The University of Hyderabad has recently signed an MoU with Department of Languages and Cultures at Ghent University, Belgium for the Nilgiri Archaeological Project (https://www.nilgiri.ugent.be/), under Professor Danilea De simone (Principal Investigator) exploring the cultural and environmental history of South India. Dr. N. Ramesh is a Research Partner in the Nilgiri Archaeological Project.
The project would focus on the relationship between the language and culture, examining how language reflects social identities, cultural practices and group dynamics and the role includes carrying out interviews and observations within communities to understand language use in cultural contexts. The main focus will be on Toda, Badaga and Kota languages by documenting and preserving the linguistic diversity. In addition, the project would also compare the language practices across cultures to understand the universal and culture specific features.
Dr. N. Ramesh currently serving as an Associate Professor at the Centre for Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies, School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad holds a Master’s in Linguistics and an M.Phil in Applied Linguistics from the University of Hyderabad, along with a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Bharathiar University. His specialization includes Tribal linguistics, Language Endangerment, and Language Documentation. With over 15 published research articles and more than 25 conference presentations, He hails from an indigenous Badaga community from Nilgiris. He has supervised four Ph.D. scholars and is guiding three more, focusing on tribal languages, particularly the Todas of Nilgiris.