Srinagar: All languages change over time and change is inevitable for any living language. History records that languages change over time at every level of structure. For many people, it is not obvious in day-to-day communication on a personal level because many individuals are so intimately connected to their language that they fail to see its changes.
Language is a blessing through which people can communicate with one another. Language is one of the fabrics of society. Language has gone many changes over time and has been touched by modernity in many ways. To study these changes in languages, the science of language called Linguistics got evolved.
The University of Kashmir has introduced Linguistics as an important subject for undergrad students of the Valley. Linguistics is the scientific study of language and its structure, including the study of Morphology, Syntax, Phonology and Semantics. Specific branches of Linguistics include Sociolinguistics, Dialectics, Psychological Linguistics, Computational Linguistics, Historical Comparative Linguistics and Applied Linguistics. Linguistics has been introduced as a major subject in the colleges of Kashmir University under the new education policy.
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Despite the administration's emphasis on Linguistics, students appear to be confused about this field. Many are still unaware of the benefits and job opportunities in this sector. In this regard, ETV Bharat spoke to research scholars of the Department of Linguistics of the University of Kashmir to understand its scope and career options.
"Linguistics is not just a language but much more than that," said Dr Mehnaz Rashid. She added that her seniors are currently working in multinational companies in India and abroad. In addition to it, many scholarships and funding are available in this stream.
Her colleague Naseem Ahmad Khan said, "Once you have mastered linguistics, you can use your skills in real life. The demand for Linguists is also very high at this moment. You can work as a translator or in online networking. I can get a job with a good salary. In addition, there are good job opportunities in many governments and non-governmental organisations."
Dr Shahnawaz Bhat said, "It is a lot of fun to study a language. How a sentence in one language is formed in other languages when words change. It is a different matter to go about it and do research on it." Tariq Ahmad Dar, another scholar, presented the same view. "Every language is different. No matter how big or small, every language has different rules. It's fun to understand all of that," he said.
