Update: 2010-12-15 07:43 AM +0800

TIL

Pali Grammar

indx_P-Gram.htm

by U Kyaw Tun, et. al. Not for sale. Prepared for students of TIL Computing and Language Center, Yangon, MYANMAR.

You'll need only Arial Unicode MS font to read these files. Any other Unicode font may not display the characters correctly. Myanmar akhkara are in gif-glyphs.

• Please note that I am building up my Pali vocabulary and occasionally
  I have interpreted the meanings in my own words.
• Since English transcriptions used by various sources are different,
  I am using Romabama transliterations, because the only reliable spelling is in Myanmar script.

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indx_P-Gram

Contents of this page

Introduction
Diacritical marks | forms a/ɑ
Pali language and UKT
Geography and history

Akshara | Vowels | Consonants>
Consonants: IPA | English (DJPD16) | E-Pali and M-Pali | Medials (conjuncts)

Nouns | Gender | Declension | Case
Nouns ending in [ a ] | [ ā ] | [ i ] | [ ī ] | [ u ] | [ ū ] | [ o ]
Pronouns

Verbs | Word order | Conjugation

Simple sentences | Word order |

Pali vocabulary

Contents of this page

Preface to the Second Edition

to An Elementary Pali Course, by Ven. Narada Thera
http://www.vipassana.info/pali%20contents.htm

Pāḷi means "the Text", though it has now come to be the name of a language. Māgadhī was the original name for Pali. It was the language current in the land of Magadha during the time of the Buddha (6th century B.C.). Suddha Māgadhī, the pure form of the provincial dialect, was what the Buddha used as His medium of instruction.

The elements of Pali can be mastered in a few months, Pali opens one's ears to the Dhamma and the music of the Buddha's speech. It is also a lingua franca in Buddhist countries, and therefore worth acquiring. This slender volume is intended to serve as an elementary guide for beginners. With its aid one may be able to get an introduction to the Pali language within a short period.

I have to express my deep indebtedness to my Venerable Teacher, Pelene Siri Vajiraρāna Mahā Nāyaka Therapāda, who introduced me to this sacred language. Words cannot indicate how much I owe to his unfailing care and sympathy. My thanks are due to the Venerable Nyānatiloka Thera, for his valued assistance.

Nārada
October, 1952.

Contents of this page

Sources

1. An Elementary Pali Course, by Ven. Narada Thera -- available on the Internet, two being:
http://www.vipassana.info/pali%20contents.htm -- in Tipitaka font
www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/ele_pali.pdf
2. Module a.ra.111ka.  Distance-teaching University, Ministry of Education (Higher Education Directorate), Myanmar (publication date: October 1999) -- in Myanmar script
See other sources.

References

Primary:
• A Pali Myanmar-English Dictionary (UMK-USL) of the Noble Words of the Lord Buddha,
  by U Myat Kyaw and U San Lwin, Myanmar Language Commission, 2001
• Pali-English Dictionary (PTS), ed. by T. W. Rhys Davids and William Stede,
  The Pali Text Society, Oxford, 1999
Note: English transcriptions used by UMK-USL and PTS are different, and Romabama transcription is still in the developmental stage. The only reliable spelling is in Myanmar script.

Secondary:
• Buddhist Dictionary, Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines, by Ven. Nyanatiloka, ref. as NBD
  pdf version: www.buddhanet.net -- downloaded pdf version in TIL archives
  html version: http://www.budsas.org/ebud/bud-dict/dic_idx.htm 
  Pdf versions usually give spellings with diacritical marks, whereas the html versions are
  without diacritics)
• Basic Pali Glossary, http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/glosary2.htm
• Online Sanskrit Dictionary http://www.alkhemy.com/sanskrit/dict/ -- for comparison to Sanskrit

Contents of this page

Referees

• U Tin Lwin
Member, Myanmar Language Commission
retd. Professor, Department of Oriental Studies (Pali), University of Yangon, Yangon

• U Tun Tint
Member, Myanmar Language Commission
retd. Director, Myanmar Language Commission
email: c/o sawtun@baganmail.net.mm

• Dr. Daw Khin Thein
Professor, Department of Oriental Studies, Yangon University, Yangon, Myanmar

• U Saw Tun
Associate Professor, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Northern Illinois University, Decalb
email: tc0sxt1@wpo.cso.niu.edu

Contents of this page
End of TIL file