SV: SV: Latin, Sanskrit, Arabic

Lars Martin Fosse lmfosse at online.no
Wed Sep 15 09:24:39 UTC 1999


JoatSimeon at aol.com [SMTP:JoatSimeon at aol.com] skrev 11. september 1999 09:33:
> As far as I know -- correct me if I'm wrong -- there was no large group in
> ancient South Asia who used Sanskrit as their household language after the
> divergence of the Prakrits.

That is perfectly correct, as I made clear a few lines above. It is also true
that Skt. was not spoken outside India as a mother tongue. I compared Skt. with
English as it is used today in South Asia, but your comparison with Medieval
Latin is of course perfectly apt, too. The point here is that it was not
confined to religous usage, but also used as a link language for more mundane
purposes. Damsteegt shows that inscriptions produced on behalf of women and
e.g. bankers use "Hybrid" Skt. - in other words Skt. that is not in accordance
with "shishta" or Paninian usage - whereas inscriptions made on behalf of a
king always are in correct Skt. The sociological implications are interesting.

Best regards,
Lars Martin Fosse

Dr. art. Lars Martin Fosse
Haugerudvn. 76, Leil. 114,
0674 Oslo
Norway
Phone/Fax: +47 22 32 12 19
Email: lmfosse at online.no



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