Questions tagged [sanskrit]
For questions about Sanskrit, the Ancient Classical language of Northern India.
83
questions
0
votes
2answers
290 views
Is Panini's grammar regular in the same sense as that present in the Chomsky hierarchy?
Panini's grammar is said to have algebraic rules governing every aspect of the Sanskrit language. If the rules are completely formal, what is the place of this grammar in the Chomsky hierarchy? How ...
0
votes
2answers
88 views
Resources for self learning Sanskrit? [closed]
I wanted to self-thought learn Sanskrit, but I don't find any reliable resource available online. The only way I can learn is online and through self-through. It's physically impossible for me to find ...
1
vote
1answer
87 views
Prefix a(n)- in Sanskrit and English
In learning about the three Buddhist marks of existence - referred to by the Sanskrit words anatman (lack of permanent self), anitya (impermanence) and dukkha (suffering) - I was interested to learn ...
1
vote
0answers
65 views
echo/doubling of consonants in sanskrit
I've notice that whenever people in india pronounce a sanskrit word where one syllable ends in a consonant and following syllable starts with a consonant, they tend to double up one of the consonant.
...
5
votes
2answers
391 views
Are there traces of lost PIE laryngeals in Sanskrit?
I read on wiki that
"Hittite retains laryngeals that disappeared entirely in Sanskrit (but left plenty of traces showing that it must once have existed).
In Proto-Indo-Iranian, the laryngeals ...
0
votes
1answer
78 views
questions regarding satemisation in sanskrit
I have some questions regarding satemisation in sanskrit.
why there are still k in sanskrit if pie k tunred into sanskrit s ? It seems to me that pie *kʷ turned into k in sanskrit. is that right ? If ...
0
votes
1answer
139 views
How do we know that Mitanni Indo-Aryan loan words are derived from Proto-Indo-Aryan and not Vedic Sanskrit?
This question is similer to my previous question.
I came across a person who makes the following claims:
The names of Previous Kings of Mitannis that are mentioned on inscriptions belongs to period ...
-2
votes
1answer
206 views
Where did the Sanskrit language originate from?
Where did the Sanskrit language originate from?
Did it originate from Persia or Greece?
Where did Sanskrit evolve into a classic language: India or Persia or Greece?
Origin of Sanskrit
The above ...
4
votes
2answers
419 views
How do we know that Avestan is sister of Vedic Sanskrit and not its daughter?
I am new here and to linguistics. Recently I have developed a passion and an interest for linguistics, but I am not familiar with it.
So I got into debate with a person from India. He was claiming ...
-3
votes
1answer
142 views
Does the root word mus- in Latin mean "thief"'? Mouse=thief, Moses=Extractor etc
I first got the idea of Latin mus- = mouse = thief from this list
My primary question here is whether someone can confirm this, because I have not found any direct words in Latin that indicates that ...
-1
votes
1answer
112 views
What is the reason of this alternation?
The second case is similiar to e-grade / zero-grade ablaut.
Is it possible to find out the place of a stress here?
For use:
वसति vásati
वर्धति várdhati
3
votes
1answer
190 views
Historically, did the Sanskrit alphabet contain two 'la' consonants?
Historically, did the Sanskrit alphabet (varnamala) contain two 'la' consonants (vyanjan varnas)? It seems there was one in the 'ya' series (varga) and another one in the 'sha' series.
Current texts ...
0
votes
1answer
186 views
Algorithms used for identifying the syllables in a Sanskrit word
Could anyone give a reference to the best book or website for learning the algorithms used for identifying the syllables in a Sanskrit word, in a completely unambiguous way, just from a piece of text? ...
1
vote
0answers
38 views
The various forms of the Sanskrit word 'Para'?
I came across the word 'Paratpara' and found the meaning to be 'Greatest of the Great'. This led me to try and understand it in relation with other similar words I already knew - paraspara(mutual) and ...
1
vote
1answer
93 views
What is the frequency of Devanagari signs in Sanskrit?
I've been searching everywhere to find the frequency of Devanagari's signs (including the sign in a conjunct) in a typical Sanskrit text. I found the frequency of Devanagari conjuncts here and there ...
2
votes
1answer
216 views
Does any Sanskrit noun stem end in e ए?
Sanskrit nouns stems ending in dipthongs are very rare but I could still find examples of at least one stem each ending in every dipthong except e ए.
ऐ ai - रै rai
ओ o - गो go
औ au - नौ nau
But I ...
0
votes
1answer
117 views
Is Indra grammatically irregular?
I came across this on http://sanskritdictionary.com/:
kubera kuberaḥ, yakṣarāṭ, yakṣendraḥ, yakṣeśvaraḥ, tryambakasakhā, guhyakeśvaraḥ, manuṣyadharmā, dhanadaḥ, dhanādhipaḥ, kinnareśaḥ, vaiśravaṇaḥ, ...
5
votes
2answers
491 views
Is it possible in Sanskrit to distinguish between the names Rāma and Rām i.e. राम and राम् when used in a sentence?
Consider this sentence:
रामो लेखन्या लिखति
Is रामो in that sentence always referring to someone named राम (Rāma) or could it be equally possible that the person's name was राम् (Rām)? Are names like ...
2
votes
3answers
805 views
Sanskrit consonant clusters
I thought it'd be fairly easy to find a list of Sanskrit consonant clusters online, but the last hour or so has proved me wrong. There's information out there about how to write conjoined consonants ...
0
votes
2answers
630 views
Is Sanskrit 100% phonetic?
Even though many languages are still written in Devanagari, they have a problem of schwa deletion. But that problem doesn't exist in Sanskrit. I know that almost all languages have phonetic ...
1
vote
0answers
104 views
What is meant by the term 'genitive of appurtenance'
In his Sanskrit Grammar, William Dwight Whitney describes the uses of the genitive case in Sanskrit and he mentions the 'genitive of possession or appurtenance':
The genitive in its normal ...
6
votes
1answer
369 views
Why are there so many 'a' sounds in Sanskrit?
I noticed that in Sanskrit (as well as in many Indo-Aryan languages), the vowel /a/ appears much more frequently than any other vowel. Many words have only have /a/ as a vowel.
Is there any reason ...
-2
votes
2answers
130 views
why the number of phonemes for speaking and alphabet for writing (वर्णों की कुल संख्या) in 'Sanskrit' language is fixed and specific?
In the given below sentences the word,
'sound' means any sound wave. I am not asking/talking about the meaning of that sound. That sound can be meaningless too.
**I am curious about, why can't it ...
2
votes
1answer
122 views
Modern Thai writing system and modern Khmer writing system and the sharing of Non-Sanskrit symbols
I understand that both old and modern Khmer and old and modern Thai, effected one another and share lots of words or "roots" of words.
For example
Modern Thai words derived from Old Khmer
ឆ្លាតor ...
0
votes
0answers
92 views
How to transliterate Devanagari into Brahmi (mainly, diacritics)
I have been messing around with converting a large Devanagari Sanskrit text to Brahmi using a simple mapping function. There is also this table showing how most of the characters map. I found one that ...
-4
votes
1answer
310 views
What is the sound for ज्ञ in Sanskrit? [closed]
Wikipedia has this:
ɟɲ ज्ञ jñ roughly like argue
But those 3 writings all conflict with one another, so what is the correct pronunciation?
24
votes
3answers
17k views
Is Sanskrit really the mother of all languages?
Hindus believe that "Sanskrit is the mother of all Languages".
It is a fact that Sanskrit has enriched most Indian Languages including the Dravidian Languages such as Telugu, as Latin enriched some ...
8
votes
3answers
6k views
Why are Latin and Sanskrit called dead languages?
I hear Latin and Sanskrit are called dead languages. Sanskrit is used in rituals and at the temples.
I think this is also true of Latin.
What is the cause of their degradation when they have enriched ...
2
votes
2answers
308 views
Is Latin "ulula" cognate with hindi उल्लू ("ullu")?
Hindi उल्लू /ʊl.luː/ (derived from Sanskrit उलूक /uluːka/) appears superficially very similar to Latin ulula (both meaning "owl"). Are these words cognate?
1
vote
1answer
181 views
Standardized and ambiguity-free language
Is there exist a language (the natural or the constructed one) with a completely standardized and ambiguity-free rules, and which is suitable for the modern use?
I am wondering for a language which ...
3
votes
1answer
161 views
Do Old Indian words with voiceless aspirated stops have cognates in other branches of Indogermanic?
Inspired by this answer by Arnaud Fournet I have this question: Do Old Indic (Vedic, Sankrit) words beginning with a voiceless aspirated stop (like ph, th, or kh) have cognates in other branches of ...
0
votes
1answer
157 views
Possible absolute synonymy in PIE for 'night'?
I recently came across this post (question attached). But this rule seems to struggle once it comes to the Sanskrit - Indo-Aryan side of the family (PIE) , for example ratri in Sanskrit and raat in ...
0
votes
1answer
72 views
Given a name in sanskrit, how to find what to call the son or daughter of that person. What is the grammatical rule for forming such words? [closed]
Example:-
Kunti-- Kauntey
anjana-- aanjane
What are the rules
-1
votes
1answer
52 views
Universal Grammar or Other Area of Study
So, what I am wondering about is what I should look up to study the following. From my understanding, there is a limited number of ways languages are implemented. That is, there is a set of abstract ...
3
votes
2answers
402 views
Why does Sankr. नक्ति (nákti) not show Satemization
Did Sanskrit नक्ति (nákti) "night", PIE *nókʷts, not participate in the kentum-satem split? Why? Is it a loan? There are at least two synonyms, if that makes any difference.
I have no actual reason ...
5
votes
1answer
256 views
Possible extrapolation of old German word "hansa" to protogermanic and possibly common root with Sanskrit "sangha"
I came across a discussion about if "Lufthansa" means air-Swan, inspired by the sanskrit word hansa swan. Which is of course wrong as it has its origins in the old german word hansa for group or ...
1
vote
1answer
234 views
Does Sanskrit निस् • (nis) "out, forth, away" come from PIE *ni- "in; down?" with meaning shift from "in" to "out"?
निस्·nis "out, forth, away" > nirvana "to blow out, extinguish; out of breath?"
नि·ni "down, back, in, into" < PIE *h₁én "in; down?"
My question is ...
0
votes
2answers
337 views
Doesn't Sanskrit use adpositions of any kind?
For some reason, the Wikipedia article makes no mention of any adpositions of any kind. I find it highly unbelievable that the language makes no use of such. It has a case system, but there's only 8 ...
0
votes
2answers
634 views
Can you help identify a strange Devanagari symbol in a book that doesn't look like any Devanagari letters? [closed]
In the book Shaktapramode (example page), there is a strange symbol
that I have never encountered before.
Here it is in the context: .
Does anybody know what it signifies? Thank you!
7
votes
2answers
2k views
In what way is Japanese related to Sanskrit?
The Wikipedia says that Japanese katakana vowels “The gojūon inherits its vowel and consonant order from Sanskrit practice. “. Could expert explains this in easy language?
0
votes
3answers
878 views
Soft consonants in Devanagari [closed]
Can someone tell me what are the soft consonants in Devanagari?
This link gives me a list of the devanagari soft consonants. However, is this the complete list? I find in other sources another list. ...
1
vote
1answer
100 views
Evolution of perfective aspect from Sanskrit derivational suffix -ka in Modern Indo-Aryan languages
It is well attested that the Sanskrit derivational suffix -ka for adjectives together with the syntesized participle on nominals like krta-ka>done, evolved as the possessive case marker in modern Indo-...
2
votes
3answers
4k views
Anunasika(Chandrabindu) in Vowels (Sanskrit)
Someone said Anunasika is like trying to say something entirely in nasal voice. So let’s say I want to pronounce a vowel ‘U’kara with Chandrabindu on top of it. I know it’s should be completely a ...
-1
votes
1answer
312 views
How should I pronounce double consonant in a Sanskrit word? [closed]
The visarga in रामः शेते is facing Sh so it should change to Sh, right? And we get the one word रामश्शेते Raamashshete, but I am not sure how it should be pronounced. Should the dobule Sh be mingled ...
6
votes
2answers
252 views
Good recent historical grammar of Sanskrit, preferably in English?
Does there exist a reliable, reasonably up-to-date historical-comparative grammar of Sanskrit written in English? Failing that, what are the standard works for historical Sanskrit phonology and ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
How many "principal parts" do Sanskrit verbs have?
What is the minimum number of forms that one needs to memorize in order to be able to fully conjugate a Sanskrit verb? I've found differing answers: some say six, others ten, and in fact, I personally ...
3
votes
2answers
325 views
Does Sanskrit really have a large proportion of borrowings from non IE stock?
A comment on an answer to anoher question about Lithuanian suggests that 'quite a large number of words was borrowed from non-IE languages'.
While some words in Sanskrit indeed seem to have Fenno-...
1
vote
2answers
348 views
Difference in translating Sanskrit words कोप [kopa] and क्रोध [krodha]
Translationg the terms makes a semantic rendering important. The English resourse translates क्रोध [krodha] as 'anger' wrath, passion, etc.' with the same definition for कोप [kopa] plus defining it ...
1
vote
4answers
1k views
Etymology of Sanskrit नारक / नरक [nāraka / naraka]
If the word नर [nara], sometimes represented as नार [nāra] primarly means 'man, human, person' and the word नारक / नरक [nāraka / naraka] means 'hell', 'infernal' and/or 'inhabitant of hell', then ...
0
votes
1answer
190 views
Is there a difference between 'doot' (दूत) and 'dut' (दुत) in Sanskrit? [closed]
I recently came across a verse from RigVeda
यदक्रन्दः परथमं जायमान उद्यन समुद्रादुत वा पुरीषात |
शयेनस्य पक्षा हरिणस्य बाहू उपस्तुत्यं महि जातं ते अर्वन ||
Now, I can understand उद्यन समुद्रादुत (...
