First workshop on Pakistan’s indigenous languages held

Islamabad:

The first ever workshop on the indigenous languages of Pakistan took place on Oct 16. The main aim of this workshop was to provide a platform to national and international researchers working on the endangered, minority, and indigenous languages of Pakistan. The National Science Foundation, USA provided fund for the workshop which was attended by more than 40 participants from many countries around the world. The virtual workshop which covered mostly the languages spoken in the northern part of Pakistan was organized by Mr. Qandeel Hussain (University of Toronto, Canada), in association with Jeff Mielke (North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA), Muhammad Kamal Khan (Allama Iqbal Open University), and Fakhruddin Akhunzada (Forum for Language Initiatives). FLI collaborated with international institutions like Department of English, North Carolina State University, USA, Allama Iqbal Open University, and The Phonetic Society of Pakistan (PSP) to organize the event.

The workshop was facilitated by known linguists and anthropologists belonging to Sweden, Australia, Italy and Pakistan. Mr. Henrik Liljegren (Stockholm University, Sweden), shed the lights on Languages and Geography in Northern Pakistan; Areal Typology made Practical’. The session, Writing Kalasha, a study of variations was facilitated by an Australian independent researcher Mr. Gregory Cooper while Mr. Alberto Cacopardu, an Italian anthropologist had the topic, the Glottonyms and Ethnonyms in Peristan. Mr. Augusto Cacopardo, also an Italian anthropologist facilitated the session; Varin, a God of the Southern Kalasha, His Connection to Wine in Mythological text.  Naseem Haider presented his paper on how FLI has been helping community researchers document their mother tongues in northern Pakistan.

Each session was followed by a ‘question and answer’ break and then a general discussion allowed other participants to share their views and feedback.

People in FLI’s network appreciated Mr. Qandeel Hussain for his efforts to organize a worthy event and hoped that workshop will play a significant role in contributing to working for the languages of Pakistan. Out of 73 languages, being spoken in Pakistan, majority are believed to be endangered and many are threatened. The events like this workshop will encourage the local researchers to discover the strength of their mother tongues but also provide opportunity to learn from international researchers and their findings.