The Structure and Development of Middle Indo-Aryan Dialects (An Old and Rare Book)

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This monograph concentrates on the nature and pace of phonological, morphological and syntactic change in the history of the Indo-Aryan languages during the Middle Indo-Aryan period (4th c.b.c. -10th c.a.d.). Its ground has been covered by various data-oriented philological studies. In this monograph, however, the latest linguistic methodology has been used. In Phonology it offers a systematic account of historical phonological processes as against presions atomistic treatments of phonetic innovations in Morphology, paradigmatic sets of the main Prakits (Pali, Ardha-Magadhi, Maharastri and Apabhramsa) are juxtaposed and analysed in terms of their own regularities; and selected topics in Syntax (word order, engatinity, passirization, cansativization) are studied in theoretical framework of Functional Grammar.

About the Author:

Dr.Vit Bubenik, Professor of General and Historical Linguistics at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, was born in 1942 in Czechoslovakia, where he studied Linguistics, Classics (Latin, Greek, Sanskrit) and Semitic languages at the Universities of Brno and Prague. After moving to Canada in 1970, he carried out several research projects at the Universities in Germany (Heidelberg, Munich) and Greece, and at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune in India, under the sponsorship of Canada Council, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, and Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung. His current research interests include Indo-Aryan Linguistics, Ancient and Medieval Greek, and the theory of Functional Grammar. He published a number of articles and monographs dealing with problems of General and Historical linguistics, including: The Phonological Interpretation of Ancient Greek (Toronto 1984) and Hellenistic and Roman Greece as a Sociolinguistic Area (Amsterdam 1989).

1.1 Prehistory of Middle Indo-Aryan Dialects
1.2 Between Old and Middle Indo-Aryan-Pali
1.3 Geographical Dialect Continuum in Northern India in the 3rd C.B.C.
1.4 Literary Prakrits
1.5 Apabhramsa
1.6 Evidence of Medieval Indian Grammarians

  2.1 Phonological System of MIA Dialects: Vowels
2.1.1 Compensatory Lengthening of Short Vowels
2.1.2 Shortening of Long Vowels
2.1.3 Raising of Short Mid Vowels
  2.2 Phonology System of MIA Dialects: Consonants
2.2.1 MIA Consonant Clusters
2.2.2 Pali Germinate Clusters
2.2.3 Fricative Weakening in MIA Dialects
2.2.4 Dental Palatazation in MIA Dialects
2.2.5 Affrication
2.2.6 Lenition and Spirantization
2.2.7 Retroflexion
  2.3 Accent

  3.1 Some General Characteristics of Middle Indo-Aryan Morphological Developments
  3.2 Nouns
3.2.1 a-stems
3.2.2 a-stems
3.2.3 i-and u-stems
3.2.4 r-stems
3.2.5 Nouns of Relationship
3.2.6 an-stems
3.2.7 nt-stems
  3.3 Pronouns
3.3.1 Personal Pronouns
3.3.2 Demonstrative Pronouns
  3.4 Verbs
3.4.1 Middle Indo-Aryan Verbal System
3.4.2 Thematic Conjugation
3.4.3 Personal Endings
3.4.4 Athematic Conjugation
3.4.5 Aorist (Preterite)
3.4.6 Future
3.4.7 Optative
3.4.8 Passive
3.4.9 Causative
3.4.10 Quasinominal Forms
3.4.11 Absolutive

4.1 Word Order in Middle Indo-Aryan
4.2 Citicization of Pronominal Objects
4.3 Epistemic and Deontic Modality
4.4 Evolution of Aspect
4.5 Passive and the Emergence of Ergative Construction
4.6 Causative Constructions

5.1 Linguistic Attitudes of Panini and Paniniyas
5.2 Linguistic Attitudes of Natyasastra
5.3 Corelation of Dialect with Social Chass, Occupational Group and Literary Genre in Mrcchakatika
5.4 Code-Mixing and Code-Switching in Sanskrit Drama

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