Linguistics conference begins at Punjab University

Lahore : The second international Conference of the Linguistic Association of Pakistan (ICLAP) being organized by Punjab University Institute of Languages in collaboration with Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has began here at Al Raazi Hall on Tuesday.

Dean Faculty of Oriental Learning Prof Dr Fakhrul Haq Noori, Incharge Institute of Languages Dr Maria Maldonado, Prof. Dr. Francisco Marcos-Marin from Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, the University of Texas at San Antonio, USA, Prof. Dr. Maria Lourdes Garcia-Macho from National University of Distance Education, Spain, Dr. Elena Bashir from The Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, The University of Chicago, Chicago, USA, Dr. Tikaram Poudel from Kathmandu University, Hattiban, Lalitpur, President Linguistic Association of Pakistan Dr Ghulam Raza, other speakers from abroad and various parts of country and a large number of students were present on the occasion.

Addressing the ceremony, Dr Fakhrul Haq Noori said that the central theme of the conference “Aspects and Approaches in Contemporary Linguistic Studies” had much importance in present global scenario. Dr Maria Maldonado said that the conference aimed at bringing a vast array of topics related to the theme and taking stock of scholarly work in linguistics in order to identify current research interests and point out possible future directions of the field in Pakistan.

She said that during the conference, we will present Lahore Linguistics Declaration 2016. She said that research in the field of linguistics in PU had been happening since 2010 and Oriental College was making efforts to rename the Institute of Languages as Institute of Languages and Linguistics.

President Linguistics Association of Pakistan Dr Ghulam Raza said that the core objectives of the association are to promote scientific study of languages in country, collaborate with academic institutions and other language-related organizations to making useful linguistic studies, develop linguistic resources and organize linguistic events in the country.

He said the participants could obtain the guiding comments of their peers and experts regarding their own ongoing research projects and share their mature opinion to other linguists working in the common areas of specializations. He said that to boost strong research culture in the field of linguistics, we intend to start publishing the Journal of the Linguistic Association of Pakistan this year.

The conference will continue till Thursday.