Address for Correspondance:
Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture (PILC)
Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture (PILC) is an autonomous research centre
established with a view to promote advanced research in the fields of Linguistic and Culture
in the Union Territory of Pondicherry. PILC is the only research centre which has been established and is being financially
supported by the Government of Pondicherry. The institute is being managed by the Governing
Body with the Education Minister as its Chairman, and the Education Secretary as the
Vice-Chairman. PILC has been recognised as a research centre by the Tamil University, Thanjavur.
With this recognition PILC could now offer part-time Ph.D. programmes in Linguistics, Anthropology
and Tamil literature.
Linguistics and Culture, combined together as thrust areas of research in PILC, are a rare
combination of subjects which have not been taken care of by any of the institutions in and around
Pondicherry. Perhaps, in the whole of India, Pondicherry was the only region until 1981 where
linguistics was completely unknown as a discipline.
In 1981, the International School of Dravidian Linguistics (ISDL) came forward to start centre
at Pondicherry with the grant-in-aid of the Pondicherry government. Later, in 1986, the
Pondicherry government decided to take over the regional centre under its direct fold and
rechristened it as the Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture.
PILC has been conducting various research programmes under three faculties, namely Faculty of
Linguistic Studies (Dr.L. Ramamoorthy; Dr. T. Parasuraman), Faculty of Ethnographic Studies
(Dr. S., Bakthavatasala Barathy; Ms. V. Pragati; Mr.S. Pilavendran), Faculty of Literary Studies
(Dr. R. Sampath; Dr. M. Soudarsanne; Dr. N. Selvaraj). Majority of
the research programmes are very much relevant to the Union Territory of Pondicherry.
Encyclopaedia of Pondichery: Even in the history of Pondicherry Union Territory, the state
has not been represented with its magnificent conformity of culture, history and literary
excellency. Presently, PILC has designed a plan to prepare an Encyclopaedia of Pondicherry
specially focussing on the history of arts, culture, literature and archaeology of the
Union Territory.
Library : With a view to enriching and disseminating knowledge, PILC with strenuous efforts has
been building up a good library. The library is accumulating standard research books as and
when books with intellectual and academic excellence and published in any part of the world.
It is also subscribing to various intellectual research journals from international research area.
Within a short period of 8 years, PILC has collected more than 18,800 books both in Indian and
English languages.
Research Publications
PILC has been developing as a centre of excellence as far as linguistics and Culture are concerned
through its research publications and journal. PILC has brought out the following research titles
which were well received by the professional scholars both from India and abroad:
- A Grammar of Modern Tamil by Dr. Thomas Lehmann,
1993, ISBN: 81-85452-03-2, Rs. 300/ US$ 40
- Tamil Syntax: New Perspectives by Dr. R. Kothandaraman,
1993 ISBN: 81-85452-00-8, Rs. 250 /US$ 35
- Dravidian Linguistics: An Introduction by Prof.Kamil V. Zvelebil,
1997 ISBN: 81-85452-01-6 Rs. 190 /US$ 28
- Roots of Tamil Religious Thought by Dr. Ganapathy Subbiah
1991, ISBN: 81-85452-01-4 Rs. 200 / US$ 30
- Intonation pattern in Tamil by Dr. G. Ravishankar
1994, ISBN: 81-85452-04-0, Rs. 500 /US$ 70
- Bharathidasan: Selected Poems (a comprehensive volume of English
renderings of Bharathidasan's poems (ca. 200) translated by experts)
1996, ISBN: 81-85452-05-9, Rs. 300 /US$ 40
- Tamil as Administrative Language. (Proceedings of Seminars organized by PILC
L. Ramamoorthy, M. Soudarssane & T. Parasuraman (editors)
1997, ISBN: 81-85452-07-5 Rs 170 /US$ 28
- Literary Theories in Tamil by Indra Manuel
1998, ISBN: 81-85452-06-7, Rs 540 /US$ 71
- Irupataam nuRRaantu tamil marapuk kavitai: yaappiyal marapum nekizhvum:
Modern Tamil Poems: Metre
a survey of the studies on the subject already carried out by specialist,
history of Tamil prosody a descriptive study of the metres of eight selected
poets viz., Bharathi, Bharathidasan, Desiga Vinayagam Pillai, Ramalingam Pillai,
Vanidasan, Kannadasan, Mudiyarasan and Surada.
1998, ISBN: 81-85452-08-3, Rs. 250 /US$ 35
- The Private Diary of SRI ANANDHA RANGAPPILLAI (1736 Ð 1761), vol. 1-8
an important contemporary source to any scholar interested in reconstructing the
history of eighteenth century India. The diary which was written in Tamil has been
an exceptional master piece of prose style of that period. The original diary contains
12 volumes out of which 8 volumes have been reprinted and published. Sri Anandha
Rangapillai as Dubash of the French Governor and agent for Indian merchants during
French rule in Pondicherry recorded the daily events he had seen and heard.
Publication Date: 1999
Research Journal: PILC Journal of Dravidic Studies
PILC has been Internationally well known research journal entitled 'PILC Journal of
Dravidic Studies'. It is a biannual research journal, published in English, which carries
original research findings, both theoretical and empirical, on themes and problems
which are of interest to professional scholars in linguistics and culture. Scholars
of international repute contribute their research findings to the Journal in the
form of articles.
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