SynTalk thinks about Silence, and speculates whether it is fundamentally an ‘aspiration’. Is Silence ‘a permanent flow of meaning’? The concept of Silence manifests itself in physiological / neurological (auditory feedback loop, aphasia, dementia), linguistic (syntax, binary language), cultural, engineering (constraint layer damping, non-stationary sound), spiritual (higher consciousness), cybernetic and philosophical (‘Being’ and ‘Becoming’) terrains. The concepts are derived off / from Plato, Bhartrihari, Freud, Sri Aurobindo, Piaget, Lacan, Skinner and Chomsky, among others. We also discuss if it is possible to ‘get out of language’. How languages die like mountains and not buffaloes. Why is ‘what is not heard’ conceived as Silence, and what is the link with whales, bees & dogs? How different are the characteristics of machine sound? Is there a link between translation, ‘interpretation’, natural & artificial languages, and ‘meaning’? How does easeful acquisition of language work during infancy? Is there a universal grammar of spoken, written and ‘sign language’? What is the future of (abstract) thought, language and Silence? The SynTalkrs are: Prof. Ganesh Devy (linguistics, Bhasha Trust / Adivasi Academy, Vadodara), Alka Sapru-Joshi (psychology, Ali Yavar Jung Institute, Mumbai), & Prof. Dhanesh Manik (engineering / vibro-acoustics, IIT Bombay, Mumbai)

Ver todos los episodios