The transgender community in India, commonly known as hijras, consists of people who were born as males but address themselves as females. They have been considered as the third gender in India for millennia and have had specific religious and sociocultural values and roles, but are forced to live in shadows in this day and age. Isolation of this community is also reflected in the way transgender characters are represented in Indian entertainment media. The study analyses two transgender themed films semiotically and the audience reception of those representations by 20 members of the transgender community. Semiotics is a helpful tool to understand the ways signs communicate ideas to viewers. This study applies syntagmatic and paradigmatic analyses to understand how images are used to represent and relay information to the audience. Reception theory along with double colonization has been incorporated in this study to analyse the ways in which the transgender community interprets the representations in entertainment media.

This presentation explores the variation in interlinear-glossed text (IGT) in 5 closely related South-Central Tibeto-Burman languages with verb stem alternation, reduplicated adverbial modifiers, and pre-verbal directionals. While IGT is a rich representation of language, IGT for even closely related languages can look markedly different due to individual linguists’ divergent analyses. In comparing the discrepancies between representations of such features, we gain insight into the underlying analytic thinking of the annotator to reexamine and improve analyses.

Presentation from a panel, "Considering Individual and Community Contexts Within Information Pedagogy, Scholarship, and Practice," that was held virtually for the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T). This portion of the panel focuses on the author's research into community-based language research (CBLR) and the Lamkang language.

This inaugural volume of the CoRSAL Occasional Publications is a collection of traditional and personal texts in Thadou, Saihriem, Hrangkhol, and Ranglong, four languages of the Barak Valley region of Northeast India. The narratives were collected, transcribed, and translated by Dr. Pauthang Haokip, who is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India and a member of the Thadou community. This text collection includes grammatical analysis presented in the form of interlinear glossing and accompanied by audio recordings in the Languages of the Barak Valley collection in the Computational Resources of South Asian Languages archive. The collection will be of lasting interest to historical, comparative, and typological linguists, as well as speakers connecting or reconnecting with cultural and linguistic traditions.

Video of Shobhana Chelliah introducing the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability' held at the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts in New Delhi, India. At this workshop, held in conjunction with UNESCO, participants discuss their experiences of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word.

Video of a presentation from the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability.' Ana Roeschley discusses her experience of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word in the Balkans. She talks about the siege of Sarajevo and the destruction of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Video of a presentation from the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability.' Rex Khullar discusses his experience of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word in the hills of Manipur, India. He talks about how village life can be disrupted when children have to go to larger cities to make money for their families.

Video of a presentation from the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability.' Lalnunthangi Chhangte discusses her experience of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word in Mizoram, India. She talks about the legacy of colonialism in the area and the stigma toward indigenous groups.

Video of a presentation from the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability.' L. Somi Roy discusses his experience of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word, and the relations between insurgency and writing systems in Manipur.

Video of a presentation from the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability.' Marjing Mayanglambam discusses his experience of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word, specifically in relation to the scripts used to write the Manipuri language.

Video of a presentation from the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability.' Pauthang Haokip discusses his experience of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word in Manipur, India.

Group discussion about ongoing language documentation activities in the Rabha community.

In this enlightening discussion, Prof. Tadeusz Slupski of Poland, a visitor to Zangskar since November 1977, discusses the cultural shifts over the decades with a couple from Sani village. Slupski narrates the socio-cultural transformations he witnessed since his initial visit and invites the couple to expand on these changes from their firsthand experiences. They discuss the nuances of the architectural evolution of Zangskari houses, delving into traditional heating and lighting methods, recalling cherished olden poems, songs, and dances—emphasizing the "chham" (Chham) dance and costumes, and reminisce about traditional weddings marked by horseback marriage processions. Dr. Jamphel Sheyan, Assistant Professor of English at GMDC, skillfully interprets the conversation, bridging Zangskari and English. Recorded in Sani village, Ladakh Union Territory, India.

In this insightful discussion, Gyafo (King) Phuntsok Dawa, the King of Padum, answers the questions raised on Zangskar and its history by Dr. Tadeusz Slupski, a regular visitor to Zangskar since 1977. Gyafo Dawa delves into the rich heritage of his lineage and the Zangskari royal family. He recounts the pivotal moment in June 1948 when Zangskar faced invasion from Pakistani forces, prompting his father and the entire family, accompanied by Kushok Bakula Rimpoche, to seek refuge in Himachal Pradesh. Dr. Slupski further inquires about the demographics of Zangskar, leading the discussion towards the significant societal and cultural changes Zangskar has experienced over the past four and a half decades, since he first visited. Recorded in Old Padum village, Ladakh Union Territory, India.

Consent and speaker background of Lalawmpuii including education, languages spoken, and places lived. Recorded in Old Bagbahar.

Consent and speaker background of Linda Saihriem including education, languages spoken, and places lived. Recorded in Old Bagbahar.

Consent and speaker background of Jeremy Aimol including education, languages spoken, and places lived. Recorded in Balisor, Silchar, Assam, India.

Consent and speaker background of Hauva including education, languages spoken, and places lived. Recorded in Old Bagbahar.

Dharendra Basumatary is a businessman with a BA-level education who speaks Hindi and Assamese in addition to Boro, 48 years old at the time of recording. He describes how the Bur river is destroying their village. The Bur river (also called Nizla river) comes from the Bhutan hills and it passes through their village. Nizla river eroded most of the lands of his village. Recorded in Laokhriguri village, Deosri. Transcription and translation into English.

Lachit Basumatary is a daily laborer who speaks Hindi and Assamese in addition to Boro, 31 years old at the time of recording. He describes how he saved fellow villagers during the time flood. He cultivated rice and jute crops, but flood water destroyed everything and didn't get anything. His house's walls also got damaged, and his house is now only 50 meters away from the river. Recorded in Laokhriguri village, Deosri. Transcription and translation into English.

Swmkhang Narzary is a daily laborer who speaks Hindi and Assamese in addition to Boro, 27 years old at the time of recording. He tells about the loss of his land. He says that the river is about to reach his village by eroding day by day, and that 50 houses of his village were damaged in recent floods. He tells that when it rains in Bhutan hills, a sudden flood comes into their village. Recorded in Laokhriguri village, Deosri. Transcription and translation into English.

Uday Basumatary is a farmer who speaks Assamese in addition to Boro, 40 years old at the time of recording. Most of the agricultural land he owned now is eroded by rivers. Earlier he had 15 bighas of land, but almost all the land is eroded by flood water. Now his home is only 50 meters away from the river and he has shifted his house to another place. Recorded in Laokhriguri village, Deosri. Transcription and translation into English.

Mahen Basumatary is a farmer who speaks Assamese in addition to Boro, 42 years old at the time of recording. He describes how he survived the recent flood. His wife was sick during the time of the flood. He somehow managed to save his wife. His wife couldn't walk and he carried his wife on his back to a safe place. Wild elephants also frequently come to his house in search of food. Recorded in Laokhriguri village, Deosri. Transcription and translation into English.

Nila Basumatary is a home maker who speaks Assamese in addition to Boro, 55 years old at the time of recording. Her 10 bigha land was eroded by the recent flood. Every year due to the flood they have to take shelter in another place during the rainy season. They stayed almost two months in the relief camps. Recorded in Laokhriguri village, Deosri. Transcription and translation into English.