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(Created page with "{{Short description|Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian subcontinent}} {{For multi|the Nigerian language|Pali language (Chadic)|other uses|Pali (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox language | name = Pali | nativename = {{flatlist| *{{lang|pi-Brah|𑀧𑀸𑀮𑀺}} *{{lang|pi-Khar|rtl=yes|𐨤𐨫𐨁}} *{{lang|km|បាលី}} *{{my|ပါဠိ}} *{{lang|nod|ᨷᩤᩊᩦ}} *{{lang|th|บาลี}} *{{lang|si|පාලි}} *{{IAST|Pāḷi}} }} | pron...") Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
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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}} | ||
The name Pali does not appear in the canonical literature, and in commentary literature is sometimes substituted with {{transliteration|pi|tanti}}, meaning a string or lineage.<ref name=Norman/>{{rp|1}} This name seems to have emerged in [[Sri Lanka]] early in the second millennium CE during a resurgence in the use of Pali as a courtly and literary language. | The name Pali does not appear in the canonical literature, and in commentary literature is sometimes substituted with {{transliteration|pi|tanti}}, meaning a string or lineage.<ref name=Norman/>{{rp|1}} This name seems to have emerged in [[Sri Lanka]] early in the second millennium CE during a resurgence in the use of Pali as a courtly and literary language.<ref name=Norman/>{{rp|1}}<ref name=grammar_kingship/> | ||
As such, the name of the language has caused some debate among scholars of all ages; the spelling of the name also varies, being found with both long "ā" {{IPA|[ɑː]}} and short "a" {{IPA|[a]}}, and also with either a [[retroflex]] {{IPA|[ɭ]}} or non-retroflex {{IPA|[l]}} "l" sound. Both the long ā and retroflex {{transliteration|pi|ḷ}} are seen in the [[ISO 15919]]/[[ALA-LC]] rendering, '''{{transliteration|pi|Pāḷi}}'''; however, to this day there is no single, standard spelling of the term, and all four possible spellings can be found in textbooks. [[Robert Caesar Childers|R. C. Childers]] translates the word as "series" and states that the language "bears the epithet in consequence of the perfection of its grammatical structure".<ref>Hazra, Kanai Lal. ''Pāli Language and Literature; a systematic survey and historical study.'' D.K. Printworld Lrd., New Delhi, 1994, page 19.</ref> | As such, the name of the language has caused some debate among scholars of all ages; the spelling of the name also varies, being found with both long "ā" {{IPA|[ɑː]}} and short "a" {{IPA|[a]}}, and also with either a [[retroflex]] {{IPA|[ɭ]}} or non-retroflex {{IPA|[l]}} "l" sound. Both the long ā and retroflex {{transliteration|pi|ḷ}} are seen in the [[ISO 15919]]/[[ALA-LC]] rendering, '''{{transliteration|pi|Pāḷi}}'''; however, to this day there is no single, standard spelling of the term, and all four possible spellings can be found in textbooks. [[Robert Caesar Childers|R. C. Childers]] translates the word as "series" and states that the language "bears the epithet in consequence of the perfection of its grammatical structure".<ref>Hazra, Kanai Lal. ''Pāli Language and Literature; a systematic survey and historical study.'' D.K. Printworld Lrd., New Delhi, 1994, page 19.</ref> | ||
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====Emic views of Pali==== | ====Emic views of Pali==== | ||
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> | 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 name=Norman/>{{rp|2}}<ref>''Dispeller of Delusion'', Pali Text Society, volume II, pages 127f</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}}{{Circular reference|date=August 2023}}</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}}{{Circular reference|date=August 2023}}</ref> | ||