व श ष स ह, it is अनुस्वर (lit. ‘after-sound’) <ं> (शिर बिन्दु in Nepali). The following examples illustrates nasal homorganicity.

ङ in क-वर्ग : अङ्क

ञ in च-वर्ग : कञ्चन

ण in ट-वर्ग : कण्ठ

न in त-वर्ग : अन्त

म in प-वर्ग : चुम्बक

<ं> in अवर्गीय व्यञ्जन : वंश

The Devanagari स्वर वर्ण is inherently oral in nature; however, it can undergo nasalisation and consequently result into nasalised vowels. अनुनासिक ('after-nasalisation') (popularly चन्द्रबिन्दु in Nepali) <ँ> is used to represent nasalised vowel (अनुनासिक स्वर), like अ as अँ. विसर्ग (lit. 'discharge') < : > is used to represent non-syllabic ह. Since, अनुस्वर, अनुनासिक and विसर्ग are not pronounced independently and their pronunciation is dependent upon another sound, they are collectively known as अयोगवाह (lit. 'formed in union with') in Sanskrit.

An additional diacritic, a subscribed dot, which is popularly nowadays known as तल थोप्ली/थोप्ली (in Nepali; Hindi equivalent is नुक्ता (from Arabic 'point')) is used for similar sounds to an existing character. Such convention is also found in Classical Sanskrit like य and य़ (see Cardona 2003). अवग्रह < ऽ > is used to indicate elision or coalescence of a vowel as a result of sandhi like सदाऽऽत्मा (lit. 'the self, always') from सदा + आत्मा.

हलन्त (Sanskrit विराम lit. 'termination, end') is employed in order to cancel or silence the inherent vowel of a consonant, and represents a consonant without a vowel. It is a slanting stroke drawn at bottom right of a consonant to be precise at कन <्>, resulting प् as प्‍ .

In the case where the inherent vowel is obliterated, consonants are conjoined together; and such conjuncts are called ligature (संयुक्त अक्षर). Some of these ligatures take a distinct graphical representation called glyph like क् + ष = क्ष; others follow linear expansion as in त् + व = त्व; र् + य = र्‍य (an eye-lash र /परेली-र in Nepali), and some other follow vertical stacking like ट् + र = ट् ; क् + र = क्र; र +् + क = र्क (superscribed hook is called रेफ in Nepali).

The Devanagari is written from left to right, and is recognizable by a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the letters, called headstroke (डिको in Nepali), that links them together as a word/token.

3. Akshar

In the Indian philosophy, akshar is a conceptually ladened term. Akshar (masculine neuter in Sanskrit) originally refers to syllable. In its application to writing – Akshar (अक्षर = अ‌‌ + क्षरmeaning indelible) is a group of one or more glyphs (of characters) that form one unit in writing or printing (Bhaskararao 2003: 388). It is directly related to glyph, and understood to have obligatory vowel ending (Salomon 2003: 70). Moreover, it is interesting to note that diacritics like अनुस्वर, अनुनासिक, विसर्ग, अवग्रह and हलन्त are not a separate akshar but a part of an akshar to which it is a diacritic in the Devanagari. It is often referred as graphic syllable although it does not necessarily share one-to-one correspondence with phonetic syllable as shown below. It is, hence, inappropriate to equate akshar with syllable (Sproat 2000: 45).

Glyph string: अस्त्र

Character string: अ + स ‌+ ् + त ‌+ ्+ र

Akshar: अ – स्त्र

Syllable: as-tra (slightly adapted from Bhaskararao 2003: 388)

In the Indian grammatical tradition, the akshars that are listed in the varnamala are called mulakshar. The Classical Sanskrit varnamala has twelve mulakshar belonging to the स्वर वर्ण; and a series of व्यञ्जन mulakshars with the matras came to be known as बाह्रखड़ी, which is derived from barhaakshari (lit. 'twelve akshars'). It is important to note that बाह्रखड़ी is specific to the Classical Sanskrit varnamala though nowadays it is generically used as a term for consonant-matra combination for all other varnamalas too.

Devanagari as a writing system follows akshar system (Salomon 2003: 71) opposed to other systems like alphabetic, abjad, syllabary, alpha-syllabary (Bright 1996), logographic, even to abugida (Daniels 1996; see Bhaskararao 2003 for opposing view). It is worth to note that one of the motivating factors behind the akshar system of writing was to aid in memorisation, recitation, and reproduction of orally preserved texts. Hence, akshar is not only a psychological and perceptual unit of the Indic writing system, but also a basis of grammar at the level of script.

4. Devanagari and Orthographies

Salomon (2003: 75) writes that “Nagari script as used for Sanskrit serves as the prototype for its application, with minor variations or additions, to other languages.” This explains the fact that despite having the same script, the respective orthography of Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Bodo, Konkani, Dogri and Nepali are different from each other. The changes in the respective orthography are due to the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of speech sound specific to a language.

A sketch of main characteristics of the Sanskrit, Hindi Marathi, Bodo and Dogri orthographies are highlighted in a nutshell. Sanskrit shows the full range of characters several of which did not surface in other languages later. It has 13 vowels and 33 consonants; and ॡ , though not a phoneme of Sanskrit, is included to maintain short-long vowel symmetry (Salomon 2003: 75). ळ and ळ्ह which are allophones of ड and ढ, respectively in intervocalic position are also part of the varnamala of Vedic Sanskrit (ibid.).

Salomon (2003: 75) observes that in Hindi, ॠ, ऌ and ॡ are omited; न, ञ, ण and ष are retained in the varnamala but only for the tatsams, and ड़ and ढ़ are added using नुक्ता for similar sounds from other languages to an existing character. In the course of time, to accommodate Arabic and Persian borrowings in Hindi, नुक्ता has gained prominence; and क़, ख़, ग़, ज़, फ़ are a part of the Hindi orthography. On the use of diacritics in Hindi, Shapiro (2003: 257-258) mentions inconsistencies/interchangeability in the use of अनुस्वर andअनुनासिक. Marathi, as followed in Hindi, excludes ॠ, ऌ and ॡ, but retains ळ of Vedic Sanskrit. In common parlance, it is now identified as “Marathi ल”. It has an eye-lash र as a glyph.

As recently as 1976, Bodo, a Tibeto-Burman tonal language with 6 vowels and 16 consonants, has adapted the Devanagari as its main script (Baro 1996, 1990/2007). The Bodo orthography has < ' > as अ's matra, and ओ is used for unrounded back vowel. However, tone (तान) is not marked, therefore, at the level of the present day orthography, जा is ambiguous between 'to eat' and 'to be', which are, otherwise, distinct high tone and low tone, respectively (Bridul Basumatary, p. c.). Dogri, a tonal Indo-Aryan language, has घ, झ, ढ, ध, भ, ढ़ in its orthography but they are not pronounced. As matter of fact, they are substituted by tonal difference. सुर चिन्ह < ' > is used to mark high falling tone in Dogri orthography (Sunil Kumar, p.c.).

5. Nepali Orthography

The earliest evidence that shows Nepali written in the Devanagari is anonymous बाज परीक्षा which dates back to 943 A.D. (Pokhrel: 2043 B.S.). For all these centuries, it has remained as the main script to write Nepali. However, with the advent of publication of Nepali grammar and text books, there are consistent inconsistencies in the Nepali orthography, particularly varnamala. In the most significant linguistic documentation of Indian languages, the Linguistic Survey of India (1891-1927), Grierson (1927) makes reference to the Nagari script but does not document Nepali varnamala. Interestingly, he notes (ibid.: 21), “[T]he only peculiarity which occurs is the occasional use of the dots, thus < ^..> instead of <ँ> , as the sign of Anunasika or nasalisation” (< > is mine). Similar observation is also made by Pandit (2051 B.S.: 3) (see Appendix I). A corpus study by Acharya (1991: 70) mentions inconsistencies regarding use of अनुस्वर andअनुनासिक in Nepali. A well known dictionary, नेपाली वृहत् शब्दकोष (1983: 19-21) acknowledges the lack of standardisation of the Nepali orthography, and points towards different issues and debates (see Clark 1969). A brief cursory survey of the Nepali varnas and their वर्णक्रम in the वर्णमाला exemplifies this very fact.

To summarise, Table 4 shows that नेपाली स्वर वर्ण ranges between 16 to 6, and there are 7 types of स्वर वर्णक्रम. Table 5 similarly, shows a range of 39 to 26 व्यञ्जन वर्ण, and 9 types of व्यञ्जन वर्णक्रम (see Appendix II).

6. Aftermath

Though one can safely attribute the paradox to tradition, convention and approach (see Acharya 1991: 63-64), the existing observed variations and the lack of the Nepali varnamala have actually opened the Pandora's box. Among other consequences; in the realm of pedagogy as in actual practice – Nepali learners following different text books will never end up learning the same Nepali varnamala. Similarly, the need of a the Nepali varnamala has a relevance in developing the script grammar of the Nepali language to meet the demands of the modern day technological advancement and its use in the emerging domains of language use.

At another level, in the Indian context, it is not just a distinct script which is a part of a language's identity – Perso-Arabic and Devanagari for Urdu and Hindi, respectively, (see Masica 1991: 144); but also orthography as witnessed in Hindi and Marathi despite having the same script. It is in this context, it is imperative to mention that orthography contributes in a high degree to the formation of a sense of solidarity and to formation of ethno-linguistic consciousness. Hence as an effort towards carving a distinct orthographic identity, Nepali is a language worthy to possess its own varnamala as well as the Nepali varnamala apart from its spelling system (see Turner 1931: xvii). Finally, a spoiler – the ideology, tradition, convention, trend and approach behind the (above mentioned) Nepali varnamalas and the contemporary cleavages, claims and contentions regarding the Nepali orthography, which certainly needs further investigation, is a part of a sequel.

Appendix I

The following available texts are used (as numerically listed in the tables 4 and 5):

Ayton, Jas Alex. 1820. A Grammar of the Népalese Language. Calcutta.
Turnbull, A. 1923 (1982 3^rd edn.). Nepali Grammar and Vocabulary. New Delhi: Asian Academic Services.
Pradhan, Parasmani & Pradhan, Rudramani. 1970. नयाँ साउँ अक्षर. Calcutta; Macmillan & Company.
Sharma, Radhakrishna. 1981. नेपाली सरल पाठ. Gangtok: Education Directorate, Govt. of Sikkim.
Sinha, Gokul. 1983 (2^nd edn). सरल नेपाली. Sonada, Darjeeling: Ramesh Bandhu Prakashan.
1985 (11^th edn.) माध्मिक नेपाली व्याकरण र रचना. Gangtok: Rashtriya Pustak Prakashan.
Pradhan, Bhai Chand & Pradhan, Manbahadur. 1987 (2^ndedn.). सुगम नेपाली व्याकरण र निबन्ध रचना. Kalimpong: D. P. Upasak & Sons.
Sigdel, Somnath. 2050 B.S./1993 A.D. (23^rd edn.). मध्यचन्द्रिका. Kathmandu: Sajha Prakashan.
Pandit, Gururaj Hemraj. 2051 B.S. /1994 A.D. (2^nd edn.). चन्द्रिका. Kathmandu: Sajha Prakashan.
Acharya, Jayaraj. 1991. A Descriptive Grammar of Nepali and an Analyzed Corpus. Washington, DC : Georgetown University Press.
Yonjon, Nainasingh. 2002. शिशुपाठ प्रथम भाग. Darjeeling: Shyam Prakashan.
Hutt, Michael & Subedi, Abhi. 2003. Teach Yourself Nepali. A complete course in understanding, speaking and writing Nepali. London: Hodder Headline.
Upadhyay, Tarapati & Upadhyay, Dron Kumar. 2005. आदर्श नेपाली व्याकरण. Udalguri, Assam.
Kumari, Shyamala B. & Sinha, Gokul. 2005. An Intensive Course in Nepali. Mysore: CIIL.
Nepal, Ghanashyam & Lama, Kavita. 2006. उच्च माध्मिक नेपाली व्याकरण र रचना. Siliguri: Ekta Book House.
Nepal, Ghanashyam & Parajuli, Pushkar. 2007. माध्मिक नेपाली व्याकरण र रचना. Siliguri: Ekta Book House.
Sarma, Khagen et al. (eds.). 2008. हाम्रो भाषा. Assam: Nepali Academic Council.
(Year of publication not available). हाम्रो वर्णमाला. Darjeeling: Shyam Prakashan.
Nepal, Ghanashyam & Rai, Jeena. (in press). नेपाली सरल व्याकरण. Siliguri: Ekta Book House.
Sharma, Shivraj.2009. भाषावैज्ञानिक परिचय: नेपाली वर्णमालाका वर्णहरू र मेरा अन्य लेख. Darjeeling: Sriraj Prakashan

Appendix II

Native Nepali terminology of स्वरवर्ण-मात्रा (Sharma 2009: 7-11).

अ साँउ अक्षर

आ कान्नानी/कान्दानी

इ बाइमात्रा

ई दाइँमात्रा

उ तलकुरे/तर्कुल्ले उ

ऊ बर्धने ऊ

ऋ रिकार

ए एकलख/एकखुट्टे ए

ऐ दोलख ऐ

ओ लखकानो ओ

औ दोलखकन्ना औ

अं शिरबिन्दे

आँ चन्द्रबिन्दे

अ: दबासबिन्दे

A popular Nepali Varnamala rendition (from Sarma et al. 2008) among others.

कपुरी क

खरायो ख

गाई गाड़े ग

घर जस्तो घ

मास गेड़ी ङ

चरीचुच्चे च

छाते छ

डाड़ु ज

खुट्टो झर्‍यो झ

गोरु सिङे ञ

ओठ काट्यो ट

ओठ मिलायो म

डाङडुङे ड

कुकुरपुछ्रे ढ

तीन धर्के ण

कोदाली त

घोरमुखा थ

दयेंली द

काँध लौरी ध

निहुरमुन्टे न

पाटी प

पिठ्यूँ बोकी फ

पेटकाट्यो ब

भकारी भ

राम्रो म

बूढ़ो य

खाँबे र

हात भाँचियो ल

बाटुलो व

मोटो श

पेट चिरो ष

पातलो स

हलिगोड़े ह

तल थोप्ली ड़

तल थोप्ली ढ़

छेपारी क्ष

दुई धर्के त्र

गाँठो पारी ज्ञ

P.S. The Nepali Varnamala Troupe (tiny tots and their instructors Subash Shanker, Bishal Sewa and Karma) enthralled the audience with their soulful Varnamala rendition in their own style at Rachna Books, Gangtok, Sikkim on February 26, 2010. “We want to make the children learn their school lessons in the form of music,” said Debasish Mothey. Similar show was organized at Rambi Primary School, Sikkim.

(Source: http://www.in.com/news/entertainment/fullstory-nepali-varnamala-troupe-makes-learning-fun-through-music-13062879-586d945285fea17780c6cefb6f6e5718a0fb0a89-1.html).

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Prof. Kavi Narayana Murthy, Dr. Mallikarjun B, Dr. Gokul Sinha, Prof. Ghanshyam Nepal, Dr. Khagen Sarma, Jeena Rai, Umesh Chamling, Rupesh Rai, Bridul Basumatary and Sunil Kumar for their valuable comments on the earlier draft as well as for discussion on the issue. Needless to say errors are mine. I wish to dedicate this causerie to my first teacher who taught me नेपाली वर्णमाला, Radhika Gurung (Pran Nath Nursery School, Kalimpong), whom fondly we call बड़ी आन्टी.

Selected Bibliography

Agarwala, V. S. 1966. The Devanagari Script. In Indian Systems of Writing. 12-16. Delhi: Publications Division.

Bhaskararao, Peri. 2003. Elements of Indian Indic Scripts. In Peri Bhaskararao (ed.), Working Papers of International Symposium on Indic Scripts: Past and Future. 382-391. Tokyo: ILCAA.

Baro, Madhu Ram. 1996. गोजौ रावखान्थि. Guwahati: Assam Higher Secondary Education Council.

Baro, Madhu Ram. 1991/2007. The Historical Development of Boro Language. Guwahati: N.L. Publications.

Bright, William. 1996. The Devanagari Script. In Peter T. Daniels & William Bright (eds.), The World's Writing Systems. 384-390. New York: Oxford University Press.

Cardona, George. 1994. Indian linguistics. In Giulio Lepschy (ed.), History of Linguistics. Vol 1. The Eastern Traditions of Linguistics. 25-60. London/New York: Longman.

Clark, T. W. 1969. Nepali and Pahari. In Thomas A Sebeok (ed.), Current Trends in Linguistics. Vol. 5. 249-276. The Hague/Paris : Mouton.

Coulmas, Florian. 1999 (ed.). The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Writing Systems. Oxford: Blackwell.

Daniels, Peter T. 1996. The Study of Writing systems. In Peter T. Daniels & William Bright (eds.), The World's Writing Systems. 3-17. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gautam, Deviprasad. 2049 वि० स०. नेपाली भाषा-परिचय. काठमाडौं : साझा प्रकाशन

Grierson, Graham Abraham. 1916/68. The Linguistic Survey of India. Vol IX Part IV. Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass.

Kiparsky, Paul. 1991. Economy and the construction of the Sivasutras. In M. M. Deshpande and S. Bhate (eds.), Paninian Studies.Michigan : Ann Arbor. Available at http://www.stanford.edu/~kiparsky/

Masica, Colin P. 1991. The Indo-Aryan Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Murthy, Kavi Narayana. 2006. Natural Language Processing : An Information Access Perspective . New Delhi: Ess Ess Publications.

Naik, Bapurao S. 1971. Typology of Devanagari. Vol. 1-3. Bombay: Directorate of Languages.

Kapoor, Kapil. 2007. Auṁ: Akshar in Indian Thought. In P. G. Patel, Pramod Pandey & Dilip Rajgor (eds.), The Indic Scripts: Paleographic and Linguistic Perspectives. 1-8. New Delhi: DK Printworld (P) Ltd.

Pokhrel, Balkrishna. 2043 वि० स०. पाँच सय वर्ष. काठमाडौं : साझा प्रकाशन

Salomon, Richard. 2003. Writing systems of the Indo-Aryan Languages. In George Cardona & Dhanesh Jain (eds.), The Indo-Aryan Language. 67-103. London: Routledge Language Family Series.

Shapiro, Michael C. 2003. Hindi. In George Cardona & Dhanesh Jain (eds.), The Indo-Aryan Language. 250–285. London: Routledge Language Family Series.

Sinha, R. M. K. 2009. A Journey from Indian Scripts Processing to Indian Languages Processing. IEEE Annals of History of Computing. January-March. 8-31.

Sinha, Samar. ms. Nepali Varnamala: Emergence, Divergence & Convergence. LDCIL, CIIL, Mysore.

Sproat, Richard. 2000. A Computational Theory of Writing Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sharma, Shivraj. 2009. भाषावैज्ञानिक परिचय: नेपाली वर्णमालाका वर्णहरू र मेरा अन्य लेख. Darjeeling: Sriraj Prakashan.

Sthapit, Shishir Kumar. 2003. Nepali Orthography: A Descriptive Analysis. In Peri Bhaskararao (ed.), Working Papers of International Symposium on Indic Scripts: Past and Future. 62-91. Tokyo: ILCAA.

Turner, Ralph Lilley. 1931. A Comparative and Etymological Dictionary of the Nepali Language. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner.

नेपाली वृहत् शब्दकोष .1983. काठमाडौं : नेपाली राजकीय प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठान

Sikkim Debt Law of 1910 http://www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/rarebooks/

http://www.darjeelingtimes.com/dtnews/opinions/social/1262-2010-08-19-18-20-43.html

Book Review: Nettle (1999)

2010-08-11T21:30:00.001+05:30

Nettle, Daniel. Linguistic Diversity. New York: Oxford University Press. 1999. 168 pp + xi

Reviewed by Samar Sinha (on 25.11.2001)

Anthropologists Nettle observes the diversity in the human language despite similar biological make-up and makes an effort to explain grammatical, temporal, or social diversity in a single framework. In fact, the book under review offers Nettle's attempt to theorise the linguistic diversity and its global distribution, an under-theorised topic.

The book is organised as follows:
    1. Introduction
    2. Language evolution: Basic mechanisms
    3. Language evolution: Computer simulations
    4. Language diversity: Patterns in space
    5. Language diversity: Changes in time
    6. Phylogenetic diversity
    7. Structural diversity

In addition to these chapters, figures, tables, epilogue, appendix, references and index make the book under review reader friendly.

In Chapter 1, the author takes language as a instinct, hard-wired in the human brain (Pinker 1994) and tries to find the mechanism involved behind the linguistic diversity in synchronic linguistics on the universal nature of language. He disapproves the family-tree model of the historical linguistics on the account that it does not account for all types of linguistic changes, and presents an alternative conceptualisation of linguistic diversity, using biological analogy, base on the notions of the linguistic item and the linguistic pool. A human linguistic pool is n abstract entity analogous to the human gene pool, which contains all the different bits of linguistic information found in human languages, and the elements of the pool is the linguistic items rather than the languages. The items include words, sounds, phonological processes, grammatical patterns and constructions which can be independently learnt and transmitted from one speaker to another or from one language to another. He incorporates items to account typological study between human speech communities. The author outlines three types of diversity in the linguistic pool:
    i. Language diversity: The number of different languages in a given geographical area.
    ii. Phylogenetic diversity: The number of different lineages of language found in an area.
    iii. Structural diversity: The parametric variations.

The author draws parallelism between linguistic evolution and biological evolution in Chapter 2, and argues that for linguistic evolution to be possible, there must be both source and amplifiers of divergence. The basic model, to which he calls the neutral model, does account for small random variations arising due to performance factors, imperfect learning, and possibly social behaviour. He regards performance and acquisition as the sources of variation. But the model fails to address these key problems:
    i. How random variations alone can lead to sustained linguistic diversification.
    ii. How to account diversification in the absence of geographical isolation.

   iii. How to account patterns of structural correlation in the world's languages that represent parallel evolution.

The two additional mechanisms: social selection (i.e. acquirer's identification with a group) and functional selection (i.e. least-effort principles of processing), have been incorporated to overcome these problems. The author defends the functional selection leading to diversity rather than uniformity by positing 'fitness value' (effective at being learned and used by speakers) and under the functional selection, a language evolves towards the highest 'fitness value' settling in one of the optimal positions of the linguistic parameter. Though lucidly written, the argument needs to be substantiated by the empirical evidence in the context of the 'fitness value'.

In chapter 3, the author uses computer simulations to suggest some more concrete solutions to the key problems. An experiment in which people learn language under various circumstances is designed using computer simulation, due to limitations of natural experiment to furnish required and precise conditions. The result of the experiment deals with the importance and power of social selection, its nature and function. though relevant to prove his point, the non-quantitatively minded reader can skip the chapter incurring no loss.

The fig. 4.1 (p. 62) in Chapter 4 shows that linguistic diversity is higher in the tropics and decreases towards the poles; and suggests specific associations between the language and biological diversity. It also shows higher linguistic diversity in the Old World than in the New World like the biological diversity. The author mentions the vectors of language spread by reversing the factors that enhanced the development of a human language in history. The vectors are:
    i. The lack of fact to face interaction.
    ii. The secondary social bonds.
    iii. The influence of state mechanisms and its associated systems.
    iv. The economic system.

The case studies from interior New Guinea, the Hausaland, and the Fulani and the Tuareg representing different ecological regimes show the inter-linkage between social, economic, and ecological conditions and accounts importance of the ecological risk on the human social networks, which in turn produce different sized linguistic groups. The author relying on the arguments from the anthropological works, concludes that the linguistic diversity is determined by the socio-economic organisation, which is affected by the local ecology. However, the industrialised societies deserve to be studied before reaching the above conclusion.

In Chapter 5, the author takes Dixon's (1997) framework: equilibria and punctuation (I shall assume reader's familiarity with the concepts) for inquiry into changes in linguistic diversity through time. He identifies the long equilibria in the Palaeolithic stage, and the great punctuations at the beginning of the Neolithic in the Old World and during the rise of expansionist industrial economies. this chapter draws its sustenance from the works of anthropologists. The framework validates temporal diversity in languages over different cultures, but the author himself suggests that prediction cannot be made regarding what equilibrium will be reached after the industrial punctuations.

The distribution of the world's phylogenetic diversity is studied in Chapter 6. The author takes Nichol's (1990, 1992) reference label of lineage - 'stock' for it His study shows that the phylogenetic diversity is unevenly distributed across the globe, with an order of magnitude more languages per stock in the Old World than in the New World. In this chapter, the author discusses the kinds of processes involved in fostering the phylogenetic distribution.

Nettle provides anthropological approach in understanding structural diversity, which is purely a linguistic subject, to provide additional insight into the subject in the concluding chapter. He chooses word order and phonological inventory to study this diversity and examines how amplifiers can produce structural diversity in languages. The author, finally, draws his readers' attention to: why languages in some regions follow certain paths while those elsewhere follow others, which certainly deserves scholar's attention and investigation.

Observing the gigantic issue of diversity, Linguistic Diversity is an appreciable, scholarly work written in a clear, lively, and accessible style within a framework of anthropological linguistics. The book is an attempt to explain the diversity from the explanatory view point rather than from the functional viewpoint. Nettle fails to address the necessity of diversity and remains unsuccessful in making his reader realise the need of linguistic diversity. His view on diversity seems to be a superstructure over the human moulded by ecology and economy rather than by the survival factor. Despite bringing various arguments, approaches and viewpoints to the study of linguistic diversity, which undoubtedly have enriched the study, Nettle misses an important aspect of political history - power relation between the individual societies, states and linguistic groups. The author confines himself within the title of the book and does not address 'the cult of homogenisation and the anti-diversity factors, which are equally powerful as the forces that lead to diversification. As a hallmark of a scholar, Nettle invokes his reader towards the study of functional, cognitive and areal viewpoint to theorise the linguistic diversity. Finally, the book deserves a reader to express (as I did to my friends), 'Have you read Linguistic Diversity by Nettle ? It is worth reading.'

Reference
Pinker, S. 1994. The Language Instinct. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Darjeeling Photos 072010

2010-08-01T18:05:00.007+05:30

झुल्के जून

The rising Moon on a warm summer day in Kalimpong. The dark monsoon clouds hover on her in the twilight. Pic at Bong Busty, Kalimpong.

धुम्म घारीमा

Uttis (alnus nepalensis) and the Balasan witness the Rangbull-Balsan valley in perennial fog.

टिस्टा देखी आकाशतिर

A droplet at the Teesta, fog at the valley, a handful of cloud in the sky, yet I know not where I'll lie. Pic at Deolo Tourist Lodge compound, Kalimpong.

घर बाटको दृश्य

A view of the south-west ranges (India and Nepal) from my home at Rangbull, Darjeeling.

Justice in Darjeeling

2010-05-31T21:25:00.008+05:30

A week ago, prior to the assassination of Madan Tamang, I wrote on DT, “14-15 May strike is to derail Madan Tamang's public speech on the eve of the League's foundation day rather than as cited by GJM.” Though this paradox is well noted by many other commentators too but none thought the magnitude of the said meeting would unfold as on the 21 May morning-- before he delivered his speech, Madan Tamang was no longer. One needs to ask why did the GJM plan to protest/disrupt Madan Tamang's public speech though he was in favour of Gorkhaland ?

Madan Tamang as 'a man who knew too much' 'facts and figures' on the Hill issues (including rhododendron) not only championed the cause of Gorkhaland, democracy, 'collective leadership' but also for transparency. Before he addressed the public on 21 May, he was murdered. Is there any relation with time of his murder and his speech – certainly against the Set-up and pro-Gorkhaland; and most likely on the nexus in the tripartite talk ? Did he die as a whistle-blower ?

Despite post-assassination claims and refutations between GJM, ABGL, Democratic Front, the WB Govt. as well as of the local mass and media, or between CID vs. CBI probe, 'not in favour of talk' and 'talks will continue', 'resignation' and 'withdrawal under pressure', FIR and complaints what remains consistently in the discourse is -- who killed Madan Tamang ? And what remained unmentioned -- why was Madan Tamang killed ? Unfortunately, what was left out from the discourse is not democracy but justice - 'justice for Madan Tamang'. In other words, the rule of the law should prevail rather than 'law of the land', as often the latter case is in Darjeeling.

To seek justice, it is again imperative to ask a twin question: how many murders have taken so far in Darjeeling ? And in how many cases, justice is carried out? Most of us don't know the count regarding murder but certainly we know that none of the cases have been pursued enough to meet justice beyond the customary 90 days custody at 'mama ghar' as generally referred in Darjeeling. If such is the tradition of delivering justice in the Darjeeling Hills, it is not unnatural to expect omission in the discourse, or injustice, or to take 'law of the land' – one who can bully provides 'justice' too. History of Darjeeling abounds with such form of 'justice'. And it is true about the GJM as well as the LF Govt. as it was with the GNLF. Not to mention is about so-called 'minor violations' like of 'IPC section 144', 'threat of a dire consequence', 'grooming of extra constitutional forces' and many more as many tea bushes in the Darjeeling Hills. Does this not show the failure of the law under the LF Govt. ? Or is it to let loose 'one's own people' to avail benefit of it when needed/desired ? It undoubtedly benefits one to remain and exercise power, but how far such value, ethics, and norm will continue and to what extent? To me like to many others, the most frustrating part of the exercise is that it is intentionally practiced form of 'justice' which is corrupting society, community, region, politics, generation, etc.

Finally, will justice be delivered in Madan Tamang's case ? I am an optimist enough to expect that it will not be. But for sure, the Set-up without the Doars and Terai will be justified. In this given context where every other thing like money, siblings, children, power, etc is greater and bigger than the issue of Gorkhaland, one can hope for a form of 'justice' where mutual hide and seek takes place, where I-beat-you-cry takes place. Such is a place called Darjeeling. No wonder, I guess. More wonderful is public memory which is 'memory-full'.

Rangbull Farm

2010-04-28T00:51:00.002+05:30

A view of the State Potato Seed Multiplication Farm from the Packing House.

Twelve kilometres away from the Darjeeling town, the State Potato Seed Multiplication Farm stretches over 356.42 acres at Rangbull (a toponym definitely of the Lepcha origin). The Rangbull Farm, as popularly known is situated a kilometre down from the national highway connecting Darjeeling with Siliguri, and can be seen from the highway, too.

As a part of the Grow More Food campaign under the British Army, the Rangbull Farm came into existence in 1945. The vegetable cultivation was encouraged and was war supplied all over the Middle East, through the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway upto Siliguri. The produce was packed at, known till today as the Packing House with an office nearby (to be specific both at Bangladara on the national highway), now both privately owned. In the subsequent year, due to the lack of budget the campaign had ceased its operation.

In December 1947, the state government again started the potato farming on the organised way on 100 acre plot leased from the Amalgamated Tea Estate, till 1963. Rangbull despite being famous for cabbage (a local variety is named Rangbulle Banda), the State Potato Seed Multiplication Farm was established at Rangbull to produce, multiply, and supply through the government network all over India, disease free and wart immune potato seeds. Moreover, availability of the land and feasibility promoted the idea into practice. Further, the climatic and agronomic factors further encouraged the growth and production of high altitude potato, though the crop production is lesser than in the plains because of less sunshine with an annual average of four hours daily, fertility erosion by rain water, and the high weed growth. The step of establishing farm at Rangbull was warmly welcomed by the locals as it provided employment opportunity in the post-World War II era. Later, the Rangbull Farm became not just a source of livelihood but also as a centre of their existence with many legends attached with it.

In 1963, the West Bengal government cancelled the lease and nationalised the Rangbull Farm. Then after, it emerged as a major potato seed multiplier with the extension of the farm land to 365.42 acres including both the Sonada and the Rangbull units by converting the fallow land into arable land. With the extension, it was expected to be one of the largest potato farms in Asia. For the convenience of acreage, budget, production, supervision, and labour input, the farm, lying between 5, 500 feet to 7, 000 feet above the sea level was divided into six blocks with natural boundaries of streams, marsh, hillocks, etc. Before nationalisation the sole in-charge of the Farm was the Inspecting Officer (Potatoes) but after the nationalisation it was under the Economic Botanist in the Directorate of Agriculture of the state government, and many of its daily wage workers were made permanent staff. Since the fag-end of the last century, it is incorporated under the Agriculture Department of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.

The seed multiplication was practised on terraced fields with traditional implements like hoes, spade, forks, etc. Later on, hand driven cultivator tractor and traditional plough were experimented to pulverise the rich brown forest soil. Both inorganic and bio-organic manures were used to yield better result. The seeds were planted in November and harvested in July. Sometimes, crops were damaged by hailstorm, and wild animals, but not a single case of theft is registered so far.

In its first year, the Darjeeling Red Round, a local high altitude variety was cultivated but due to less production because of very high disease risk, it was successfully replaced by a plain variety. In 1959, the imported seeds from the Netherlands, of which a white-skinned and a red-skinned variety called Ackersegan and Pimpernel, respectively were introduced in the Farm. Their success story has now became a legend as they were more immune to diseases and were heavily demanded throughout India. Since 1965, the import of seed potato from Myanmar known as Rangoon seed had virtually stopped and the short-supply was largely made-up by the produce of the Rangbull Farm. Later on, Kufri Jyoti, a Shimla variety was introduced which also achieved a major success, and is common among the local cultivators, too. During the 1990s , the Bhangjyang White Long (BWL), indigenously developed hybrid of Pimpernel and Ackersegan at the State Potato Experimental Station, Ghoom Bhangjyang, and Kufri Jyoti were cultivated in the plot-rotation basis.

The State Potato Experimental Station at Ghoom Bhangjyang, twelve kilometres away from the district headquarter on the Darjeeling–Mirik road was established in 1944 to conduct breeding and agronomic research for finding out better varieties of potato in respect of yield, quality, and disease resistance and also to ascertain the optimum cultural and manurial requirements of the crop. An experiment that started on the five acres taken from the Forest Department is the oldest potato research station in the hills. Later the Station was extended to eighteen acres, where various experiments were carried on with the limited amenities like an insect–proof glass house and a small field laboratory. The improved potato strain are Ackersegan, B-1965, Ultimus, and BWL both for the hills and the plains, and Pimpernel for high altitude cultivation show casing the achievement of the Station. During the 1987 crop season the three varieties of potato were evolved which proved a resistant to the devastating blight disease, also. But with the passage of time, the condition of the farm has become much deplorable as if it has got blight. “The field research especially hybridisation, specing and such under the Economic Botanist III are now conducted on the only thirteen acres for about seveenteen varieties without the glass house, the laboratory and more surprisingly the post of a permanent research officer is vacant for more than twenty years,” said Mr K.B. Rai, a Krishi Prajikti Shayak (KPS) at the Experimental Station in 1997.

A large number of research relating with potato multiplication technique like cut-tuber, side croping with cabbage, etc. were conducted out at the Rangbull Farm, too, with a small field laboratory with few equipments especially to fight viral and fungal diseases. The Farm is proud of finding cause and remedy for leaf rot, mosaic, and wart (The Central Wart Testing Station at Aloobari, Jorebunglow is now the Orchid Centre). In his nineties, Mr K. B. Shah (popularly known as Shah bau), an ex-overseer of the Rangbull Farm under whose tenure the Rangbull Farm enjoyed its golden period, states his experiences with other academicians and proudly recollects his days as a co-worker with Dr H.C. Chaudhary on the high altitude potato. The research scholars from all over the world had conducted their experiments at the Rangbull Farm. But he admits that the Rangbull Farm being situated on the windward side did not permit to be suitable for hybridisation process.

In 1956, the Rangbull Farm had a pucca motorable road connecting the national highway, enabling the Farm to had its own tractor for transportation of farm input and output. In its peak, the Farm had five godowns, two staff quarters, a garage with a tractor, an office, and a laboratory which were reduced to ashes, and the locals did help to clear the left over in the turbulent 1980s. The roads and bridges were damaged by both the human and the climatic factors after the downfall of the Farm. In the late nineties, it was turned more into a playing field, grazing pasture, quarry, etc. than the multiplication farm, once famous all over India. The Kalyani University, too put a side the Rangbull Farm for a proposed regional research station like that of Kalimpong, due to poor existing infrastructure. Whatever its condition has become, not an inch of the farm land is occupied by the locals as they still feel and adore the Rangbull Farm as their bread baker. Moreover, they are hopeful that once again it will retain its glory.

After the Ghising led movement for Gorkhaland, the cultivation which was once carried up to 170 acres, was now practised only on 15 acres and 25 aces at the Rangbull and the Sonada unit, respectively both under the Rangbull Farm. The lack of better co-ordination between the management and the labourers, and proper field supervision, absence of field office and inspecting officer have further deteriorated the farm. In the administrative side, meagre funding, cow dung and seed availability problem and delayed labour wages were also responsible for its collapse.

The issue of the common interest – permanency of labourers as Krishi Shramik, which gained a tempo in the mid 1990 is far from the reality as the farm cannot employ its all registered labourers for more than 240 days a year in its current condition. This demand also depends upon the smooth functioning of the Rangbull Farm, which primarily depends upon the godown.

The produce were once stored in the private hired godowns with poor storing facilities which was not economically beneficial. “Godown is the mother of all the issues concerning the farm's growth and development,” said Mr Samsher Chettri, Principal Agriculture Officer in 1997. After being incorporated into the Agriculture Department, DGHC, the councillor and the secretary of the Department realised the need of godown and reconstructed one each at Rangbull, Sonada and Bhangjyang.

The first time under the DGHC, seeds from the Sikkim State Seed Corporation to rotate the seed species, experiences like from Mr K. B. Shah for the better cultivation and management and the technical guidance from the State government were sought. However, along with the improvement of the infrastructure and the office of the Agriculture Development Officer (Potatoes) at the Rangbull Farm site for better technical supervision and implementation of schemes were never realised in practice.

In 1997, the Principal Agriculture Officer aspired that “the Agriculture Department will provide adequate budget to revive the legacy, and within less than five years in phase-wise, the farm will be better than the before.” However, in reality the condition of the Rangbull Farm has worsened with every passing year, and has almost cease to exist. This labour-dependent farm's progress relies not only upon the labourers' commitment which abounds in plenty but on the vision of the leadership who decides, unfortunately, for this heritage farm, once famous all over the world. In the context of today's Darjeeling, paradoxically, it is their political vision which will decide the fate of such long standing tradition of the hill people to become bright or blight.

http://www.darjeelingtimes.com/dtnews/main-news/citizen-news/623-rangbull-farm.html

Tea & Nepali

2010-04-19T19:36:00.010+05:30

About the history of tea plant in the Darjeeling Hills, it is a well known fact that tea was not cultivated as a crop in the Darjeeling Hills prior to the plantations started by the British. So far known history of Darjeeling tea, thus, begins with the Chinese saplings in the British plantations and the Nepali labourers. This points to the fact that tea plant is exotic to the Darjeeling Hills. On the other hand, Fred Pinn (1986) in “The Road of Destiny : Darjeeling Letters 1839,” mentions sighting of a tea tree in the wild near Mahaldiram which is prior to the cultivation of tea as a crop in the Hills. Now, this points that tea plant is not exotic to the Darjeeling Hills (at least, Mahaldiram).
At the cultural front, the tea drinking culture -- black tea prepared out of brick tea was not exotic to the locals specially among the Bhutias. This fact is supported by a Nepali word “चिया" which is derived from Tibetan “chha" < Chinese "tchai/cha" rather than from English “tea” < Dutch “tay” < “tay” in one of the Chinese dialects. This leads us to point that the Nepalis were accustomed to “चिया" prior to the British introduction of “tea” but not to the latter's command. Hence, कमान was borrowed and nativised into Nepali from English "command." Interestingly, it also proves that the Nepalis were resident of the Darjeeling Hills along with the Lepchas and the Bhutias prior to the opening of the tea gardens rather than after the opening of the gardens – an impression generally provided in the gazetteers. This fact is also proved on the basis of other accounts by scholars like Dr. Kumar Pradhan.
However, I have not come across any mention of /account on tea plant either in local botany nor in cultural resources like folklores, tales, etc. so far within my limited study. I would be interested to find/collect the account of the Lepchas, Bhutias, & Nepalis on tea plant in rituals, folk tales, songs, narratives, etc. but not related to the British plantation.

Flavours of SL Morphology

2010-03-03T18:49:00.003+05:30

Recent research on Sign Language (henceforth, SL) morphology has discovered evidence that SLs exhibit a complex morphology in two flavours- simultaneous and sequential. The difference between the two flavours, Aronoff, Meir, & Sandler (2005: 309) mentions, ‘[T]hese two types of morphology differ from one another with respect to the phonological means they employ, the grammatical categories they encode, their productivity, and their diachronic development.’

The sequential morphology is affixal- grammaticalised from free lexical items, derivational, do not involve morphosyntactic categories, and of limited productivity. Such sequential morphology is found in ASL and IrSL and is rare in both the SLs. In the former flavour, the different morphemes of a word (see Zeshan (2002) for the notion of word in SL) are simultaneously nested over each other by altering the direction, rhythm, or path shape of the citation form of sign, and not by sequencing new phonological segments to the word. The morphologically complex structures- verb agreement, classifier constructions, and verbal aspects- are inflectional and productive. There are deep-seated cross-linguistic similarities in the grammatical categories these forms encode as well as the form they take in their morphological structure.

Simultaneous is sequential
Stokoe’s (1960) phonemic analysis of ASL sign took three formational parameters- HAND CONFIGURATION, LOCATION, and MOVEMENT- (note that ORIENTATION (ORT), the fourth formational parameter, was identified in 1974 by Robbin Battison) to be articulated cotemporally. His analysis also revealed that signs are organized simultaneously (simultaneity is found in every level of SL structure. Various motivations have been given for the simultaneity in SL (see Klima & Fischer 1972; Klima & Bellugi 1979; Supalla 1991)) unlike words of spoken language, which later came to be known as the simultaneous model. Stokoe recognized that at least some elements of signs had to be ordered sequentially, even if the articulation appears simultaneous (Liddell 1984). Supalla & Newport 1978; Padden 1983; Liddell 1984; Sandler 1986; and other researchers proposed the sequential model based on the movement sequences. They analysed the sequential nature of MOVEMENT in sign, and have decomposed into elements arranged either in sequence or simultaneously with sequential elements (Padden 1988: 257).

Sequential is simultaneous
Supalla (1982) approached the phonological structure of ASL signs by focussing on a subclass of morphologically complex signs- verbs of motion and location. Unlike other signs, a verb of motion and location is morphologically complex where each phonological unit is also morpheme (such single feature morpheme involving palatalisation and tonal modification is found in Japanese and Chichewa, respectively (as cited in Schembri 2003: 8)) reflecting the same structure for the phonological and the morphological organisations. A single string of signs can mean ‘A vehicle passed through the hill and turned up near the tree.’ In this string handshape and orientation which remain the same throughout the string without being taken back to the normal neutral position (a position of hands where and when a signer is at rest i.e. no sign is formed), denotes VEHICLE-Classifier (see Supalla 1982 for details; Schembri 2003) and upright position, respectively. The change of the orientation denotes that the vehicle is turned up. Such construction is simultaneous at the level of morphology and sequential at the level of syntax.

To sum up, there is a kind of continuum/overlapping between different levels in their organisation in SL. The simultaneous morphology is found in all SLs studied so far- a SL universal (Emmorey 2002) and form a language type in which no known spoken language falls under it (Sandler & Lillo-Martin 2001).

Mainwaring's Rong Grammar

2010-01-24T13:32:00.007+05:30

The Lapche (Anglicised Lepcha) is an appellation given to the Rongs by the Nepali society. They prefer themselves to be called the Rong i.e. the squatters, and their country, the land of caves. History regards and proves them as the early settlers in all the hills of Darjeeling and Sikkim. Most of the name of the places in Darjeeling and Sikkim derive from the Lepcha origin. A few on the tip of the tongue are Badamtam (the bank of the Padam bamboo), Chungtong (the arrow headed place i.e. a site at the junction of two rivers), Lebong (Alibong i.e. The tongue like spur), Mahaldiram (the source of the river Mahaldi), Phalut (Fak–lut, the peeled summit mountain), Rangli (the Lepcha's house), Rangpo (the wandering or shifting river), Rongtong (the southern river), Senchal (the damp misty hill), Sonada (the bear's lair), Tendong (the uplifted horn – a sacred mountain which saved the Lepchas by miraculously rising above the great flood), etc.

They have a language of their own called by them Rong-ring. It is another major Tibeto-Burman language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan languages family, spoken in Eastern Nepal, Sikkim and Darjeeling, other than Newari. Robert Shafer, an American scholar on Sino-Tibetan studies has stated that Lepcha is really a branch of the Naga group of a Tibeto-Burman as opposed to a general belief of associating it with the Austro-Asiatic speech family. He has expressed his wonder in the following words, “It is remarkable how this Naga language has found a home in Darjeeling, so far away from the Naga hills.” The national professor,Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji regards it as one of the oldest Sino-Tibetan Languages to find a home in India, showing no evidence of Austric contact and influence.

'A Grammar of the Rong (Lepcha) Language, as it exists in the Dorjeeling and Sikkim Hills' by Colonel G.B. Mainwaring of Bengal Staff Corps is the first book in the linguistic study of Rong language. By the favour of the British government in India, he was enable to present to the public a short grammar of the Rong in 1876, fifty six years after the publication of the first Nepali Grammar by J.A.Ayton, both printed at Calcutta.

In his preface, Colonel shares some acquired information relating to the Lepchas and their country. Having no written, or authentic traditional oral records, the pioneer grammarian, is not able to discover the exact period at which the first migrated into the Darjeeling and Sikkim Hills. An important piece of information shared by him is their history from the time of the Lepcha King, Turve, who apparently ruled them about six centuries ago, and about this period, they probably entered the untrod hills.

The Lepcha language is a monosyllabic one and is unquestionally far anterior to Hebrew or Sanskrit.Colonel Mainwaring pronounced Rong-ring to be the oldest language in the world. His high regards for this language could be underlined in his words, “Of the language I cannot speak too highly. The simple and primitive state in which the Lepchas lived is admirably shown by it. It has no primary words (beyond the words for gold and silver) to express money, merchant or merchandise, fairs or markets. Their peaceful and gentle character is evinced by their numerous terms of tenderness and compassion, and by the fact that not one word of abuse exist in their language. Neverthless the language is most copious, abounding in synonyms and possessing words of meaning, it admits of a flow and power of speech which is wonderful, and which renders it capable of giving expression to the highest degree of eloquence. The language also attests the astonishing knowledge possessed by the Lepchas...It is invaluable to the philological world. It however recommends itself to us on higher grounds; it possesses and plainly evinces the principle and motive on which all language is constructed.”

Colonel Mainwaring states that the advent of the Europeans was the first real blow the Lepchas, the free sons of the forest, the hearty yeoman of the land, the lords of the soil received. They became the servants of servants. Their language which was once the lingua franca, which all Tibetans, Bhutias, and other who entered the hills acquired and spoke, in which business was carried on under Colonel Llyod's time, and justice in the English Courts were administered and documented was set aside, and Hindi was made the chief language in Darjeeling. Later on,Tibetan became the medium of communication between the Sikkim and Darjeeling Governments, consequently the Lepcha nationality and language dried up. The ravages of time have not spared the Lepchas, too. The present day socio-political developments are leading them to cease their identity. That is why an elite Lepcha, Mr A.R. Foning feels his tribe “vanishing”.

The Rong Grammar is simply written to assist the learner, not to challenge the strictures of the critic, painstakingly their own Rong script, which derived ultimately from Tibetan, hence, of the Brahmi origin, is printed with its Roman equivalence with diacritical marks, and English gloss. The Lepcha Script is said to have evolved after the roundular variety of the Tibetan script known as bu-can (pronounced U-che) in about the middle of the 17th. century.

Out of the deep regards and humane sympathy for the Lepchas and their language Colonel G.B. Mainwaring has further stated, that “a dictionary will follow if his health and circumstances follow.” He feels "to allow the Lepcha race, and language to die out would indeed be most barbarours, and inexpressively sad.” His primary objective in bringing out the Grammar was to revive the employment of the Rong language and welfare of the race, both of which have been too long neglected; if, its mission would be fully gained.

It is highly desirable to set up a Lepcha Study Centre under the Human Resource Development Ministry in Sikkim as to preserve and promote the Rong as one of the world heritages.

(This write up was written in 1998. Thanks to Rupesh Rai for digitalisation from remington typeface on butter paper).

Deaf community in India

2009-10-19T20:23:00.004+05:30

At the turn of the last century, accounts of various communities in British India came into light (primarily as a part of colonial project). One such account that aroused interest especially amongst sign linguists is about the Angami Nagas. Allen (1905) in Assam District Gazetteers, Vol. IX, Naga Hills and Manipur claims that deaf-mutism amongst the Angami Nagas in the Naga Hills was eight times higher than the national average, where every second person was deaf-mute. Further interest was stimulated by Hutton’s (1921) account of the use of sign language by the deaf as well as hearing in the Angami villages, for communication between different villages speaking different languages. Although there is no means by which this claim of deaf villages may now be verified a hundred years later, Miles (1998) suggests that this may have been true, given the prevalence of Iodine deficiency disorders - often a causal factor resulting deafness - in the mountainous regions of South Asia. O’Malley (1907) reports about higher prevalence of deaf-mutism in Champaran. Similarly, Ibbetson (1883) reports the high prevalence in some hilly and mountainous districts of Punjab, and Srinivasan’s (1964) biomedical study at Bettiah, Bihar. Deaf mutuism in Guntur, Andhara Pradesh is reported due to genetic factor promoted by cultural practises (Mazumdar 1972).

In contemporary times, as well, reports claiming an exclusive deaf villages where sign language is used as a medium of communication among the villagers have occasionally been made. One such report published in 1991 by a journalist, Shivananda Kalave is about the two tribal villages, Basanavakoppa and Sullali (generally called ‘Silent Village’) in the remote forest tract in the Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka. The population of these villages is more than 500, of which 30% of the population comprises of deaf people. After reading this report, a Rotarian Dr. Desai in his campaign to eradicate deafness launched the Project Deaf India was launched from Mysore in 1999, in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Newport Balboa, District 5320, USA, and the Gallaudet University, Washington D.C. It was claimed that multiple causes - hereditary, personal hygiene, environment, nutrition, and cultural and social practices - were behind this high rate of deafness for generations of inhabitants of these villages (Source: www.projectdeafindia.org). A macro-level study has reported “they [deaf] were communicating with gesture and lip reading, a skill passed down along generations all these years” (http://projectdeafindia.org/ report).

To ascertain the facts, I visited the villages in spring 2005, along with Debra Grossman from UCLA who was making a film on Deaf community in India, and Ramakrishna, a Deaf Indian Sign Language teacher and activist. A local resident informed us that the village population is comprised of the Siddhis and the Gaurs. We found that none of the villagers were in fact deaf, except a boy and an old lady who are hard of hearing.

Our visit to the village school and other places, followed by a discussion with the teachers and the different members of the villages, led us to believe that there is no deaf community in these villages. The villagers disputed any high incidence of deafness in their villages and asserted that people were conspiring to get benefit out of it. Moreover, they had serious grievances about this characterisation, as they said that the villagers faced problems in matrimonial alliances, given the scare that there was a genetic factor responsible for deafness in their children. Our discussion with the teachers of other deaf schools and institutes in other parts of the district made it explicit that the claim was a hoax. This claim is made on the basis of my Ph.D. field trip, spring 2005. (The field report in a CD ROM is available with the author).

This is not to suggest that all such reports are false. Reports from Dadkhai -- a remote village in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir and called by the locals as “the cursed village” -- deafness has prevailed for more than a half of century, reportedly affecting 40% of the population (ANI/Reuters 9th.July, 2001, Reference 7449/01, Tape 7320). A recent report (Hindustan Times, 9th.Feb., 2007) suggests that 24% of the village population is deaf, including newborn as well. The Central Health and Medical Education Ministry has deputed doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to identify the cause; however, little is known about the sign language that people use to communicate with each other.

The existence of such populations once again highlights the need for both a survey of the Indian deaf community and their sign language(s), as very little is known about either the people or their languages. New Linguistic Survey of India (NLSI) focuses on these issues. But we don't know where it is cornered, in which file, in which/whose office, and why.

Bollywood & Dollywood

2009-10-19T19:41:00.004+05:30

In India, Hindi cinema (Bollywood in popular parlance -- a world of its own) is the most popular and culturally validated source of entertainment. Its representation of different persons and communities is therefore of great cultural and political significance, and these often generate political and communal controversies. Hindi films have also portrayed deaf (I take this liberty to call Deaf world as Dollywood) characters a few times over the century of its existence -- not only as stereotypes, but also as protagonists. I consider four popular movies of their time to assess the socio-cultural representation of deaf, sign language, and the perceptions about them they have given rise to.

One of the earliest movies in which deaf characters are protagonists is Koshish (An effort) directed by Gulzar, and released in 1972. Starring two widely known actors of the film industry, Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri, the film is a sensitive portrayal of a deaf couple’s romance and the struggles and hardships they have to face to survive with dignity. The characterisation and setting is natural enough to touch its audience, even though the director has taken the cinematic liberty to use written language as a mode of exchange between the characters, (although sign is also used). The film also shows the deaf couple’s yearning for a hearing child and the loss of their first child as they were not able to hear their child’s cry on that fatal night. The most impressive and radical proposal that surfaces in the film is about matrimonial alliance of the protagonist’s hearing son with a deaf girl, thus countering the prevalent notions about matrimony in Indian society. It is one of the most progressive of all films on deaf characters, where the deaf are not just stereotypical characters arousing sympathy, but are presented as an important and equal force in the creation of a more sensitive and modern Indian society.

Khamoshi (Silence) (1996), directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a story of a hearing daughter of a deaf couple who aspires to become a singer. The national award winning actors Nana Patekar and Seema Biswas are the deaf couple. The film shows their yearning for, and joy over, a hearing child and how this child becomes the deaf couple’s support and voice in their later life. Though sign is used at various points in the movie, it is not Indian Sign Language (henceforth, ISL).

In contrast, Black (2005) by the same director is a story set in pre-independent India of an Anglo-Indian deaf-blind girl and her tutor starring Rani Mukerjee and Amitabh Bachchan, respectively. Initially, the film opens with an impression that a deaf-blind child is possessed by a spirit, rather than a child who is not able to make sense of things around her because of deafness and blindness. As the movie moves on, we find that she learns and uses tactile sign language in the movie; however, this is not ISL but rather some signs from American Sign Language (ASL). The movie ends on a positive note -- she becomes a graduate after many years and gets some degree of independence in her life, and starts to help her tutor who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.

Director Nagesh Kukunor’s Iqbal (2005) is about a 20 year old talented deaf boy from a village who aspires to play as a bowler for the Indian national team. The movie is about his struggle and journey to become a bowler in the Indian team. The lead character of the movie, Iqbal, played by Shreyas Talpade, is a school drop-out as his farmer family was not able to send him to a deaf school in Mumbai. The social setting of the movie shows that the deaf boy has no friends in his village, and his closest companion is his sister, who signs and interprets for him (although Iqbal can lip read slow speech). The director has successfully integrated sign and speech in the movie, where many of the main characters sign and speak. Interestingly, signs are not limited to gestures, and many of the signs are from ISL. Like in Koshish, Iqbal is not a character whose sole motive is to inspire sympathy; rather, it is his talent as a bowler that the film ultimately highlights, and Iqbal’s struggle is to play cricket is as much a young person’s struggle against conventional fathers who do not understand or accept her/his aspirations, as it is about a deaf person’s desire to succeed in a sport that is the hegemony of the hearing. The movie thus also sends a message that Indian cricket as a sport must be a sport that values the talent (rather the hearing or deafness) of its players, thereby questioning current Indian reality, where there are separate teams for hearing and deaf players.

These three films all had a significant impact on societal attitudes. Most prominently in recent times, Iqbal enthused Indian children so much that the National Council of Education Research and Technology now acknowledges sign language as one of the mediums for primary education. The National Curriculum Framework 2005, which endorses child-centric education, advocates ISL based education of the Hearing Impaired. This notwithstanding, none of these films portray the existence of a deaf/Deaf community for their protagonists, who are all alone (or at best with their partners) amidst a hearing society. Moreover, these films have had little effect in permanently altering social attitudes towards deafness as social stigma. A case in point is Ashvin Kumar’s short film The Little Terrorist, which was India’s official entry for Oscar in short film category in 2005. The film is about a Pakistani boy who crosses into the Indian territory while playing. As the story progresses, the Indian family hides him from the patrolling party. In one incident, he pretends to be deaf to avoid the queries of the patrolling officers, and in the process brings to the fore all the stereotypes of deafness as, as signifying social isolation and diminished intelligence.

During a screening of The Little Terrorist at JNU (11.04.08), I asked Ashvin about the lack of political correctness of this portrayal, and he justified as being reasonable in the context, and without an intention to offend. He welcomed my lone intervention and said if it made people to react, then that was a positive development. May be I am not alone next time.

Is ISL a non-configurational language?

2009-10-19T00:12:00.004+05:30

A fundamental assumption underlying in the Principles and Parameters (henceforth, P&P) framework is that all languages have some basic, syntactically defined constituent order, which form the basic word order depending upon the setting of the word order (henceforth, WO) parameter. It is usually recognized that this order may be altered somewhat for pragmatic purposes.

The ordering of the constituents will be examined in Indian Sign Language (henceforth, ISL) to determine its WO, if there is any as assumed in the P&P approach. The approach taken to determine the WO in ISL shall be based on the clause as well on sentence with respect to the transitivity of the verb and the verb typology.

A. Intransitive sentence with the plain verb:

1. YESTERDAY INDEX FRONT RUN
He ran yesterday.

The WO is S O V.

B. Transitive sentence with plain verb:

2. R-A-M INDEX IPSI (LOC) S-I-T-A INDEX CONTRA (LOC) LIKE
Ram likes Sita.

3. FEM- S-I-T-A INDEX IPSI R-A-M INDEX CONTRA (LOC) LIKE
Ram likes Sita.

In the single elicitation, the above sentence (3) is ambiguous with regard to the subject and the object since both are [+ animate, + human]. If one of the arguments is [- animate], the sentence is unambiguous. Therefore, the animacy hierarchy operates in ISL in the plain verb constructions. The animacy hierarchy can be formulated as:

[+ animate + human] < [+ animate – human] < [- animate].

However, the WO is: i. S O V ii. O S V iii. S V iv. O V v. V

The later three orders are found in the discourse, where the presuppositionality and the topic are established.

C. Transitive sentence with the regular and the backwards verbs:

4. INDEX SELF X 2 FEM-INDEX IPSI (LOC) SELF-HELP-IPSI
5. FEM-INDEX IPSI (LOC) INDEX SELF X 2 SELF-HELP-IPSI
6. INDEX IPSI SELF-HELP-IPSI
7. FEM-INDEX IPSI (LOC) SELF-HELP-IPSI
8. SELF-HELP-IPSI
I help her.

9. INDEX SELF INDEX FRONT FRONT-INVITE-SELF
10. INDEX FRONT INDEX SELF FRONT-INVITE-SELF
11. INDEX FRONT FRONT-INVITE-SELF
12. INDEX SELF FRONT-INVITE-SELF
13. FRONT-INVITE-SELF
I invite you.

The WO is: i. S O V ii. O S V iii. S V iv. O V v. V

D. Ditransitive with the regular and the backwards verb:

14. FACE-ARC IPSI (LOC) FEM-INDEX CONTRA (LOC) ONE MUG IPSI-GIVE-CONTRA
They gave a mug to her.

15. FEM-INDEX CONTRA (LOC) FEM-INDEX IPSI (LOC) ONE BOOK IPSI-SEND-CONTRA
She sent a book to her.

16. FEM-INDEXIPSI BOOK MASC-INDEX CONTRA CONTRA-GIVE-IPSI
He gave a book to her.

17. BOOK FEM-INDEXIPSI MASC-INDEX CONTRA CONTRA-GIVE-IPSI
He gave a book to her.

In the ditransitive sentence with the regular or with the backwards verbs, the possible ordering of the constituents are as the following:

i. S O DO V ii. S DO O V iii. O S DO V iv. O DO S V v. DO S O V vi. DO O S V vii. S DO V viii. DO S V ix. O DO V x. DO O V xi. DO V xii. DO V (with incorporated DO)

E. Complementation

In the subordinate clause, the complement of the verb (both infinite as well as finite) can appear on the either side as shown in the following sentences:

18. INDEX SELFx2 THINK MASC-INDEX IPSI CLEVER
19. MASC-INDEXIPSI CLEVER INDEX IPSI INDEX SELFx2 THINK
I think he is clever.

The WO in the subordinate clause is as follows:

i. SVO ii. OSV

The WO shows that there is no uniform WO in ISL, and the NP arguments, which are overt for topic can be dropped (discussed later). From the above WO as seen in ISL, one thing that stands out alone is its nonconfigurational properties. Hale (1983) described three properties as being characteristic of nonconfiguarational languages in a pretheoretical sense: relative freedom of WO, the pervasive dropping of noun phrase arguments, and the existence of discontinuous expressions (Baker 1996: 9-10). In ISL the above mentioned first two properties hold.

In ISL, as seen above single verbs can stand alone as predication in themselves. Eg. SELF-GIVE-FRONT (I give you), SELF-INVITE-FRONT (You invite me). The agreement verb shows overt obligatory agreement with the subject and the object arguments. However, the affixation of the argument is not uniform i.e. it is subject verb object (SVO) in the regular agreement verbs and object verb subject (OVS) in the backwards agreement verbs. The order of affixation is rigidly fixed with respect to the verb typology (see chapter V). This shows that ISL is a head marking language.

Moreover, the affixation of the argument does not hold across all the verbs as in the case of the plain verbs. Infact, ISL verb is morphologically complex. All the verbs in ISL have the DIR of the pMOV in its underlying form but the surface manifestation is filtered out by the semantics of the verb, transitivity, theta-roles, the phonological and the phonetic factors (see chapter V). In other words, the null morpheme (zero morpheme) is posited in such verbs. This assumption posits towards Jelinek’s (1984) Pronominal Argument Hypothesis (henceforth, PAH) and Baker’s (1996) Polysynthesis Parameter.

Jelinek’s (1984) approach to configurationality holds that the inflectional morphemes on a verb count as the subject and object of the verb. These morphemes are argument morphemes (also known as pronominal affixes) and incorporated roots. These are the kinds of morphemes on a verb that are suitable for expressing an argument of that verb (Baker 1996: 15). These morphemes are the arguments of the verb, receiving a theta-role from it directly. Thus, the verb’s theta-role must be assigned to an appropriate phrase by theta-criterion. The conceptual content of the Polysynthesis Parameter i.e. Morphological Visibility Condition (MVC) proposed by Baker (1996: 17) states:

A phrase X is visible for theta- role assignment from a head Y only if it is coindexed with a morpheme in the word containing Y via: i. an agreement relationship, or ii. a movement relationship.

Let us examine ISL with the properties of polysynthetic languages. ISL share a large number of properties of polysynthetic languages.

i. Free word order and massive pro-drop.
ii. The argument adposition is lacking in ISL as verbs do not subcategorize for adposition arguments, but by conflation in the Lexicon like in Mohawk (Baker 1996: 418).
iii. The infinitive is not found in ISL like in Mohawk (Baker 1996), Ainu (Shibatani 1990) and Nahuatl (Andrews 1975) (as cited in Baker 1996).
iv. Wh movement takes place.
v. The plural morpheme need not be manifested in the noun root. The verb morphology can show plurality as in Mohawk (Baker 1996: 90)

In polysynthetic languages like Mohawk (Baker 1996: 21), the third person neuter DO does not show overt agreement with the verb. Hence, the null morpheme is posited, which is restricted to third person neuter. However, in ISL, the overt DO does not show agreement with all the R-expressions irrespective of animacy. In all the ditransitive sentences with the overt DO as shown above the DO remains (the incorporation of DO is rare) in an argument position. In the incorporation of the DO, which is statistically rare, the incorporation is of the classifier rather than of noun DO. As incorporation is one of the agreement morphemes, but the overt DO remains in the argument position in case of incorporation, too in ISL. To posit that the incorporated DO absorb case and consequently, the overt DO is dislocated to an adjunct position maintains that there is null morpheme for DO in the verb. Since, incorporation is rare and none of the DO show agreement in verb, to posit null morpheme is a burden for acquisition as the child finds no positive evidence in any instance. However, the DO is left dislocated due to the case filter. Thus, in ISL, incorporation does not interact with agreement. Hence, ISL is not a polysynthetic language as obligatoriness of the agreement morpheme is a property of polysynthetic language (Baker 1996: 89). Due to the overt agreement, other overt NPs are in adjunct position because the overt agreement absorbs the case feature of the head that it attaches to (see Baker 1991a). As a result, overt NPs cannot appear in corresponding argument positions. They appear at clause peripheral positions where Case filter does not apply (see Baker 1996 for fuller discussion). In ISL, we find only left dislocation of the NP arguments unlike in polysynthesis languages like Mapudungun, where the dislocated NPs are found in the either side of the clause.

In the polysynthetic languages like Mohawk, both the agreement morphemes and the lexical roots count as rendering an argument visible. In ISL, the agreement relationship holds but do not have incorporation phenomena at all or have sporadic incorporation that does not interact with agreement as it lacks the obligatoriness of the agreement of the DO with the verb. In ISL, the overt DO and the incorporated DO classifier can co-occur unlike in Mohawk, where one restricts the other. Thus, ISL confirms to Jelinek’s (1984) theory of nonconfigurationality. Therefore, ISL is a nonconfigurational head marking language like Navajo, Walpiri, Salish, etc. (see Baker 1996: 17-18) but not a polysynthetic language like Mohawk, Mapudungun, etc. Hence, the setting of the proposed Polysynthesis Parameter is "NO" for ISL.

In ISL, the complement clauses appear in the argument position governed by verb that selects them i.e. on the right of the verb. On the other hand, the object NP cannot occur in the argument position i.e. on the right of the verb. The occurrence of the object NP is barred because ISL verb in its underlying form has the DIR of the pMOV, which is an agreement morpheme (see chapter 5). As the agreement absorbs the case of the object NP, it is forced to be dislocated to the adjunct position, where the Case filter does not apply. Hence, the complement clauses differ from the object NP in ISL.

In ISL, the overt NP-subject and the overt NP-object are left dislocated due to the Case filter as the case is absorbed by the agreement affix on the verb. As the overt NP-direct object does not show agreement on the verb but gets case through the complex predicate. However, this does not form well-formed sentence. As we have seen above that the argument affixes absorb case forcing the overt NPs to be dislocated where the Case filter does not apply. Similarly, case assigned overt DO need to be left of the verb i.e. SVO to derive well-formed sentence. However, in ISL scrambling is allowed. The overt NPs, Tense/NP adverb as well as are scrambled in different positions.

As seen in the above in the well formed sentences, the verb is always in the clause final position. The ISL verb always occurs in the clause final position due to the relative phonological weight of the verb. Thus, a well formed sentence is derived. In this respect, the nonconfigurationality with respect to DO derives from the case marking like in Hindi-Urdu, not from agreement like in polysynthetic languages. On the other hand, the nonconfigurationality of the overt NP-subject and the overt NP- object derives from the agreement. In this sense, in ISL, the parameter setting for MVC is ‘NO’.

To summarize, nonconfigurationality is derived through two ways in ISL:

a. Dislocation of case absorbed overt NPs i.e. subject and object.
b. Scrambling.

This proves that ISL is not a polysynthetic language but certainly a nonconfigurational language.

Book Review: Zeshan (2000)

2009-10-18T22:39:00.004+05:30

Zeshan, Ulrike. 2000. Sign Language in Indo-Pakistan: A description of a signed language. Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Pg. xii + 178. Hb. Crown. Alkaline paper. Price: not mentioned.

Reviewed by Samar Sinha (2003).

Sign Language in Indo-Pakistan: A description of a signed language (SLIP) is a revised master’s thesis (University of Cologne) in light of the author’s latest research results. The title of the book draws one’s attention towards ‘sign’ and ‘signed’, which, in principle, have no distinction in the sign linguistics literature. SLIP, dedicated to the Deaf communities in India and Pakistan, deserves its long due publication on sign language of the sub-continent and similarly deserves review more than in the standard conventional length of a review article.

Of the five chapters, in the first chapter, Introduction, Zeshan points out that the linguistic study of sign language (SL) in India and Pakistan is virtually unstudied. Apart from a handful of linguistic works so far in these countries, the study of sign language is confined main within institutions imparting special education.

Based on her fieldwork in Karachi and New Delhi, she asserts that despite regional variations in signs, there is one underlying grammar of Pakistan Sign Language (PSL) (as used by ABSA Research Group 1987, NISE 1991,1994, Sir Syed Deaf Association 1989, Zeshan 1996) and Indian Sign Language (ISL). Hence, she calls the sign languages of these colonial cousins as Indo-Pakistan Sign Language (IPSL), rather than Indo-Pakistani Sign Language. Her claim that there is a unitary sign language in India is based on Vasishta, Woodward & Wilson (VWW) (1978) and in passing but not explicitly illustrated to support it. The different studies on lexicon points towards greater similarity (Woodward 1993, ISL Dictionary 2001). At the present state of knowledge about sign language in India, any claim about one sign language in India is merely speculative rather than empirically supported when we account Deaf communities of the Silent Village, Karnataka, and a village in Mizoram. On the other hand, Jepson’s (1991) claim about Rural ISL is based on a rural deaf individual rather than the rural Deaf community. The regional lexical variations of particular signs in Pakistan are photographically shown.

With reference to post 1960 developments in Pakistan, Signed Urdu (SU), which she claims as ‘Urdu based variety of IPSL’, is not a variety of IPSL but an invented manually coded Urdu structure using IPSL signs, modified signs, and neologism. Had the author used the contrast between SU and IPSL, it would have been much easier to understand the difference between the two. A reminder, India is not far behind in a similar ‘the mask of benevolence’ effort, funded by UNICEF in developing Indian Signing System (ISS). Zeshan mentions the reality about deaf education in India citing Deshmukh (1996). Apart from the weekly sign news telecast on the national channel, the GOI has not formulated any substantial policy and programmes for the empowerment of the Indian Deaf community. The linguistic status of sign language in these two countries is a constitutional question rather than ‘not an officially recognized language’ (p.8) as mentioned in the book. In the later part of the chapter, she briefly discusses her research methodology, and pros and cons of her work.

In the second chapter, The Signs, the author discusses about IPSL handshapes (HSs) and proposes its preliminary inventory based on the frequency of occurrence in her corpus rather than on phonetic principle. Her classifications of HS, which are photographically shown, are basic, central, marginal, problematic, and meaningful. The problematic HS, which are ‘rare and unclear that their existence in IPSL is questionable’ (p.24), do exist but not found in her corpus since her data on wh-question is scarce (p.10). The author claims that classifier HSs are not found in IPSL based on VWW (1978), and analytical problem, and consequently disapproves Boyes-Braem’s (1990) typological claim that the classifiers are found in all sign languages investigated so far. Contrary to her claim, classifier HSs are found, and are incorporated into a class of verbs signs. On the other formational parameters, viz. location (signing space), movement, and orientation, and phonological operations, there is not a single line discussion. This chapter, however, does not provide basic essential descriptions of sub-lexical structure and organisation, and is thus far from being true to the title of the book.

Sign Families, which basically include opposites, homonyms, polysemes, synonyms, and compounds, are well described with examples and illustrations. Apart from these, the signs that share one of the formational parameters constantly that are also a constant semantic element (Generalised Meaningful Parameter Values, Woll 1983: 40). IPSL time-line in contrast with the American Sign Language (ASL) time-line is well discussed with illustrations enriching the content on the topic.

Zeshan also discusses the signs that show evident connection with Hindi-Urdu mouth patterns. The mouth pattern, e.g. 8 (p.43), is used to disambiguate signs, hence, phonemic. To the contrary, in pg.49, the Karachi and the Indian signers produce the mouth patterns of ‘allah’ and ‘bhagwan’ or ‘god’ with the sign GOD, respectively. There are two or more mouth patterns for a sign not as a synonym but points towards the signer’s socio-linguistic, religious background. This suggests, simply, mouth pattern is not an integral part of IPSL, unlike other non-manual components of sign. Unlike mouth gestures, English fingerspelling, and initialisation and/or abbreviation are undoubtedly an effect and influence of institution. Along with the variation in the exact shape of English fingerspelling, we find typologically two sets of English fingerspelling – ambicheric and mixed (see Stokoe 1974: 346) among the users of IPSL. With the passage of time, it is observed that fingerspelled signs are further abbreviated and/or initialised, which again are nativised as sign, whose etymological source is difficult to ascertain e.g. E-MAIL.

It is interesting to note that IPSL has identical signs for BIRD, DUCK as in ASL; HOUSE as in BSL, and HELP as in the both. The author is struck off by this commonality, and fancies about its genetic relationship and/or lexical borrowing rather than by iconicity. Further, she appals/stupefies her reader by treating HOUSE as a loan sign and remarks “…in India and Pakistan because all roofs are flat…” (p. 41). Moreover, it needs to be understood that not only “Indian Hindus,” but also all of the sub-continent calls God as ‘upar wala’ (the Above One). The British colonisation is not sufficient to say that BSL has an areal influence over IPSL. On the other hand, the English fingerspelling as a result of institutional effort is an issue for exploration. On the non-manual components of signs, Zeshan discusses its grammatical relevance, and raises issue for further investigation. She briefly discusses iconic signs using Mandell’s (1977) classification, and claims that half of the IPSL lexicon is iconic. She concludes with an established note that iconicity exists along a continuum.

In the third chapter, Morphology, she discusses the difficulties in word-class analysis and formal characteristics, which leads her to question the applicability of syntactic universals in IPSL. Although she claims that IPSL does not make distinctions in word class, in fact, her data falsifies this analysis. The N-V distinction is in fact marked by movement (and intensity [NISE 1991])- the lexeme FLY with movement is a verb TO FLY (e.g. 39, p.56), but as a stationary sign is an AEROPLANE/AIRLINE (e.g. 56, p.101).

The use of interpersonal space is grammatically relevant in sign language and is one of the sign formation parameters. Zeshan classifies IPSL signs into three types: positioning, directional, and movement. The former two are described explicitly with examples unlike the third one. Fig. 62, p.60 shows verb TO FLY in its citation form, it is not noun AIRPLANE as in the text. In IPSL, XATAM (B) is a verb for “finish/end’, and XATAM (A) and HO_GAYA are used to mark perfect (Zeshan’s completive) aspect. XATAM (A) is grammaticised sign from XATAM (B). HO_GAYA is a weak drop form of XATAM (B) showing the phonetic loss of the non-dominant hand and has further grammaticised as an enclitic to the preceding sign (see Sinha in prep).

Other aspectual markers are also discussed in detail. The IPSL lexicon does not specify number for nouns, and plurality is marked by repetition of the sign in space, or quantifiers, and/or numerals. Zeshan concludes that the repetition is for plurality with noun signs and for distributive aspect with verbs. However, her conclusion mismatches with the morphemic translation she provides. E.g. 20, p.66 would mean ‘I have tried several times with my certificate in private firms’ rather than ‘…at several private (firms)’, and the morphemic glossing in the e.g. 22, p. 66 is not distributive but plural.

However, Zeshan’s discussion of the morphological processes in IPSL is incomplete. Although she does describe number signs and the incorporation of the first four digits, she does not discuss direct object incorporation further (as evidenced by the incorporated classifier HS of direct objects with verbs like LENA (to take) and DENA (to give)). She also discusses two sign formation processes - fusion and compounding, but does not mention other processes like reduplication, fingerspelling, hedging, and aerial writing.

The fourth chapter is a syntactic description. The sentence and clause boundaries are based on her bilingual (bimodal) informant’s translation indicated by the Urdu propositions. Mentioning the lack of methodology essential for syntactic study, she ‘mostly prefer to speak of regularities rather than rules’ (p.88) using semantic roles. However, I will use formal syntactic terms in the review. The WO tendency is inclined towards the SOV. In fact, IPSL is SVO with asymmetry between matrix and embedded clauses (Sinha 2003). She, further, points that the most semantically prominent sign is clause initial, and labels the structure as topic-comment with the semantically prominent sign appearing overtly again in the comment as peculiarity though information on non-manual parameters even crude is not glossed. Moreover, it points towards discourse structure rather than information packaging strategy and structure within clausal syntax.

On tense, the author writes that there is no temporal inflection but indicated by clause initial NP adverbs of time. Contrary to her expectation as inflection, in IPSL HS, which marks the time unit incorporates with the tense and results into NP adverbs of time. The similar tense marking system is found in Nootka (Comrie 1985: 13). The discourse initial tense in the informational neutral structure is followed unless new tense is established along the time line for non-present and present. IPSL has present-non-present distinction in which the former is unmarked, and its overt marking is for emphatic or for contrast.

Zeshan briefly discusses imperatives, negatives, emphatics, and existential particles, and invites further research. She illustrates some compounds as modifying constructions discussing the headedness of the construction in the chapter on syntax rather than in the previous chapter. She, further, raises an issue of hyponymy of the two adjacent signs, on which she renders- ‘to classify rather that (than) modify the other sign’ (p.99; italics mine for typological error). Her speculation directs toward mini-topicalisation type constructions but does not provide sentential constructions in which they are found to think further.

The author discusses loci, grammatically relevant points in the signing space, and summarises the localisation strategies employed in IPSL and ASL discourse. She discusses various possibilities of referring to loci- directionality, positioning, indexing, eye gaze, and role-play, and inconsistencies involved in it with reference to loci in the signing space, which is under described in the book. The non-manual articulatory channels, their forms and functions in polarity, interrogatives, and in the conditional clause are investigated concluding with a list of her queries and a familiar note ‘further research is needed’ (p. 116). Towards the end of the chapter, Zeshan’s unfeigned remark makes her reader simpering.

In the final chapter, Discourse strategies, she discusses discourse strategies- contrastive use of signing space for places, situations, and tenses, handedness, and perspectives using space drawing analogy with stage.

SLIP is enriched with bibliography, index, appendices, sample text, Devnagari and Perso-Arabic transcription, abbreviations, manual alphabets, 300 word dictionary, graphics, photographs, content, tables, and with cross-linguistic references from numerous sign languages. She uses Hindi-Urdu words in Latin letters for sign text. The printer’s devil and the copy errors abound the book from cover to cover. Importantly, in the spine and the end cover, the title is Indo-pakistan rather than as in the front cover. In the graphic on the front cover for SIGN, the direction of movement is the other way; Baluchistan not Beluchistan (p. 3, 4), speech data rather than sign data (p. 8), sign/signer not speak/speaker (p. 10), MAUT not FAUT (p. 63), numbering error (p. 90)- to mention a few. Despite these matters not so diverting, devoid of technical terminology and framework makes SLIP accessible for general readers, too (may be not in terms of price and availability). Sign language, undoubtedly, is not only a landmark in the linguistic study of sign language of the sub-continent, but also an invitation. To make the matter shorter and direct, this book is a long due publication, and is a must in every library shelf. Equally, Zeshan’s description, conclusion, and the above-mentioned familiar note, are stimulating enough for young researchers to pursue sign linguistics.

References:
Comrie, B. 1985. Tense. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Indian Sign Language Dictionary. 2001. Coimbatore: Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya Printing Press.
Jepson, Jill. 1991b. Urban and Rural Sign Language in India. Language in Society. Vol. 20. 37-57.
Sinha, Samar. (in prep). Grammaticalisation in Indian Sign Language.
Sinha, Samar. 2003. A Skeletal Grammar of Indian Sign Language. Unpublished M.Phil. Dissertation, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
Stokoe, W. C. 1974. Classification and Description of sign languages. In Seboek, T. A. (ed.): Current Trends in Linguistics. Vol. 12. The Hague & Paris: Mouton. 345-371.
Vasishta, M., Woodward, J. & Wilson, K. 1978. Sign Language in India: Regional variation within the Deaf population. Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics. Vol. 4 (2). 66-74.
Woll, B. 1983. The Semantics of British Sign Language. In Kyle, J & Woll, B (eds.): Language in Sign: An International Perspective on Sign Language. Beckenham: Croom Helm.
Woodward, J. 1993. The relationship of sign language varieties in India, Pakistan and Nepal. Sign Language Studies. Vol. 78. 15-22.

Wh-question in Indian Sign Language

2009-10-11T18:08:00.007+05:30

Indian Sign Language (henceforth, ISL) wh-questions are strictly clause-final. An ISL wh-question is a composite sign consisting of a noun and a sign generally labeled as wh-sign/particle in association with an expression, which I label as C-particle. An ISL wh-question thus consists of a noun, C-particle and an expression. Of these, the noun can be dropped in the context where the meaning of the wh-question is recoverable. This shows that the C-particle and the expression suffice to form a wh-question.
The C-particle is primarily a double handed symmetric sign, and often undergoes Weak Drop resulting in a one handed sign. The suppletive form of the C-particle is seen in diurnal WHEN, which differs from other wh-questions in its manual articulation as well as in the expression.
Aboh, et al. (2005) claim that ISL (their IndSL) is a verb-final language with split-wh. Their claim for split-wh is based on composite phrasal expressions like PLACE + G-WH for ‘where’ (G-WH stands for general wh-). Following Neidle et al. (2000), they assume that ISL non-manual wh-marking is associated with [+wh] feature in C. They suggest that G-WH is a question particle in ISL that always appears in the clause final position, either with an associate phrase, or on its own (bare), with the associated phrase remaining in-situ.
The basic expression associated with interrogative is the relative chin up from the immediate sign. It is also observed in yes/no questions, and serves to distinguish interrogative from declaratives.
Aboh, et al. argue against a remnant movement for ISLwh-questions, by which the derivation of the surface order for a sentence with a wh-object requires additional remnant movement of entire IP to a specifier position above CP, citing a variety of problems with this Kaynean approach (for details, see Aboh et al. 2005), Instead, they assume a head-final split-C (Rizzi 1997) and claim that the question particle is realised as the head of the InterP between ForceP and FinP and [Spec, InterP] hosts a null OP [wh]. They further conclude that the wh-element moves to [Spec, InterP] at LF to be interpretable. In the case of split-WH, they argue that the sign PLACE surfaces in the [Spec, FocP] below InterP.
Adopting their proposal, the following structure for the clausal domain emerges. The C- and the Q- particles are the head of ForceP and InterP, respectively. Following Aboh et al. (2005), it is assumed that a noun is optionally merged to the [Spec, FocP].

Disability, Deafness and Citizenship

2009-10-11T17:44:00.001+05:30

Contemporary constructs on deafness are also defined over two newer constructions- that of deafness as a disability versus that of deaf people as a linguistic minority. These contemporary discourses are rooted in the activism and experiences of the deaf people. Both the constructs are nurtured by the campaign for equality and full participation in all spheres of social life and human rights, and both are given political meaning and power by personal biographies that detail the experience of being deaf in a hearing world.
The physiological model of disability, based as it is on the normal characteristics of body, its physical, and/or cognitive functioning, finds persons with impairment ‘abnormal’, ‘disabled’, and ultimately ‘handicapped,’ in fulfilling social roles. Such a view on deafness as a disability ‘establishes the tone of official thought’ (in the words of Carol Padden and Tom Humphries) on deafness as a handicap.
With the emergence of such a view on deafness, there also emerged a professional group, whose livelihood and existence depends upon ‘bestow benevolence on deaf people defined as in need’. Therefore, deafness becomes a ‘need’ for intervention. Though the technology and the level of sophistication has changed in the decades that have followed, the focal idea has remained the same - the role of such intervention is to make the deaf hear. This amounts to a rejection of sign in favour of spoken language, and the adoption of lip reading as a sign of normalisation.
The social model of disability, on the other hand, views it as a product of complex social structures and processes, rather than as the simple and inevitable result of individual differences or biology. It suggests that it is not impairment in itself that causes disability, but the way in which societies fail to accommodate natural aspects of difference between people. Disability, therefore, is caused by material, social, structural, and cultural forces and ideas that shape disability labels and social roles.
Both the models of Disability accept a sense of loss, which is true among other interested groups like visually challenged, physically challenged, etc., and seeks social integration with the hearing world through care, service, and assistance. However, the question of loss is contested in the case of deafness - while late deafening and moderate impairment is associated with loss (hence supporting the disability construction), the Deaf community has argued that pre-lingual deafness is not so easily conceived of as such. Unlike the audist’s perception, the Deaf community views deafness as not a loss but a gain, in terms of culture, of language, and values. This is demonstrated in their resistance to the construct of a category of ‘hearing-impaired’ to include the deaf and the hard-of-hearing, as it overlooks the linguistic and cultural difference between the Deaf and the hard-of-hearing. The Deaf/deaf, unlike others who share the hearing culture, experience a different kind of exclusion related to language and culture. As the D/deaf cherish their unique identity and seek an honourable integration into the larger social fabric in a fashion that upholds the difference of their culture and language, they contest a characterisation that suggests they have an impairment and/or disability.
Such beliefs, further, establish deafness as a culture that disregards the disabled-non-disabled distinction and does not seek to discipline disability. In opposition to the disability construct, and with the arguments put forward for deafness as a culture, the D/deaf construct an argument in favour of linguistic minority status. Besides the demographic facts, there are several reasons to identify and validate the D/deaf as a minority vis-à-vis the hearing population. It is an acknowledged fact that in all societies, deaf people have been subject to oppression, or discrimination by the hearing with respect to their values, culture, and language. In developing societies, this still continues, and the majority of deaf children do not have access to education. In most of the cases, the educational ideology pursued for deaf education runs contrary to their right to receive education in their mother tongue of sign language. As their sign language has been subject to oppression and their culture and values have been suppressed, they qualify as a linguistic minority.
Among the scholars that seek solution in Sen’s Capability Approach, which views disability as one aspect of human heterogeneity rather than as abnormality, Terzi (2004) introduces the concept of ‘alternative functioning or of doing the same thing in different ways.’ She cites an example from Martha’s Vineyard and argues that the use of sign language like by the Vineyarders expands the capabilities of deaf. Under such a conceptualization, however, signing is emphasized to be an alternative functioning rather than the most valued of all the other functionings of the signers. In other words, it still reiterates the audist’s view and fails to accommodate sign language within the league of natural human languages.
In India, the provisions for the deaf provided under the Disability Act have failed, as is painfully evident, to ensure their empowerment. The same applies with equal force to the claimed minority status too (as evident in the case of the minorities in India). As a matter of fact, the D/deaf people’s lack of access to resources have resulted in their inability to build alliances with other socially discriminated groups, has become an obstacle in ensuring their participation in the social process. Drawing a parallel based on social discrimination with the dalits, for whom the policy of reservation has significantly ensured their growing participation in the social process, it is imperative to mobilise the D/deaf people on the demand for reservation. In this sense, it is necessary to politicise the deaf world, so that the Deaf culture and perspective can be heard in a democratic society, so that society may come to guarantee them their rights as citizens.

God, His agents and Deafness

2009-10-11T17:26:00.003+05:30

Down the ages, across civilizations and cultures, prophets have dwelt on the biology and sociology of deaf people and deafness, and the role of sign. Pre-Enlightenment attitudes and policies towards deafness, deaf education, and sign language were linked to religious practices. Community membership was defined in terms of membership of a religious community. For all religions, speech was fundamental and sacred; and signing is not considered the equivalent of speech.
In India, one of the earliest references to deaf people can be found in verses of the Vedas (ca. 1500 BC). Thus, the Rig Veda: ‘even the deaf will tremble at my roaring’; and the Atharva Veda (approx. 1500 BC): ‘the malady that makes one deaf, the malady that makes one blind,/ all malady that wrings thy brow, we charm away with this our spell.’ These allusions make the point that deafness was considered as a malady needing a cure, and that speech and hearing are signifiers of normalcy. At the same time, it reflects a social yearning for the aural world.
Given the lack of historical records, it would be difficult to claim the existence of a specific social policy towards the deaf in particular. Quite generally, however, it is clear that under Brahminical customs, the deaf were excluded from the inheritance of property, as it was believed that a deaf person cannot make the sacrifices to lessen the sufferings, and enhance the position of the deceased father. The ground for exclusion was based on the conclusion that a person’s deafness is congenital and incurable, and indeed, to verify this, many brutal practices were carried out by the physicians. Moreover, the doctrine of anga-vanga (mutilated body parts), Vidur Niti (Vidur’s Ethics) in the Mahabharata, Manu Smiriti (Codes of Manu), and others perceived disabilities in general, and deafness in particular, as forms of sin in previous births. Such texts, together with religio-literary texts like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, contributed to the perpetuation of a social system that marginalised the disabled, particularly the deaf, in Indian history.
This social system remained largely unaffected by the philosophical social reform movement propounded by Gautama Buddha, which swept the Asian continent more than two thousand five hundred years ago. The Buddhist texts mention that the deaf were excluded from rituals and were denied membership of the sangha (community). Thus, despite all the social reformist teachings of Buddha, there was no radical, progressive change in the status of, and attitudes to deafness and the deaf.
The Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible also make numerous references to deaf people, many of which shaped the attitude and policies towards the deaf in Christian society. In the Old Testament, deafness is viewed as a divine plan (Exodus 4) and ‘thou shalt not curse the deaf (Leviticus 19:14). Chapter 29, verse 14 of Isaiah prophesies a day when ‘the deaf hear the words of the book,’ ‘the dumb will sing,’ and ‘the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.’ And a life free from deafness is promised. The New Testament, on the other hand, views deafness as a possession of demonic, evil spirit, ‘thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him’ (Mark 9). Chapter 7 of Mark and Chapter 9 of Matthew regard deafness as a means to prove Jesus’s supernatural power ‘...he hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak’ (Mark 7).
If the Old Testament reflects the attitudes prevalent at the time of Moses, then societally, deafness was perceived as a sin, a social menace, and hence, the deaf were cursed, damned and shunted aside. In fact, Isaiah’s prophesies clearly reflect a vision of society where sound and hearing was central and it was free from deafness and deaf people. This is a view shared by the New Testament, which, although it no longer conceives of deafness as a grand design, emphasizes the social inclination towards orality and aurality viz., the healing powers of Jesus. Such ‘miracles’ seek to ‘cure’ deafness and install speech and hearing among the deaf. The extreme view of all, however, is to be found in Paul’s epistle to the Romans (10: 17), where in a single sentence, the deaf are denied the possibility of faith: ‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’
These attitudes established the centrality of speech and hearing in the Christian world-view in the centuries that followed. Catholic theologists accepted the official doctrine; in the words of Saint Augustine (354-430 A.D.), deafness ‘is a hindrance to faith’ because the deaf cannot hear the word of God. At the same time, a dialogue in Chapter Eighteen of De quantitate animae liber unus reflects Augustine’s optimism about deaf community and sign language, as can be seen in his question: ‘What does it matter, as he grows up, whether he speaks or makes gestures, since both these pertain to the soul?’ Augustine enlisted the deaf to spread his mission and membership, but his view that deaf people could learn through sign (Augustine refers to ‘bodily movements,’ ‘signs,’ and ‘gestures’) and were thus able to receive faith and salvation was ignored, and was not part of the official doctrine and practice of the Catholic Church.
In the Holy Quran, in Sura 19:1-11, we find reference to sign language as one of the five modes to communicate the praise of Allah. However, these verses inhabit the same text as verses like ‘Those who reject our signs/ are deaf and dumb/ in the midst of darkness/ profound whom Allah willeth/ he leaveth to wander/ whom he willeth, he placeth/ on the way that is straight’ (Sura 6:39). The references to deafness appear to be metaphorical here, where deafness is seen as unwillingness to hear the revelations of Allah. Once again, we have a stress on phonocentric attitudes and a negativism towards deafness.
It was only with the growth of a social concern for deaf education that deaf people’s access to language became a pressing issue. In the mid-19th century that an educational system using sign language as a medium of instruction came to exist. Till then, the God's agents suppressed both Deaf and sign.

What is Linux?

2009-10-11T16:46:00.004+05:30

Linux is an operating system (OS) that evolved from a kernel created by Linus Torvalds. However, without a kernel, an operating system doesn't exist and without application programs, a kernel is useless. Richard Stallman, a propagator of Free Software Movement, provided the necessary programs from the GNU project, and together with a kernel, developed by Linus Torvalds, Linux was born, hence, also called GNU/Linux. Linux belongs to the *NIX family of operating systems. To say that Linux is an operating system means that it's meant to be used as an alternative to other operating systems like MS-DOS, the various versions of MS Windows, Mac OS, BSD, Solaris and others.

A decade earlier in its initial phase of development, Linux was identified to be a "naughty system", hence, it remained normally out of everyday lay users (and due to the lack of internet facility). This “troubled childhood,” haunts many of us still, however, present day Linux is easy to install and use for variety of purposes. Today, Linux is enjoying a favourable growth. This comes from the fact that Linux has proven to be a tremendously stable and versatile operating system and can be installed on desktop PC, laptop, netbook and on servers. Moreover, there is no single report of virus attack/infection in the system till date.

Linux is built and supported by a large international community of developers and users dedicated to free, open-source software (FOSS). This community sees Linux as an alternative to proprietary system and as a platform for alternatives to such proprietary applications as MS Office, Internet Explorer, and Outlook. As a result, there is a very large collection of free software available for Linux. There are graphical environments (GUIs), office applications, developers' tools, system utilities, business applications, document publishing tools, network client and server applications- the list goes on. For every purpose, there is a software - from designing home, maintaining balance sheet, audio-video, games, internet, etc. There are more than 20,000 softwares available on the internet free of cost worth exploring to accommodate one's need.

Linux is most commonly distributed with a collection of applications in what is called a "distribution". The most common are Redhat, Mandrake, Debian, etc. There are also many internet communities that seek to provide support to Linux users and developers. The various flavours of Linux OS like Debian based Ubuntu, LinuxMint, etc. can be downloaded from the internet or can be ordered at zero-cost from the selected distributions. Unlike other propietary softwares, the user is encouraged and legally entitled to copy, reinstall, modify, and redistribute the OS. Linux's open nature also offers the ability to localise Linux distributions for use in local languages.

The Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalayas: A Linguistic Biodiversity Hotspot

2009-10-08T23:56:00.013+05:30

In environmental science, a biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is threatened with destruction. The Eastern Himalayas is a biodiversity hotspot in which the Darjeeling and the Sikkim Himalayas are the distinguished regions. These two distinguished regions, is a single linguistic ecology for shared historical, cultural as well as demographic considerations, and the languages spoken in this linguistic ecology exist in its environment. In an ecolinguistic map (28° 15' N - 26° 45' N and 88° E - 90° E), it roughly includes present day political boundaries of Sikkim, the Darjeeling district and the Doars (In otherwords, Sikkim of 1815).

A cursory idea about the prevalent linguistic ecology of the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalayas can be summed up in response to Haugen's ten ecological questions:

1. Classification : Languages from all four major families are spoken in the region (eventhough one has to be cautious -- ecolinguistics considers ‘language’ associated with nation-states and sustained by political, educational, information technology, etc., as a cultural artefact).

2. Users: The spatial and the ethnic distribution of the language users vary in this 'linguistic hotspot.' Primarily, TB and IA in the hilly region as well in the Doars whereas Dravidian and AA are exclusive to the Doars. However, such profile negates the fact that many languages in the region are merely nominal rather than in actual use. In other words, there is a high degree of language shift among the different ethnic groups.

3. Domains of language use: The languages have lost their traditional domains as well as they have no footholds in the emerging domains. Some of these languages are moribund and many others are 'folkorised'. Note that there are many languages which are no longer used in any of the domains but has an ethno-political significance as a community identity is based on language rather than a language in use.

4. Concurrent language use: A large number of ethnic groups have changed their language trajectory towards the major/dominant language resulting language shift. However, the cline of shift varies on the various other socio-economic factors, and are domain specific in many contexts. At the same time, it is also found that code switching and code mixing are a part of the communication among various ethnic groups. However, a genuine multilingual situation (as in the sense of Eco) is hard to find in the region. On the other hand, Hindi and English is also prevalent in different domains, class, and in various social settings. Indirectly, these two languages along with Bangla and Nepali are indirectly subsuming the domains leading to language endangerment of other languages.

5. Internal varieties : To a large extent there is a general mapping between an ethnic group and a language. Historically, it is true that the different ethnic groups have patronised their respective language not just for their respective ethnic-linguistic identity but also as a code for communication. However, in the changing scenario, such link between an ethnic group and a language has weakened. There are cases where an ethnic community has lost its language and has shifted/adopted another language. There are also cases that some languages are moribund. These languages are no longer transmitted to the younger generation. At the same time, regional, social, lexical as well as other variations are observed in the languages spoken. Such diversity shows the dynamicity of these languages within the ecolinguistic system reflecting survival of the fittest.

6. Written tradition: A large number of languages has a script of their own -- Bangla, Devanagari, Srijanga, Olchiki, etc. Apart from these scripts, Roman and Devanagari is used in writing the languages of the region though it is not widely prevalent. As far as the written tradition is concerned, apart from Hindi and English, Bangla and Nepali have a major share. Lepcha, Tibetan, and Santali need to find its hold in the system. The use of written symbol is reflected in the linguistic landscape of the region. Undoubtedly, one can find Roman i.e. English over other scripts. At the same time, language customisation is hardly available in domains where different language package/option can be selected by the client/customer.

7. Standarisation of written form: Leaving aside Bangla, Nepali language is standarised, and the eastern variety of Nepali is considered as a standard variety. However, in the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalayas, a variety of Nepali spoken is different. As a result, a diglossic situation arises. Nepali spoken is different from Nepali written in many of its grammatical aspects like in lexicon, intonation, gender agreement, case endings, etc. Similarly, there are differences in spelling too. However, there are efforts to resolve such issues yet it is still a far.

8. Institutional support: A large number of languages of the region receive state patronage. Among them Bangla and Nepali are the foremost. Both these languages are scheduled languages, and receive governmental/institutional support for its vitality and life. Apart from these languages, Lepcha, Bhutia, Sherpa, Tibetan, Gurung, Magar, Tsong (Limbu), Bantawa (Rai), Newari and Koinch (Sunuwar) receive a special status as state recognised languages in Sikkim. However, apart from the cry to develop these languages, both by the concerned institutions and interest groups, there is no significant work which has made difference in the linguistic situation. Note that writing grammars and lexicon won't help languages to flourish in an ecology.

9. Language user's attitude towards the language: In the recent times, speaker's attitude towards language is tied up with political and ethnic identity. It is not surprising to find a person who may not speak or know or judge a word (forget sentence) in a language but the mother tongue claim as well as census return is in the favour of that particular language. This is primarily due to the attitude towards language and it's ethnic patronage -- an ethno-linguistic identity. Apart from the ethno-politically motivated favour/claim, there are also cases where a layman's notion of 'mother tongue' disguises the actual claim for the language that the speaker uses in the reality. However, it is not undermined that due to the socio-economic expectations.

10. Ecological status: There is no doubt that the linguistic ecology of the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalayas is depleting. Like Environmental Impact Assessment, Linguistic Impact Assessment has to be carried out to design an appropriate strategy for a healthy linguistic ecology.

The above cursory take on the linguistic ecology of the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalayas may lead to argue that – “...languages are dying, we must do something to save these languages before...” – a concern advocated and championed by the many. On the other hand, it is to remind the following facts that are prerequisite for linguistic diversity:

1. Linguistic diversity reflects human accommodation to complex environmental conditions. The changes in society affect linguistic diversity, so that it is social policy rather than language policy that is needed to maintain it.

2. A healthy language ecology consisting of a wide diversity of forms of language is claimed to be essential for healthy ecosystems, since local ecological knowledge is built into local language varieties.

3. We cannot create forced linguistic 'reservations', even though they might manage to maintain a particular linguistic variety as it is primarily against the ecolinguistics ethics. It means that if the language users are not interested in preserving and continuing their language, preventive measures cannot be forced despite language loss. Languages have died in history, and will continue to die. But the speakers have always adapted the linguistic environment and they should not die (socio-economically, etc).

4. Ecological linguistics argues that “empowering languages and making them more competitive by giving them grammars, lexica, writing systems, and school syllabi is a recipe that ignores a basic ecological fact: what supports one language may not support another. Each language requires its own ecological system.”

5. LIA for the creation of ecological conditions for the societal vitalisation of languages. The issue here thus is not the preservation of a linguistic ecology, but rather of the promotion of one. Under this conceptualisation, language that the community undertakes revitalisation/development/etc., thus, needs affirmative action, by which an artificial ecology is constructed wherein languages can initially flourish so that it may later be assimilated into natural linguistic ecology.

Finally, it is to make people aware of the vanishing linguistic diversity. Paradoxically, it may prove similar or worth to a statutory warning in a cigarette packet !

Towards Empowering Indian Sign Language

2009-10-08T22:49:00.005+05:30

The cumulative philosophical, historical, social discrimination that the Indian Deaf (the lower case ‘d’ is used for audiological deafness, and the upper case is used as a linguistic and cultural entity) community has passively resisted has resulted in the suppression of Indian Sign Language (henceforth, ISL), which has further violated their right to education through mother tongue, a violation of linguistic human rights. Consequently, linguistic violation has become a hindrance in empowering Deaf community in India.

The most important question regarding empowering the Indian Deaf community is the most appropriate way to impart education. The key political issue in relation to policies in education and beyond in India continues to be a battle, on the one hand, between signing vs. oralism, and in the other hand between ISL and other SLs viz. BSL, ASL, and Total Communication.

The educational methodologies practised so far in India are far from realising their very purpose of empowering Indian Deaf community. Oralism has been professed to ‘normalize’ deaf children by teaching them spoken-written language; along with misconceptions and ignorance of the nature of SL, it has been perceived as a threat to that ‘normalcy’ because it separates the child from the rest of the society. As a matter of truth, oralism violates right to mother tongue education, the most important linguistic human rights -- a linguistic genocide (Skutnabb-Kangas 2000).

On the other hand, ISL in particular is excluded and suppressed as a result of misconception about ISL and due to the lack of pedagogical materials and support. In lieu of ISL, implanted sign languages like ASL and BSL or Total Communication are the medium of instruction. These institutional efforts, in the name of benevolence, by altering, shifting, and consequently uprooting the language of the community is no better than oralism as it also results in a violation of linguistic human rights.

While ISL not only proves to be the only satisfactory solution to improve the quality of education for the deaf and in empowering the Indian Deaf community but also addresses the Indian Deaf community’s identity, culture, linguistic rights, and facilitates the acquisition of social and academic skills.

Of the 14 million deaf population of India (Vasishta 2001), all the members of the population do not sign or share Deaf culture due to variety of rhymes and reasons. Within the Deaf community in India, a continuum of SL use exists due to several socio-linguistic-educational factors. In the fast emerging scenario, the Indian Deaf community is the prime driving force fighting for the establishment of linguistic rights for Deaf as human rights, and ISL as national SL and for medium of deaf education.

With the establishment of institutions like Indian Sign Language Cell (ISL Cell), Mumbai, language policy formulation is carried out along the lines of the ‘Recommendations of the Commission on Sign Language’ of the World Federation of the Deaf. The development of course materials (marks the onset of the standarisation process) for teaching/learning ISL, teacher training, and linguistic research on ISL are some of the Cell’s core area of activity currently. However, such efforts both at the activists’ and the institutional effort are not free from problems as linguistics is embedded within it. The efforts towards a recognition of the linguistic human rights of the Indian Deaf people (and for greener linguistic ecology) can be further accelerated by translating problems into prospects – empowering ISL.

Language as Ecology

2009-10-08T22:12:00.008+05:30

Like language as instinct or organ or behaviour or calculus or tool, language as ecology (Haeckel's term coined in 1866) is a metaphor. It is originally coined by C.F. Voegelin, F.M. Voegelin & Noel Schutz (1967) on The Language Situation in Arizona as Part of The Southwest Culture Area (acknowledged by Haugen). In his seminal paper, The Ecology of Language, Einar Haugen (1972: 325) defines the relationship between language and ecology as “the study of interactions between any given language and its environment,” in which “environment of a language is the society that uses a language as one of its codes” (ibid.). With a passage of time, the concept of 'ecology' within lingusitics broadened including environmental degradation as a linguistic concern (Halliday 1992). Since then the various approaches in the study of language with ecology came to be known as ecolinguistics. In due course of time, this approach has gained its significance in the wake of language endangerment and diminishing linguistic diversity. This is further reinforced by a belief that linguistics can address the contemporary problems by translating it into terms which our tools especially equip us to address (Dasgupta 1999).

Unlike other approaches in linguistics, the ecological approach stresses the 'whole' rather than the 'parts', and studies the interrelation of phenomena of reality and of the key nature of these interdependencies inside the ecosystem in which the languages exist. In other words, ecolinguistics is primarily concerned with the relations between language varieties and their geographical, demographic, social and political contexts. An ethical value that ecolinguistcs bears in mind -- people involved and their autonomy, and people must be its centre and its main reason for existing.

Language as a species, again drawing as a metaphor, is a parasite – its life and vitality depend on it's hosts i.e. speakers, domains, on the society they form, and on the culture in which they live. It is a known fact that the evolution of human languages and verbal behaviours coevolve in conjunction with demographic, socioeconomic, political, and technological events in their milieus. The linguistic objects are also controlled by the sociocultural experiences of their speakers, and the linguistic systems are affected by the socioeconomic and politicocultural conditions of individuals, who are able to decide personally on the language to be transmitted to their successors. Therefore, languages exist in an environment that are either friendly, or hostile or indifferent with respect to a language. In term's of language endangerment, a language can be healthy or endangered or moribund or even folkorised.

Beneath The Mountains - VI

2009-10-08T21:08:00.006+05:30

[Sanu Lama, a versatile writer in Nepali and the Sahitya Academy Award winner (1995), expounds what the ‘development’ means in the actual sense in a story from Himalchuli Mantira (1998). Permission granted to the translator by the author for the present translation].

I was always prompt to visit Premlakha village. I often prepared schedule to be there for tasks, which could have been satisfactorily discharged by my subordinates. The reason behind it was Premlakha’s scenic beauty and its pleasant village. Above all these, the most outstanding cause was Premlakha’s Devi dhara. It was in a partly shaded tract in the middle of the village where cool, pure, and serene perennial water flows. The banana clump, lushing titepati thicket and other vegetation were all around the spring source. After long journey water seems to spout out fumblingly through two boulders from the womb of the earth. After flowing some distance through a bamboo channel, it cascades on the breast of the earth. The stream of water falls on the water-filled flume from where a perceptual melody emanates. Someone in the remote past had put up a stonewall to protect the source from natural calamities. It was covered by weeds, and could only be seen when its layers uprooted. A big slab was there on one side of the spring, meant for washing clothes. On the other, there was a stone parapet meant to keep filled up vessels, whenever to carry on the back with namlo. It was as well a halting place for weary ones and especially for water carriers to gossip.

After uphill walk to Premalakha, first I used to go to Devi dhara. I used to sip a double-handful of spring water till my inner thirst get quenched, and used to sit on that parapet. I often heard the bubbling of water from the source, murmuring sound while passing through, and at last the cascading music while falling down as a stream. I relax, and lost in sheer joy.

The magical attraction of Devi dhara was not only to me but for others also. In the pretext of washing his hands and feet, Daulat Rai spends hours in this spring to cool down his anger whenever he quarrelled with his wife. Jitman comes worrying about his inability to pay Ghalay mahajan’s debt for this time too even after selling his ginger. He uproots the weeds grown on the parapet and prunes the bowing stalk of titepati. On returning his face would be bright, he would solve his problem.

Jangabir Ghalay’s house was near Devi dhara. Sita, an elder daughter of the house, in particular used to fetch water. She comes out of the house with an urn. After walking three hundred steps through the edges of the mustard field, turning right to a big banyan tree, she descends down keeping left to the three mustard sown terraces. A little away, she crosses the fence and again walks fifty steps of slanting path and reaches that quiet place. She washes her urn and lets it to fill up. Supporting her chin by both her palms she sits on the parapet watching the flow of spring on the urn. She is aware of the brimming water and spilling down in ripples. Only when other fellow carriers come chatting and laughing, she awakes as if from sleep. The felling of trees was strictly prohibited in the source and near by. It was a dwelling place of Nag, and would cause ailments if kept unclean and disturbed. The village folks were not able to think even to go inside and make the sanctuary dirty. One evening, a cow entered the source to eat the bowing banana leaves, Oly baajay hastened to send his grandson to drive away the cow. He did but from the same night he suffered from high fever. Nag was furious so the village sorcerer could do nothing. At last, the patient was taken to the health centre where injection and tablets for about two weeks cured him. This is a very old happening but even today every child and folk of Premlakha know the tale.

In the beginning, there were only eight or nine houses on the slopes of Premlakha, but now every year new more houses could be seen. The married sons disjointed from their family to start of their own. The fields divided, paths added, and the spring left far off. Devi dhara was no more convenient to all. For somebody it became far, for others, there arose a problem of carrying water uphill, and for some new houses new paths required to reach the spring. In the mean time, Sita was married. Her husband was from Barbotay, two hills behind to the southeast, where could be reached at late evening if one set out early in the morning. Ghalay mahajan had confidentially told me this earlier. I had received the invitation too and had determined to attend her wedding but being absorbed in the hustle-bustle of the official work I could not.

There was a discussion in the Gram Panchayat regarding the problem of drinking water. The several villagers urged to provide water from other source. This new issue of Premlakha was forwarded by the panchayat to the government.

After about a year, I had to go to Premlakha. I was trailing the path which I had travelled through many times. It was late September. The weather was equally cool and warm, sweet autumnal fragrance was in the air. A bright day, the blue sky the entire village was looking beautiful. A kind of intoxication has entered the atmosphere and has made the surrounding exhilarating. The aroma of newly upturned soil, meant for next cropping has mingled with air here and there. All other crops were harvested except paddy. After passing the straight way of Tara village, I started uphill walk. After ascending a kilometre, Premlakha village commences. Whenever I climb up the hill always the charm of Devi dhara helps me.

Rapt in the pleasant autumnal day I reached Devi dhara unaware. I was awakened by its cascading sound, which was always there in my ear. I went to the spring and drank cool, sweet water as usual with a double-hand till my inner thirst was quenched. After drinking water when I raised up my head I saw her gently smiling at me. She was beautiful; she was looking more beautiful after marriage. There was a bright vermilion the long parting of her thick dark hair. A single plait of long hair. At present, she was playing with the hair-end of the plait in her hands.

I sat on a tree stump in front of her.

“Sita, when did you come?” I asked.

“Yesterday evening”, she replied short and was quiet for some time, and said, “I came on receiving the message of father’s sickness.”

“Is it not a year that you got married? I had received the invitation but being busy in work I couldn’t attend.” And I said to Sita keeping my eye on the spring, “You can’t forget this spring, isn’t?”

“How can I, dear brother! Of what sort of pleasure it gives! What magic is therein this spring?…But, look here brother, weeds are growing all around the spring. It has been uncared. The village has made it an orphan.”

I looked at and was dumbfound to see its condition. I did not notice when I had water. The weeds are growing everywhere; only half of the bamboo channel is seen. Titepati and other plants have grown into a jungle. The channel is scummed. The green algae have mantled the washing slab. The parapet, where the village lasses would gossip while filling up their urn was difficult to make out in the weeds. The spring was piteous. Only the cascading water flowing through the channel and its sound was unchanged.

“I hold you responsible for its negligence,” at once Sita said. I looked at her with surprise. I was so astonished that I could not ask her what my fault was.

“I feel very pity for this spring,” she said. “Just, I was alone weeping here.” Her eyes looked moistened. “You supplied water through metal pipe to each and every house from that remote Kirnay vir. None comes here to fetch water. Since ages, this spring has saved the lives of this village; now look at its condition. How unkind the villagers are! In the name of development you shouldn’t have brought water from Kirnay…” After saying this much she sat leaning as if tiresome and stared at Devi dhara.

What is development? I questioned myself. Each and every house has water tap. The villagers want development and we provide them water at their courtyard. When they say it is difficult to walk, we construct roads and smaller bridges. We have kept them in a great illusion. We have urged them to accept some convenience as development. We only can feel proud of development if we can improve their socio-economic condition through raising their earnings. To protect the woods is a development. To look after this sort of spring, such a public property is a development. The development is a vow to do something. The satisfaction that one gets in doing some good to the self and others as well is a great development.

I decided in mind to rejuvenate this spring and to give back its previous form. I vowed to make this spring once again a centre of attraction. Let it attract all. Let Daulat Rai come. Let Jitman come.

Glossary:

1. Devi dhara: a name of a natural spring considered holy.
2. Titepati: Artemisia vulgaris, a medicinal plant.
3. Namlo: The rope or band made of jute passed through the forehead and supporting a load carried on the back.
4. Mahajan: a local term for shopkeeper/moneylender.
5. Nag: The holy serpent.
6. Baajay: a common term for grandfather.
7. Kirnay vir: a name of a cliff.

Nepali Speech Community & Its Internal Dynamics

2009-10-08T20:44:00.002+05:30

In the Nepali linguistic community, the formation and fragmentation of community/identity and the mediatory role played by language planning/socio-political process is an issue of contemporary concern. From the 1990s onwards, an interesting dynamics within the Nepali community is taking place both in Nepal and India regarding ethnicity within which the issue of language is embedded. The ethnic/clan languages as a symbolic badge of membership and distinctiveness in the multiethnic and multilingual but in the different socio-political realities and the different hidden aspirations and the agenda play a role in asserting identity, democratic values and norms, functions in acquiring official packages for socio-economic betterment.
In Nepal, the inadequacies of the 1990 Constitution along with the other state mechanisms failed to meet the aspirations of the various nationalities both at the cultural level and at the level of accessing resources. It has become a major source of irritant in protecting the rights of the nationalities. The issue of linguistic rights, therefore, is embedded in the minority rights, later under the indigenous peoples' rights in reaction to the United Nations’ call for a Decade of Indigenous People. The language movement, hence, is to ensure justice, preserve and promote linguistic heritage and culture, to ensure a federal structure, to promote national unity and integration, to establish egalitarian society and cordial relationship between different nationalities, to end the linguistic hierarchy and the hegemony of Nepali language. Moreover, to ensure democratic values and norms, and is aimed towards linguistic ecology.
In India, after the Mandalisation, Nepali as a consciousness weakened and consequently, internal cracks began to develop within the Nepalis, a linguistic community which subsumes nationalities of a large number of speakers of the Tibeto-Burman and the Indo-Aryan languages having distinct religious, cultural and linguistic traits. Each member started to assert its identity to benefit from the policy. This quest of asserting different identity led to a genesis of a serious linguistic concern. The different members started to disclaim the Nepali language as the marker of their identity and invoked language to distinguish from each other as the marker of their identity assertion. Consequently, along the linguistic lines, the community has begun to be divided, which further accelerated the division between the septs whose languages were sept-based. All these have happened without establishing first the actual use and functionality of those languages, and solely on the basis of asserting linguistic heritage. Moreover, behind the linguistic concern there is no linguistic motivation for linguistic diversity but primarily used as a tool to create distinct identity vis-à-vis Nepali to avail the benefits of the policy.
The developments in India and Nepal show a constant tug-of-war between nationism vs. nationalism (Fishman’s term 1972) in different socio-political environment, which translates into a case of a dichotomy of revival vs. maintenance. Within the specific socio-economic, political, and demographic and various other contexts revival or maintenance seems to be beneficial to the speakers for whom it is meant. The sweeping revivalism as articulated by the preventive linguists or the extreme linguistic homogenization, are both non-progressives for the linguistic community, when the same is followed without determining the contemporary context, without understanding of praxis and establishing functioning linguistic diversity first. Therefore, the strategy needs a rethinking – the issues of language revival and maintenance are better defined context specifically and in terms of proceeds for the community, to whom scholarly analysts are accountable.

[An abridged version of the paper Nepali Speech Community & Its Internal Dynamics presented at National Conference on Identity and Nationality of the Indian Nepalis: Issues and Perspectives, Gangtok, Sikkim, 2006].

With Us or With Them

2009-10-07T14:28:00.002+05:30

With the establishment of the Gorkha rule at the Kathmandu valley in 1769, the political, cultural, and religious hegemony the Gorkha brought large number of dissident nationalities into the Darjeeling Hills, and beyond. After the conquest of the kirant territories, the political occupation was followed by cultural imposition which resulted in the migration of large number of the Kirant people into Sikkim and Bhutan who had maintained their own cultural traditions resisting the state indoctrinated culture (Dhungel 2006). The direct and indirect pressure of state taxation for the maintenance of the newly formed Gorkha empire led to the further migration of Rais, Limbus and Yakhas from the Kirant territory abandoning their kipat (cited in Subba 2002: 121). Chemjong (1974/5) cites successive waves of migration of the Limbus from their kipat into Darjeeling, Assam and Bhutan between 1840 and 1860.
In the wave of the territorial expansion towards the east, the Gorkha conquered Darjeeling, the then part of Sikkim and the present day western Sikkim in 1780 and retained till 1816. After the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-15) and the subsequent Treaty of Segowlee (1815), the present day frontiers between India and Nepal were drawn. In February 1835, through the Deed of Grant, the Maharaja of Sikkim presented “…out of friendship … Darjeeling to the East India Company, that is, all the land south of the Great Rungeet River, east of the Balasan River, Kalyail and Little Rungeet Rivers, and west of the Rungus and Mahanadi Rivers” (Mainwaring 1876: viii). By Capt. Llyod’s estimate, it was “30 miles long and 10 miles at some places in breadth”, and was referred as the Darjeeling Tract (Pinn 1986: 15). Since, the British could not present retaliatory gift- a demand of the Sikkimese King for Dabgaon, and Rummo Purdhan, who had fled with two years revenue; it was compensated by annual subsidy (see Moktan 2004). By 1836, the British established Darjeeling as a sanatorium and started to build roadways to and in the Darjeeling Tract for which the Nepali labourers were employed (Pradhan 2004). Apart from maintaining the public works, the Nepalis were employed in the maintenance of the colonial administration in the Darjeeling Tract. Soon the British found the Darjeeling Tract suitable for tea plantation and started to grow tea on a commercial basis, which required large number of labourers. Apart from the locals the people from the eastern hills of Nepal supplied the plantation force, and eventually led to the establishment of a Nepali community in various tea gardens of Darjeeling.
To maintain their colonial interest in Sikkim, the British continued to promote Nepali migration in the Sikkim Hills to dilute the Chinese influence. Kalimpong, a subdivision of the present day Darjeeling district, was under Bhutanese rule from 1706 until 1864 (Subba 1989: 74). After the Anglo-Bhutanese War (1864-5), a large number of Nepalis from the eastern Nepal migrated to the southern Bhutan (Hutt 2003).
After the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-15, the British started to recruit Magars, and Gurungs, and later on Rais and Limbus to fuel the British consolidation in India and abroad (Caplan 1998). A large section of the British Gorkha chose to settle in the Darjeeling Hills after retirement. Historiography of Nepali speaking people settled in the Darjeeling and Sikkim Hills and beyond has focused on the migration as the part of the British colonial project citing pull and push factors as mentioned above. In other words, the history of the Nepali speaking population in India begins with the colonial project, ignoring earlier migration of the people into the Hills of Darjeeling and Sikkim. Dhungel (2006) citing Hodgson’s manuscript mentions the influx of the Khas-Bahun from the west into the Kirant territory during the time of Sirichongba (Sirijanga) in the 18th century. Further, Sirichongba’s writing in Nepali proves the spread of Nepali language among the Kirant before the Gorkha conquest of the Kirant territory. The eastward migration of the various communities is supported by the correspondences dating 1773-4 between the Gorkha king Prithivi Narayan Shah and Harinanda Pokhrael of Majh Kirant. The latter provided logistical support and the Murmi (Tamang) and the Sunuwar did the porterage in the Gorkha conquest of Majh Kirant (Stiller 1973: 136). Such narratives account for the eastward migration of the different nations in the past which was not limited within the frontiers of Nepal. Pradhan (1982) cites Nepali historical records dating 1815 and 1826 to support the idea that there was to and fro movement of the people between eastern Nepal and Darjeeling. He also holds the view that Limbu (Tsong) and Magar villages were in existence in Sikkim during the 17th century. It supports the view that there was eastward migration of the different nations in the past though Joseph Hooker (1848) has claimed that the Magars were indigenous to Sikkim. The ‘History of Sikkim’ by Namgyal and Dolma (1908) based on historical documents mentions the Lepcha and Magars villages in 1641 before the establishment of the Tibetan rule in Sikkim (Pradhan 2004: 6). From the 17th century onwards, Nepali language was used in the administrative and the legal systems of the kingdom of Sikkim (BNRP 1992). The Sikkimese coins engraved in Nepali (Devanagari) were in circulation in the 19th century (Bhattacharya 1980). Another important historical event of 1826 throws an important light on the relation between people of eastern Nepal and Sikkim. After the Sikkimese King Phyug-phu Namgyal assassinated his Lepcha chief minister, Karthak Chanjo Bolod, and his immediate family, his nephew Yuklathup escaped with his family members and 800 Lepchas and Limbus and took asylum in the Limbuwan district of Illam in Nepal (Dhungel 2006). It is interesting to note that the Darjeeling Tract was spread over 138 square miles in contrast to the present district of Darjeeling which is 1256.6 square miles and till 1839 the population was of 100 heads after the exodus of 800 plus inhabitants to Nepal in 1826. This clearly reflects that Darjeeling of 1835 was not Darjeeling as it is understood today. The exclusion of other areas means the exclusion of the population inhabiting those areas that constitutes today’s Darjeeling.
After the opening of tea gardens in the Darjeeling Tract in 1841, Campbell’s 1849 enumeration takes count to 10,000 showing the decadal growth of 1000%. The present district of Darjeeling was carved out in 1866 by including Kalimpong, which was under the Bhutanese till 1864. Prior to this, in 1850 the British annexed the whole southern part of Sikkim, between the Great Rangeet and the plains of India, and from Nepal on the west to the Bhutan frontier and the Teesta on the east comprising of 640 square miles. The first population census of the district in 1872 shows the total population at 94,712 of which 34% were Nepalis (see Pradhan 2004 for greater detail on population). Such a massive increase in the population shows a large presence of Nepalis in Darjeeling which not only coincides with the opening of the tea gardens but also shows that there was already a significant Nepali population in the district prior to the British arrival. Rai (1994) writes that the British got Darjeeling “together with the Nepali people living thereon.” Sinha (1978: 24-25) cites that Nepali was one of the languages of the Mughal Bengal which was larger than the present West Bengal. Moreover, it is hard to believe that in the area lying between Sikkim and east Nepal, despite of the presence of the Limbus and the Magars on both sides, there was an absence of settlements. In contrary, the various toponyms of the Magar, the Limbu, and the Lepcha origins in the Darjeeling Hills supports of a continuous settlement.
Such historical narratives prove that the Indo-Nepal border was more porous in the past before the formation of India and Nepal, than it is today. Therefore, it would be difficult to accept the construct totally that the whole of the Nepalis is descendant of a migrant population. Such accounts should suffice to assert the presence of Nepalis prior to the British colonialism. However, research on such history, perception, and politicalisation based on it is still awaited.

[Excerpt from Samar Sinha & Tapasya Thapa. With Us or With Them: Identity Politics, Nomenclative Crisis & Consolidation Process, a paper presented at 27th Annual Conference of Linguistic Society of Nepal & 12th Himalayan Languages Symposium, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu & 26th Annual International Conference of South Asia Language Analysis, Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore.]

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The first salary

2009-10-06T21:51:00.001+05:30

My first gross salary as an assistant teacher at Ruhiyyih School, Jorebunglow, Darjeeling was Rs. 1492/-. After deducting Rs. 12/- Professional Tax, Rs. 39/- E.P.F. and Rs. 6/- F.P.F., I got Rs. 1435/- in hand on 11.04.1996.

A Few Steps Away From You

2009-10-06T20:23:00.000+05:30

Dear,
A few steps away from you,
I throw a glance at you
And sparks of hope spring

Your strange look is thoughtful enough.
Your shadow run across my mind
Self ignited, self bounced
In the midst of the crowd.

Dear,
Are you aware of
When you look at me.

22.09.1994
Rangbull

Mana Mohini and Mrig-Trishna

2009-10-06T20:06:00.000+05:30

Oh, Mana Mohini,
The lightning from an unknown horizon,
The thunder like sound of anklets of Menuka;
Came into my life as Indra's vajra.

Oh, Mana Mohini,
How sweet thou, Brahama's creation -
Lustrous Ganga flowing from your skull
And swings like heavenly angel.
Her woven body flutters, as if Menuka is dancing
Angelic beauty and melodious note, which deceive
Leaps in my heart like a new born kid
And thus breaks my meditation as that of Vishwamitra.

Oh, Mana Mohini,
Let not you be the Mrig-Trishna of my life.

15.11.1992
Rangbull

Haiku (2002)

2009-10-06T19:58:00.009+05:30

Illusion
Mouse and cat
Hide and seek each other.

2002
Rangbull