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Event Details:
Speaker: Padma Shree Prof. Anvita Abbi
Medium of talk: English
Date: 24th February 2026
Time: 6 pm
Location: Kerala Museum, Edappally
TITLED:
Glimpses of a Pre-Neolithic Civilisation
Resurrecting Linguistic Archaeology of the Great Andamanese
About the talk:
Human language constitutes a critical lens for examining human evolution. Much like stratified archaeological formations, languages develop through successive layers of grammatical and lexical change, each revealing distinct historical stages. Through systematic reconstruction methods, linguists trace these evolutionary trajectories and the gradual shifts shaped by biological, genetic, social, and cultural forces—including migration, displacement, and intergroup contact. Emphasizing the enduring significance of oral tradition, Anvita Abbi demonstrates how the linguistic heritage of the Great Andamanese offers rare and invaluable insights into a rapidly diminishing cultural world.
About the speaker:
Padma Shree Prof. Anvita Abbi is an eminent linguist and social scientist, whose work on tribal and other minority languages of South Asia has been exemplary. An editor and author of 25 books and recipient of several national and international awards, she has been a visiting professor at universities across Europe, Australia, and the Americas and has taught Linguistics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, for four decades. At present, she holds the B.B. Borkar Chair at Goa University and is a member of the Expert Committee of the UNESCO World Atlas of Languages.
