Kolkata, September 1, 2025

 

A three-day national workshop on “Transcreation of Uniform Scientific and Technical Terminology for Indian Languages: Challenges and Opportunities (TUSTTIL)” was inaugurated today at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata. The workshop is organised by the Linguistic Research Unit (LRU), ISI, under the aegis of the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, Ministry of Education, Government of India.

Delivering the keynote address, Prof. L. Ramamoorthy emphasised on the importance of studying in one’s mother tongue and emphasised on remaining culturally rooted while aspiring for global relevance. The former Head of LDC-IL, Central Institute of Indian Languages, highlighted India’s long tradition of scientific innovation, beginning with the Indus Valley civilisation, and noted that the colonial era had marginalised and disrupted the growth of indigenous science. He signed off stressing the need for ethnic manifestation even of foreign concepts, staying true to the spirit of amalgamation. 

The TUSTTIL workshop will be  featuring deliberations on standardised tools, frameworks, and methodologies for transcreation of scientific and technical material into Indian languages. Sessions will cover linguistics, translation, pedagogy, and strategies for linguistic inclusivity, with participation from scholars, researchers, and PhD candidates and faculty members across disciplines.

In his remarks, Prof. S. Arulmozi, Head of CALTS, University of Hyderabad, distinguished between translation and transcreation, underlining that the latter is often necessary to ensure scientific concepts are conveyed with accuracy and clarity across Indian languages. Prof. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Director, ISI, stressed that English should not become a handicap in accessing scientific and technical knowledge. She observed that the aim is not merely to facilitate learning for students but also to ensure that the nation can harness the full potential of their talent. She expressed confidence that the workshop would produce useful outcomes for the Government’s language and education policy initiatives. Her colleague, Prof. Biswabrata Pradhan, Dean of Studies, ISI, pointed out that direct translations often distort meanings, leading to awkward constructions, thereby emphasising the need for systematic approaches to terminology development. The need for a uniform glossary in vernacular languages, therefore, is of utmost importance. The workshop strives to be an important step in that direction.

The ISI, Kolkata, founded in 1931, is a premier national institution devoted to research and teaching in statistics, mathematics, computer science, and quantitative social sciences. Through the Linguistic Research Unit, ISI has been actively engaged in projects aimed at advancing multilingual education and research, in alignment with the Government’s vision of promoting Indian languages in higher education.

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