Dave wrote: "I guess I'm wondering how much the Pali language was
influenced by Prince Siddhartha's caste. What would it have looked like
if he had been a Brahmin or a Vaishya?"

I don't know about language but the advice given sometimes seems to be
very Kshatriyan. There is the famous passage in the Mahaparinibbana
sutta when the Buddha lays out how a state can survive in the face of
warfare, the Seven Ways to Avoid Decline or Aparihaniya (see below), and
then hints how the parricide Ajaatasattu can defeat and put and end to
the tribal republic of the Vajjians, and then goes even further and
applies the same rules to the long term survival of the Sangha (Steven
Collins, 1998, Nirvana and other Buddhist Felicities, "The Vajjis
Exemplary Community," pages 437-448). Here is the key passage:

rañña magadhena ajatasattuna vedehiputtena
yadidaṃ yuddhassa, aññatra upalapanaya aññatra
mithubheda.

King Ajaatasattu will not be able to conquer the vajjis, at least not
(simply) in warfare without deceit and (fomenting) internal dissension.
[upalapana = deceit]


The whole passage:

evaṃ vutte,
At these words,

vassakaro brahmaṇo the Brahman Vassakaara

magadhamahamatto
Chief minister of the Maaghadans

bhagavantaṃ etadavoca
spoke to the blessed one

– ``ekamekenapi, bho gotama, aparihaniyena dhammena
samannagatanaṃ vajjinaṃ vuddhiyeva
pāṭikaṅkha, no parihani .

If the Vajjis possess even one of these things, they can be expected to
prosper and not decline

ko pana vado sattahi aparihaniyehi dhammehi.

What can we say if they possess all seven?

akaraṇīyava akaraṇīya ca (sya. ka.), bho
gotama, vajji vajjinaṃ (ka.)

rañña magadhena ajatasattuna vedehiputtena
yadidaṃ yuddhassa, aññatra upalapanaya aññatra
mithubheda.

King Ajaatasattu will not be able to conquer the vajjis, at least not
(simply) in warfare without deceit and (fomenting) internal dissension.
[upalapana = deceit]

handa ca dani mayaṃ, bho gotama, gacchama ,
bahukicca mayaṃ bahukaraṇīya''ti.

Well, I must be going now, Gotama sir, I have a lot to do.

``yassadani tvaṃ, brahmaṇa, kalaṃ
maññasi''ti.

(Go and do) whatever you now think appropriate, Brahmin.

atha kho vassakaro brahmaṇo magadhamahamatto
bhagavato bhasitaṃ abhinanditva anumoditva
uá¹­á¹­hayasana pakkami.

The Brahmin Vassakaara, Chief Minister of the Maghadans, happily what
the Blessed One had said, got up from his seat and left.

The Seven Ways to Avoid Decline are laid out first:

Mahaparinibbana Sutta

Part One
In Magadha

1. Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One [1] dwelt at Rajagaha, on the
hill called Vultures' Peak. At that time the king of Magadha,
Ajatasattu, son of the Videhi queen, [2] desired to wage war against the
Vajjis. He spoke in this fashion: "These Vajjis, powerful and glorious
as they are, I shall annihilate them, I shall make them perish, I shall
utterly destroy them."

2. And Ajatasattu, the king of Magadha, addressed his chief minister,
the brahmin Vassakara, saying: "Come, brahmin, go to the Blessed One,
pay homage in my name at his feet, wish him good health, strength, ease,
vigour, and comfort, and speak thus: 'O Lord, Ajatasattu, the king of
Magadha, desires to wage war against the Vajjis. He has spoken in this
fashion: "These Vajjis, powerful and glorious as they are, I shall
annihilate them, I shall make them perish, I shall utterly destroy
them."' And whatever the Blessed One should answer you, keep it well in
mind and inform me; for Tathagatas [3] do not speak falsely."

3. "Very well, sire," said the brahmin Vassakara in assent to
Ajatasattu, king of Magadha. And he ordered a large number of
magnificent carriages to be made ready, mounted one himself, and
accompanied by the rest, drove out to Rajagaha towards Vultures' Peak.
He went by carriage as far as the carriage could go, then dismounting,
he approached the Blessed One on foot. After exchanging courteous
greetings with the Blessed One, together with many pleasant words, he
sat down at one side and addressed the Blessed One thus: "Venerable
Gotama, Ajatasattu, the king of Magadha, pays homage at the feet of the
Venerable Gotama and wishes him good health, strength, ease, vigour, and
comfort. He desires to wage war against the Vajjis, and he has spoken in
this fashion: 'These Vajjis, powerful and glorious as they are, I shall
annihilate them, I shall make them perish, I shall utterly destroy
them.'"

Conditions of a Nation's Welfare

4. At that time the Venerable Ananda [4] was standing behind the Blessed
One, fanning him, and the Blessed One addressed the Venerable Ananda
thus: "What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis have frequent
gatherings, and are their meetings well attended?"

"I have heard, Lord, that this is so."

"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to be
expected, not their decline.

"What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis assemble and disperse
peacefully and attend to their affairs in concord?"

"I have heard, Lord, that they do."

"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to be
expected, not their decline.

"What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis neither enact new decrees
nor abolish existing ones, but proceed in accordance with their ancient
constitutions?"

"I have heard, Lord, that they do."

"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to be
expected, not their decline.

"What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis show respect, honour,
esteem, and veneration towards their elders and think it worthwhile to
listen to them?"

"I have heard, Lord, that they do."

"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to be
expected, not their decline.

"What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis refrain from abducting women
and maidens of good families and from detaining them?"

"I have heard, Lord, that they refrain from doing so."

"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to be
expected, not their decline.

"What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis show respect, honour,
esteem, and veneration towards their shrines, both those within the city
and those outside it, and do not deprive them of the due offerings as
given and made to them formerly?"

"I have heard, Lord, that they do venerate their shrines, and that they
do not deprive them of their offerings."

"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to be
expected, not their decline.

"What have you heard, Ananda: do the Vajjis duly protect and guard the
arahats, so that those who have not come to the realm yet might do so,
and those who have already come might live there in peace?"

"I have heard, Lord, that they do."

"So long, Ananda, as this is the case, the growth of the Vajjis is to be
expected, not their decline."

5. And the Blessed One addressed the brahmin Vassakara in these words:
"Once, brahmin, I dwelt at Vesali, at the Sarandada shrine, and there it
was that I taught the Vajjis these seven conditions leading to (a
nation's) welfare. [5] So long, brahmin, as these endure among the
Vajjis, and the Vajjis are known for it, their growth is to be expected,
not their decline."

Thereupon the brahmin Vassakara spoke thus to the Blessed One: "If the
Vajjis, Venerable Gotama, were endowed with only one or another of these
conditions leading to welfare, their growth would have to be expected,
not their decline. What then of all the seven? No harm, indeed, can be
done to the Vajjis in battle by Magadha's king, Ajatasattu, except
through treachery or discord. Well, then, Venerable Gotama, we will take
our leave, for we have much to perform, much work to do."

"Do as now seems fit to you, brahmin." And the brahmin Vassakara, the
chief minister of Magadha, approving of the Blessed One's words and
delighted by them, rose from his seat and departed.

http://www.vipassana.com/canon/digha/dn16.php

With Metta,
Jon Fernquest