Dear fellow members
I have got a question concerning with the syntax of quotations - and have answered. As I think it would be interesting for other members, I have asked for the permission to post the question and answer. I got the permission but the questionnaire prefers to be anonymous so his name and email address is omitted here.
Dear Bhante, I saw your offer to help on the Pali list serve and I have a question that you may be able to help me with. I am using A.K. Warder to study with and in chapter 14 there is a sentence I don't understand. The sentence is... "Evam sammaa ti kho sahaayako sahaayakassa paccassosi."
Thus/my dear (could this be my friend)/ quotation/indeed/friend/ to or for friend/
the verb paccassosi I am not familiar and checking Warders glossary and Bhikku Buddadatta's Pali-English dictionary does not help. Can you help me here. Thank you for your assistance. Your being on the list will help us.
By the way, I love Burma and have been there many times. It is a pleasure to go to a country where the teaching of the Buddha is widely loved and respected.
With Metta, ...
Dear ... ,
I have been trained in the atmosphere of traditional Pali learning of Myanmar (Burma); accordingly, my approach to Pali may be different from A.K. Warder and the like. However, I would try my best and I hope you would benefit from my explanation.
1. The verb � paccassosi�
It is derived from �
pati (a prefix meaning �back, in return, in response)
+ � su (a root meaning � to hear / to listen to�)
+ o ( the conjugational sign)
+ si ( Aorist 3rd pers. Sing. Ending)
It should be literally translated as � listened in response / in return� but it really means � replied, answered back�.
2. The sentence as a whole
The difficulty here, I presume, is the quotation. In Pali, quotations usually end with the indeclinable iti, and every quotation may be treated in two different ways, which I will illustrate with an instance.
So vadati puriso iti. =
1. He says, � man� / He says (as) � puriso�.
(OR) 2. He speaks (the word) � puriso� / He speaks (the word) � man�.
In the first method, puriso is what we call the quoted speech and iti, the quotation marker. Depending on the context, we can choose either to translate the quoted speech or not. Hence, two different translations are possible in the first method itself.
In the second method, the whole quotation puriso iti is treated as if it were a single noun, (similar to an English noun phrase / clause). It is taken to be an � indeclinable� noun, which, however, may have any of the seven noun cases (Vocative case excluded); the exact case is determined by the context. In the example above, the case of puriso iti is taken to be Accusative since it is obviously, in this context, the object of the verb vadati. Here also the quoted speech can be left not translated; hence, two different translations.
If you understand the second method, your problem can be easily solved.
1. sahaayako sahaayakassa paccassosi [= (The / A) friend replied to (the / a) friend] is the essential part of the sentence.
2. �kho� is only an indeclinable meaning �really�. However, in my opinion, it is not much significant; it is equivalent to the spoken English am, the sound used to take a pause within a sentence.
3. � evam sammaa ti� is a quotation to be viewed as a noun. If its case is taken to be Instrumental, the translation would become as follows:
(The / A) friend replied to (the / a) friend (with the words), �Evam sammaa� OR (The / A) friend replied to (the / a) friend (with the words), �Well (or Thus) / my dear�.
If you are not still clear with this answer, you may feel free to post further questions. And I would like to post this question and answer to the Pali group so that others can study and comment. Please reply whether you can give permission or not.
By the way, thank you for your love for, and interest in, Myanmar.
Yours in Dhamma
Ven. Pandita
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