Madhuvidya

Author(s): S D Laddu, T N Dharmadhikari, Madhvi Kolhatkar, Pratibha Pingle
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 649

Reviews
241
SOME ASPECTS OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, by A. M.
Ghatage, Shivaji University Extension Lecture Series-1. Shivaji University, Kolhapur, pp. 1-54, Price Rs. 5.00, 1970
This book includes three lectures delivered by Dr. A. M. Ghatage in the Extension Lecture Series organized by the Shivaji University, Kolhapur, in January 1969. The topics covered by the three lectures are : (1) Linguistics-theoretical and applied; (2) Linguistics and Language Competence ; (3) Speech-Teclinology. The lectures are intended to be introductory in nature and are meant for au audience not of expert linguists, but of scholars forming a wider circle of the academic world.
Dr. Ghatage's plan seeing to be first to introduce to the audience the subject of linguistics and then explain to them the relationship this science bas to some of the practical problems facing the country today. He, therefore, tells his listeners in his first lecture what linguistics is and what linguistics is not, and then points out to them where precisely linguistics differs from the traditional grammars. In this context he emphasizes that a language has to be looked upon essentially as a system used by a given cominunity for the prirposes of inter-communication.
In the second lecture, Dr. Curtage deals with some specific aspects of upplier linguistics like the scope of lunyunye teaching and the number of languages to be tanghat, the medium of instruction, and the use of a foreign language like English in a country like India. He also refers to contrastive linguistics which is com; aratively a recent development in linguistics. Dr. Chatnge points out in his discussion what useful part linguistics can play in tuckling the above problems. Some of the observations made in this lecture-e. "Unless there is * strong motivatiou in the forin of its use ia que form or the other, tbe learning of a language is going to be a mere waste of time and energy and it is likely to be quickly forgotten" (p. 29 )-deserve the notice of those engaged in policy-making.
lo bis third lecture, Dr. Ghatage deals with some technical aspects of the study of speech. He describes the functioning of various instruments like the Kymograpb and the Spectograph and the uses to which a language laboratory can be put for teaching a language. He also refers to the use of visible speech for teaching deaf persons and the problems involved in machine translations. Althogh Dr. Ghatage intended to make his lectures not too technical, le could hardly aroid doing this in his third lecture. The reviewer confesses his inability to follow some parts of this lecture.
31 [ Anuals, B. O. R. I. J
Madhu Vidyā/624