Papers by Towhid Bin Muzaffar
Journal of Social Studies, 2013
UNESCO states in its official website that out of the 6000 plus languages spoken today, about hal... more UNESCO states in its official website that out of the 6000 plus languages spoken today, about half will become extinct in about a hundred years. The primary objective of this exploratory study is to preserve those languages which are endangered in Bangladesh. In this phase of our project, we aim at collecting information on Lahra, a heritage language of Bangladesh. Our project entitled Preservation of Endangered Languages funded by Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) has three components namely, linguistic, literary and ethnographic. The multi-disciplinary research team comprising linguists, literary experts and ethnographers has embarked on this long term study from 2012 and the study is still in progress as it involves extensive field trips for data and song collection, case studies and interviews. However, this paper is an attempt at starting the process of preserving the language and the literature of this community. The transcription and the basis for using the word “Lahra” to refer to the language of this community is also discussed. A section deals with the limitations of this study. Next, there is a section discussing poetic meter and the common types of meter forming the basis of the metrical analysis of Lahra songs. And finally, we record and analyse some songs that are the mainstay of their imagination and emotion. To supplement our research findings, we would like to establish the status of the nine criteria of language vitality as outlined by UNESCO under the larger project. Since, there is an absence of written documents which record the language in the form of dictionaries (word lists), grammars, texts (folk tales, poems, songs, riddles), we felt the need to record Lahra.
In this study, an attempt has been made to use the computer program, PHONO, to develop a computer... more In this study, an attempt has been made to use the computer program, PHONO, to develop a computer model which operates on the principle of the regularity of sound change. Surprising though it may seem, since this concept was first coined in modern linguistics, no standard computer program has been developed which could apply cross-linguistically to simulate and study diachronic change. -- We have shown that the program may be used in the study of the Algonquian family of languages. We have developed a working model for the study of phonological change from the reconstructions of Proto-Algonquian to Shawnee. Using this Shawnee Model, we have simulated Shawnee data from reconstructed Proto-AIgonquian words and illustrated a technique to collect or search for evidence for the reconstructed forms. -- Given the nature and status of many languages of the world which are threatened with extinction, this technique may facilitate the preservation of valuable evidence for extinct prehistoric ...
Master's Thesis, 1997
In this study, an attempt has been made to use the computer program, PHONO, to develop a computer... more In this study, an attempt has been made to use the computer program, PHONO, to develop a computer model which operates on the principle of the regularity of sound change. Surprising though it may seem, since this concept was first coined in modern linguistics, no standard computer program has been developed which could apply cross-linguistically to simulate and study diachronic change. -- We have shown that the program may be used in the study of the Algonquian family of languages. We have developed a working model for the study of phonological change from the reconstructions of Proto-Algonquian to Shawnee. Using this Shawnee Model, we have simulated Shawnee data from reconstructed Proto-AIgonquian words and illustrated a technique to collect or search for evidence for the reconstructed forms. -- Given the nature and status of many languages of the world which are threatened with extinction, this technique may facilitate the preservation of valuable evidence for extinct prehistoric languages.
Thesis, 1997
In this study, an attempt has been made to use the computer program, PHONO, to develop a computer... more In this study, an attempt has been made to use the computer program, PHONO, to develop a computer model which operates on the principle of the regularity of sound change. Surprising though it may seem, since this concept was first coined in modern linguistics, no standard computer program has been developed which could apply cross-linguistically to simulate and study diachronic change. -- We have shown that the program may be used in the study of the Algonquian family of languages. We have developed a working model for the study of phonological change from the reconstructions of Proto-Algonquian to Shawnee. Using this Shawnee Model, we have simulated Shawnee data from reconstructed Proto-AIgonquian words and illustrated a technique to collect or search for evidence for the reconstructed forms. -- Given the nature and status of many languages of the world which are threatened with extinction, this technique may facilitate the preservation of valuable evidence for extinct prehistoric languages.
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Papers by Towhid Bin Muzaffar