Language, Grammar and Linguistics in Indian Tradition

Book Specification

Book Description

About the Book

The volumes of the PROJECT ON THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE, PHILOSOSPHY AND CULTURE IN INDIAN CIVILIZATION aim at discovering the main aspects of India’s heritage and present them in an interrelated way. In spite of their unitary look, these volumes recognize the difference between the areas of material civilization and those of ideational culture. The project is not being executed by a single group of thinkers and writers who are methodologically uniform or ideologically identical in their commitments. The Project is marked by what may be called ‘methodological pluralism’. Inspite of its primarily historical character, this project, both in its conceptualization and execution, has been shaped by scholars drawn from different disciplines. It is for the first time that an endeavour of such a unique and comprehensive character has been undertaken to study critically a major world civilization.

This Volume contains thoughts about Language, Grammar and Linguistics in Indian Tradition. It is the product of research work conducted on a variety of aspects on language right from the Vedic era up to medieval period. Eminent scholars have contributed to the Volume on a variety of themes such as Concept of Language, Philosophy of Language, Formal aspect of Language, Phonetics and Phonology, Semantic aspect of Language, Lexicography, Science of Grammar, Science of Sentence-Interpretation, Theory of Communication through the natural language and through the language of Art and Artificial language for precise communication. These themes are presented in a structured form, keeping Panini, the fifth Century Sanskrit Grammarian and the first descriptive linguist known to the world, at the centre. One will find a broad picture of concept of language, grammar and linguistics before Panini, in Panini and after Panini in this volume.

For the first time, one will find in this Volume, a detailed account of contributions of non-Paninian Sanskrit Grammarians. One will also find ancient Indian philosophers, particularly, of Bhartrhari and Indian Logicians’ views on language. The contributions of the Purvamimamsa philosophy to the idea of Discourse Analysis and Indian Hermeneutics have also been highlighted. A chapter on Artificial Language developed by Neo-logicians has also been added for the first time in this volume.

The Volume aims at developing perspectives for studying ancient Indian linguistic data from various angles in contemporary grammatical, linguistic and philosophical idiom in order to encourage future research in these areas. The book is addressed to the educated laity and not just to students or specialists on the subject.

About the Author

D.P. Chattopadhyaya, M.A., L.L.B., Ph.D. (Calcutta and London School of Economics), D. Litt. (Honoris Causa), studied, researched on Law, philosophy and history and taught at various Universities in India, Asia, Europe and USA from 1954 to 1994. Founder-Chairman of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research (19811990) and President-cum-Chairman of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla (1984-1991), Chattopadhyaya is currently the Project Director of the multidisciplinary 96-volume PHISPC and Chairman of the CS