SCRIPTING -SAMSKRUTHAM : CONVENTIONS IN INDIC WRITING SYSTEMS FOR SYLLABERY
BVK Sastry (G-S-Pop)
Namaste
1. In some of the recent post exchanges, the study of ‘Samskrutham’ under the influence of ‘ Hindi’ was raised by one scholar ; and challenging ‘ the tradition of Samskruth Vyakarana’ by Muni-Traya sampradaya.
In this connection, I am sharing some more details and seek scholars opinion on :
‘Future of Panini-Patanjali- Samskrutam:
Studied under influenced ‘ instructional –media’ of Other Indian Languages, Collocated across Bharat Varsha :
Specifically Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, now extended to ‘English (global of current period) in digital media.
The question has been studied over three centuries; latest reference I am pitching is from year 1953.
2. Specific reference publication : Introduction to the DEVANAGARI SCRIPT - for students of SANSKRIT, HINDI, MARATHI, GUJRATI and BENGAL- authored by H.M. LAMBERT (Senior Lecturer in Marathi) Maharaja Gaekwad Lecturer ship) in the School of Oriental and African Studies , University of London; OUP, 1953.
Digital Copy available at https://archive.org/details/introduction-to-devanagri-script/page/n8/mode/1up?view=theater
3. The question to ponder over, Down the line, by 2050 – who would be the ‘Living Authority – Spokesperson on Panini Samskrutham’ – Language by Speech and Script ? A standardization by ‘Shishta – Sadhu- Prayoga’?? How are we training this genre of scholarship ? What is the writing on the wall ?
This is like Nirukta articulated deliberation: Who amongst us, would be our Rishi: The Next Generation Leader?
How do we Train- Test, Validate That Authority?
4. Points to take note of:
- How is post 1937 – Samskruth Education in Early Schooling (Pre-India) – shaping using Indian language mediums / Society being
Delivered as ‘ Early Education of Samskrutham/ Social Education outreach of Samskrutham / Academic Samskrutham ?
- What is the impact of this ‘Inheritance: Cultural Colonial Academic – legacy in ‘ Samskruth (Scoail and Digital) at Modern India?
- What Would be DIGITAL SAMSKRUTHAM FUTURE - molded by A.I. initiatives of Language- Technology ? Indic and beyond ?
5. Why do I see this as a relevant, contemporary and critical issue: Global Learning of ‘Samskrutham’ carries several shades of ‘Panini –Samskrutham’ interpreted with achromatized lens of Indic languages and now added layer being ‘English- Digital Tools’.
It is like the main stream ‘ language-river’, pure and pristine at the origin, gets build and speed, journeys through lands , acquiring influences added from ‘Eco-system of Learning- Teaching – Usage- in Local Language – Medium and tools’. What is the Ocean where it is to find its destiny ?
6. Reason for this concern: The FOREWORD of reference above, with highlights ( mine) accentuates and highlights this concern.
It is a commonplace of linguistics to acknowledge the debt we owe to the ancient Indian grammarians and to couple with it the name of Sir William Jones. It was he who first sect a proper value on the Devanagari and Arabic scripts in his dissertation as President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal on the Orthography of Asiatic Words in Roman Letters. His chart of suggested symbols for the transliteration of the Devanagari, with the addition of letters for Arabic and Persian, is the first presentation of what may be called a phonetic alphabet on such a scale. He finds the Arabic alphabet almost perfect for Arabic itself :—
“Not a letter could be added or taken away without manifest inconvenience. The same may indubitably be said of the Dévanagari system, which, as it is more naturally arranged than any other, shall here be the standard of my particular observations on Asiatic letters. Our English alphabet and orthography are disgracefully and almost ridiculously imperfect.’
He aims at using diacritics common in Europe rather than new letters—and symbols from ‘fluxions’ or mathematics—so as to equal the Devanagari itself in precision and clearness.
A system of writing and spelling is the foundation of a system of grammar. Meillet went so far as to say that the foundations of the science of grammar were laid by the Indians. For all languages employing forms of the Devanagari script, the writing system and the spelling carry implications of phonological analysis and statement. ‘They are at once practice and theory and deserve the first attentions of all students. This is well illustrated in Miss Lambert's work on the Devanagari script, and it will be agreed that the presentation of the phonological patterns, such as ‘)(junctions’ occurring in words or arising out of ‘sandhi’ in Sanskrit, and other characteristic patterns in the modern languages, is clear, systematic, and original, and particularly interesting in Bengali. The treatment of conjunct characters in the third chapter of each section is new, and apart from its intrinsic interest may be taken as an indication of what is lost when the structure of the Devanagari system is superseded by the usual roman transliterations. In addition to this study of the writing system, attention is rightly given here to calligraphy, for the practice of the hand is an obligation no less compelling than that of the tongue and both are expressions not only of courteous relations but of disciplined knowledge.
Miss Lambert has consistently applied the All-India Roman Alphabet to all. five languages in order to make comparison possible whether the languages are known to the student or not, This treatment could be extended to the Dravidian languages. By this means it has been found possible to make a systematic statement of the various conventions governing the use of the Sanskritic writing system for the modern languages.
The Sanskrit and Hindi sections are published separately in one volume since they employ one script and will presumably be more generally required, but the appeal of the entire work is to those whose interests range from India through Further India to the Indonesian Islands following the Sanskritic system of writing.
I have been acquainted with Miss Lambert’s work in Indian studies since 1937, first in Western India and later as a colleague in London. It gave me great pleasure to be asked to write this brief foreword to her work on a subject which I have always held to be of high importance and the results of which are now offered to students of Sanskrit and the four principal Sanskritic languages of India.
J. R. FIRTH
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Regards
BVK Sastry