Dear Yong Peng and all,

I'd be glad to contribute to the discussion of the Saddaniiti text on Pali
grammar. The text in H. Smith's romanized edition runs to 928 pages divided
into three main parts (maalaas) consisting of 28 chapters (paricchedas) in
all. The first part, the Padamaalaa, contains 14 chapters and the first two
chapters of this part deal with verbs derived from the root _bhuu_. The bulk
of the Padamaalaa is a commentary placed under the first verbal root (bhuu
sattaaya.m) and the commentary on the second root (i gatiya.m) starts at the
beginning of the second part, the Dhaatumaalaa. You could start at the
beginning of the Padamaalaa if you wish. That's the way I started myself but
never did finish studying the first chapter. I soon changed my approach to
using the Saddaniiti mostly as a reference grammar which I regularly
consult. The tables and indices in Smith's edition are very helpful in
quickly finding the information one is looking for in the text.

I would suggest presenting the text in small and easily digestible portions
(a line or two or a short paragraph at a time) followed by a translation and
notes. Otherwise, it could get too overwhelming for many of us. It is not an
easy text to work through and with the exception of Kahrs' translation and
study of the first part of the 22nd chapter in JPTS Vol. XVII, I don't know
of the existence of any other published English translation or study of the
text. I have not seen S. Collins' book.

Best wishes,
Jim

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ong Yong Peng" <palismith@...>
To: <Pali@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2008 8:07 PM
Subject: [Pali] Re: The New Pali Course Part II [3-8/8]


Dear Nina, Jon and Dhivan,

thanks for your interest, I do hope Jim and Mahinda will be able to
contribute to the discussion of the text if we do start on
Saddaniti/Saddaniiti.