Re: Kc 1

In message #2767, Dec. 31/09, George wrote:

<< (1')  "Meaning is known through sounds."

I have eliminated the definite article since this is the first statement in
the grammar, and there are no specific meanings or letters to which it
refers. And 'correctly' is redundant (since incorrect knowledge would not be
knowledge at all).  We still need to ask exactly what Kaccaayana means by
(2), but to insist on 'letter' as opposed to 'sound' (for whatever reason)
still strikes me asmistaken. >>

I'm not so sure if "correctly" is redundant. It's a translation of the
prefix 'saṃ' in "-saññāto" in the sense of 'sammā' (rightly, properly,
correctly) based on the following Rūp-ṭ gloss:

akkharehi sammā ñāyatīti akkharasaññāto || -- p. 6 (Be)

I have to admit I don't fully understand the meaning of "-saññāto" and I
have yet to see a commentary explaining exactly what it means in contrast to
other words also meaning "known". Meaning or the meaning is what is known
(arīyati ñāyatīti attho -- Rūp-ṭ p. 6)).

In message #2768, Ma Vajira wrote:

<< I agree with George in part and appreciate the succinctness of this
sentence.  If we want to go a step further, and say what meaning is known,
how and by what, we can supply answers to these questions from the vutti:
Attho—the meaning of every word of a language; akkharasaññāto — is known
well, is recorded, by means of the letters [sounds, if you must] which make
up the word. >>

The use of "is recorded" here is interesting and seems related to "saññā"
where its objects are marked so that they can be recognized again.

Best wishes,
Jim