Professor Anvita Abbi (born 9 January 1949) is an Indian linguist and scholar of minority languages, known for her studies on tribal languages and other minority languages of South Asia.
In 2013, she was honoured with the
Padma Shri
Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
, the fourth highest civilian award by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
for her contributions to the field of
linguistics
Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...
.
Biography
Anvita Abbi was born on 9 January 1949, in
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...
to family that had produced a number of Hindi writers.
After schooling at local institutions, she graduated in economics (BA Hons) from the
University of Delhi
Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...
in 1968.
Subsequently, she secured a master's degree (MA) in
linguistics
Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...
from the same university with first division and first rank in 1970
and continued her studies to obtain a PhD from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
, Ithaca, USA, in 1975,
with a major in General Linguistics and minor in South Asian Linguistics.
She worked as professor of linguistics at Centre for Linguistics, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies.
She currently lives in New Delhi.
Legacy
![Great Andamanese couple](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Great_Andamanese_couple.jpg)
Anvita Abbi is credited with extensive research on the six language families in India
and the languages and culture of the
Great Andamanese
The Great Andamanese are an indigenous people of the Great Andaman archipelago in the Andaman Islands. Historically, the Great Andamanese lived throughout the archipelago, and were divided into ten major tribes. Their distinct but closely relate ...
which she did as a part of the ''Endangered Languages Documentation Project'' (ELDP) project on ''Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese'' (VOGA),
SOAS, University of London
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...
.
Her studies of 2003-2004 have helped in identifying the distinct characteristics of two Great Andamanese languages,
Jarawa and
Onge
The Onge (also Önge, Ongee, and Öñge) are an Andamanese ethnic group, indigenous to the Andaman Islands in Southeast Asia at the Bay of Bengal, currently administered by India. They are traditionally hunter-gatherers and fishers, but al ...
which promoted the concept of a sixth language family of India.
Later researches on
Andamanese
The Andamanese are the indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, part of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal in Southeast Asia. The Andamanese peoples are among the various groups ...
people by other scholars have reported to have confirmed Abbi's findings by discovering two distinct
haplogroups of the region, viz. M31 and M32.
She resumed her research on the topic in 2006, concentrating on the
morpho-syntax and lexicon of three dying languages of Andaman Islands and unearthed evidence proving that Great Andamanese belongs to a linguistically different language family.
She has also compiled an English-Great Andamanese-Hindi Dictionary.
Her current project covers the grammar and the evolution of
Great Andamanese
The Great Andamanese are an indigenous people of the Great Andaman archipelago in the Andaman Islands. Historically, the Great Andamanese lived throughout the archipelago, and were divided into ten major tribes. Their distinct but closely relate ...
languages and its people.
A teacher at the JNU, Abbi has assisted 20 PhD and 29 MPhil students in their researches.
Positions
Abbi has held many positions of importance, both at administrative and academic levels. Current position: Director, Center of Oral and Tribal Literature Sahtiya Akademi, New Delhi India. Adjunct Professor, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada and the President of the Linguistic society of India.
She has served as an advisor to institutions such as
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
(since 2002) and
Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...
. She is also a life member of the ''Linguistic Society of India'' at their
Dravidian Linguistics Association
The Dravidian Linguistics Association is a learned society of scholars of Dravidian languages, based in Thiruvananthapuram. It holds the annual "Conference of Dravidian Linguists". The president is P.T. Murugaretnam (Madurai Kamaraj University).
...
wing and has also sat on the editorial board of two journals, ''Indian Linguistics'' (1991–95) and the ''International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics''
(1992–96).
The list of academic and organizational responsibilities Professor Anvita Abbi has carried out may be listed as:
* Chairperson, Centre of Linguistics and English,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
, New Delhi - 1995-97 and since 2007
* Proctor -
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
* Member of the
University Grants Commission (UGC) Review Committee- 1996
* Member - Advisory Committee -
Central Institute of Indian Languages
The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) is an Indian research and teaching institute based in Mysuru, part of the Language Bureau of the Ministry of Education. It was founded on 17 July 1969.
Centres
The Central Institute of Indian Lan ...
, Mysore -
Ministry of Human Resource Development
The Ministry of Education ( MoE; formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development from 1985 to 2020) is a ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on Education. The Ministry is further d ...
, India - 1996 & 1999
* Member - Advisory Board -
Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...
for ''Bhasha Samman awards'' in Tribal and Lesser known languages - since 2002
* Advisor -
Linguapax Institute,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, since 2000
* Member - Board of Directors -
Terralingua, Washington DC, USA - 1998, 2001-2004 and 2004-2006.
* Member - Review Committee -
Dravidian University,
Kuppam
Kuppam is a Granite City of Andhra Pradesh. Kuppam is a Municipality in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh located 115.8 kilometers South-East of Bangalore, the Capital City of Karnataka and 243 kilometers West of Chenna ...
, Andhra Pradesh - 2006
* External member - Centre of German Studies - Jawaharlal Nehru University - 1990-2002
* External member - Centre of East Asian Studies - Jawaharlal Nehru University - 1990-2002
* External member - Centre of French studies - Jawaharlal Nehru University - 1990-2002
* Member - Governing body -
Daulat Ram College - 1995-2001
* Member - Advisory Board - International University of Hindi, Wardha - 1998-2000
* External Member - Faculty of Arts,
University of Delhi
Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...
, Delhi - 1995-2000
* Member - Bifurcation Committee - Centre of Afro-Asian Studies
* Member - Academic Council - Jawaharlal Nehru University - 1995-1997
* Member - Telecommunication Committee - Jawaharlal Nehru University - 1995-1996
* Member - Equivalence Committee - Jawaharlal Nehru University - 1986-1988
* President - Music Society - Jawaharlal Nehru University - 1982-1986
* Advisor - Konkani Survey - Konkani Academy, Goa - 1991-1992
* Advisor - Post Graduate Hindi Linguistics Courses -
University of Delhi
Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...
- 1991-1992
* Director - South Asia Media Centre -
Kansas State University, Kansas - 1975-76
* Member - Advisory Board - Sahitya Akademi for (Classical Language selection)
Professional assignments and memberships
Abbi has been invited by several universities around the world as visiting professor.
She has taught at the following universities:
*
Kansas State University - 1986
* Advanced Centre of Linguistics,
Osmania University
Osmania University is a collegiate university, collegiate Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farma ...
, Hyderabad - 1990
* South Asia Institute,
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
, Heidelberg - 1998
*
(UNESCO), the Basque country, Spain - 2000
*
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
*
Syracuse University
*
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
*
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
*
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
, Berkeley campus
* University of California, Santa Barbara campus
*
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
, Columbus
*
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
, New Jersey
*
Stuttgart University
The University of Stuttgart (german: Universität Stuttgart) is a leading research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany with ...
*
Max Planck Institute
Max or MAX may refer to:
Animals
* Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog
* Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE)
* Max (gorilla) ...
*
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
, Germany
*
University of Toulouse
The University of Toulouse (french: Université de Toulouse) was a university in the French city of Toulouse that was established by papal bull in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the Frenc ...
, France
* University of Vitoria Gasteiz, The Basque Country, Spain
* Universitas Bung Hatta, Padang, Indonesia
*
Kobe University
, also known in the Kansai region as , is a leading Japanese national university located in the city of Kobe, in Hyōgo. It was established in 1949, but the academic origins of Kobe University trace back to the establishment of Kobe Higher Comme ...
, Japan
Anvita Abbi, an honorary life member of the
Linguistic Society of America
The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: ''Language'', ...
and the
Dravidian Linguistics Association
The Dravidian Linguistics Association is a learned society of scholars of Dravidian languages, based in Thiruvananthapuram. It holds the annual "Conference of Dravidian Linguists". The president is P.T. Murugaretnam (Madurai Kamaraj University).
...
,
sits on the Advisory Board of
Terralingua and the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
.
She has also served as a Director Board member of Terralingua during 1998-2008.
Lectures
Anvita Abbi has presented papers and delivered keynote addresses at various platforms and at many institutions of repute.
A selection of her lectures are:
Publications
Anvita Abbi is credited with 19 books, authored, coauthored and edited.
Her writings cover the typology, structures and ethnolinguistic aspects of languages and their documentation.
Her work has spanned the entire Indian subcontinent
and the most known among her works is her project, ''Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese''.
* Endangered Languages of the Andaman Islands
* A Manual of Linguistic Fieldwork and Structures of Indian Languages
* Language Structure and Language Dynamics in South Asia (Select papers from the SALA XVIII)
* Languages of Tribal and Indigenous Peoples of India. The Ethnic Space
* Language and The State. Perspectives on the Eighth Schedule
* Semantic Universals in Indian Languages
* India as a Linguistic Area Revisited
* Reduplication in South Asian Languages. An Areal, Topological and Historical Study
* Studies in Bilingualism
* Semantic Theories and Language Teaching
* Semantic Grammar of Hindi. A Study of Reduplication
* A Dictionary of the Great Andamanese Language: English-Great Andamanese-Hindi
* A Grammar of the Great Andamanese Language. An Ethnolinguistic Study. 2013. Brill Publications. Leiden. (hardback); 978-90-04-24612-6
* Unwritten Languages of India (edited) 2017. Sahitya Akademi Publications, Delhi.
Her Hindi short story anthology, ''Mutthhi Bhar Pahcaan'', was published in 1969.
* Mutthhi Bhar Pahcaan (A Handful of Recognition). A collection of short stories 1969. Radhakrishan Prakashan, Delhi.
Anvita Abbi has also published over 80 articles in national and international peer reviewed journals.
Some of her notable articles are:
* Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese (VOGA)
* Universal Grammar, Language Evolution, and Documenting an Ancient Language. Language Documentation and Linguistic Theory
* Is Great Andamanese genealogically and typologically distinct from Onge and Jarawa?
Awards and recognitions
Anvita Abbi has been honoured by several institutions and establishments.
She has held the position of the Visiting Scientist at the
Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology,
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
, Germany for three years, 200, 2003 and 2010.
She was a ''Leverhume Professor'' at the
SOAS, University of London
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...
in 2011
and a fellow of Humanities and Social Sciences at the
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
, New York, USA in 1990 and a visiting fellow of the
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...
, Melbourne in 2003.
Abbi was a visiting professor at the Cairns Institute,
James Cook University, Australia during 2010-2011.
Some of the other honours she has received are:
* Kenneth Hale Award by the Linguistic Society of America. ‘For outstanding lifetime contributions to the documentation and description of languages of India, with particular note of her extraordinary contributions to the documentation of the Great Andamanese language, a moribund language that is a key isolate in understanding the peopling of Asia and Oceania.’ 2015.
* ''Rashtriya Lok Bhasha Sammaan'' - Gandhi Hindustani Sahitya Sabha - 2003
* Fellowship - All India Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla - 2001
* Gold Medal - Delhi University - 1970
In 2013, the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
honoured Anvita Abbi by awarding her the civilian award of
Padma Shri
Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
.
See also
*
Great Andamanese people
The Great Andamanese are an indigenous people of the Great Andaman archipelago in the Andaman Islands. Historically, the Great Andamanese lived throughout the archipelago, and were divided into ten major tribes. Their distinct but closely relat ...
*
Jarawa language (Andaman Islands)
*
Önge language
The Onge language (also spelled ''Öñge'', ''Ongee, Eng,'' or ''Ung'') is one of two known Ongan languages within the Andaman family. It is spoken by the Onge people in Little Andaman Island in India.
History
In the 18th century the Onge ...
*
Lists of endangered languages
Lists of endangered languages are mainly based on the definitions used by UNESCO. In order to be listed, a language must be classified as "endangered" in a cited academic source. Researchers have concluded that in less than one hundred years, alm ...
References
Further reading
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* Mutthhi Bhar Pahcaan (A Handful of Recognition). A collection of short stories 1969. Radhakrishan Prakashan, Delhi.
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbi, Anvita
1949 births
Living people
People from Agra
Cornell University alumni
Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education
Writers from Delhi
20th-century Indian linguists
Indian women science writers
Scholars from Delhi
Women scientists from Delhi
Women writers from Delhi
Indian women linguists
20th-century Indian women scientists
20th-century Indian women writers
20th-century Indian writers
Linguists of Hindi
Linguists of Indo-Aryan languages
Linguists of Great Andamanese languages