Eisel,
I take it that 'Kaccaayana's algebraic system of declensions' is a reference to sutta 55:
Si yo a.m yo naa hi sa na.m smaa hi sa na.m smi.m su.
This is a list of case suffixes, singular and plural, for seven cases (the vocative is handled
separately). Variations between genders or declensions are specified by other suttas. Its
most obvious antecedent is Panini 4.1.2, also a list of case suffixes, but including a dual
for each, and diacritic consonants to pick out certain groups of suffixes which behave in a
parallel fashion.
Sw au jas am au.t cha.s .taa bhyaam bhis n"e bhyaam bhyas n"asi bhyaam bhyas
n"as oos aam n"y oos sup.
Whether the technique was invented by Panini or taken from a predecessor is difficult to
determine since the grammars of those predecessors have not survived. Of course there
is nothing known in Greek or Latin traditional grammar remotely comparable.
Kaccaayana's use of this approach is clearly derivative (though he does not derive Pali from
Sanskrit as some Prakrit grammars do). He may be responsible, as Pind suggests, for ga
(57), jha and la (58), pa (59) and gha (60), terms for classes of noun stems according to
gender and final vowel. But the technique is still Paninian.
In my little paper I tried to show that the traditional analysis of the set of examples
selected is basically the same as some modern morphological theories would offer. Of
course this does not mean that Kaccaayana was influenced by modern morphology. It
might mean that modern morphology has been influenced by Indian ideas, though most
morphologists know little or nothing about Panini, not to mention Kaccaayana. I am now
working on a companion piece dealing with verb morphology; I'll let you know when it is
ready. Does your reappearance mean you are doing R and R in Vientiane, or the net has
come to Bokeo?
George Bedell
--- In palistudy@yahoogroups.com, "Eisel Mazard" <Parajanaka@...> wrote:
>
> Bedell,
>
> Did you do any further work on Kaccayana's "algebraic system of
> declensions" (as Pind calls it)?
>
> I read the transcript of the short lecture you gave on this subject.
>
> I would be interested to know what precedents this has ... in the
> history of linguistics in general. Pind's article refers to it as an
> innovation in Kacc (which it may well be) --or it could be a fragment
> from some other grammatical tradition.
>
> In any case, I would be interested to know what conclusions you drew
> on the existence of this feature of the Vyakarana. Your lecture
> remarked that it resembled some forms of modern linguistic analysis;
> however, I doubt this was Kaccayana's inspiration.
>
> E.M.
>