The Linguistic Survey of India, often referred to as the LSI, is a comprehensive survey of the languages of British India, describing 364 languages and dialects. It was a project of the British Raj conducted between 1894 and 1928, under the direction of George A. Grierson, an official of the Indian Civil Service.
An on-line searchable database of the LSI is available, providing an excerpt for each word as it appeared in Grierson's original publication, in .pdf format. In addition, the British Library has gramophone recordings in its Sound Archive which document the phonology.
See also: List of Titles of the Linguistic Survey of IndiaRead more about Linguistic Survey Of India: New Survey
Famous quotes containing the words linguistic, survey and/or india:
“The most striking aspect of linguistic competence is what we may call the creativity of language, that is, the speakers ability to produce new sentences, sentences that are immediately understood by other speakers although they bear no physical resemblance to sentences which are familiar.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“In a famous Middletown study of Muncie, Indiana, in 1924, mothers were asked to rank the qualities they most desire in their children. At the top of the list were conformity and strict obedience. More than fifty years later, when the Middletown survey was replicated, mothers placed autonomy and independence first. The healthiest parenting probably promotes a balance of these qualities in children.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)
“There exists no politician in India daring enough to attempt to explain to the masses that cows can be eaten.”
—Indira Gandhi (19171984)