A sociolinguist is interested in the functions of language and communicative competence i.e. how language functions in society – who speaks what language to whom, when and where and why. The significance of a language as a repository of socio-cultural patterns of a language community can hardly be overemphasized. It is really remarkable that during the last few decades sociolinguists all over the world have shed significant light on these areas of language use. There is nevertheless more scope for in-depth studies on languages – particularly Indian Languages- from a sociolinguistic orientation. No other country affords so much opportunity for this kind of study as India, which has rightly been called a 'sociolinguistic giant'.

In view of this, Language Forum, a peer reviewed International Journal from Bahri Publications, New Delhi wishes to bring out a special issue on ‘Sociolinguistics’. The study of language in a social context will be the subject matter of this issue. Some of the key areas which would be covered are:

1. Effect of social variables on language (Race, Education, Ethnicity, Class, Gender)
2. Code-switching/ Code Mixing
3. Language Varieties (Dialects, Accents, Registers, Styles)
4. First and Second Language Acquisition
5. Bilingualism, Multilingualism
6. Language Problems and Language Planning
7. Ethnolinguistics
8. Anthropological Linguistics
9. Functions of Language in society
10. Sociocultural Context
11. Communicative competence
12. Verbal Repertoire
13. Diglossia
14. Pidgin and Creoles
15. Politeness Strategies

The papers pertaining to the areas mentioned above should be submitted in MS-Word format to the Guest Editor/Editors, at their contact addresses given below not later than 30th June 2010.

All papers submitted to Language Forum - LF should be original, neither having been previously published nor being considered elsewhere at the time of submission.

Manuscripts should be in conformity with the Language Forum format, which can be made available on request.

Guest Editors
Vinay Kumar Jain
Meena Jain
MLC Govt. Girls College,
Khandwa. 450001 (M.P.) India
E-mail: vinayprof@gmail.com

Editors:
Harpreet Kaur Bahri
Deepinder Singh Bahri
C/o BAHRI PUBLICATIONS
1749A/5, Govindpuri Extension
Kalkaji, New Delhi 110019
E-mails: bahrius@vsnl.com, bahripublications@yahoo.com

Deconstruction as a school of thought emerged in France in the late 1960s. French philosopher Derrida is the exponent of Deconstruction.  Deconstruction came into vogue as a response to Formalism and Structuralism which endeavour to discover coherence, recurring patterns and systems underlying a text and assigns metaphysical signification to texts and doctrines. Deconstruction takes a skeptic stand towards all the established traditions, hierarchies and meta-theories and denies any final and canonical status to them. It regards a text as a differential network consisting of a free play of signification. Meanings are assigned through ‘difference’ and are also ‘deferral’. Deconstruction rejects all universal models and paradigms as it regards all knowledge as subjective, situational, contextual, relative and hence indefinite. It explores the dynamic nature of linguistic signs and investigates their plural and multiple interpretations. Deconstruction rejects ideas such as ‘centre’, ‘main’, ‘truth’ but places them under ‘erasure’. The inherent instability of doctrines and concepts is shown by reliance on plurality of meaning, inherent conflicts and contradictions, subjectivism, figurativeness, intertextuality and reversals and the postponement of signification. Derrida employs the method of ‘decentering’ that regards a critic’s desire to find a centre as a kind of mirage. A deconstructionist endeavours to foreground the marginality and periphery of a text by showing how it constitutes the main text and contributes to its meaning. Deconstruction as a critical tool is further extended to Postcolonial Poetics that exposes the legitimacy of all the colonial, imperialistic and hegemonic ideologies and designs fabricated to subjugate and marginalize under privileged countries, groups, classes, gender and sections of the society. Deconstruction as a postmodern phenomenon influenced almost all the fields of knowledge including Art, Science, Literary Studies, Language Pedagogy and Curriculum Planning. We, therefore, plan to bring out a special issue of Language Forum to explore different theoretical, critical, comparative, interdisciplinary, pedagogical, and practical aspects exclusively devoted to the studies of Derrida and Deconstruction. Hence, we invite articles from scholars on the following broad areas.

• Deconstruction and the related theoretical, critical and textual issues.
• Deconstruction and the reading of various texts.
• Deconstruction and the parallel philosophical doctrines like ‘anekant’ in Indian philosophical systems.
• Deconstruction and its relevance for Translation Studies and other such disciplines
• Deconstruction as a postmodern theory and its application in the reading of postcolonial, subaltern, feminist and other such issues and texts.
• Deconstruction and its relevance for English Studies, ELT, curriculum planning and selection of teaching material.
• Deconstruction and the emergence of various interdisciplinary approaches.

The papers pertaining to areas mentioned above and the other relevant ones should be submitted electronically in MS-Word and PDF file formats to the Guest Editor/ Editors, at their E-mail addresses given below not later than 30th Dec 2011

All papers submitted to LF should be original, neither having been previously published nor being considered elsewhere at the time of submission.

Manuscripts should be in conformity with the APA format 6th edition. Please indicate ‘LF Special issue on Derrida and Deconstruction’ in the subject line of all E-mail correspondence.

Guest Editor
Dr. Prashant Mishra
Professor and Head
Department of English
Government S.V.P.G. College
NEEMUCH(M.P.) 458 441
E-mail: drprashant_mishra@yahoo.co.in

Editors:
Harpreet Kaur Bahri
Deepinder Singh Bahri
C/o BAHRI PUBLICATIONS
1749A/5, Govindpuri Extension
Kalkaji, New Delhi 110019
E-mails: bahrius@vsnl.com, bahripublications@yahoo.com