Nishaant Choksi
Biographic Data
| ID | 102723 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nishaant Choksi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nishaant |
| FAMILY NAME | Choksi |
| SIGNATURE | CHOKSI N |
| AFFILIATIONS | Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6755-9488 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 48 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Rural to urban migration and discourses of linguistic authenticity in multilingual Nagaland
Transformative Practices in Archaeology: Empowering Communities and Shaping Sustainable Futures
The book introduces a diverse range of themes and practices relating to sustainable heritage management and explores the evolution of auto archaeology
Transformative Practices in Archaeology: Empowering Communities and Shaping Sustainable Futures
Memory and Material Culture Among the Displaced Indigenous Communities of the Narmada Valley, Western India
Language and Landscape among the Displaced Residents of the Narmada Valley, Western India
The construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam in the Narmada Valley in western India displaced more than 30,000 families, mostly from Indigenous communities. Many of those displaced were resettled in regions that had a starkly different ecological and social composition from the mountainous areas they were forced to leave. In this paper we draw on the anthropology of landscape, linguistic anthropology, and ethnophysiography to chart the transformati…
Graphic diversity and ethnic identification in contemporary Manipur
This article describes how attention to the uses, attitudes, and perceptions of various scripts may provide a dynamic picture of the construction of ethnic identity beyond the framework of ethnic conflict in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur. Currently, the languages of Manipur are written in several scripts such as Eastern Brahmi, Roman, Meitei Mayek, and Zo script. Drawing on data collected from interviews of college-age residents of Man…
Postcolonial Language Ideologies: Indian Students Reflect on Mother Tongue and English
The 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) proposes a revision to the Indian education system. The document foregrounds "mother tongue," a concept that has been highly salient in India since the mid-nineteenth century, by specifying that students should learn in it. But it makes little mention of English, despite its importance, and the desire for it, at every level of education. The construction of nation and language in the NEP begs a question: h…
Recording Unmarked Graves in a Remote Aboriginal Community: The Challenge of Cultural Heritage Driving Sustainable Development
Structure, Ideology, Distribution: The Dual as Honorific in Santali
This article draws on Judith T. Irvine's over two decades of work on ideologies of honorification to investigate and analyze the historical transformation of the use of the dual pronominal form in Santali, an Austro-Asiatic language spoken in eastern India. In Santali, the dual form is employed for single referents (both for the speaker and the addressee) during interactions restricted to affines of adjacent generations. However, in recent years …
From Transcript to “Trans-Script”: Romanized Santali across Semiotic Media
Santali is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken throughout eastern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is currently written in multiple scripts, including a Roman script devised by missionaries in the late nineteenth century, various Indic scripts, and an independently derived script, Ol-Chiki. Each of these script systems entails different sound-to-script relationships, especially for phones such as the word-final glottalized consonants, which are not…
Expressives and the multimodal depiction of social types in Mundari
Present in many of the world's languages, expressives (also called ideophones or mimetics) are commonly discussed as iconic 'depictions' of speaker's sensual experiences. Yet anthropologists and linguists working with these constructions have noticed that they also index 'social types' that perdure across interactional events. This article analyzes the semiotic relation between depiction and social stereotypes embedded in expressive use by examin…
Zane Goebel. Language, Migration, and Identity: Neighborhood Talk in Indonesia
studies, media studies, and history.With respect to his approach, Rafael's methods are rigorous and sound.He is able to historicize concisely and substantively the various issues.Moreover, Rafael analyzes textual evidence, cultural phenomena, and translation practices with clarity and intelligence; his style uses a range of registers: aphoristic, descriptive, wryly ironic, and philosophical.Rafael is also keenly aware of the contentious and histo…
Script as constellation among Munda speakers: The case of Santali
Since the early twentieth century, numerous scripts were developed for Munda languages such as Santali, Ho, Sora, and Mundari in eastern India. Unlike Brahmi or Persio-Arabic scripts, these scripts are alphabetic, yet unlike Roman, many of the letters have visual meanings in addition to representing the sounds of language. Though these scripts are recent in origin, a closer analysis of their structure and conditions of emergence reveals exposure …
From Language to Script: Graphic practice and the politics of authority in Santali-language print media, eastern India
This article discusses the way in which assemblages of technologies, political institutions, and practices of exchange have rendered both language and script a site for an ongoing politics of authority among Santals, an Austro-Asiatic speaking Adivasi (Scheduled Tribe) community spread throughout eastern India. It focuses particularly on the production of Santali-language print artefacts, which, like its dominant language counterparts, such as Be…
Surface Politics: Scaling Multiscriptality in anIndian Village Market
Linguistic anthropologists have used the concept of "scale" to describe how everyday interactions are linked to global flows and movements, particularly in the urban centers ofEurope andNorthAmerica. This article reconceptualizes the notion of "scale" by examining how residents in a small market village in easternIndia order, in both hierarchical and nonhierarchical configurations, multiple graphic repertoires in dialogic engagement with the buil…
Ethnography, Superdiversity, and Linguistic Landscapes: Chronicles of Complexity by JanBlommaert. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. xiv + 125pp
Scripting the border: Script practices and territorial imagination among Santali speakers in eastern India
This article examines the role of ``borders'' in the writing practices of Santali speakers, who are spread across the states of Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal and Assam in eastern India. A tension between a ``trans-border'' linguistic homogeneity and a ``bordered'' linguistic heterogeneity occurs in discussions around script. Santali is written in the various ``official'' scripts. Together with regional scripts, there is a recently invented scrip…
Surface Politics: Scaling Multiscriptality in anIndian Village Market
Linguistic anthropologists have used the concept of "scale" to describe how everyday interactions are linked to global flows and movements, particularly in the urban centers ofEurope andNorthAmerica. This article reconceptualizes the notion of "scale" by examining how residents in a small market village in easternIndia order, in both hierarchical and nonhierarchical configurations, multiple graphic repertoires in dialogic engagement with the buil…
Postcolonial Language Ideologies: Indian Students Reflect on Mother Tongue and English
The 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) proposes a revision to the Indian education system. The document foregrounds "mother tongue," a concept that has been highly salient in India since the mid-nineteenth century, by specifying that students should learn in it. But it makes little mention of English, despite its importance, and the desire for it, at every level of education. The construction of nation and language in the NEP begs a question: h…
From Language to Script: Graphic practice and the politics of authority in Santali-language print media, eastern India
This article discusses the way in which assemblages of technologies, political institutions, and practices of exchange have rendered both language and script a site for an ongoing politics of authority among Santals, an Austro-Asiatic speaking Adivasi (Scheduled Tribe) community spread throughout eastern India. It focuses particularly on the production of Santali-language print artefacts, which, like its dominant language counterparts, such as Be…
Script as constellation among Munda speakers: The case of Santali
Since the early twentieth century, numerous scripts were developed for Munda languages such as Santali, Ho, Sora, and Mundari in eastern India. Unlike Brahmi or Persio-Arabic scripts, these scripts are alphabetic, yet unlike Roman, many of the letters have visual meanings in addition to representing the sounds of language. Though these scripts are recent in origin, a closer analysis of their structure and conditions of emergence reveals exposure …
Structure, Ideology, Distribution: The Dual as Honorific in Santali
This article draws on Judith T. Irvine's over two decades of work on ideologies of honorification to investigate and analyze the historical transformation of the use of the dual pronominal form in Santali, an Austro-Asiatic language spoken in eastern India. In Santali, the dual form is employed for single referents (both for the speaker and the addressee) during interactions restricted to affines of adjacent generations. However, in recent years …
Expressives and the multimodal depiction of social types in Mundari
Present in many of the world's languages, expressives (also called ideophones or mimetics) are commonly discussed as iconic 'depictions' of speaker's sensual experiences. Yet anthropologists and linguists working with these constructions have noticed that they also index 'social types' that perdure across interactional events. This article analyzes the semiotic relation between depiction and social stereotypes embedded in expressive use by examin…
Scripting the border: Script practices and territorial imagination among Santali speakers in eastern India
This article examines the role of ``borders'' in the writing practices of Santali speakers, who are spread across the states of Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal and Assam in eastern India. A tension between a ``trans-border'' linguistic homogeneity and a ``bordered'' linguistic heterogeneity occurs in discussions around script. Santali is written in the various ``official'' scripts. Together with regional scripts, there is a recently invented scrip…
From Transcript to “Trans-Script”: Romanized Santali across Semiotic Media
Santali is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken throughout eastern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is currently written in multiple scripts, including a Roman script devised by missionaries in the late nineteenth century, various Indic scripts, and an independently derived script, Ol-Chiki. Each of these script systems entails different sound-to-script relationships, especially for phones such as the word-final glottalized consonants, which are not…
Ethnography, Superdiversity, and Linguistic Landscapes: Chronicles of Complexity by JanBlommaert. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. xiv + 125pp
Scripting the border: Script practices and territorial imagination among Santali speakers in eastern India
This article examines the role of ``borders'' in the writing practices of Santali speakers, who are spread across the states of Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal and Assam in eastern India. A tension between a ``trans-border'' linguistic homogeneity and a ``bordered'' linguistic heterogeneity occurs in discussions around script. Santali is written in the various ``official'' scripts. Together with regional scripts, there is a recently invented scrip…
Surface Politics: Scaling Multiscriptality in anIndian Village Market
Linguistic anthropologists have used the concept of "scale" to describe how everyday interactions are linked to global flows and movements, particularly in the urban centers ofEurope andNorthAmerica. This article reconceptualizes the notion of "scale" by examining how residents in a small market village in easternIndia order, in both hierarchical and nonhierarchical configurations, multiple graphic repertoires in dialogic engagement with the buil…
Zane Goebel. Language, Migration, and Identity: Neighborhood Talk in Indonesia
studies, media studies, and history.With respect to his approach, Rafael's methods are rigorous and sound.He is able to historicize concisely and substantively the various issues.Moreover, Rafael analyzes textual evidence, cultural phenomena, and translation practices with clarity and intelligence; his style uses a range of registers: aphoristic, descriptive, wryly ironic, and philosophical.Rafael is also keenly aware of the contentious and histo…
Script as constellation among Munda speakers: The case of Santali
Since the early twentieth century, numerous scripts were developed for Munda languages such as Santali, Ho, Sora, and Mundari in eastern India. Unlike Brahmi or Persio-Arabic scripts, these scripts are alphabetic, yet unlike Roman, many of the letters have visual meanings in addition to representing the sounds of language. Though these scripts are recent in origin, a closer analysis of their structure and conditions of emergence reveals exposure …
From Language to Script: Graphic practice and the politics of authority in Santali-language print media, eastern India
This article discusses the way in which assemblages of technologies, political institutions, and practices of exchange have rendered both language and script a site for an ongoing politics of authority among Santals, an Austro-Asiatic speaking Adivasi (Scheduled Tribe) community spread throughout eastern India. It focuses particularly on the production of Santali-language print artefacts, which, like its dominant language counterparts, such as Be…
From Transcript to “Trans-Script”: Romanized Santali across Semiotic Media
Santali is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken throughout eastern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is currently written in multiple scripts, including a Roman script devised by missionaries in the late nineteenth century, various Indic scripts, and an independently derived script, Ol-Chiki. Each of these script systems entails different sound-to-script relationships, especially for phones such as the word-final glottalized consonants, which are not…
Expressives and the multimodal depiction of social types in Mundari
Present in many of the world's languages, expressives (also called ideophones or mimetics) are commonly discussed as iconic 'depictions' of speaker's sensual experiences. Yet anthropologists and linguists working with these constructions have noticed that they also index 'social types' that perdure across interactional events. This article analyzes the semiotic relation between depiction and social stereotypes embedded in expressive use by examin…
Recording Unmarked Graves in a Remote Aboriginal Community: The Challenge of Cultural Heritage Driving Sustainable Development
Structure, Ideology, Distribution: The Dual as Honorific in Santali
This article draws on Judith T. Irvine's over two decades of work on ideologies of honorification to investigate and analyze the historical transformation of the use of the dual pronominal form in Santali, an Austro-Asiatic language spoken in eastern India. In Santali, the dual form is employed for single referents (both for the speaker and the addressee) during interactions restricted to affines of adjacent generations. However, in recent years …
Graphic diversity and ethnic identification in contemporary Manipur
This article describes how attention to the uses, attitudes, and perceptions of various scripts may provide a dynamic picture of the construction of ethnic identity beyond the framework of ethnic conflict in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur. Currently, the languages of Manipur are written in several scripts such as Eastern Brahmi, Roman, Meitei Mayek, and Zo script. Drawing on data collected from interviews of college-age residents of Man…
Postcolonial Language Ideologies: Indian Students Reflect on Mother Tongue and English
The 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) proposes a revision to the Indian education system. The document foregrounds "mother tongue," a concept that has been highly salient in India since the mid-nineteenth century, by specifying that students should learn in it. But it makes little mention of English, despite its importance, and the desire for it, at every level of education. The construction of nation and language in the NEP begs a question: h…
Transformative Practices in Archaeology: Empowering Communities and Shaping Sustainable Futures
The book introduces a diverse range of themes and practices relating to sustainable heritage management and explores the evolution of auto archaeology
Transformative Practices in Archaeology: Empowering Communities and Shaping Sustainable Futures
Memory and Material Culture Among the Displaced Indigenous Communities of the Narmada Valley, Western India
Language and Landscape among the Displaced Residents of the Narmada Valley, Western India
The construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam in the Narmada Valley in western India displaced more than 30,000 families, mostly from Indigenous communities. Many of those displaced were resettled in regions that had a starkly different ecological and social composition from the mountainous areas they were forced to leave. In this paper we draw on the anthropology of landscape, linguistic anthropology, and ethnophysiography to chart the transformati…
Rural to urban migration and discourses of linguistic authenticity in multilingual Nagaland
Multilingual Education and Policy (10 works) · Linguistics (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Geography (6 works) · South Asian Studies and Conflicts (6 works) · Archaeology (5 works) · Anthropology (4 works) · History (4 works) · Political science (4 works)