Indian Knowledge System

Foundational Concepts for Science and Technology

UNIT 2
By:
Mr. Hirdesh Sharma
JIMS, Greater Noida
Linguistics (भाषा विज्ञान)

• Linguistics is a branch of language research that provides a scientific

study of a language.
• Language has been the most effective tool for our communication
since time immemorial.
• The advancement of knowledge and collaborative working require a
common method of communication.
• Language plays this role in a civilized society.
Components of a Language
• Language is a tool used by everyone in a community and it is very
difficult to maintain it unchanged.
• Communication is a key to trade, science and technology and societal
progress.
• The respective part of a language deals with the ability of an
individual to receive language inputs from multiple sources.
• The productive part of a language is to transmit back to others for
their consumption.
Components of a Language
• Receptive Skills
i. Listening (sound)
ii. Reading (script)
• Productive Skills
i. Speaking (sound)
ii. Writing (script)
Panini’s Work on Sanskrit Grammar
• Panini composed 3983 rules to accommodate all the patterns and
variations in Sanskrit language.
• The basic approach of Panini and its distinguishing features make
Sanskrit a powerful language and eternal in its appeal.
• One of the Vedangas known as Vyakarana focuses on linguistics and
phonetics (भाषाविज्ञान और ध्िन्यात्मकता) aspects of Sanskrit language.
• Astadhyayi is considered a fine creation of human intelligence and the
best available descriptive model of a language.
Basic approach of Panini and its features
• The entire vocabulary of the Sanskrit language could be created using
the 3983 rules.
• Language processing and word generation are strictly rule-based and
derivative in nature.
• The entire scheme for word generation follows a highly modular
approach.
• The derivation of words using the rules could be done using step by
step process.
• The vocabulary is not fixed or static.
Phonetics (स्िर-विज्ञान) in Sanskrit
• Phonetics is the study of sounds in a language, particularly the
production of sound in a language and how it communicates the
language corresponding to the scripts of the language.
• It also addresses the issue of how the sound is perceived in the
language.
• Phonetics in the Sanskrit language has been addressed in some
details since this is vital because the ancient Indian knowledge
tradition is oral.
Phonetics (स्िर-विज्ञान) in Sanskrit
Phonetics (स्िर-विज्ञान) in Sanskrit
• The entire transmission of the Vedas from time immemorial has been
possible on account of a well-developed science of phonetics.
• Vowels have a temporal factor in the production of the sound.
• Three variations (short: hrasva, long: dirgha and prolate: pulta) have
been specified for the pitch of the vowel sound.
Phonetics (स्िर-विज्ञान) in Sanskrit
Patterns in Sanskrit Vocabulary
• The ultimate building block of any language is the word.
• The words are the combined in several ways to communicate ideas
and transact knowledge.
• The word in Sanskrit can be divied into two categories: Noun forms
(Known as subanta) and verb forms (known as Tinanta).
Word= Base+ Suffix
• After adding a suffix to the base, relevant grammatical rules are
invoked to generate the final word.
Patterns in Sanskrit Vocabulary
Computational concepts in Astadhyayi
• Sanskrit grammar has a robust mechanism to generate an infinite
number of words.
• The following are some of the important common aspects seen in a
computer language and Panini’s rules:
i. Vocabulary exclusively meant for his work
ii. Abbreviated forms (mnemonics) for brevity and better retention of ideas
iii. Exclusive syntax for Astadhyayi
iv. An algorithmic approach to word generation
v. Recursive logic
Computational concepts in Astadhyayi
Mahesvara Sutra
• The entire Sanskrit grammar of Panini rests on a fundamental set of
sutras known as Mahesvara Sutras.
• These sutras, 14 in number, present letters of Sanskrit uniquely.
• The first four sutras covers the alphabets in the normal order.
• Sutras 5 to14 present the consonants in a somewhat obscure order
than what are they normally used for.
• Each sutra end with a termination which is a consonant.
Use of Mnemonics
• In the previous discussion, we saw how the letters were jointly
represented using mnemonics obtained out of combining set of
letters specified through the Mahesvara sutra.
• Two set of suffixex for generating noun forms and verb forms; these
two are concisely represented by two mnemonics sup and tin
respectively.
Rule-based Grammatical Operations
• Panini’s system of applying grammatical conditions to derive words
exactly like a rule-based engine.
• Sutras from different locations of Astadhyayi under various heading
come to operate where their conditions are satisfied.
• The final form remaining after all the operations are carried out is the
word and it becomes eligible for use.
Rule-based Grammatical Operations
Logic for Sentence Construction
• Words are to be grammatically correct in terms of construction.
• Karaka is a concept that helps to link the words in a sentence to the
Kriya (action).
• Kriya and Karaka are the essential elements of any sentence.
• All other elements that are found in a sentence are woven around
these two.
• Therefore, for a sentence to be complete there must be a verb,
implicit or explicit, denoting an action.
Logic for Sentence Construction
• On the other hand, a verb alone cannot make a meaningful sentence.
• The Sanskrit language uses a concept called karaka to provide in-built
mechanisms for constructing unambiguous and grammatically correct
sentence.
• A participant involved in the action in some manner is called Karaka.
Logic for Sentence Construction
Logic for Sentence Construction
• In order to under this, let us consider a sentence,
• “The technician removes the machine form the office in the morning
with a truck.”
• This sentence can be written in Sanskrit as, “yantrakarakah pratah
kale yantram vahanena karyalayat apakaroti.”
• The kriya in this sentence is ‘removing’; therefore, every karaka will
create a direct link to the kriya.
Logic for Sentence Construction
• The six Karaka are related to vibhakits (cases) in Sanskrit. The six
karaka (and the corresponding cases) are as follows:
i. Kartr- doer: one in whom the cause of action is resident. (first case)
ii. Karma- the focus of the result of an action (second case)
iii. Karana- instrument: That which aids in the attainment of the action. (third case)
iv. Sampradana- receiver: That with which the karma desires to get associated. (fourth case)
v. Apadana- reference point in separation: That which has ability to create division. (fifth
case)
vi. Adhikarana- the locus of the action: That which provides the substratum, context or
references to performed through kartr or karma. (sixth case)
Logic for Sentence Construction
Importance of Verbs
• Language is required when we are in action. If no one is engaged in
action, there is no need for language.
• The importance of verbs in further amplified by the fact that several
of the noun roots are also derived from the verb roots only.
• Since most words (both verb forms and noun forms) originate from
the verb roots (dhatus).
• In Sanskrit, we often find several synonyms for a word; each synonym
for a word derived from dhatu.
Prefixes for Verb Forms
• Prefixes, known as upa-sargas, are appended to the verb forms in
order to create additional words.
• There are 22 prefixes and one or more of these could be prefixed to a
verb form.
• By adding the prefixes, it is possible to express the meaning in many
ways.
Prefixes for Verb Forms
Role of Sanskrit in Natural Language
Processing
• Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a branch of linguistics mainly
concerned with processing of natural language data using computers
and programming techniques.
• The principles of karaka and vibhkti will enable us to distill the
components and the encoded information in a sentence.
• Indian linguists have described fourteen determiners to fix the
meaning of a word in case of multiple of a word in case of multiple
meaning.
Role of Sanskrit in Natural Language
Processing
THANKS