INDIA DISCOVERY CENTER

First Thomas C Burke Memorial Symposium on Language, Grammar, Prosody and Music

Dates – May 10, 11, 2025, 10 AM to 1 PM (US EST)

(Second Notice)

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

Thomas C Burke was an independent scholar. He did self-study, reached out to scholars of repute and helped out scores of students and Faculty in research and investigation. The Symposium celebrates the spirit of independent research through diligence and industry. Papers in the form of presentations are invited in the following tracks: Language, Grammar, Prosody and Music. Sixteen presentations will be accommodated. Each presentation is expected to be of fifteen minutes duration followed by five minutes Q&A. This document may serve as a guide to the tracks and may serve suggestions in preparing a presentation.

Language: Languages in the world are many and varied. There have been various theories in the migrations of people that could be connected to create an anthropology of world languages. People use different symbols as scripts, some languages are purely oral. Linguists have designated different families to identify similarity in use. The Language track explores the origin of the word in the context of the history of human civilization. We examine the science, the phonetics and the philology in world languages.

Grammar: There is no established theory how a language incorporates a grammar. There is a tendency to think that grammar is natural since children seem to understand language. Most often a language is taught, thus the conclusion is that grammar is impressed. Grammar is - neural but not enough research has been conducted on the neural origin. New methods of artificial intelligence use correlations among the existing utterances, which may have connections to grammar. In addition, this track examines tone, pitch, context and syntax.

Prosody: Prosodic variation in human speech needs more detailed study. Prosody is considered as a property of the language, not a function of human biology. Traditionally Indian literature has created special rhythmic meters to tune lyrics to prosodic variation thus giving it an expression of suggested emotion. Prosody plays a big role in oratory creating motivation, consolation, appreciation and romantic feelings. We explore prosody in world languages and its application in communication and poetics.

Music: Music can be vocal and instrumental. Music has a beat-structured entertainment value that connects to the mind. There are various genres of music given the stress on contents, style, expression and presentation. Religious institutions have their own music to glorify divinity that can pacify anxiety. We have natural music of air, waves, trees and animals. This track will examine how an instrument complements the capacity of the human voice and learn the knowledge implications.

Two-hundred-word abstracts are solicited and can be submitted by email to idcinboston@gmail.com

The submission closing – April 20, 2025, Acceptance intimation – April 30, 2025

Please contact: Paul Meixler pmeixler@gmail.com, Prem Nagar premnagar@gmail.com, Rita Pandey reeta00@gmail.com or Bijoy Misra misra.bijoy@gmail.com

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