Re: suttas 3-6: vowels & consonants

> I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome Amara as a new member.
There
> are now seven of us and it is possible that Bruce may be joining us
a little
> later.



Dear Jim,

I really hope you won't regret your benevolence in giving me this
opportunity to study with you, when I said I would probably lurk at
the back of the class, I had no idea that it would be so fantastic! 
As I said in a private note to you having taken the very first look at
PaliStudies,

>Thank you so much for this great privilege of studying with you. Your
>careful and thorough explanation makes it much less daunting than I
>had imagined, as well as amazingly interesting.  This is also a real
>treasure as document, would you consider at least an eventual link to
>DhammaStudy.com, to share it with other Pali students?  Later on
>printing it in book form would be infinitely beneficial indeed...

And now the reason why you might want to invite me to leave someday;
my inquisitive mode is in gear:

Just some little details for starters, may I go back to the parts
before I joined?  What does niti in Saddaniiti mean?  Is it from the
same root as in the Nettipakarana?  Which would make it something like
a rule or law or behavioral code?

What does kappa mean in the Sandhikappa is it the same word meaning
eons of time?

And vutti?

A little question about grammar, in the first sutta,
1. appabhutekataaliisa saddaa va.n.naa.
1. (The) forty-one sounds beginning with 'a' (are the) va.n.na-s.
Is the verb completely out here as understood?  I know the grammar
will come a lot later (and am still a little apprehensive about
learning it), I would simply like a confirmation of my assumption.

I have some questions about the akkharas but will wait until you have
taught about the pronunciations to ask them, probably by the time you
have finished I will have understood,

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity, and anumodana,

Amara