Re: History of modern Pali and Sanskrit grammars, dictionaries, etc.

eventually Alastair Gornall’s article will be interesting for you:

2015. "Fame and Philology: R.C. Childers and the Beginnings of Pāli and Buddhist Studies in Britain". Contemporary Buddhism: An Interdisciplinary Journal.

"Abstract: This article investigates some of the methods and motivations that

underpinned the earliest scholarship in Pāli and Buddhist Studies in Britain, focusing in

particular on the works of R.C. Childers (1838-1876) and his correspondence with T.W.

Rhys Davids (1843-1922). I explore the variety of actors that helped inform, shape and

publish R.C. Childers’ scholarship, while also taking into account the reception of his

work, its political significance, and its role as a commodity."

The journal is here: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcbh20/current

Furthermore, there is the following book which I found interesting with chapters on various of the early researchers.

Guruge, Ananda W.P. (1984). From the Living Foundations of Buddhism: Sri Lankan

Support to Pioneering Western Orientalists. Sri Lanka: The Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

All the best,

Petra

Am 06.02.2016 um 02:15 schrieb 'Jim Anderson' jimanderson.on@... [palistudy] <palistudy@yahoogroups.com>:

Hi Bryan,

I have some familiarity with Pind's articles on the Pāli grammars and
grammarians but these are outside the scope of my query. However, Childers'
dictionary introduction will be useful. My interest here is tracing the
history of Pali and Sanskrit grammars and dictionaries written by Westerners
(often with the assistance of native pundits) from the early 19th cent. (or
earlier) to the present day.

To get a better idea of what I have in mind, there is an article on
Wikipedia entitled “History of English Grammars”. Curiously, there is
mention of 900 English grammars having been published in the first half of
the 19th cent. There is also an informative timeline of the more notable
grammars from the first one in the late 16th cent. to the most recent ones.

Jim

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bryan Levman bryan.levman@...[palistudy]"
<palistudy@yahoogroups.com>
To: <palistudy@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: February 5, 2016 6:06 PM
Subject: Re: [palistudy] History of modern Pali and Sanskrit grammars,
dictionaries, etc.

Hi Jim,
Have you read Pind's "Studies in the Pāli Grammarians I and II" JPTS XIII,
33-82 and XIV 175-218?
Also his "Pāli Grammar and Grammarians from Buddhaghosa to Vajirabuddhi: A
Survey in JPTS XXXI, 57-124
Also the introduction to Childers 1875 dictionary is very informatīve.
Pind also has an article "Pāli and the Pāli Grammarians: The Methodlogy of
the Pāli Grammarians" in Sauhṛdyamaṅgalam, Studies in Honour of Siegfried
Lienhard on his 70th Birthday, eds., M. Juntunen, W. Smith, Carl Suenson.
Stockholm: the Association of Oriental Studies,
Best wishes,

Bryan

From: "'Jim Anderson' jimanderson.on@...[palistudy]"
<palistudy@yahoogroups.com>
To: Pali Study Group <palistudy@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, February 5, 2016 4:59 PM
Subject: [palistudy] History of modern Pali and Sanskrit grammars,
dictionaries, etc.

Dear Members,

For some time I've been interested in learning more about the origins and
developments of Western (European) interest in the Sanskrit and Pali
languages and the publication of grammars and dictionaries written for a
Western-educated audience. Much information can be gathered from the
prefaces of these books and I have started reading through some of these
starting with H.T. Colebrooke's Preface to his 1805 Sanskrit grammar (Vol.
II was never published according to Wilson). I find that quite a number of
such grammars were published throughout the 19th cent. Sometime later I'd
like to get started in the same way with Pali works of the same type.