Page 48 - DENG504_LINGUISTICS

Linguistics

Notes era. Like Panini he too has provided a new shape and new brevity in the description of
linguistic phenomena, has brought a revolution, and like Panini he too has brought linguistics
and philosophy together. He is a linguist amongst mathematicians and a philosopher among
the linguists.
• The Pratisakhyas are the first treatises on phonetics and formal grammar. They provide a
scientific classification of Sanskrit sounds and the ganas (the lists of words remarkable for
grammaticality in any way). These Pratisakhyas are: the Rig Pratisakhya on the Rigveda, the
Tetariya Pratisakhya on the Krishna-Yajurveda, the Vijasney-Pratisakhya on the Shukla-Yajurveda,
the Rig-Tantra-Vyakarnha on the Sam-Veda, and the Atharva-Partisakhya on the Atharva-Veda.
• The oldest linguistic treatise preserved in India is the Nirukta (Explanation) of Yaska
(fifth century B.C.).
• Panini in his work has mentioned the names of some grammarians. They were Aipishali,
Kashyap, Gargya, Chakravarman, Galav, Shaktayan, Senak, Sphotyan and Bhardwaj. They
were his predecessors and contemporaries.
• After Patanjali the tradition of Sanskrit linguistics declines. No greater name than those of
Panini, Katyayana and Patanjali, who are ‘the trinity of Sanskrit grammar’, appear on the
scene. After them emerge the interpreters such as Jayaditya and Vaman (7th century A.D.).
Bharthari’s Vakyapadiya, however, is more important as it tries to interpret language from a
philosophical point of view. It is a comprehensive syntactical study.

3.16 Key-Words

1. Semantics : Semantics is the branch of linguistics that deals with the meanings of
words and sentences.
2. Word-classes : A word-classes is a group of words that have the same basic behaviour,
for example nouns, adjectives or verbs (Parts of speech).

3.17 Review Questions
1. Write briefly about the study of linguistics in ancient India.
2. Is Chomsky’s grammar a revival of Panini in that it attempts to say in the minimum of sutras
(formulae) the maximum about language?
3. Comment briefly on the contribution of Panini, Katyayana and Patanjali to linguistic studies.
4. Summarise the views of some western linguistics about linguistic studies in India.
Answers: Self-Assessment
1. (i)(a) (ii)(d) (iii)(c) (iv)(b)

3.18 Further Readings

1. Verma, S.K., V.N. Krishnaswamy. Modern Linguistics: An Introduction.
2. An Introduction to Linguistics, John Lyon.
3. Peter Roach: English phonetics and phonology. Cambridge University Press.
4. Encyclopedia of Linguistic Science Edited By V. Prakasam, Allied Pub.,
New Delhi.

42 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY