Discourse Particles in South Asian Languages

Discourse particles are a key component of natural language, connecting structural and semantic content with speaker stance, discourse structuring, and pragmatic meaning. They have been described as elements that contribute little to truth-conditional content but are crucial for managing interaction and guiding interpretation. While particles in some languages have received sustained attention, there remains a lot to be learnt about their role in natural language more generally.

This workshop aims to foreground discourse particles by focusing on questions like the following: How do discourse particles interact with syntax, semantics, prosody, and information structure? To what extent do discourse particles reveal universal principles of discourse organization, and where do they highlight language-specific strategies?

South Asia is a typologically diverse linguistic area, with many well-studied languages as well as many understudied languages. These languages are known to be rich in discourse particles. By bringing together scholars working on languages of South Asia, this workshop seeks to broaden the empirical foundation for the study of discourse particles and refine theoretical accounts of their role at the grammar–discourse interface. 

Registration for DiPSAL 2025 will open after 27th Oct 2025 here. 

Important Dates

Abstract submission deadline: October 7th, 2025

Review result notification: October 21st, 2025

Workshop dates: December 22nd and 23rd, 2025

DiPSAL 2025

Convener

Deepak Alok

Advisory Committee

Paroma Sanyal

Sahiinii Lamaina Veikho

Organizing Committee

Ojaswee Bhalla

Ishita Agarwal

Joynal Ali

Siddharth Misra

Sharon Valui