Note: for more information on ICAAL meetings, please click here.
In December 1978 scholars gathered in Mysore for the Second International Conference on Austroasiatic Linguistics (SICAL). This was a landmark event in Austroasiatic studies that saw many important papers read and circulated, important conceptual advances discussed, including fundamental ideas that laid the groundwork for a properly organized effort to reconstruct the linguistic history of the Austroasiatic phylum. Congratulations are due to the organizers and participants.
Following the model of the Austroasiatic Studies volumes published in 1976 (after the 1st International Conference on Austroasiatic Linguistics, Hawaii 1973), Gérard Diffloth and David Stampe took responsibility for editing the proceedings volume. Half the papers typeset and ready and the others in a high degree of readiness, For reasons that remain unclear, in 1983 the editors abandoned the project. Readers familiar with Huffman's 1986 Bibliography and index of mainland Southeast Asian languages and linguistics will have noted the papers cited as SICAL ms.
Subsequently, some of the papers did get published in journals and as book chapters, while others were simply put aside. The following quarter century is politely characterized as the LONG PAUSE by van Driem. I would be more frank and say that there was a complete failure of leadership for a generation that ought to be a matter of acute shame and embarrassment for those concerned scholars who enjoyed institutional tenure and salaries over this time. Regular ICAAL meetings resumed in 2007 after the long pause, and you can link to the current site here. I congratulate George van Driem in particular for his initiative in rebooting this conference.
In 2013 I was approached by one of the original editors, who had recovered the manuscripts and typesets and associated correspondence; my assistance was requested to renew the project and bring the volume to publication, maintaining the original style of presentation. I traveled abroad at my own expense and spent several days with the editor, and brought the physical papers back to Australia where electronic versions were created to facilitate publication. A formal proposal to publish with Pacific Linguistics was approved, and we each agreed to complete various editing tasks that were required to complete the project. Not long after communications ceased without explanation and the project stalled (yet again, 30 years after its first iteration). I recalled the situation to the business meeting of the ICAAL7 meeting (University of Kiel, October 1, 2017) and the consensus of the meeting was that the greater good would be served by making the papers available.
With all due respect to the concerned individuals, and apologies if my actions offend anybody, I present below the titles of the SICAL papers and links to PDF copies. I would prefer to resume the 2013 publication plan, and would gladly remove this page in the event that the project is resumed, but I prefer action to inaction.
Where papers were actually published, the link is to the published version. Where I have a readable scan of the original draft circulated at the conference, that is posted. Thanks to Anthony Grant who obtained photocopies of a folder of copies that had been kept in Mysore. My assumption is that papers circulated at SICAL are effectively in the public domain.
Note that there are some discrepancies between the list of participants/papers provided to me by the editor, and a typed list of participants and papers provided to me by Michel Ferlus (who had attended SICAL); I have aggregated both lists to cover all possibilities. Any feedback on this page is welcome, and I am happy to post any additional SICAL related materials you might want to send in. A few papers have not yet been found, and several are still to be linked.
Benjamin, Geoffrey Self and Other in Temiar Grammar
Benjamin, Geoffrey Temiar terms of relationship and address
Bouez, Marine Narrativity and event in a Santal folk-tale
Diffloth, Gerard Proto East Austroasiatic short central vowels
Diffloth, Gerard Ideological functions of Temiar oral literature
Donegan, Patricia Austroasiatic vowel systems
Dournes, Jacques Austroasiatic versus Austronesian
Ferlus, Michel Evolution des obstruents mediales en vietnamien
Henderson, Eugenie J. A. Problems and Pitfalls in the Phonetic Interpretation of Khasi Orthography
Hercus, Louise (sur les aborigenes australiens)
Hook, Peter Edwin The Compound Verb in Munda: an areal and typological overview
Huffman, Franklin E. Synchronic Evidence for the History of Khmer Vowels
Huffman, Franklin E. On the Centrality of the Katuic-Bahnaric to Austroasitic
Janzen, Herman A Phonological Description of Pale in Comparison with Gold Palaung and Rumai Palaung
Krishnamurti, Bh, Lincoln Moses, and Denglas Danforth A new approach to linguistic subgrouping
Mahapatra, B. P. Munda Languages in Census
Mahapatra, Khageswar Soraŋ Sompeŋ': a Sora Script
Mahapatra, Ranganayaki & B. P. Mahapatra Santali Script and Texts
Mahapatra, K. & Norman Zide Gta nominal combining forms
Mahapatra, Khageswar & Norman Zide The Gta? Demonstratives
Manoharan, S. A Typological Study of Andamanese and Nicobarese Languages
Matisoff, James Linguistic diversity and language contact in Thailand (published 1983)
Matisoff, James Stars, moon and spirits: bright beings of the night in Sino-Tibetan
Mitani, Yasuyuki Problems in the Classification of Palaungic
Munda, Ram Dayal The Cultural Context of Mundari Poetry with Reference to Tribal Oral History.
Nagaraja, K. S. Compounding in Khasi
Nik Safiah , Karim & Ibrahim Ton Binti Semoq Beri - some preliminary Remarks
Radhakrishnan, R. On central Nicobarese
Radhakrishnan, R. Nancowry Numerals
Radhakrishnan, R. Basic vocabulary in 7 Nicobarese languages
Shorto, H. L. On Mon-Khmer Inter-Branch Relationships
Simon, Ivan Khasi Adverbs
Simon, Ivan Auxiliary Verbs and Two Verb-Pieces in Khasi
Sinha, N. K. Aspect in Mundari: Some Semantic and Grammatical Observations
Smith, Ken An Automatic Typewriter Assist to Comparative Linguistics with Application to 30 Mon-Khmer Languages
Stampe, David Kharia-juang phonology
Stampe, David The Austroasiatic Word
Starosta, Stanley Sora Noun Inflection Bib-Ref
SUJARITLAK Wajanarat Classifiers in Mal (Thin)
Thomas, David The place of Alak, Tampuan, and West Bahnaric
Thomas, David Conditional Sentences in Chrau
Vitebsky, Piers Sora "Tag-Words"
Vitebsky, Piers Birth, entity and responsibility: the spirit of the sun in Sora cosmology
Weidert, Alfons The Register System of Northwestern Khasi
Zide, Arlene S-Loss in Sora-Gorum