I am a new member and have just started learning Pali using the Pali
Primer and Warder. I have had a latent interest in Buddhism for many
years (hatched while completing a Ph.D in philosophy 10 years ago),
but I am now starting to get serious and read the Suttas and just
about anything else I can get my hands on.
Ultimately, I would like to gain some proficency in both Pali and
Sanskrit, so my question is: is there a particularly strong reason to
learn Sanskrit first and then progress to Pali, or does the reverse
make just as much sense? I keep reading that Pali is a "simplified"
version of Sanskrit and Walshe, in the introduction to his
translation of the Digha Nikaya, notes the existence of certain rules
of thumb that approximate a Sanskrit-to-Pali conversion. Given these
facts, does it make sense for someone like me to (a) do Sanskrit
first then move on to Pali, (b) do Pali first (as it is easier, in
principal?) then move on to Sanskrit, or (c) figure what the heck and
just try doing both at once? (If it is relevant, I have some small
background in classical languages, having been force fed Latin at
school in England and spent some time working with medieval Latin
texts as a graduate student.)
I've been lurking on the list for a week or so and it seems like a
great place with some really nice folks.