Tagged: Sanskritisation
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Karpik - A Reply to Bryan Levman’s The Language the Buddha Spoke (2019)
1In a comprehensive rebuttal to Bryan Levman's theory, Stefan Karpik rejects the proposition of an early "pre-Pali" *lingua franca* that evolved into a later, mutually unintelligible Pali. Karpik argues that Levman's reconstructions are undateable, do not prove a *lingua franca* over other possibilities like bilingualism, and fail to explain why an original transmission would be discarded. The core of Karpik's critique focuses on Levman's flawed linguistic methodology, particularly the incorrect assumption of directionality in sound changes, which leads to proposing numerous implausible and unattested "fortitions" (sound strengthening) where lenition, orthographic errors, or dialectical variations are more likely explanations. Karpik further dismisses the claim of rapid linguistic change and mutual unintelligibility due to a lack of syntactical evidence, accusing Levman of circular reasoning and misrepresenting other scholars, ultimately advocating for a simpler model of steady linguistic development where Pali itself is the pre-Aśokan language of the Buddha.
Norman - A Philological Approach To Buddhism (1997)
2A philological approach to Buddhism involves a critical analysis of the language in early scriptures to understand not just *what* they mean, but *how* and *why*, thereby correcting long-standing mistranslations of core concepts like *nibbāna* and the four noble truths. This method reveals early Buddhism's origins within a broader *śramana* movement that shared terminology with Jainism and reacted against Brahmanism, and it traces the evolution of the Buddha's teachings from an oral tradition—marked by mnemonic structures like repetition and lists—to a written one that introduced new scribal errors. Philology demonstrates that the Pāli canon was translated from earlier eastern dialects, retaining traces of "Māgadhisms" before being standardised and later partially Sanskritised, a process that created its own set of incorrect back-formations like *bodhisattva*. This linguistic investigation also provides a more accurate historical context, showing that Emperor Aśoka's *dhamma* was a universal moral code rather than Buddhist doctrine, and clarifies the gradual, complex formation of the canon and the vital role of commentaries in preserving alternative traditions and interpretations.