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Pali: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian subcontinent}} | {{Short description|Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian subcontinent}} | ||
{{ | {{For multi|the Nigerian language|Pali language (Chadic)|other uses|Pali (disambiguation)}} | ||
{{Distinguish|Bali language (disambiguation)}} | {{Distinguish|Bali language (disambiguation)}} | ||
{{ | {{Cleanup lang|date=April 2019}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} | ||
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}} | {{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}} | ||
{{Infobox language | {{Infobox language | ||
| name = Pali | | name = Pali | ||
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*{{lang|si|පාලි}} | *{{lang|si|පාලි}} | ||
*{{IAST|Pāḷi}} | *{{IAST|Pāḷi}} | ||
}} | }} | ||
| pronunciation = {{IPA-all|paːli|}} | | pronunciation = {{IPA-all|paːli|}} | ||
| states = [[Indian subcontinent]] | | states = [[Indian subcontinent]] | ||
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| glottorefname = Pali | | glottorefname = Pali | ||
| notice2 = IPA | | notice2 = IPA | ||
| image = Burmese Kammavaca Manuscript.jpg | |||
| imagecaption = Burmese [[Palm-leaf manuscripts|Kammavaca manuscript]] written in Pali using the Burmese script | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Pali''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɑː|l|i}}) is a [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan]] [[liturgical language]] | '''Pali''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɑː|l|i}}) is a [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan]] [[sacred language|liturgical language]] on the [[Indian subcontinent]]. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''[[Pali Canon|Pāli Canon]]'' or ''[[Tripiṭaka|Tipiṭaka]]'' as well as the [[sacred language]] of ''[[Theravada|Theravāda]]'' [[Buddhism]].<ref name="Stargardt 2000, page 25">Stargardt, Janice. ''Tracing Thoughts Through Things: The Oldest Pali Texts and the Early Buddhist Archaeology of India and Burma.'', Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2000, page 25.</ref> | ||
==Origin and development== | ==Origin and development== | ||
===Etymology=== | ===Etymology=== | ||
The word 'Pali' is used as a name for the language of the Theravada canon. The word seems to have its origins in commentarial traditions, wherein the {{transliteration|pi|Pāli}} (in the sense of the line of original text quoted) was distinguished from the commentary or vernacular translation that followed it in the manuscript.<ref name=Norman>{{cite book| last = Norman | first = Kenneth Roy | author-link = K. R. Norman | title = Pali Literature | publisher = Otto Harrassowitz | date = 1983 | location = Wiesbaden | pages = 2{{ndash}}3 | language = en |isbn = 3-447-02285-X}}</ref> [[K. R. Norman]] suggests that its emergence was based on a misunderstanding of the compound {{transliteration|pi|pāli-bhāsa}}, with {{transliteration|pi|pāli}} being interpreted as the name of a particular language.<ref name=Norman/>{{rp|1}} | The word 'Pali' is used as a name for the language of the Theravada canon. The word seems to have its origins in commentarial traditions, wherein the {{transliteration|pi|Pāli}} (in the sense of the line of original text quoted) was distinguished from the commentary or vernacular translation that followed it in the manuscript.<ref name=Norman>{{cite book| last = Norman | first = Kenneth Roy | author-link = K. R. Norman | title = Pali Literature | publisher = Otto Harrassowitz | date = 1983 | location = Wiesbaden | pages = 2{{ndash}}3 | language = en |isbn = 3-447-02285-X}}</ref> [[K. R. Norman]] suggests that its emergence was based on a misunderstanding of the compound {{transliteration|pi|pāli-bhāsa}}, with {{transliteration|pi|pāli}} being interpreted as the name of a particular language.<ref name=Norman/>{{rp|1}} | ||
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===Geographic origin=== | ===Geographic origin=== | ||
There is persistent confusion as to the relation of {{transl|sinh|ISO|Pāḷi}} to the vernacular spoken in the ancient kingdom of [[Magadha]], which was located around modern-day [[ | There is persistent confusion as to the relation of {{transl|sinh|ISO|Pāḷi}} to the vernacular spoken in the ancient kingdom of [[Magadha]], which was located in modern-day [[Bihar]] and around modern-day [[Bengal]]. Beginning in the Theravada commentaries, Pali was identified with '[[Magahi]]', the language of the kingdom of Magadha, and this was taken to also be the language that the Buddha used during his life.<ref name=Norman/> In the 19th century, the British [[Oriental studies|Orientalist]] [[Robert Caesar Childers]] argued that the true or geographical name of the Pali language was [[Magadhi Prakrit]], and that because ''pāḷi'' means "line, row, series", the early Buddhists extended the meaning of the term to mean "a series of books", so ''pāḷibhāsā'' means "language of the texts".<ref>''A Dictionary of the Pali Language'' By Robert Cæsar Childers</ref> | ||
However, modern scholarship has regarded Pali as a mix of several [[Prakrit]] languages from around the 3rd century BCE, combined and partially Sanskritized.<ref name="Bhikkhu Bodhi 2005, page 10">Bhikkhu Bodhi, ''In the Buddha's Words.'' Wisdom Publications, 2005, page 10.</ref> There is no attested dialect of Middle Indo-Aryan with all the features of Pali.<ref name=Norman/>{{rp|5}} In the modern era, it has been possible to compare Pali with inscriptions known to be in Magadhi Prakrit, as well as other texts and grammars of that language.<ref name=Norman/> While none of the existing sources specifically document pre-Ashokan Magadhi, the available sources suggest that Pali is not equatable with that language.<ref name=Norman/> | However, modern scholarship has regarded Pali as a mix of several [[Prakrit]] languages from around the 3rd century BCE, combined and partially Sanskritized.<ref name="Bhikkhu Bodhi 2005, page 10">Bhikkhu Bodhi, ''In the Buddha's Words.'' Wisdom Publications, 2005, page 10.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eiland |first=Murray |date=2020 |others=Interview with Richard Gombrich |title=What the Buddha Thought |url=https://www.academia.edu/89897129/What_the_Buddha_Thought_Antiqvvs_3_1_41_45_2020 |journal=Antiqvvs |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=41}}</ref> There is no attested dialect of Middle Indo-Aryan with all the features of Pali.<ref name=Norman/>{{rp|5}} In the modern era, it has been possible to compare Pali with inscriptions known to be in Magadhi Prakrit, as well as other texts and grammars of that language.<ref name=Norman/> While none of the existing sources specifically document pre-Ashokan Magadhi, the available sources suggest that Pali is not equatable with that language.<ref name=Norman/> | ||
Modern scholars generally regard Pali to have originated from a western dialect, rather than an eastern one.<ref name=Collins>{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Steven |chapter=What Is Literature in Pali? |pages=649–688 |jstor=10.1525/j.ctt1ppqxk.19 |title=Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia |date=2003 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-22821-4 }}</ref> Pali has some commonalities with both the western [[Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts|Ashokan Edicts]] at [[Girnar]] in [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]], and the Central-Western Prakrit found in the eastern [[Hathigumpha inscription]].<ref name=Norman/>{{rp|5}} These similarities lead scholars to associate Pali with this region of western India.<ref name="Hirakawa, Akira 2007. p. 119">Hirakawa, Akira. Groner, Paul. ''A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna.'' 2007. p. 119</ref> Nonetheless, Pali does retain some eastern features that have been referred to as ''Māgadhisms''.<ref name="Gethin2008">{{cite book|author=Rupert Gethin|title=Sayings of the Buddha: New Translations from the Pali Nikayas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AvogpRk9-5wC|date=9 October 2008|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-283925-1|pages=xxiv }}</ref> | Modern scholars generally regard Pali to have originated from a western dialect, rather than an eastern one.<ref name=Collins>{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Steven |chapter=What Is Literature in Pali? |pages=649–688 |jstor=10.1525/j.ctt1ppqxk.19 |title=Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia |date=2003 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-22821-4 }}</ref> Pali has some commonalities with both the western [[Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts|Ashokan Edicts]] at [[Girnar]] in [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]], and the Central-Western Prakrit found in the eastern [[Hathigumpha inscription]].<ref name=Norman/>{{rp|5}} These similarities lead scholars to associate Pali with this region of western India.<ref name="Hirakawa, Akira 2007. p. 119">Hirakawa, Akira. Groner, Paul. ''A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna.'' 2007. p. 119</ref> Nonetheless, Pali does retain some eastern features that have been referred to as ''Māgadhisms''.<ref name="Gethin2008">{{cite book|author=Rupert Gethin|title=Sayings of the Buddha: New Translations from the Pali Nikayas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AvogpRk9-5wC|date=9 October 2008|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-283925-1|pages=xxiv }}</ref> | ||
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The earliest inscriptions in Pali found in mainland Southeast Asia are from the first millennium CE, some possibly dating to as early as the 4th Century.<ref name=Collins/> Inscriptions are found in what are now Burma, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia and may have spread from southern India rather than Sri Lanka.<ref name=Collins/> By the 11th Century, a so-called "Pali renaissance" began in the vicinity of [[Pagan Kingdom|Pagan]], gradually spreading to the rest of mainland Southeast Asia as royal dynasties sponsored monastic lineages derived from the [[Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya|Mahavihara of Anuradhapura]].<ref name=Collins/> This era was also characterized by the adoption of Sanskrit conventions and poetic forms (such as ''[[kavya]]'') that had not been features of earlier Pali literature.<ref name=Gornall>{{cite book |last1=Gornall |first1=Alastair |last2=Henry |first2=Justin |chapter=Beautifully moral: cosmopolitan issues in medieval Pāli literary theory |pages=77–93 |jstor=j.ctt1qnw8bs.9 |title=Sri Lanka at the Crossroads of History |date=2017 |publisher=UCL Press |isbn=978-1-911307-84-6 }}</ref> This process began as early as the 5th Century, but intensified early in the second millennium as Pali texts on poetics and composition modeled on Sanskrit forms began to grow in popularity.<ref name=Gornall/> One milestone of this period was the publication of the [[Subodhalankara]] during the 14th Century, a work attributed to Sangharakkhita Mahāsāmi and modeled on the Sanskrit [[Kavyadarsa]].<ref name=Gornall/> | The earliest inscriptions in Pali found in mainland Southeast Asia are from the first millennium CE, some possibly dating to as early as the 4th Century.<ref name=Collins/> Inscriptions are found in what are now Burma, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia and may have spread from southern India rather than Sri Lanka.<ref name=Collins/> By the 11th Century, a so-called "Pali renaissance" began in the vicinity of [[Pagan Kingdom|Pagan]], gradually spreading to the rest of mainland Southeast Asia as royal dynasties sponsored monastic lineages derived from the [[Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya|Mahavihara of Anuradhapura]].<ref name=Collins/> This era was also characterized by the adoption of Sanskrit conventions and poetic forms (such as ''[[kavya]]'') that had not been features of earlier Pali literature.<ref name=Gornall>{{cite book |last1=Gornall |first1=Alastair |last2=Henry |first2=Justin |chapter=Beautifully moral: cosmopolitan issues in medieval Pāli literary theory |pages=77–93 |jstor=j.ctt1qnw8bs.9 |title=Sri Lanka at the Crossroads of History |date=2017 |publisher=UCL Press |isbn=978-1-911307-84-6 }}</ref> This process began as early as the 5th Century, but intensified early in the second millennium as Pali texts on poetics and composition modeled on Sanskrit forms began to grow in popularity.<ref name=Gornall/> One milestone of this period was the publication of the [[Subodhalankara]] during the 14th Century, a work attributed to Sangharakkhita Mahāsāmi and modeled on the Sanskrit [[Kavyadarsa]].<ref name=Gornall/> | ||
Peter Masefield devoted considerable research to a form of Pali known as Indochinese Pali or 'Kham Pali'. Up until now, this has been considered a degraded form of Pali, But Masefield states that further examination of a very considerable corpus of texts will probably show that this is an internally consistent Pali dialect. The reason for the changes is that some combinations of characters are difficult to write in those scripts. Masefield further states that upon the third re-introduction of Theravada Buddhism into Sri Lanka (The Siyamese Sect), records in Thailand state that large number of texts were also taken. It seems that when the monastic ordination died out in Sri Lanka, many texts were lost also. Therefore the Sri Lankan Pali canon had been translated first into Indo-Chinese Pali, and then back again into Pali. <ref>Peter Masefield, Indo-Chinese Pali, https://www.academia.edu/34836100/PETER_MASEFIELD_INDO-CHINESE_PALI</ref> | |||
Despite an expansion of the number and influence of Mahavihara-derived monastics, this resurgence of Pali study resulted in no production of any new surviving literary works in Pali.<ref name=Collins/> During this era, correspondences between royal courts in Sri Lanka and mainland Southeast Asia were conducted in Pali, and grammars aimed at speakers of Sinhala, Burmese, and other languages were produced.<ref name=grammar_kingship>{{cite journal |last1=Wijithadhamma |first1=Ven. M. |title=Pali Grammar and Kingship in Medieval Sri Lanka |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka |date=2015 |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=49–58 |jstor=44737021 }}</ref> The emergence of the term 'Pali' as the name of the language of the Theravada canon also occurred during this era.<ref name=grammar_kingship/> | Despite an expansion of the number and influence of Mahavihara-derived monastics, this resurgence of Pali study resulted in no production of any new surviving literary works in Pali.<ref name=Collins/> During this era, correspondences between royal courts in Sri Lanka and mainland Southeast Asia were conducted in Pali, and grammars aimed at speakers of Sinhala, Burmese, and other languages were produced.<ref name=grammar_kingship>{{cite journal |last1=Wijithadhamma |first1=Ven. M. |title=Pali Grammar and Kingship in Medieval Sri Lanka |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka |date=2015 |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=49–58 |jstor=44737021 }}</ref> The emergence of the term 'Pali' as the name of the language of the Theravada canon also occurred during this era.<ref name=grammar_kingship/> | ||
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While Pali is generally recognized as an ancient language, no epigraphical or manuscript evidence has survived from the earliest eras.<ref name=analayo>{{cite journal |title=The Historical Value of the Pāli Discourses |journal=Indo-Iranian Journal |date=2012 |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=223–253 |jstor=24665100 |author1=Anālayo |doi=10.1163/001972412X620187 }}</ref><ref name=skilling/> The earliest samples of Pali discovered are inscriptions believed to date from 5th to 8th Century located in mainland Southeast Asia, specifically central [[Siam]] and lower [[Burma]].<ref name=skilling>{{cite book |last1=Skilling |first1=Peter |chapter=Reflections on the Pali Literature of Siam |pages=347–366 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt1vw0q4q.25 |jstor=j.ctt1vw0q4q.25 |title=From Birch Bark to Digital Data: Recent Advances in Buddhist Manuscript Research: Papers Presented at the Conference Indic Buddhist Manuscripts: The State of the Field. Stanford, June 15-19 2009 |date=2014 |publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press |isbn=978-3-7001-7581-0 }}</ref> These inscriptions typically consist of short excerpts from the [[Pali Canon]] and non-canonical texts, and include several examples of the [[Ye Dharma Hetu|Ye dhamma hetu]] verse.<ref name=skilling/> | While Pali is generally recognized as an ancient language, no epigraphical or manuscript evidence has survived from the earliest eras.<ref name=analayo>{{cite journal |title=The Historical Value of the Pāli Discourses |journal=Indo-Iranian Journal |date=2012 |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=223–253 |jstor=24665100 |author1=Anālayo |doi=10.1163/001972412X620187 }}</ref><ref name=skilling/> The earliest samples of Pali discovered are inscriptions believed to date from 5th to 8th Century located in mainland Southeast Asia, specifically central [[Siam]] and lower [[Burma]].<ref name=skilling>{{cite book |last1=Skilling |first1=Peter |chapter=Reflections on the Pali Literature of Siam |pages=347–366 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt1vw0q4q.25 |jstor=j.ctt1vw0q4q.25 |title=From Birch Bark to Digital Data: Recent Advances in Buddhist Manuscript Research: Papers Presented at the Conference Indic Buddhist Manuscripts: The State of the Field. Stanford, June 15-19 2009 |date=2014 |publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press |isbn=978-3-7001-7581-0 }}</ref> These inscriptions typically consist of short excerpts from the [[Pali Canon]] and non-canonical texts, and include several examples of the [[Ye Dharma Hetu|Ye dhamma hetu]] verse.<ref name=skilling/> | ||
The oldest surviving Pali manuscript was discovered in [[Nepal]] dating to the 9th Century.<ref name=skilling/> It is in the form of four [[palm-leaf manuscript|palm-leaf]] folios, using [[Nepalese scripts|a transitional script]] deriving from the [[Gupta script]] to scribe a fragment of the [[Cullavagga]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A 1151-2 (Pālībhāṣāvinaya) |author=Nepalese-German Manuscript Cataloguing Project|url=http://catalogue-old.ngmcp.uni-hamburg.de/mediawiki/index.php/A_1151-2_(P%C4%81l%C4%ABbh%C4%81%E1%B9%A3%C4%81vinaya)}}</ref> The oldest known manuscripts from Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia date to the 13th–15th century, with few surviving examples.<ref name=skilling/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ñāṇatusita |first1=Bhikkhu |chapter=Pali Manuscripts of Sri Lanka |pages=367–404 |jstor=j.ctt1vw0q4q.26 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt1vw0q4q.26 |title=From Birch Bark to Digital Data: Recent Advances in Buddhist Manuscript Research: Papers Presented at the Conference Indic Buddhist Manuscripts: The State of the Field. Stanford, June 15-19 2009 |date=2014 |publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press |isbn=978-3-7001-7581-0 |quote=The four oldest known Sinhalese Pali manuscripts date from the [[Dambadeniya kingdom]] period.......The oldest manuscript, the [[Cullavagga]] in the possession of the library of the [[Colombo National Museum]], dates from the reign of King [[Parakramabahu II of Dambadeniya|Parakramabahu II]] (1236-1237)......Another old manuscript dating from this period is a manuscript of the [[Paramatthamañjusā]], the Visuddhimagga commentary......Another old manuscript, of the Sāratthadīpanī, a sub-commentary on the [[Samantapasadika|Samantapāsādikā]] Vinaya commentary......According to Wickramaratne (1967: 21) another 13th-century manuscript, containing the [[Mahavagga]] of the Vinaya Pitaka......Another source ascribes it to the 15th century, along with a [[Visuddhimagga]] manuscript......Another 15th-century manuscript of the Sāratthadīpanī is at the [[Bibliothèque Nationale]] in Paris. }}</ref> Very few manuscripts older than 400 years have survived, and complete manuscripts of the four [[Nikaya]]s are only available in examples from the 17th Century and later.<ref name=analayo/> | |||
====Early Western research==== | ====Early Western research==== | ||
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Although Sanskrit was said in the [[Brahmin|Brahmanical]] tradition to be the unchanging language spoken by the gods in which each word had an inherent significance, such views for any language was not shared in the early Buddhist traditions, in which words were only conventional and mutable signs.<ref>[[David Kalupahana]], ''Nagarjuna: The Philosophy of the Middle Way.'' SUNY Press, 1986, page 19. The author refers specifically to the thought of early Buddhism here.</ref> This view of language naturally extended to Pali and may have contributed to its usage (as an approximation or standardization of local Middle Indic dialects) in place of Sanskrit. However, by the time of the compilation of the Pali commentaries (4th or 5th century), Pali was described by the anonymous authors as the natural language, the root language of all beings.<ref>''Dispeller of Delusion'', Pali Text Society, volume II, pages 127f</ref><ref name=Norman/>{{rp|2}} | Although Sanskrit was said in the [[Brahmin|Brahmanical]] tradition to be the unchanging language spoken by the gods in which each word had an inherent significance, such views for any language was not shared in the early Buddhist traditions, in which words were only conventional and mutable signs.<ref>[[David Kalupahana]], ''Nagarjuna: The Philosophy of the Middle Way.'' SUNY Press, 1986, page 19. The author refers specifically to the thought of early Buddhism here.</ref> This view of language naturally extended to Pali and may have contributed to its usage (as an approximation or standardization of local Middle Indic dialects) in place of Sanskrit. However, by the time of the compilation of the Pali commentaries (4th or 5th century), Pali was described by the anonymous authors as the natural language, the root language of all beings.<ref>''Dispeller of Delusion'', Pali Text Society, volume II, pages 127f</ref><ref name=Norman/>{{rp|2}} | ||
Comparable to [[Egyptian language|Ancient Egyptian]], [[Latin]] or [[Hebrew]] in the [[Western esotericism|mystic traditions of the West]], Pali recitations were often thought to have a [[supernatural]] power (which could be attributed to their meaning, the character of the reciter, or the qualities of the language itself), and in the early strata of Buddhist literature we can already see Pali [[dharani|{{transl|sinh|ISO|dhāraṇī}}]]s used as charms, as, for example, against the bite of snakes. Many people in Theravada cultures still believe that taking a vow in Pali has a special significance, and, as one example of the supernatural power assigned to chanting in the language, the recitation of the vows of [[Angulimala|{{transl|sinh|ISO|Aṅgulimāla}}]] are believed to alleviate the pain of childbirth in Sri Lanka. In Thailand, the chanting of a portion of the [[Abhidhamma|{{transl|sinh|ISO|Abhidhammapiṭaka}}]] is believed to be beneficial to the recently departed, and this ceremony routinely occupies as much as seven working days. There is nothing in the latter text that relates to this subject, and the origins of the custom are unclear.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Book|first=Chroniker Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3176AwAAQBAJ|title=Epitome of the Pali Canon|date=2012-10-29|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-300-32715-8|language=en}}</ref> | Comparable to [[Egyptian language|Ancient Egyptian]], [[Latin]] or [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] in the [[Western esotericism|mystic traditions of the West]], Pali recitations were often thought to have a [[supernatural]] power (which could be attributed to their meaning, the character of the reciter, or the qualities of the language itself), and in the early strata of Buddhist literature we can already see Pali [[dharani|{{transl|sinh|ISO|dhāraṇī}}]]s used as charms, as, for example, against the bite of snakes. Many people in Theravada cultures still believe that taking a vow in Pali has a special significance, and, as one example of the supernatural power assigned to chanting in the language, the recitation of the vows of [[Angulimala|{{transl|sinh|ISO|Aṅgulimāla}}]] are believed to alleviate the pain of childbirth in Sri Lanka. In Thailand, the chanting of a portion of the [[Abhidhamma|{{transl|sinh|ISO|Abhidhammapiṭaka}}]] is believed to be beneficial to the recently departed, and this ceremony routinely occupies as much as seven working days. There is nothing in the latter text that relates to this subject, and the origins of the custom are unclear.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Book|first=Chroniker Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3176AwAAQBAJ|title=Epitome of the Pali Canon|date=2012-10-29|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-300-32715-8|language=en}}</ref> | ||
===Pali today=== | ===Pali today=== | ||
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Vowels may be divided into | Vowels may be divided into | ||
## pure vowels: ''a, ā, e, o'' | ## pure vowels: ''a, ā, e, o'' | ||
## sonant vowels: ''i, ī, u, ū''<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Perniola|first=Vito|title=A Grammar of the Pali Language|year=1997|isbn=0860133540|pages=103}}</ref> | ## sonant vowels: ''i, ī, u, ū''<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Perniola|first=Vito|title=A Grammar of the Pali Language|year=1997|isbn=0860133540|pages=103}}</ref> | ||
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Long and short vowels are only contrastive in open syllables; in closed syllables, all vowels are always short. Short and long '''e''' and '''o''' are in complementary distribution: the short variants occur only in closed syllables, the long variants occur only in open syllables. Short and long '''e''' and '''o''' are therefore not distinct phonemes. | Long and short vowels are only contrastive in open syllables; in closed syllables, all vowels are always short. Short and long '''e''' and '''o''' are in complementary distribution: the short variants occur only in closed syllables, the long variants occur only in open syllables. Short and long '''e''' and '''o''' are therefore not distinct phonemes. | ||
''e'' and ''o'' are long in an open syllable: at the end of a syllable as in [ne-tum̩] เนตุํ 'to lead' or [so-tum̩] โสตุํ 'to hear'.<ref name=":0" /> They are short in a closed syllable: when followed by a consonant with which they make a syllable as in [upek-khā] 'indifference' or [sot-thi] 'safety'.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
at the end of a syllable as in [ne-tum̩] เนตุํ 'to lead' | |||
when followed by a consonant with which they make a syllable as in [upek-khā] 'indifference' | |||
For vowels ''ā, ī, ū'', ''e'' appears for ''a'' before | For vowels ''ā, ī, ū'', ''e'' appears for ''a'' before doubled consonants: | ||
: ''seyyā = sayyā'' 'bed' | : ''seyyā = sayyā'' 'bed' | ||
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Of the sounds listed above only the three consonants in parentheses, '''ṅ''', '''ḷ''', and '''ḷh''', are not distinct [[phoneme]]s in Pali: '''ṅ''' only occurs before velar stops, while '''ḷ''' and '''ḷh''' are [[allophone]]s of single '''ḍ''' and '''ḍh''' occurring between [[vowel]]s. | Of the sounds listed above only the three consonants in parentheses, '''ṅ''', '''ḷ''', and '''ḷh''', are not distinct [[phoneme]]s in Pali: '''ṅ''' only occurs before velar stops, while '''ḷ''' and '''ḷh''' are [[allophone]]s of single '''ḍ''' and '''ḍh''' occurring between [[vowel]]s. | ||
In Pali language, the consonants may be divided according to their strength or power of resistance. The strength decreases in the order of: ''mutes, sibilant, nasals, l, v, y, r'' | In the Pali language, the consonants may be divided according to their strength or power of resistance. The strength decreases in the order of: ''mutes, sibilant, nasals, l, v, y, r'' | ||
When two consonants come together, they are subject to one of the following change: | When two consonants come together, they are subject to one of the following change: | ||
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# they are first adapted and then assimilated to each other | # they are first adapted and then assimilated to each other | ||
# they give rise to a new consonant group | # they give rise to a new consonant group | ||
# they separated by the insertion of | # they separated by the insertion of an [[epenthesis|epenthetic vowel]] | ||
# they are sometimes interchanged by [[metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Perniola|first=Vito|title=A Grammar of the Pali Language|year=1997|isbn=0860133540|pages=9, 10, 11}}</ref> | # they are sometimes interchanged by [[metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Perniola|first=Vito|title=A Grammar of the Pali Language|year=1997|isbn=0860133540|pages=9, 10, 11}}</ref> | ||
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==Writing== | ==Writing== | ||
Emperor [[Ashoka]] erected a number of pillars with his edicts in at least three regional Prakrit languages in [[Brahmi script]],<ref>''Inscriptions of Aśoka'' by Alexander Cunningham, Eugen Hultzsch. Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing. Calcutta: 1877</ref> all of which are quite similar to Pali. Historically, the first written record of the Pali canon is believed to have been composed in Sri Lanka, based on a prior oral tradition. According to the [[Mahavamsa]] (the chronicle of Sri Lanka), due to a major famine in the country Buddhist monks wrote down the Pali canon during the time of [[Valagamba of Anuradhapura|King Vattagamini]] in 100 BCE. | Emperor [[Ashoka]] erected a number of pillars with his edicts in at least three regional Prakrit languages in [[Brahmi script]],<ref>''Inscriptions of Aśoka'' by Alexander Cunningham, Eugen Hultzsch. Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing. Calcutta: 1877</ref> all of which are quite similar to Pali. Historically, the first written record of the Pali canon is believed to have been composed in Sri Lanka, based on a prior oral tradition. According to the [[Mahavamsa]] (the chronicle of Sri Lanka), due to a major famine in the country Buddhist monks wrote down the Pali canon during the time of [[Valagamba of Anuradhapura|King Vattagamini]] in 100 BCE. Bilingual coins containing Pali written in the [[Kharosthi]] script and Greek writing were used by [[James Prinsep]] to decipher the Kharosthi [[abugida]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dias |first1=Malini |last2=Miriyagalla |first2=Das |title=Brahmi Script in Relation to Mesopotamian Cuneiform |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka |date=2007 |volume=53 |pages=91–108 |jstor=23731201 }}</ref> This script became particularly significant for the study of early Buddhism following the discovery of the [[Gandharan Buddhist texts]]. | ||
The transmission of written Pali has retained a universal system of alphabetic values, but has expressed those values in a variety of different scripts. In the 1840s, Thai king [[Mongkut]] invented the [[Ariyaka script]], adapted from the [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] and [[Mon–Burmese script|Burmese-Mon scripts]], as a universal medium for transcribing Pali, intended to replace other existing regional scripts, including Khom Thai and Tai Tham.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Crosby |first=Kate |last2=Kyaw |first2=Pyi Phyo |date=2022-10-19 |title=Practices of Protection in the Pali World |url=https://oxfordre.com/religion/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-764;jsessionid=8C9CBD729EE864E665C2EBE9FF56C034 |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.764}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Ray |first=Himanshu Prabha |title=Archaeology of Buddhism in Asia |date=2019-01-25 |url=https://oxfordre.com/asianhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277727-e-214 |work=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.214 |isbn=978-0-19-027772-7 |access-date=2023-03-01}}</ref> The script did not come into popular use. Theravada Buddhist-professing regions use distinct scripts to transcribe Pali: | |||
* Myanmar: [[Burmese script|Mon-Burmese]] | |||
* Cambodia: [[Khmer script|Khmer]] | |||
* India: [[Devanāgarī]] | |||
* Laos: [[Lao script|Lao]] (since 1930; historically [[Tai Tham script|Tai Tham]]) | |||
* Sri Lanka: [[Sinhala script|Sinhala]] | |||
* Thailand: [[Thai alphabet|Thai]] (since 1893; historically [[Tai Tham script|Tai Tham]] and [[Khom Thai script|Khom Thai]]) | |||
===Alphabet with diacritics=== | ===Alphabet with diacritics=== | ||
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==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* [[Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit]] | * [[Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit]] | ||
* Citizendium's [[Citizendium:Pali|Pāli]] article has a comparison of classical Sanskit and Pali, and a streamlined grammar | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
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* American National Standards Institute. (1979). ''American National Standard system for the romanization of Lao, Khmer, and Pali''. New York: The institute. | * American National Standards Institute. (1979). ''American National Standard system for the romanization of Lao, Khmer, and Pali''. New York: The institute. | ||
* {{cite book|last1=Andersen|first1=Dines|title=A Pali Reader|date=1907|publisher=Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag|location=Copenhagen|pages=310|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924071132082|access-date=29 September 2016}} | * {{cite book|last1=Andersen|first1=Dines|title=A Pali Reader|date=1907|publisher=Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag|location=Copenhagen|pages=310|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924071132082|access-date=29 September 2016}} | ||
* | * Mahathera Buddhadatta (1998). ''Concise Pāli-English Dictionary. Quickly find the meaning of a word, without the detailed grammatical and contextual analysis.'' {{ISBN|8120806050}} | ||
* [[Steven Collins (Buddhist studies scholar)|Collins, Steven]] (2006). ''A Pali Grammar for Students''. Silkworm Press. | * [[Steven Collins (Buddhist studies scholar)|Collins, Steven]] (2006). ''A Pali Grammar for Students''. Silkworm Press. | ||
* Gupta, K. M. (2006). ''Linguistic approach to meaning in Pali''. New Delhi: Sundeep Prakashan. {{ISBN|81-7574-170-8}} | * Gupta, K. M. (2006). ''Linguistic approach to meaning in Pali''. New Delhi: Sundeep Prakashan. {{ISBN|81-7574-170-8}} | ||
* Hazra, K. L. (1994). ''Pāli language and literature: a systematic survey and historical study''. Emerging perceptions in Buddhist studies, no. 4–5. New Delhi: D.K. Printworld. {{ISBN|81-246-0004-X}} | * Hazra, K. L. (1994). ''Pāli language and literature: a systematic survey and historical study''. Emerging perceptions in Buddhist studies, no. 4–5. New Delhi: D.K. Printworld. {{ISBN|81-246-0004-X}} | ||
* Müller, | * Martineau, Lynn (1998). ''Pāli Workbook Pāli Vocabulary from the 10-day Vipassana Course of S. N. Goenka''. {{ISBN|1928706045}}. | ||
* | * Müller, Edward (2003) [1884]. ''The Pali language: a simplified grammar''. Trübner's collection of simplified grammars. London: Trubner. {{ISBN|1-84453-001-9}} | ||
* Bhikkhu Nanamoli. ''A Pāli-English Glossary of Buddhist technical terms''. {{ISBN|9552400864}} | |||
* Perniola, V. (1997). ''Pali Grammar'', Oxford, The Pali Text Society. | |||
* Soothill, W. E., & Hodous, L. (1937). ''A dictionary of Chinese Buddhist terms: with Sanskrit and English equivalents and a Sanskrit-Pali index''. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. | * Soothill, W. E., & Hodous, L. (1937). ''A dictionary of Chinese Buddhist terms: with Sanskrit and English equivalents and a Sanskrit-Pali index''. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. | ||
* | * Webb, Russell (ed.) ''An Analysis of the Pali Canon'', Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy; 1975, 1991 (see http://www.bps.lk/reference.asp {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603122253/http://www.bps.lk/reference.asp |date=3 June 2013 }}) | ||
* Wallis, Glenn (2011). ''Buddhavacana, a Pali reader'' (PDF eBook). {{ISBN|192870686X}}. | * Wallis, Glenn (2011). ''Buddhavacana, a Pali reader'' (PDF eBook). {{ISBN|192870686X}}. | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{interwiki|code=pi}} | {{interwiki|code=pi}} | ||
*[ | * | ||
* [http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Concise%20Pali%20English%20Dictionary_Buddhadatta.pdf Buddhadatta Mahāthera, A. P. (1958). ''Concise Pāli-English Dictionary''.] | *[https://dhamma.ru/paali/palisan.htm Reconstruction of Ancient Indian sound clusters on the basis of Pali sounds (according to ''Grammatik des Pali'' by Achim Fahs)] | ||
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150911082033/http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Concise%20Pali%20English%20Dictionary_Buddhadatta.pdf Buddhadatta Mahāthera, A. P. (1958). ''Concise Pāli-English Dictionary''.] | |||
{{Buddhism topics}} | {{Buddhism topics}} | ||
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[[Category:Magahi language]] | [[Category:Magahi language]] | ||
[[Category:Sacred languages]] | [[Category:Sacred languages]] | ||
[[Category:Ancient languages]] | |||
[[Category:Languages written in Devanagari]] | |||