Revision 215425 of "පාලි භාෂාව" on siwiki

{{verylong|date=අගෝස්තු 2011}}
{{Infobox Language
  |name=පාලි
  |nativename={{lang|pi|}} {{transl|sinh|ISO|''Pāḷi''}}
  |pronunciation=[පාලි]
  |states=[[Cambodia]], [[Bangladesh]], [[India]], [[Laos]], [[Myanmar (Burma)]], [[Nepal]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Thailand]], [[Vietnam]]     
  |iso1=pi
  |iso2=pli
  |iso3=pli
  |familycolor=Indo-European
  |fam2=[[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
  |fam3=[[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
  |script= [[Brahmi script]], [[Brāhmī script|Brāhmī]]-based scripts and [[Latin alphabet]] ([[Pali#Pali writing|refer to article]])
  |extinct=No native speakers, used as a literary and liturgical language only
  |notice=Indic
}}

'''Pali''' ([[ISO 15919]]/[[ALA-LC]]: {{IAST|Pāḷi}}) is a [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan language]] or [[prakrit]] of [[India]]. It is best known as the language of the earliest extant [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] scriptures, as collected in the [[Pali Canon|Pā{{transl|sinh|ISO|ḷ}}i Canon]] or ''Tipitaka'', and as the [[liturgical language]] of [[Theravada|Theravada Buddhism]].


පාලි භාෂාව රාව ප්‍රතිරාව නංවන සුළුය. එහි ගීතාත්මක රිද්මයක් ඇත. හැඬවීමේදී ලලිත ස්වරයෙන් සජ්ජති ය, කර්ණරසායන ධ්වනි නංවයි. විශේෂයෙන්ම අර්ථාලංකාරය කුළු ගැන්වෙන පරිදි භික්ෂූන් වහන්සේ විසින් සජ්ඣායනය කරනු ලබද්දී ද, බෞද්ධ පඬිවරුන් , භික්ෂූන් වහන්සේ සහ කැපකරු බැතිමතුන් විසින් සජීවි ලෙස රැක බලා ගනිමින් තිබිය දී ද ථෙරවාදී බෞද්ධ රටවල් කීපයක පාලි භාෂාව මෙතෙක් රැකී පවතී. මෙසේ පාලි භාෂාව ථෙරවාදී බුදුදහමේ මාධ්‍ය භාෂාව බවට පත්ව ඇත.


== ආරමිභය ==

ක්‍රිස්තු පූර්ව 2000 පමණේ දී ආර්ය භාෂාව කතා කරන ජාතීන් උතුරු ඉන්දියාවට සංක්‍රමණය වන විට ඔවුන් එකී භාෂාවේ නොයෙක් ප්‍රභේද තමන් සමග ගෙන එන ලදැයි සිතනු ලැබේ. ඒවායින් ඇතැම් උප භාෂා කලයාගේ ඇවෑමෙන් ව්‍යාකරණය ද සමඟ ම , විචිත්‍ර සාහිත්‍ය ආකෘති නිර්මාණය කර ගත්තේ ය. මේවායින් අත්‍යන්තයෙන් වැදගත් උපභාෂාව වූයේ සංස්කෘතය යි.

සංස්කෘත යන්නෙහි තේරුම වන්නේ සංස්කරණය කරන ලද හෙවත් සකස් කරන ලද භාෂාව යනු යි. ලේඛන භාෂාවක් ලෙස එහි ආකෘතිකරණය ඉස්මතුව පෙනුණේ, එය විදග්ධ ජනයාගේ සහ ආගමික භාෂාව ද ලෙස පොදු ජනතාව විසින් ගරු කොට සලකන ලද නිසා යැ යි සිතනු ලැබේ. ඔවුන් විසින් එය භාවිත කරන ලද්දේ තද නුරූපව ය. එබැවින් පොදු ජනතාව විසින් එය ඔවුන්ගේ දෛනික බැවහර බසින් පරිබාහිරව තබන ලදී. මේ පරතරය කෙතරම් පුළුල් වූවක් ද යත්, සංස්කෘතය දෛව් භාෂාව හෙවත් දෙවියන්ගේ බස යන අභිධානයෙන් හැඳින්වීමෙන් ම පැහැදිලි වෙයි.

සංස්කෘත භාෂාව පිළිබඳ මෙකී ප්‍රමිතිකරණ කාර්යාවලිය , ක්‍රි.පූ. 500 තරමේදී ජීවත් වූ පාණිනී නම් ව්‍යාකරණඥයා විසින් වැඩි දුරටත් ශක්තිමත් කරන ලදී. ඉක්බිති තත්වූ පරිදි සංස්කෘත භාෂාව බෙහෙවින් ප්‍රායෝගික බලපෑම් සහිත බසක් බවට පත් විය.

ඒ අතර “ මාගධී” යනු උතුරු ඉන්දියාවේ නැඟෙනහිර දිසාවේ මගධ ප්‍රදේශයේ භාවිත උපභාෂාවක් විය. එය නන්විධ භූගෝලීය පරිසරයන්ගේ ආභාසයෙන් ලත් විශේෂ ලක්ෂණයන්ගෙන් සංකීර්ණ විය හැකිව තිබිණැ යි අදහස් කැරේ.

තවද පර්යේෂකයන්ට මෙකී මාගධී හෙවත් පාලි භාෂාවේ ධාත්මික මූල නිසැක ලෙස කියන්නට නොහැකි වී ඇත. එහෙත් ඒවා බෙහෙවින් ම සම්භාව්‍ය සංස්කෘතයට වඩා වෛධික සංස්කෘතයට සමාන බව පෙනේ. ඒ අතර මාගධී බසට සමාන්තර ප්‍රාකෘත වැනි වෙනත් උප භාෂා ද ඇත. ඒවා ප්‍රාදේශීය භාෂා ව්‍යවහාරයෙන් උපත ලද අතර යම් තරමකට සංස්කෘත භාෂා පදනමකින් ද යුක්ත ය. තවද ආදිතම භාෂාව සංස්කෘතය බවට සාක්ෂි දක්වා ඇති අතර, ඒ නිසා ඒවා ඉන්දු - යුරෝපීය භාෂා මූලයනට එක්තරා දුරකට වැඩිතම ආසන්නතාවක් ඇතිවා සේ පෙනේ. බුදුදහමේ ප්‍රකාශන මාධ්‍යය පාලි භාෂාවයි. බුදුන් වහන්සේ භාවිත කළ සහ වැඩි කැමැත්තක් දැක් වූ භාෂාව, විය හැකි පරිදි ම මාගධී බව ථේරවාදි බෞද්ධයෝ සලකති. අප දැන් පාලි නමින් හඳුන්වන භාෂාව වන්නේ එසේ සංවර්ධනයට පත්වූත්, ලිඛිත භාෂාවක් ලෙස විධිමත් කරන ලද්දාවූත් ඒ මාගධී නම් භාෂාව යි.

මේ අනුව පාලි ලේඛන භාෂාවකි. එහෙත් එයට විශේෂ අක්ෂර මාලාවක් නැත. ඒ අතර සඳහන් කළ යුත්තකි. අද අප හඳුනා ගෙන ඇති මාගධී හෙවත් පාලී බස එදා පරිපූර්ණ හා පරිසමාප්ත ව්‍යවහාරික කථික භාෂාවක් නොවුණා විය හැකි ය. එසේ ම අද අප අත්දකින ආකෘතියෙන් භාවිත නොවුණාක් වන්නට පුළුවන .

පාලි යන්නෙහි පෙළ, පාඨය ආදි තේරුම් ඇත. පාලි භාෂාවට බුදුදහම අධ්‍යයනය සඳහා අදාළ සුවිශේෂ වැදගත්කමක් ඇති අර්ථසම්පන්න වාක්කෝෂයක් හෙවත් ශබ්දාවලියක් තිබේ. වෙනත් කිසිදු භාෂාවකින් සාර්ථක ලෙස අර්ථකථනය කළ නොහැකි, බුදුන් වහන්සේගේ ඉගැන්වීම් මැනවින් අර්ථකථනය කිරීමට වුවමනා වාංමාලාවකින් එය පරිපූර්ණ ය.

උදාහරණයක් ලෙස සංස්කෘතයෙහි “ ධර්ම “ යන වචනයට බෙහෙවින් පුළුල් උපයෝගිතාවක් ඇත. එය අප භෞතික හා කුසලාකුසල සම්බන්ධ හෙවත් ආචාර විද්‍යාත්මක ඉගැන්වීම් වෙත යොමු කරයි. එනම්, සාමාන්‍ය පොදු ඉගැන්වීම් සහ ස්වභාවධර්ම න්‍යායයන් වෙත පවා යොමු කැරෙයි. එහෙත් පාලි භාෂාවේ “ ධම්ම” යන වචනය විශේෂයෙන් , තරයේ ම බුදුන් වහන්සේගේ සංකල්පනා විවරණයට යොමු කරනු ලැබේ. තව දුරටත් සංස්කෘත භාෂාව තුළ “කර්ම” සංකල්පයෙහි , හින්දු ඊශ්වරවාදී සංදර්භය තුළ තදනුරූපී සංකල්පනා අඩංගු වෙයි. එහෙත් “කම්ම” යන වචනයෙන් බුදුන් වහන්සේ විසින් අර්ථ විවරණය කරන ලද පරිදි කුසලාකුසල ප්‍රඥප්තිය නිවේදනය කරනු ලැබේ.

පාලි භාෂාව රාව ප්‍රතිරාව නංවන සුළුය. එහි ගීතාත්මක රිද්මයක් ඇත. හැඬවීමේදී ලලිත ස්වරයෙන් සජ්ජති ය, කර්ණරසායන ධ්වනි නංවයි. විශේෂයෙන්ම අර්ථාලංකාරය කුළු ගැන්වෙන පරිදි භික්ෂූන් වහන්සේ විසින් සජ්ඣායනය කරනු ලබද්දී ද, බෞද්ධ පඬිවරුන් , භික්ෂූන් වහන්සේ සහ කැපකරු බැතිමතුන් විසින් සජීවි ලෙස රැක බලා ගනිමින් තිබිය දී ද ථෙරවාදී බෞද්ධ රටවල් කීපයක පාලි භාෂාව මෙතෙක් රැකී පවතී. මෙසේ පාලි භාෂාව ථෙරවාදී බුදුදහමේ මාධ්‍ය භාෂාව බවට පත්ව ඇත.

බුද්ධ පරිනිර්වාණයෙන් පසු කල් නොයාදි පහළ වුණු ථේරවාදී හා මහායාන බෞද්ධ සම්ප්‍රදායයෝ බුදුන් වහන්සේගේ ඉගැන්වීම් ප්‍රචාරය කිරීම් පිණිස ඉන්දියාවේ සම්භාව්‍ය භාෂාව වන සංස්කෘත භාෂාව යොදා ගන්නට පටන් ගත්හ. ඉක්බිති එයට අනුගතව “ බෞද්ධ සංස්කෘත” නමින් විකල්ප සංස්කෘත භාෂා ව්‍යවහාරයක් ද භාවිතයට ආවේ ය.

යථා කාලයේ දී පාලි භාෂාව “ මානව සංහතියේ දර්ශනයේ භාෂාව “ නමින් හැඳින්වෙන්නට ද පටන් ගැනිණ. කුමක් නිසා ද යත්, බටහිර ඥාන ගවේෂණ සම්ප්‍රදාය ඉස්මතු වන්නට පෙරාතුව , එය ආගම විෂයයෙහි අත්‍යන්ත සුවිශාල සාහිත්‍යයක් වූ නිසාත්, සමස්ත ලෝකය තුළ දාර්ශනික චින්තාවේ ප්‍රකාශන මාධ්‍යය වූ නිසාත් ය.

ථේරවාදී බුදුදහම ඉගැන්වීම පිළිබඳ පුරාවෘත්තය හෙවත් ත්‍රිපිටකය ඉදිරිපත් කැරෙන මාධ්‍යය පාලි භාෂාවයි. එහි භික්‍ෂූන්ගේ ශික්ෂණය පිළිබඳ නීති පද්ධතිය විනය පිටකයෙනුත් , බුදුන් වහන්සේගේ ඉගැන්වීම් සංගෘහිත ප්‍රධාන ඥානස්කන්ධය සූත්‍ර පිටකයෙනුත්, වඩාත් ගැඹූරු මනෝ විද්‍යාත්මක ධර්ම ස්කන්ධය අභිධර්ම පිටකයෙනුත් ඉදිරිපත් කැරේ.

කාලයාගේ ඇවෑමෙන් තදනුරූපව ඇති වූ පාලි භාෂාවේ ව්‍යාප්තිය ද සලකා බැලීම වැදගත් ය. අන්‍යෝන්‍ය වාණිජ සබඳතා සහ පණිවුඩ හුවමාරු ක්‍රමෝපාය දියුණු වන විට, අදාළ භූගෝලීය ප්‍රදේශ පුරා බෞද්ධ භික්ෂූන් සහ රාජදූතයන් ද බහුල වෙද්දී පාලි භාෂාවේ භාවිතය ද ව්‍යාප්ත වූයේය . තත්වූ පරිදි, පාලි භාෂාව වසර දහසකටත් වැඩි කලක් මැනවින් දකුණු සහ අග්නිදිග ආසියාකරයේ බෞද්ධ රටවල “ විශ්ව භාෂාව “ බවට පත්විය.

අනතුරුව තත්කාලීනව එක් එක් රටක් තම තමනට ආවේණික පාලි සාහිත්‍යයක් සහ වංශකතාවක් ද ගොඩනඟා ගත්තේ ය.

(2008 .10. 21 වැනිදා බුදුසරණ පුවත්පතේ පළ කරන ලද රෝජර් ස්මිත්ගේ History of the Pali Language ) මැයින් වූ ලිපියේ පරිවර්තනයකි.

The word Pali itself signifies "line" or "(canonical) text", and this name for the language seems to have its origins in commentarial traditions, wherein the "{{transl|sinh|ISO|Pāḷi}}" (in the sense of the line of original text quoted) was distinguished from the commentary or the vernacular following after it on the manuscript page.  As such, the name of the language has caused some debate among scholars of all ages; the spelling of the name also varies, being found with both long "ā" {{IPA|[ɑː]}} and short "a" [a], and also with either a [[retroflex]] {{IPA|[ɭ]}} or non-[[retroflex]] [l] "l" sound. To this day, there is no single, standard spelling of the term; all four spellings can be found in textbooks. R.C. Childers translates the word as "series" and states that the language "bears the epithet in consequence of the perfection of its grammatical structure."<ref>Hazra, Kanai Lal. ''Pali Language and Literature; a systematic survey and historical study.'' D.K. Printworld Lrd., New Delhi, 1994, page 19.</ref>

Pali is a [[literary language]] of the [[Prakrit]] language family. When the canonical texts were written down in [[Sri Lanka]] in the first century BCE, Pali stood close to a living language; this is not the case for the commentaries.<ref>Students' Brittanica India, [http://books.google.com/books?id=ISFBJarYX7YC&pg=PA145&dq=history+of+the+pali+language&sig=ACfU3U2P8niEMFn9ME8litgG1xbStvlmLA#PPA145,M1].</ref>  Despite excellent scholarship on this problem, there is persistent confusion as to the inter-relation of {{transl|sinh|ISO|Pāḷi}} to the vernacular spoken in the ancient kingdom of [[Magadha]] (which most scholars agree to have been located around modern-day [[Bihar (India)|Bihār]], though some have recently claimed that it may have gotten that name after the [[Ashoka the Great|Ashokan]] era and that ancient Magadha may have possibly been in the northwest of [[ancient India]], in [[Balochistan (region)|Baluchistan]]<ref>See Ranajit Pal, "Non-Jonesian Indology and Alexander", New Delhi - 2002, or [http://www.ranajitpal.com]</ref><ref>Review of Pal's book by Monique Cardell, Université Aix-Marseille: [http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2007/2007-12-39.html]</ref><ref>Review of Pal's book by Jan-Mathieu Carbon,
Corpus Christi College, Oxford [http://www.classics.und.ac.za/reviews/05-19pal.htm]</ref>).

Pali as a [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan language]] is different from [[Sanskrit]] not so much with regard to the time of its origin as to its dialectal base, since a number of its morphological and lexical features betray the fact that it is not a direct continuation of {{transl|sinh|ISO|Ṛgvedic}} [[Vedic Sanskrit]]; rather it descends from a dialect (or a number of dialects) which was (/were), despite many similarities, different from {{transl|sinh|ISO|Ṛgvedic}}.<ref>Oberlies, Thomas ''Pali: A Grammar of the Language of the {{transl|sinh|ISO|Theravāda Tipiṭaka}}'', Walter de Gruyter, 2001.</ref>

Pali was considered by early Buddhists to be linguistically similar to [[Magadhi Prakrit|Old Magadhi]] or even a direct continuation of that language. Many [[Theravada]] sources refer to the Pali language as “Magadhan” or the “language of Magadha.” This seems to be problematic, as the later form of Magadhi of [[Ashoka the Great|Asoka]]'s inscriptions (3rd century BC) is an Eastern Indian language whereas Pali most closely resembles Western Indian inscriptions. Ancient Magadha may, however, have been in the West of ancient India after all.<ref>See Ranajit Pal, "Non-Jonesian Indology and Alexander", New Delhi - 2002, or [http://www.ranajitpal.com]</ref> There are many remarkable analogies between Pali and [[Ardhamagadhi]] (Half Magadhi), an old form of Magadhi preserved in ancient [[Jainism|Jain]] texts. Ardhamagadhi differs from the eastern Prakrit of Ashokan inscriptions on similar points as Pali. For example, Ardhamagadhi too does not change ''r''
into ''l'', and in the noun inflexion it shows the ending ''-o'' instead of the eastern Prakritic ''-e'' at least in many metrical places. This similarity is not accidental, since [[Mahavira]], the 24th [[Tirthankar]]a of [[Jainism]] preached in the same area (Magadha) as [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha Gotama]].

[[T.W. Rhys Davids]] in his book ''[http://fsnow.com/text/buddhist-india/chapter9.htm Buddhist India]'', and [[Wilhelm Geiger]] in his book ''Pali Literature and Language'' suggested that Pali may have originated as a form of [[lingua franca]] or common language of culture among people who used differing dialects in North India, used at the time of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] and employed by him. Another scholar states that at that time it was "a refined and elegant vernacular of all Aryan-speaking people."<ref>Hazra, Kanai Lal. ''Pali Language and Literature; a systematic survey and historical study.'' D.K. Printworld Lrd., New Delhi, 1994, page 11.</ref> Modern scholarship has not arrived at a consensus on the issue; there are a variety of conflicting theories with supporters and detractors (taking as given that Magadha was an eastern district).<ref>Hazra, Kanai Lal. ''Pali Language and Literature; a systematic survey and historical study.'' D.K. Printworld Lrd., New Delhi, 1994, pages 1-44.</ref> After the death of the Buddha, Pali may have evolved among Buddhists out of the language of the Buddha as a new artificial language.<ref>Hazra, Kanai Lal. ''Pali Language and Literature; a systematic survey and historical study.'' D.K. Printworld Lrd., New Delhi, 1994, page 29.</ref> Bhikkhu Bodhi, summarizing the current state of scholarship, states that the language is "closely related to the language (or, more likely, the various regional dialects) that the Buddha himself spoke." He goes on to write: <blockquote>Scholars regard this language as a hybrid showing features of several Prakrit dialects used around the third century BCE, subjected to a partial process of Sanskritization. While the language is not identical with any the Buddha himself would have spoken, it belongs to the same broad linguistic family as those he might have used and originates from the same conceptual matrix. This language thus reflects the thought-world that the Buddha inherited from the wider Indian culture into which he was born, so that its words capture the subtle nuances of that thought-world.<ref>Bhikkhu Bodhi, ''In the Buddha's Words.'' Wisdom Publications, 2005, page 10.</ref></blockquote>

Whatever the relationship of the Buddha's speech to Pali, the Canon was eventually transcribed and preserved entirely in it, while the commentarial tradition that accompanied it (according to the information provided by [[Buddhaghosa]]) was translated into [[Sinhalese language|Sinhalese]] and preserved in local languages for several generations. R.C. Childers, who held to the theory that Pali was Old Magadhi, wrote: "Had Gautama never preached, it is unlikely that Magadhese would have been distinguished from the many other vernaculars of Hindustan, except perhaps by an inherent grace and strength which make it a sort of [[Tuscan dialect|Tuscan]] among the Prakrits."<ref>Hazra, Kanai Lal. ''Pali Language and Literature; a systematic survey and historical study.'' D.K. Printworld Lrd., New Delhi, 1994, page 20.</ref>

However Pali was ultimately supplanted in [[India]] by Sanskrit as a literary and religious language following the formulation of Classical Sanskrit by the scholar [[Panini (grammarian)|Panini]].  In Sri Lanka, Pali is thought to have entered into a period of decline ending around the 4th or 5th Century (as Sanskrit rose in prominence), but ultimately survived.  The work of Buddhaghosa was largely responsible for its reemergence as an important scholarly language in Buddhist thought.  The [[Visuddhimagga]] and the other commentaries that Buddhaghosa compiled codified and condensed the [[Sinhalese language|Sinhalese]] commentarial tradition that had been preserved and expanded in Sri Lanka since the 3rd Century BCE.

Today Pali is studied mainly to gain access to Buddhist scriptures, and is frequently chanted in a ritual context. The secular literature of Pali historical chronicles, medical texts, and inscriptions, is also of great historical importance. The great centers of Pali learning remain in the [[Theravada]] nations of [[South-East Asia]]: [[Burma|Myanmar]] (Burma), [[Sri Lanka]], [[Thailand]], [[Laos]] and [[Cambodia]]. Since the 19th century, various societies for the revival of Pali studies in [[India]] have promoted awareness of the language and its literature, perhaps most notably the [[Maha Bodhi Society]] founded by [[Anagarika Dharmapala|Anagarika Dhammapala]].

In [[Europe]], the [[Pali Text Society]] has been a major force in promoting the study of Pali by Western scholars since its founding in 1881. Based in the [[United Kingdom]], the society publishes romanized Pali editions, along with many [[English language|English]] translations of these sources. In 1869, the first Pali Dictionary was published using the research of [[Robert Caesar Childers]], one of the founding members of the Pali Text Society. It was the first Pali translated text in English and was published in 1872. Childers's Dictionary later received the [[Volney Prize]] in 1876. 

The Pali Text Society was in part founded to compensate for the very low level of funds allocated to [[Indology]] in late 19th century [[England]]; incongruously, the English were not nearly so robust in Sanskrit and [[Prakrit]] language studies as [[Germany]], [[Russia]] and even [[Denmark]]—a situation that many would say continues to this day.  Without the inspiration of colonial holdings such as the former [[United Kingdom|British]] occupation of Sri Lanka and [[Myanmar|Burma]], institutions such as the [[Danish Royal Library]] have built up major collections of Pali manuscripts, and major traditions of Pali studies.

== Lexicon ==

Virtually every word in {{transl|sinh|ISO|Pāḷi}} has [[cognate]]s in the other Prakritic "[[Middle Indo-Aryan languages]]", e.g., the [[Jain Prakrit]]s.  The relationship to earlier Sanskrit (e.g., [[Vedic language]]) is less direct and more complicated. Historically, influence between Pali and Sanskrit has been felt in both directions.  The Pali language's resemblance to Sanskrit is often exaggerated by comparing it to later Sanskrit compositions{{ndash}} which were written centuries after Sanskrit ceased to be a living language, and are influenced by developments in Middle Indic, including the direct borrowing of a portion of the Middle Indic lexicon; whereas, a good deal of later Pali technical terminology has been borrowed from the vocabulary of equivalent disciplines in Sanskrit, either directly or with certain phonological adaptations.

Post-canonical Pali also possesses a few loan-words from local languages where Pali was used (e.g. Sri Lankans adding Sinhalese words to Pali).  These usages differentiate the Pali found in the [[Sutta Pitaka|{{transl|sinh|ISO|Suttapiṭaka}}]] from later compositions such as the Pali commentaries on the canon and  folklore (e.g., the stories of the [[Jataka|Jātaka]] commentaries), and comparative study (and dating) of texts on the basis of such loan-words is now a specialized field unto itself.

Pali was not exclusively used to convey the teachings of the Buddha, as can be deduced from the existence of a number of secular texts, such as books of medical science/instruction, in Pali. However, scholarly interest in the language has been focused upon religious and philosophical literature, because of the unique window it opens on one phase in the development of [[Buddhism]].

== [[Emic and etic|Emic]] views of Pali ==

Although Sanskrit was said, in [[brahmin|brahmanical]] tradition, to be the unchanging language spoken by the gods, in which each word had an inherent significance, this view of language was not shared in the early Buddhist tradition, in which words were only conventional and mutable signs.<ref>[[David Kalupahana]], ''Nagarjuna: The Philosophy of the Middle Way.'' SUNY Press, 1986, page 19. The author refers specifically to the thought of early Buddhism here.</ref>  Neither the Buddha nor his early followers shared the brahmans' reverence for the [[Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic]] language or its [[Veda|sacred texts]].  This view of language naturally extended to Pali, and may have contributed to its usage (as an approximation or standardization of local Middle Indic dialects) in place of Sanskrit. However, by the time of the compilation of the Pali commentaries (4th or 5th century), Pali was regarded as the natural language, the root language of all beings.<ref>''Dispeller of Delusion'', Pali Text Society, volume II, pages 127f</ref>

Comparable to [[Egyptian language|Ancient Egyptian]], [[Latin]] or [[Hebrew]] in the [[mystic]] traditions of the West, Pali recitations were often thought to have a [[supernatural]] power (which could be attributed to their meaning, the character of the reciter, or the qualities of the language itself), and in the early strata of Buddhist literature we can already see Pali [[dharani|{{transl|sinh|ISO|dhāraṇī}}]]s used as charms, e.g. against the bite of snakes. Many people in Theravada cultures still believe that taking a vow in Pali has a special significance, and, as one example of the supernatural power assigned to chanting in the language, the recitation of the vows of [[Angulimala|{{transl|sinh|ISO|Aṅgulimāla}}]] are believed to alleviate the pain of childbirth in Sri Lanka.  In [[Thailand]], the chanting of a portion of the [[Abhidhamma|{{transl|sinh|ISO|Abhidhammapiṭaka}}]] is believed to be beneficial to the recently departed, and this ceremony routinely occupies as much as seven working days.  Interestingly, there is nothing in the latter text that relates to this subject, and the origins of the custom are unclear.

== Phonology ==
{{IPA notice}}
With regard to its phonology, R.C. Childers compared Pali to [[Italian language|Italian]]: "Like Italian, Pali is at once flowing and sonorous: it is a characteristic of both languages that nearly every word ends in a vowel, and that all harsh conjunctions are softened down by [[Assimilation (linguistics)|assimilation]], [[elision]], or [[crasis]], while on the other hand both lend themselves easily to the expression of sublime and vigorous thought."<ref>Robert Caesar Childers, ''A Dictionary of the Pali Language.'' Published by Trübner, 1875, pages xii-xiv. Republished by Asian Educational Services, 1993.</ref>

=== Vowels ===
{| class="wikitable"
!rowspan="2"|Height
!Colspan="4"|Backness
|-
!Front
!Central
!Back
|-
!High
|align="center"|'''i''' [i]
'''ī''' [iː]
|style="background:silver"|
|align="center"|'''u''' [u]
'''ū''' [uː]
|-
!Mid
|align="center"|'''e''' [e], [eː]
|align="center"|'''a''' {{IPA|[ɐ]}}
|align="center"|'''o''' [o], [oː]
|-
!Low
|style="background:silver"|
|align="center"|'''ā''' [aː]
|style="background:silver"|
|-
|}

Long and short vowels are only contrastive in open syllables; in closed syllables, all vowels are always short.  Short and long '''e''' and '''o''' are in complementary distribution: the short variants occur only in closed syllables, the long variants occur only in open syllables.  Short and long '''e''' and '''o''' are therefore not distinct phonemes.

A sound called ''[[anusvara|anusvāra]]'' (Skt.; Pali: ''nigghahita''), represented by the letter '''{{transl|sinh|ISO|ṁ|}}''' ([[ISO 15919]]) or '''{{transl|sinh|ISO|ṃ}}''' ([[ALA-LC]]) in romanization, and by a raised dot in most traditional alphabets, originally marked the fact that the preceding vowel was nasalized. That is, '''{{transl|sinh|ISO|aṁ}}''', '''{{transl|sinh|ISO|iṁ}}''' and '''{{transl|sinh|ISO|uṁ}}''' represented [ ã ], [ ĩ ] and [ ũ ].  In many traditional pronunciations, however, the anusvāra is pronounced more strongly, like the velar nasal [ ŋ ], so that these sounds are pronounced instead [ ãŋ ], [ ĩŋ ] and [ ũŋ ].  However pronounced, '''{{transl|sinh|ISO|ṁ}}''' never follows a long vowel; '''ā, ī''' and '''ū''' are converted to the corresponding short vowels when {{transl|sinh|ISO|ṁ}} is added to a stem ending in a long vowel, e.g. '''{{transl|sinh|ISO|kathā + ṁ}}''' becomes '''{{transl|sinh|ISO|kathaṁ}}''', not {{transl|sinh|ISO|*kathāṁ}}, '''{{transl|sinh|ISO|devī + ṁ}}''' becomes '''{{transl|sinh|ISO|deviṁ}}''', not *{{transl|sinh|ISO|devīṁ}}.

=== Consonants ===
The table below lists the consonants of Pali. In bold is the letter in traditional romanisation, in brackets is its pronunciation in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]].

{| class="wikitable"
!rowspan="4"|[[Place of articulation]]
!colspan="10"|[[Manner of articulation]]
|-
!colspan="5"|[[Plosive|Stops]]
!colspan="4"|[[Approximant consonant|Approximants]]
!rowspan="3"|[[Fricative consonant|Fricatives]]
|-
!colspan="2"|[[Voiceless consonant|Voiceless]]
!colspan="3"|[[Voiced consonant|Voiced]]
!colspan="2"|Non-laterals
!colspan="2"|[[Lateral consonant|Laterals]]
|-
![[Aspiration (phonetics)|Unaspirated]]
!Aspirated
!Unaspirated
!Aspirated
![[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
!Unaspirated
!Aspirated
!Unaspirated
!Aspirated
|-
![[Velar consonant|Velars]]
|align = "center"|'''k''' {{IPA|[k]}}
|align = "center"|'''kh''' {{IPA|[kʰ]}}
|align = "center"|'''g''' {{IPA|[ɡ]}}
|align = "center"|'''gh''' {{IPA|[ɡʱ]}}
|align = "center"|{{Unicode|'''ṅ'''}} {{IPA|[ŋ]}}
|colspan="5" style="background:silver"|
|-
![[Palatal consonant|Palatals]]
|align = "center"|'''c''' {{IPA|[tʃ]}}
|align = "center"|'''ch'''{{IPA|[tʃʰ]}}
|align = "center"|'''j''' {{IPA|[dʒ]}}
|align = "center"|'''jh''' {{IPA|[dʒʱ]}}
|align = "center"|'''ñ''' {{IPA|[ɲ]}}
|align = "center"|'''y''' {{IPA|[j]}}
|colspan="4" style="background:silver"|
|-
![[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
|align = "center"|{{Unicode|'''ṭ'''}} {{IPA|[ʈ]}}
|align = "center"|{{Unicode|'''ṭh'''}} {{IPA|[ʈʰ]}}
|align = "center"|{{Unicode|'''ḍ'''}} {{IPA|[ɖ]}}
|align = "center"|{{Unicode|'''ḍh'''}} {{IPA|[ɖʱ]}}
|align = "center"|{{Unicode|'''ṇ'''}} {{IPA|[ɳ]}}
|align = "center"|'''r'''{{IPA|[ɻ]}}
|style="background:silver"|
|align = "center"|{{Unicode|'''ḷ'''}} {{IPA|[ɭ]}}
|align = "center"|{{Unicode|'''ḷh'''}} {{IPA|[ɭʱ]}}
|style="background:silver"|
|-
![[Dental consonant|Dentals]]
|align = "center"|'''t''' {{IPA|[t̪]}}
|align = "center"|'''th''' {{IPA|[t̪ʰ]}}
|align = "center"|'''d''' {{IPA|[d̪]}}
|align = "center"|'''dh''' {{IPA|[d̪ʱ]}}
|align = "center"|'''n''' {{IPA|[n̪]}}
|colspan="7" style="background:silver"|
|-
![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolars]]
|colspan="7" style="background:silver"|
|align = "center"|'''l''' {{IPA|[l]}}
|style="background:silver"|
|align = "center"|'''s''' {{IPA|[s]}}
|-
![[Bilabial consonant|Bilabials]]
|align = "center"|'''p''' {{IPA|[p]}}
|align = "center"|'''ph''' {{IPA|[pʰ]}}
|align = "center"|'''b''' {{IPA|[b]}}
|align = "center"|'''bh''' {{IPA|[bʱ]}} 	
|align = "center"|'''m''' {{IPA|[m]}}
|colspan="5" style="background:silver"|
|-
![[Labiodental consonant|Labiodentals]]
|colspan="5" style="background:silver"|
|align = "center"|'''v''' {{IPA|[ʋ]}}
|colspan="4" style="background:silver"|
|-
![[Glottal consonant|Glottals]]
|colspan="9" style="background:silver"|
|align = "center"|'''h''' {{IPA|[h]}}
|}

The sounds listed above, except for {{Unicode|'''ṅ'''}}, {{Unicode|'''ḷ'''}} and {{Unicode|'''ḷh'''}} are distinct phonemes in Pali.  {{Unicode|'''ṅ'''}} only occurs before velar stops.  {{Unicode|'''ḷ'''}} and {{Unicode|'''ḷh'''}} are allophones of  {{Unicode|'''ḍ'''}} and {{Unicode|'''ḍh'''}} when they occur singly between vowels.

== Morphology ==
Pali is a highly inflected language, in which almost every word contains, besides the root conveying the basic meaning, one or more affixes (usually suffixes) which modify the meaning in some way.  Nouns are inflected for gender, number, and case; verbal inflections convey information about person, number, tense and mood.

=== Nominal inflection ===
Pali nouns inflect for three [[grammatical gender]]s (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, and plural). The nouns also, in principle, display eight [[grammatical case|cases]]: [[nominative case|nominative]] or '''paccatta''' case, [[vocative case|vocative]], [[accusative case|accusative]] or '''upayoga''' case, [[instrumental case|instrumental]] or '''{{transl|sinh|ISO|karaṇa}}''' case, [[dative case|dative]] or '''sampadāna''' case, [[ablative case|ablative]], [[genitive case|genitive]] or '''sāmin''' case, and [[locative case|locative]] or '''bhumma''' case; however, in many instances, two or more of these cases are identical in form; this is especially true of the genitive and dative cases.

==== a-stems ====
a-stems, whose uninflected stem ends in short '''a''' ({{IPA|/ə/}}), are either masculine or neuter. The masculine and neuter forms differ only in the nominative, vocative, and accusative cases.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|
!colspan="2"| Masculine (''loka-'' "world")
!colspan="2"| Neuter (''yāna-'' "carriage")
|-
! Singular !! Plural !! Singular !! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| loko ||rowspan="2"| lokā ||rowspan="3"| {{transl|sinh|ISO|yānaṁ}} ||rowspan="3"| yānāni
|-
! Vocative
| loka
|-
! Accusative
| {{transl|sinh|ISO|lokaṁ}} || loke
|-
! Instrumental
| lokena ||rowspan="2"| lokehi || yānena ||rowspan="2"| yānehi
|-
! Ablative
| lokā (lokamhā, lokasmā; lokato) || yānā (yānamhā, yānasmā; yānato)
|-
! Dative
| lokassa (lokāya) ||rowspan="2"| {{transl|sinh|ISO|lokānaṁ}} || yānassa (yānāya) ||rowspan="2"| {{transl|sinh|ISO|yānānaṁ}}
|-
! Genitive
| lokassa || yānassa 
|-
! Locative
| loke ({{transl|sinh|ISO|lokasmiṁ}}) || lokesu || yāne ({{transl|sinh|ISO|yānasmiṁ}}) || yānesu
|}

==== ā-stems ====
Nouns ending in ā ({{IPA|/aː/}}) are almost always feminine.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|
!colspan="2"| Feminine (''kathā-'' "story")
|-
! Singular !! Plural
|-
! Nominative
| kathā ||rowspan="3"| kathāyo 
|-
! Vocative
| kathe 
|-
! Accusative
| {{transl|sinh|ISO|kathaṁ}}
|-
! Instrumental
|rowspan="4"| kathāya ||rowspan="2"| kathāhi
|-
! Ablative
|-
! Dative
|rowspan="2"| {{transl|sinh|ISO|kathānaṁ}}
|-
! Genitive
|-
! Locative
| kathāya, {{transl|sinh|ISO|kathāyaṁ}} || kathāsu
|}

==== i-stems and u-stems ====
i-stems and u-stems are either masculine or neuter. The masculine and neuter forms differ only in the nominative and accusative cases. The vocative has the same form as the nominative.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|
!colspan="2"| Masculine (''isi-'' "seer")
!colspan="2"| Neuter (''akkhi-'' "fire")
|-
! Singular !! Plural !! Singular !! Plural
|-
! Nominative
|rowspan="2"| isi ||rowspan="3"| isayo, isī ||rowspan="3"| akkhi, {{transl|sinh|ISO|akkhiṁ}} ||rowspan="3"| akkhī, akkhīni
|-
! Vocative
|-
! Accusative
| {{transl|sinh|ISO|isiṁ}}
|-
! Instrumental
| isinā ||rowspan="2"| isihi, isīhi || akkhinā ||rowspan="2"| akkhihi, akkhīhi
|-
! Ablative
| isinā, isito || akkhinā, akkhito
|-
! Dative
| isino ||rowspan="2"| {{transl|sinh|ISO|isinaṁ, isīnaṁ}} || akkhino ||rowspan="2"| {{transl|sinh|ISO|akkhinaṁ, akkhīnaṁ}}
|-
! Genitive
| isissa, isino || akkhissa, akkhino
|-
! Locative
| {{transl|sinh|ISO|isismiṁ}} || isisu, isīsu || {{transl|sinh|ISO|akkhismiṁ}} || akkhisu, akkhīsu
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|
!colspan="2"| Masculine (''bhikkhu-'' "monk")
!colspan="2"| Neuter (''cakkhu-'' "eye")
|-
! Singular !! Plural !! Singular !! Plural
|-
! Nominative
|rowspan="2"| bhikkhu ||rowspan="3"| bhikkhavo, bhikkhū ||rowspan="3"| {{transl|sinh|ISO|cakkhu, cakkhuṁ}} ||rowspan="3"| cakkhūni
|-
! Vocative
|-
! Accusative
| {{transl|sinh|ISO|bhikkhuṁ}}
|-
! Instrumental
|rowspan="2"| bhikkhunā ||rowspan="2"| bhikkhūhi ||rowspan="2"| cakkhunā ||rowspan="2"| cakkhūhi
|-
! Ablative
|-
! Dative
| bhikkhuno || {{transl|sinh|ISO|bhikkhūnaṁ}} || cakkhuno || {{transl|sinh|ISO|cakkhūnaṁ}}
|-
! Genitive
| bhikkhussa, bhikkhuno || {{transl|sinh|ISO|bhikkhūnaṁ, bhikkhunnaṁ}} || cakkhussa, cakkhuno || {{transl|sinh|ISO|cakkhūnaṁ, cakkhunnaṁ}}
|-
! Locative
| {{transl|sinh|ISO|bhikkhusmiṁ}} || bhikkhūsu || {{transl|sinh|ISO|cakkhusmiṁ}} || cakkhūsu
|}

== Example of Pali with English translation ==

:{{Unicode|Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā, manoseṭṭhā manomayā}};
:{{Unicode|Manasā ce paduṭṭhena, bhāsati vā karoti vā}},
:{{Unicode|Tato nam dukkhaṁ anveti, cakkaṁ'va vahato padaṁ}}.

'''Element for element gloss'''
:{{Unicode|Mano-pubbaṅ-gam}}=ā dhamm=ā, {{Unicode|mano-seṭṭh}}=ā mano-may=ā;
:Mind-before-going=''m.pl.nom.'' [[Dharma (Buddhism)#Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology|dharma]]=''m.pl.nom.'', mind-foremost=''m.nom.pl.'' mind-made=''m.nom.pl.''
:Manas=ā ce {{Unicode|paduṭṭh}}=ena, bhāsa=ti vā karo=ti vā,
:Mind=''n.sg.inst.'' if corrupted=''n.sg.inst.'' speak=''3.sg.pr.'' either act=''3.sg.pr.'' or,
:Ta=to {{Unicode|naṁ dukkhaṁ}} anv-e=ti, {{Unicode|cakkaṁ}} 'va vahat=o pad={{Unicode|aṁ}}.
:That=from him suffering after-go=''3.sg.pr.'', wheel as carrying(beast)=m.sg.gen. foot=n.sg.acc.

The three compounds in the first line literally mean:
:{{Unicode|manopubbaṅgama}} "whose precursor is mind", "having mind as a fore-goer or leader"
:{{Unicode|manoseṭṭha}} "whose foremost member is mind", "having mind as chief"
:manomaya "consisting of mind" or "made by mind"

The literal meaning is therefore: "The [[Dharma (Buddhism)#Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology|dharmas]] have mind as their leader, mind as their chief, are made of/by mind. If [someone] either speaks or acts with a corrupted mind, from that [cause] suffering goes after him, as the wheel [of a cart follows] the foot of a draught animal."

A slightly freer translation by Acharya Buddharakkhita
:Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought.
:If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him
:like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.

== Pali and Sanskrit ==
Although Pali cannot be considered a direct descendant of either [[Classical Sanskrit]] or of the older [[Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic dialect]], the languages are obviously very closely related and the common characteristics of Pali and [[Sanskrit]] were always easily recognized by those in India who were familiar with both.  Indeed, a very large proportion of Pali and Sanskrit word-stems are identical in form, differing only in details of inflection.

The connections were sufficiently well-known that technical terms from Sanskrit were easily converted into Pali by a set of conventional phonological transformations.  These transformations mimicked a subset of the phonological developments that had occurred in Proto-Pali.  Because of the prevalence of these transformations, it is not always possible to tell whether a given Pali word is a part of the old [[Prakrit]] lexicon, or a transformed borrowing from Sanskrit.  The existence of a Sanskrit word regularly corresponding to a Pali word is not always secure evidence of the Pali etymology, since, in some cases, artificial Sanskrit words were created by back-formation from Prakrit words.

The following phonological processes are not intended as an exhaustive description of the historical changes which produced Pali from its Old Indic ancestor, but rather are a summary of the most common phonological equations between Sanskrit and Pali, with no claim to completeness.

=== Vowels and diphthongs ===
* Sanskrit '''ai''' and '''au''' always monophthongize to Pali '''e''' and '''o''', respectively
::Examples: '''maitrī''' → '''mettā''', {{unicode|'''auṣadha'''}} → '''osadha'''
* Sanskrit '''aya''' and '''ava''' likewise often reduce to Pali '''e''' and '''o'''
::Examples: '''dhārayati''' → '''dhāreti''', '''avatāra''' → '''otāra''', '''bhavati''' → '''hoti'''
* Sanskrit '''avi''' becomes Pali '''e''' (i.e. '''avi''' → '''ai''' → '''e''')
::Example: '''sthavira''' → '''thera'''
* {{unicode|Sanskrit '''ṛ''' appears in Pali as '''a''', '''i''' or '''u''', often agreeing with the vowel in the following syllable. '''ṛ''' also sometimes becomes '''u''' after labial consonants.}}
::Examples: {{unicode|'''kṛta''' → '''kata''', '''tṛṣṇa''' → '''taṇha''', '''smṛti''' → '''sati''', '''ṛṣi''' → '''isi''',  '''dṛṣṭi''' → '''diṭṭhi''', '''ṛddhi''' → '''iddhi''', '''ṛju''' → '''uju''', '''spṛṣṭa''' → '''phuṭṭha''', '''vṛddha''' → '''vuddha'''}}

* Sanskrit long vowels are shortened before a sequence of two following consonants.
::Examples: {{unicode|'''kṣānti''' → '''khanti''', '''rājya''' → '''rajja''', '''īśvara''' → '''issara''', '''tīrṇa''' → '''tiṇṇa''',  '''pūrva''' → '''pubba'''}}

=== Consonants ===
==== Sound changes ====
* The Sanskrit sibilants '''ś''', {{Unicode|'''ṣ'''}}, and '''s''' merge together as Pali '''s'''
::Examples: {{Unicode|'''śaraṇa'''}} → {{Unicode|'''saraṇa'''}}, {{Unicode|'''doṣa'''}} → '''dosa'''
* The Sanskrit stops {{Unicode|'''ḍ'''}} and {{Unicode|'''ḍh'''}} become {{Unicode|'''ḷ'''}} and {{Unicode|'''ḷh'''}} between vowels (as in Vedic)
::Example: {{Unicode|'''cakravāḍa'''}} → {{Unicode|'''cakkavāḷa'''}}, {{Unicode|'''virūḍha'''}} → {{Unicode|'''virūḷha'''}}

==== Assimilations ====
===== General rules =====
* Many [[Assimilation (linguistics)|assimilations]] of one consonant to a neighboring consonant occurred in the development of Pali, producing a large number of [[Gemination|geminate]] (double) consonants. Since [[Aspiration (phonetics)|aspiration]] of a geminate consonant is only phonetically detectable on the last consonant of a cluster, geminate {{unicode|'''kh, gh, ch, jh, ṭh, ḍh, th, dh, ph''' and '''bh''' appear as '''kkh, ggh, cch, jjh, ṭṭh, ḍḍh, tth, ddh, pph''' and '''bbh''', not as ''khkh, ghgh'' etc.}}
* When assimilation would produce a geminate consonant (or a sequence of unaspirated stop+aspirated stop) at the beginning of a word, the initial geminate is simplified to a single consonant.
::Examples: {{unicode|'''prāṇa''' → '''pāṇa''' (not ''ppāṇa''), '''sthavira''' → '''thera'''}} (not ''tthera''), '''dhyāna''' → '''jhāna''' (not ''jjhāna''), '''jñāti''' → '''ñāti''' (not ''ññāti'')
* When assimilation would produce a sequence of three consonants in the middle of a word, geminates are simplified until there are only two consonants in sequence.
::Examples: '''uttrāsa''' → '''uttāsa''' (not ''utttāsa''), '''mantra''' → '''manta''' (not ''mantta''), '''indra''' → '''inda''' (not ''indda''), '''vandhya''' → '''vañjha''' (not ''vañjjha'')
* The sequence '''vv''' resulting from assimilation changes to '''bb'''
::Example: '''sarva''' → savva → '''sabba''', '''pravrajati''' → pavvajati → '''pabbajati''', '''divya''' → divva → '''dibba'''
===== Total assimilation =====
Total assimilation, where one sound becomes identical to a neighboring sound, is of two types: progressive, where the assimilated sound becomes identical to the following sound; and regressive, where it becomes identical to the preceding sound.
====== Progressive assimilations ======
* Internal [[visarga]] assimilates to a following voiceless stop or sibilant
::Examples: {{unicode|'''duḥkṛta''' → '''dukkata''', '''duḥkha''' → '''dukkha''', '''duḥprajña''' → '''duppañña''', '''niḥkrodha'''}} (={{unicode|'''niṣkrodha'''}}) → '''nikkodha''', {{unicode|'''niḥpakva'''}} (={{unicode|'''niṣpakva'''}}) → '''nippakka''', {{unicode|'''niḥśoka''' → '''nissoka''', '''niḥsattva'''}} → '''nissatta'''
* In a sequence of two dissimilar Sanskrit stops, the first stop assimilates to the second stop
::Examples: {{unicode|'''vimukti''' → '''vimutti''', '''dugdha''' → '''duddha''', '''utpāda''' → '''uppāda''', '''pudgala''' → '''puggala''', '''udghoṣa''' → '''ugghosa''', '''adbhuta''' → '''abbhuta''', '''śabda''' → '''sadda'''}}
* In a sequence of two dissimilar nasals, the first nasal assimilates to the second nasal
::Example: '''unmatta''' → '''ummatta''', '''pradyumna''' → '''pajjunna'''
* '''j''' assimilates to a following '''ñ''' (i.e., '''jñ''' becomes '''ññ''')
::Examples: '''prajñā''' → '''paññā''', '''jñāti''' → '''ñāti'''
* The Sanskrit liquid consonants '''r''' and '''l''' assimilate to a following stop, nasal, sibilant, or '''v'''
::Examples: '''mārga''' → '''magga''', '''karma''' → '''kamma''', {{Unicode|'''varṣa'''}} → '''vassa''', '''kalpa''' → '''kappa''', '''sarva''' → savva → '''sabba'''
* '''r''' assimilates to a following '''l'''
::Examples: '''durlabha''' → '''dullabha''', '''nirlopa''' → '''nillopa'''
* '''d''' sometimes assimilates to a following '''v''', producing vv → '''bb'''
::Examples: '''udvigna''' → uvvigga → '''ubbigga''', '''dvādaśa''' → '''bārasa''' (beside '''dvādasa''')
* '''t''' and '''d''' may assimilate to a following '''s''' or '''y''' when a morpheme boundary intervenes
::Examples: '''ut+sava''' → '''ussava''', '''ud+yāna''' → '''uyyāna'''

====== Regressive assimilations ======
* Nasals sometimes assimilate to a preceding stop (in other cases epenthesis occurs; see below)
::Examples: '''agni''' → '''aggi''', '''ātman''' → '''atta''', '''prāpnoti''' → '''pappoti''', '''śaknoti''' → '''sakkoti'''
* '''m''' assimilates to an initial sibilant
::Examples: '''smarati''' → '''sarati''', {{Unicode|'''smṛti'''}} → '''sati'''
* Nasals assimilate to a preceding stop+sibilant cluster, which then develops in the same way as such clusters without following nasals (see '''Partial assimilations''' below)
::Examples: {{unicode|'''tīkṣṇa''' → tikṣa → '''tikkha''', '''lakṣmī''' → lakṣī →'''lakkhī'''}}
* The Sanskrit liquid consonants '''r''' and '''l''' assimilate to a preceding stop, nasal, sibilant, or '''v'''
::Examples: {{unicode|'''prāṇa''' → '''pāṇa'''}}, '''grāma''' → '''gāma''',  '''śrāvaka''' → '''sāvaka''', '''agra''' → '''agga''', '''indra''' → '''inda''', '''pravrajati''' → pavvajati → '''pabbajati''', '''aśru''' → '''assu'''
* '''y''' assimilates to preceding non-dental/retroflex stops or nasals
::Examples: {{unicode|'''cyavati''' → '''cavati''', '''jyotiṣ''' → '''joti''', '''rājya''' → '''rajja''', '''matsya''' → macchya → '''maccha''', '''lapsyate''' → lacchyate → '''lacchati''', '''abhyāgata''' → '''abbhāgata''', '''ākhyāti''' → '''akkhāti''', '''saṁkhyā''' → '''saṅkhā''' (but also '''saṅkhyā'''), '''ramya''' → '''ramma'''}}
* '''y''' assimilates to preceding non-initial '''v''', producing vv → '''bb'''
::Example: '''divya''' → divva → '''dibba''', '''veditavya''' → veditavva → '''veditabba''', '''bhāvya''' → bhavva → '''bhabba'''
* '''y''' and '''v''' assimilate to any preceding sibilant, producing '''ss'''
::Examples: '''paśyati''' → '''passati''', '''śyena''' → '''sena''', '''aśva''' → '''assa''', '''īśvara''' → '''issara''', {{unicode|'''kariṣyati'''}} → '''karissati''', '''tasya''' → '''tassa''', '''svāmin''' → '''sāmī'''
* '''v''' sometimes assimilates to a preceding stop
::Examples: '''pakva''' → '''pakka''', '''catvāri''' → '''cattāri''', '''sattva''' → '''satta''', '''dhvaja''' → '''dhaja'''

===== Partial and mutual assimilation =====
* Sanskrit [[Sibilant consonant|sibilants]] before a stop assimilate to that stop, and if that stop is not already aspirated, it becomes aspirated; e.g. {{unicode|'''śc''', '''st''',  '''ṣṭ''' and '''sp''' become '''cch''', '''tth''', '''ṭṭh''' and '''pph'''}}
::Examples: {{unicode|'''paścāt''' → '''pacchā''', '''asti''' → '''atthi''', '''stava''' → '''thava''', '''śreṣṭha''' → '''seṭṭha''', '''aṣṭa''' → '''aṭṭha''', '''sparśa''' → '''phassa'''}}
* In sibilant-stop-liquid sequences, the liquid is assimilated to the preceding consonant, and the cluster behaves like sibilant-stop sequences; e.g. '''str''' and {{Unicode|'''ṣṭr'''}} become '''tth''' and {{Unicode|'''ṭṭh'''}}
::Examples: '''śāstra''' → śasta → '''sattha''', {{Unicode|'''rāṣṭra'''}} → {{Unicode|raṣṭa}} → {{Unicode|'''raṭṭha'''}}
* '''t''' and '''p''' become '''c''' before '''s''', and the sibilant assimilates to the preceding sound as an aspirate (i.e., the sequences '''ts''' and '''ps''' become '''cch''')
::Examples: '''vatsa''' → '''vaccha''', '''apsaras''' → '''accharā'''
* A sibilant assimilates to a preceding '''k''' as an aspirate (i.e., the sequence {{unicode|'''kṣ'''}} becomes '''kkh''')
::Examples: {{unicode|'''bhikṣu''' → '''bhikkhu''', '''kṣānti''' → '''khanti'''}}
* Any dental or retroflex stop or nasal followed by '''y''' converts to the corresponding palatal sound, and the '''y''' assimilates to this new consonant, i.e. '''ty, thy, dy, dhy, ny''' become '''cc, cch, jj, jjh, ññ'''; likewise {{Unicode|'''ṇy'''}} becomes '''ññ'''.  Nasals preceding a stop that becomes palatal share this change.
::Examples: '''tyajati''' → cyajati → '''cajati''', '''satya''' → sacya → '''sacca''', '''mithyā''' →  michyā → '''micchā''', '''vidyā''' → vijyā →  '''vijjā''', '''madhya''' → majhya → '''majjha''', '''anya''' → añya → '''añña''', {{Unicode|'''puṇya'''}} → puñya → '''puñña''', '''vandhya''' →  vañjhya → vañjjha → '''vañjha'''
* The sequence '''mr''' becomes '''mb''', via the epenthesis of a stop between the nasal and liquid, followed by assimilation of the liquid to the stop and subsequent simplification of the resulting geminate.
::Examples: '''āmra''' → ambra → '''amba''', '''tāmra''' → '''tamba'''

==== Epenthesis ====
An [[Epenthesis|epenthetic]] vowel is sometimes inserted between certain consonant-sequences.  As with {{Unicode|'''ṛ'''}}, the vowel may be '''a''', '''i''', or '''u''', depending on the influence of a neighboring consonant or of the vowel in the following syllable. '''i''' is often found near '''i''', '''y''', or palatal consonants; '''u''' is found near '''u''', '''v''', or labial consonants.
* Sequences of stop + nasal are sometimes separated by '''a''' or '''u'''
::Example: '''ratna''' → '''ratana''', '''padma''' → '''paduma''' ('''u''' influenced by labial '''m''')
* The sequence '''sn''' may become '''sin''' initially
::Examples: '''snāna''' → '''sināna''', '''sneha''' → '''sineha'''
* '''i''' may be inserted between a consonant and '''l'''
::Examples: '''kleśa''' → '''kilesa''', '''glāna''' → '''gilāna''', '''mlāyati''' → '''milāyati''', '''ślāghati''' → '''silāghati'''
* An epenthetic vowel may be inserted between an initial sibilant and '''r'''
::Example: '''śrī''' → '''sirī'''
* The sequence '''ry''' generally becomes '''riy''' ('''i''' influenced by following '''y'''), but is still treated as a two-consonant sequence for the purposes of vowel-shortening
::Example: '''ārya''' → arya → '''ariya''', '''sūrya''' → surya → '''suriya''', '''vīrya''' → virya → '''viriya'''
* '''a''' or '''i''' is inserted between '''r''' and '''h'''
::Example: '''arhati''' → '''arahati''', '''garhā''' → '''garahā''', {{Unicode|'''barhiṣ'''}} → '''barihisa'''
* There is sporadic epenthesis between other consonant sequences
::Examples: '''caitya''' → '''cetiya''' (not ''cecca''), '''vajra''' → '''vajira''' (not ''vajja'')

==== Other changes ====
* Any Sanskrit sibilant before a nasal becomes a sequence of nasal followed by '''h''', i.e. {{unicode|'''ṣṇ''', '''sn''' and '''sm''' become '''ṇh''', '''nh''', and '''mh'''}}
::Examples: {{unicode|'''tṛṣṇa''' → '''taṇha''', '''uṣṇīṣa''' → '''uṇhīsa''', '''asmi''' → '''amhi'''}}
* The sequence '''śn''' becomes '''ñh''', due to assimilation of the '''n''' to the preceding palatal sibilant
::Example: '''praśna''' → praśña → '''pañha'''
* The sequences '''hy''' and '''hv''' undergo [[Metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]]
::Examples: '''jihvā''' → '''jivhā''', {{unicode|'''gṛhya'''}} → '''gayha''', '''guhya''' → '''guyha'''
* '''h''' undergoes metathesis with a following nasal
::Example: {{unicode|'''gṛhṇāti''' → '''gaṇhāti'''}}
* '''y''' is geminated between '''e''' and a vowel
::Examples: '''śreyas''' → '''seyya''', '''Maitreya''' → '''Metteyya'''

* Voiced aspirates such as '''bh''' and '''gh''' on rare occasions become '''h'''
::Examples: '''bhavati''' → '''hoti''', {{Unicode|'''-ebhiṣ'''}} → '''-ehi''', '''laghu''' → '''lahu'''
* Dental and retroflex sounds sporadically change into one another
:: Examples: {{unicode|'''jñāna''' → '''ñāṇa''' (not ''ñāna''), '''dahati''' → '''ḍahati''' (beside Pali '''dahati''') '''nīḍa''' → '''nīla''' (not ''nīḷa''), '''sthāna''' → '''ṭhāna''' (not ''thāna''), '''duḥkṛta''' → '''dukkaṭa''' (beside Pali '''dukkata''')}}

=== Exceptions ===
There are several notable exceptions to the rules above; many of them are common Prakrit words rather than borrowings from Sanskrit.
* '''ārya''' → '''ayya''' (beside '''ariya''')
* '''guru''' → '''garu''' (adj.) (beside '''guru''' (n.))
* {{unicode|'''puruṣa''' → '''purisa''' (not ''purusa'')}}
* {{unicode|'''vṛkṣa''' → rukṣa → '''rukkha''' (not ''vakkha'')}}

== Pali writing ==
=== Pali alphabet with diacritics ===
During the reign of King [[Ashoka]], he erected a pillar in [[Lumbini]] (now in Nepal) with his edict in Pali in [[Brahmi script]] <ref>http://www.lumbinitrust.org/placestosee.htm</ref>. Historically, the first written record of the Pali canon is believed to have been composed in [[Sri Lanka]], based on a prior oral tradition.  As per the [[Mahavamsa]] (the chronicle of Sri Lanka), due to a major famine in the country Buddhist monks wrote down the Pali canon during the time of King [[Vattagamini]] in 100 BC. The transmission of written Pali has retained a universal system of alphabetic values, but has expressed those values in a stunning variety of actual scripts.

In [[Sri Lanka]], Pali texts were recorded in [[Sinhala alphabet|Sinhala script]].  Other local scripts, most prominently [[Khmer script|Khmer]], [[Burmese script|Burmese]], and in modern times [[Thai alphabet|Thai]] (since 1893), [[Devanāgarī]] and [[Mongolian alphabet|Mongolian]] have been used to record Pali.

Since the 19th Century, Pali has also been written in the Roman script. An alternate scheme devised by [[Frans Velthuis]] allows for typing without [[diacritics]] using plain [[ASCII]] methods, but is arguably less readable than the standard [[Rhys Davids]] system, which uses [[diacritical]] marks.

The Pali alphabetical order is as follows:
* {{unicode|'''a ā i ī u ū e o ṁ k kh g gh ṅ c ch j jh ñ ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh ṇ t th d dh n p ph b bh m y r l ḷ v s h'''}}

{{unicode|'''ḷh'''}}, although a single sound, is written with ligature of {{unicode|'''ḷ'''}} and '''h'''.

=== Pali transliteration on computers ===

There are several fonts to use for Pali transliteration. However, older ASCII fonts such as Leedsbit PaliTranslit, Times_Norman, Times_CSX+, Skt Times, Vri RomanPali CN/CB etc., are not recommendable since they are not compatible with one another and technically out of date. On the contrary, fonts based on the [[Unicode]] standard are recommended because Unicode seems to be the future for all fonts and also because they are easily portable to one another.

However, not all Unicode fonts contain the necessary characters. To properly display all the diacritic marks used for romanized Pali (or for that matter, Sanskrit), a Unicode font must contain the following character ranges:

:* Basic Latin: U+0000 – U+007F
:* Latin-1 Supplement: U+0080 – U+00FF
:* Latin Extended-A: U+0100 – U+017F
:* Latin Extended-B: U+0180 – U+024F
:* Latin Extended Additional: U+1E00 – U+1EFF

Some Unicode fonts freely available for typesetting Romanized Pali are as follows:

:* [http://www.palitext.com/subpages/PC_Unicode.htm The Pali Text Society] recommends [http://zencomp.com/greatwisdom/fonts/ VU-Times] and [http://www.ebmp.org/p_dwnlds.php Gandhari Unicode] for Windows and Linux Computers.
:* [http://www.thdl.org/tools/fonts/diafonts.html The Tibetan & Himalayan Digital Library] recommends [http://www.bcca.org/services/fonts/ Times Ext Roman], and provides links to several of other Unicode diacritic fonts usable for typing Pali together with ratings and installation instructions.
:* [http://www.sil.org/ SIL: International] provides [http://scripts.sil.org/CharisSIL_download Charis SIL], [http://scripts.sil.org/DoulosSIL_download Doulos SIL], [http://scripts.sil.org/Gentium_download Gentium, Gentium Basic, Gentium Book Basic] fonts. Of them, Charis SIL, Gentium Basic and Gentium Book Basic have all 4 styles (regular, italic, bold, bold-italic); so can provide publication quality typesetting.
:* John Smith provides [http://bombay.indology.info/software/fonts/induni/index.html IndUni] Opentype fonts, based upon URW++ fonts. Of them:
:** IndUni-C is Courier-lookalike;
:** IndUni-H is Helvetica-lookalike;
:** IndUni-N is New Century Schoolbook-lookalike;
:** IndUni-P is Palatino-lookalike;
:** IndUni-T is Times-lookalike;
:** IndUni-CMono is Courier-lookalike but monospaced;
:* An English Buddhist monk titled Bhikkhu Pesala provides some [http://aimwell.org/Fonts/fonts.html Pali fonts] he has designed himself, and some [http://aimwell.org/Fonts/Keyboards/keyboards.html Pali keyboards] for Windows XP.
:* [http://www.alanwood.net/unicode/fonts.html The font section] of Alanwood's Unicode Resources have links to several general purpose fonts that can be used for Pali typing if they cover the character ranges above.

=== Pali text in ASCII ===

The [[Velthuis scheme]] was originally developed in 1991 by Frans Velthuis for use with his "devnag" [[Devanāgarī]] font, designed for the [[TeX]] typesetting system. This system of representing Pali diacritical marks has been used in some websites and discussion lists. However, as the Web itself and email software slowly evolve towards the Unicode encoding standard, this system has become almost not necessary and obsolete.

The following table compares various conventional renderings and shortcut key assignments:
{| class="wikitable"
! character
! ASCII rendering
! character name
! Unicode number
! key combination
! HTML code
|-
| align="center"|ā || aa || a macron || 61580 || Alt+A || &amp;#257;
|-
| align="center"|ī || ii || i macron || 61620 || Alt+I || &amp;#299;
|-
| align="center"|ū || uu || u macron || 61672 || Alt+U || &amp;#363;
|-
| align="center"|{{Unicode|ṁ}} || .m || m dot-under || <!--61655--> || <!--Alt+M--> || &amp;#7745;
|-
| align="center"|{{Unicode|ṇ}} || .n || n dot-under || 61686 || Alt+N || &amp;#7751
|-
| align="center"|ñ || ~n || n tilde || 61590 || Alt+Ctrl+N || &amp;ntilde;
|-
| align="center"|{{Unicode|ṭ}} || .t || t dot-under || 61642 || Alt+T || &amp;#7789;
|-
| align="center"|{{Unicode|ḍ}} || .d || d dot-under || 61622 || Alt+D || &amp;#7693;
|-
| align="center"|{{Unicode|ṅ}} || "n || n dot-over || 61626 || Ctrl+N || &amp;#7749;
|-
| align="center"|{{Unicode|ḷ}} || .l || l dot-under || 61634 || Alt+L || &amp;#7735;
|}

== References ==
{{reflist|1}}
* See entries for "Pali" (written by [[K. R. Norman]] of the Pali Text Society) and "India--Buddhism" in ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Language and Religion'', (Sawyer ed.) ISBN 0-08-043167-4
* {{cite book |last=Warder|first=A.K.|authorlink=A. K. Warder |title=Introduction to Pali|edition= third edition|year=1991|publisher=[[Pali Text Society]]|isbn=0860131971}}
* {{cite book |last=de Silva|first=Lily|title=Pali Primer|edition= first edition|year=1994|publisher=Vipassana Research Institute Publications|isbn=817414014X}}
* {{cite book |last=Müller|first=Edward|title=Simplified Grammar of the Pali Language|year=1884,1995|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=8120611039}}

== Further reading ==
* Gupta, K. M. (2006). ''Linguistic approach to meaning in Pali''. New Delhi: Sundeep Prakashan. ISBN 81-7574-170-8
* Müller, E. (2003). ''The Pali language: a simplified grammar''. Trubner's collection of simplified grammars. London: Trubner. ISBN 1-84453-001-9
* Oberlies, T., & Pischel, R. (2001). ''Pāli: a grammar of the language of the {{transl|sinh|ISO|Theravāda Tipiṭaka}}''. Indian philology and South Asian studies, v. 3. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-016763-8
* Hazra, K. L. (1994). ''Pāli language and literature: a systematic survey and historical study''. Emerging perceptions in Buddhist studies, no. 4-5. New Delhi: D.K. Printworld. ISBN 81-246-0004-X
* American National Standards Institute. (1979). ''American National Standard system for the romanization of Lao, Khmer, and Pali''. New York: The Institute.
* Russell Webb (ed.) ''An Analysis of the Pali Canon,'' Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy; 1975, 1991 (see http://www.bps.lk/reference.asp) 
* Soothill, W. E., & Hodous, L. (1937). ''A dictionary of Chinese Buddhist terms: with Sanskrit and English equivalents and a Sanskrit-Pali index''. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.

== See also ==

* [[Pali literature]]
* [[Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit]]
* [[ISO 15919]]
* [[ALA-LC Romanization]]

== External links ==
{{interwiki|code=pi}}
* [http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/ Pali-English dictionary]
* [http://fsnow.com/text/buddhist-india/chapter9.htm Buddhist India by T.W. Rhys Davids, chapter IX, Language and Literature]
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=pli Pali at Ethnologue]
* [http://www.pali.dk/ Pali.dk] - A newly started project aimed at creating free online Pāli dictionaries and educational resources.
* [http://www.palitext.com/ Pali Text Society]
* [http://www.tipitaka.org] Free searchable online database of Pali literature, including the whole Canon
* http://pali.pratyeka.org/ Eizel Mazard's excellent website on Pali resources, including
** [http://www.pratyeka.org/pali/ Resources for reading & writing Pāli in indigenous scripts: Burmese, Sri Lankan, & Cambodian]
** [http://www.pratyeka.org/narada/ A textbook to teach yourself Pali (by Narada Thera)]
** [http://www.pratyeka.org/duroiselle/ A reference work on the grammar of the Pali language (by G Duroiselle)]
* [http://www.mettanet.org/tipitaka/ Complete Pāli Canon in romanized Pali and Sinhala, mostly also in English translation]
* [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/index.html Pāli Canon selection]
* [http://accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bullitt/learningpali.html A guide to learning the Pāli language]
* [http://www.vri.dhamma.org/publications/pali/primer/ "Pali Primer"  by Lily De Silva (requires installation of special fonts)]
* [http://www.saigon.com/~anson/uni/u-palicb/e00.htm "Pali Primer"  by Lily De Silva (UTF-8 encoded)]
* [http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/ele_pali.pdf Free/Public-Domain Elementary Pāli Course--PDF format]
* [http://www.orunla.org/tm/pali/htpali/pcourse.html Free/Public-Domain Pāli Course--html format]
* [http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/paligram.pdf Free/Public-Domain Pāli Grammar (in PDF file)]
* [http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/palidict.pdf Free/Public-Domain Pāli Buddhist Dictionary (in PDF file)]
* [http://wikisource.org/wiki/Main_Page:Pali Comprehensive list of Pāli texts on Wikisource]
* [http://www.metta.lk/pali-utils/Pali-Proper-Names/index.html Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names], HTML version of the book by G.P. Malalasekera, 1937-8
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/palireader Pali Text Reader (software)]
* [http://www.jainworld.com/scriptures/ Jain Scriptures]
* [http://help.com/wiki/P%C4%81li Pali help at Help.com Wiki]
* [http://www.bodhimonastery.net/courses/Pali/course_Pali.html "A Course in the Pali Language,"] audio lectures by [[Bhikkhu Bodhi]] based on Gair & Karunatilleke (1998).
* [http://www.bps.lk/other_library/pdf_pali_tables.zip] Pali Conjugation and Declension Tables for Students
* [http://www.bps.lk/other_library/reference_table_of_pali_literature.pdf]Comprehensive Reference Table of Pali Literature

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{{Indo-Iranian languages}}
{{Buddhism topics}}

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[[ksh:Pali (Shprooch)]]