Department of
Humanities

 

One Day Symposium on Emerging Trends in Language Research: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Theoretical and Applied Linguistics

Department of Humanities at COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus organized a One Day Symposium on Emerging Trends in Language Research: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Theoretical and Applied Linguistics. Dr. Sara Khan (Lecturer) convened and materialized the concept of the event and Dr. Saima Chatta, Mr. Muhammad Asif Ikram , Ms. Maryam Jehangir, and Ms. Huma Ejaz provided support in media coverage, refreshments, moderating of panel sessions and opening and closing of the event. The event was attended by the students of BS and MS English Language and Literature. Ms. Shazia Aziz (Assistant Professor), Mr. Samar Kamal Fazli (Assistant Professor), and Dr. Aasia Nusrat (Associate Professor) also graced the event with their worthy participation. The opening and closing of the symposium was graced with motivating and worthy remarks by Dr. Musferah Mehfooz, Head of the Department and Dr. Shameem Fatima, Chairperson, Department of Humanities, respectively. This symposium turned out to be a cohesive collection for linguistic research that falls outside the traditional bounds of sociolinguistics and applied linguistics. With the understanding that theoretical stances and ideas about human behavior can and do cross over disciplinary boundaries, the panel sessions in the symposium will concentrate on the fact that linguistics and language research sit at the intersection of humanities and the social sciences. Each of the panel session aims to present new connections and fresh viewpoints in order to contribute to the interdisciplinary inquiry into the nature of human language. The panel speakers and session chairs that presented their views on the theme of the event were as follows:

  1. Iram Amjad (Assistant Professor, English at Higher Education Department, Lahore)
  2. Tabassum Saba (Assistant Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, University of Lahore) 
  3. Khalid Ahmed (Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Central Punjab) 
  4. Muhammad Islam (Assistant Professor, Department of English Language Teaching & Linguistics, University of Punjab)
  5. Muhammad Umer Azim (Assistant Professor, English at Higher Education Department, Lahore)
  6. Zafar Iqbal Bhatti (Associate Professor, Department of English, Minhaj University, Lahore Campus) 

The Symposium contributed to the better understanding of languages (individually), of language (as a collective human ability), and of their speakers and helped to better understand how society functions and how to improve it, and this is the domain of study of linguistics. The event highlighted that the foundations of linguistics begin with descriptions of the sounds and structures of many languages, from languages of global exchange spoken by millions, to local dialects spoken in remote corners of the world. Finally, the symposium helped the students of BS and MS English Language and Literature connect different academic disciplines to the study of language and to the everyday use of the English language.