Talking Points: The Linguists

This is one of four linked blogposts, building on the Norman Maclean “Talking Points” series of discussions, which focus on specific contributions from the participants.

This post features the Linguistic Scholars Professor Conchúr Ó Giollagáin, Professor Udaya Narayana Singh, and Doctor Joseph Farquharson.

Conchúr Ó Giollagáin is Gaelic Research Professor at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scotland, and the Director of the UHI Language Sciences Institute and of the Soillse inter-university Gaelic research network.

Udaya Narayana Singh is Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Chair-Professor of the Amity Centre for Linguistic Studies at Amity University Haryana in India, and formerly Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Visva-Bharati, Shantiniketan, and Director of the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore. He also has a keen interest in Creative Writing.

Joseph Farquharson is Senior Lecturer in Linguistics in the Department of Language, Linguistics, and Philosophy at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus in Jamaica. He is also the Co-ordinator of the Jamaican Language Unit and the Unit for Caribbean Language Research.

Professor Conchúr Ó Giollagáin

In the opening session on Language Endangerment – Gaelic Trajectory? Conchúr elaborates on 5 major points touched on by Norman, linking them to sociolinguistic research and findings. He finishes with a challenge to academics and policy-makers to engage in honest debate with the Gaelic-speaking community.

Professor Udaya Narayana Singh

In the second session on Language Hierarchies – English Ascendancy? Udaya reflects on prevalent linguistic accommodation in South Asia and offers an overview of language hierarchies in that region. He acknowledges the status of English as a “High Code” while emphasising the dynamic and enduring inter-relationships of other languages. 

Doctor Joseph Farquharson

In the third session on Language Contact – Bilingual Balance? Joseph considers the normalisation of the “monolingual ghetto”, agreeing with Norman on the narrowed worldview it affords. He goes on to introduce the concept of “Conquest Diglossia” resulting from a colonial schooling process that denigrates low-status languages.

Other Posts

The format for the other contributions to this series of blogposts is slightly different, as they include (or link to) significant additional writing as well as similar short video clips:

The Interpreter (Kalyan Das Gupta)
The Poet (Audrey West)
The Teacher (Jane NicLeòid)