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Thursday, February 26, 2009 - 4:52 AM
Definition: Sanskrit, Latin, and ancient Greek form a trio of
classical literary languages. Sanskrit is the ancient language of India
and the Indian subcontinent. Its literature, the Vedas, was written in
Vedic Sanskrit, as in the Rig Veda, from about 1500 B.C. Chronologically next came Classical Sanskrit (c. 4th century B.C.). Sanskrit
was one of the most important keys to the Indoeuropean language puzzle.
When philologists in India, well-versed in classical Greek and Latin,
as well as modern language like German, started seeing similarities
across the languages, they were able to develop methods of study,
including the Comparative Method, and theories of language development from a proto-language.
Sanskrit is classified as a Satem ('100') language, as opposed to the
Centum ('100') languages, like Latin. It is part of the Indo-Aryan
sub-branch of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indoeuropean language
family.
http://louis0j0sheehan0esquire.wordpress.com
Sanskrit is still one of India's official languages,
although its use in the vernacular is limited. Early Sanskrit was
written using Brahmi or Kharosthi scripts. It is now usually written
with the Devanāgarī alphabet. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
http://louis0j0sheehan0esquire.wordpress.com
Examples: The first to understand the connection between Greek, Latin and Sanskrit was Sir William Jones (Sept. 28, 1746-April 27, 1794)
who said: "...
no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to
have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists.
There is a similar reason, though not quite so forcible, for supposing
that ... Gothick ... had the same origin with the Sanscrit; and the old
Persian might be added to the same family...."
Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
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