Pali, the Language

What language did the Buddha speak? Scholars think it was Pali, or something very close to it. This book argues that the medium in which the Buddha spoke is just as important as the message. It answers the question, “how does the sonic content of Pali carry the Buddha’s message, complement and enhance it?”

Pali is based on an oral, vernacular language of the people, full of natural idioms and colloquial expressions. It is the opposite of Sanskrit, the formal, abstract, liturgical language of Brahmanism. In its conversational directness, harmony and musicality, oral immediacy and visceral emotivity, Pali speaks to the here and now, to the urgency of man’s suffering and to the practicality of a philosophy which promises to end it.

Anyone interested in Theravadin Buddhism, what the Buddha taught and the special nature of the language in which he taught will find this book engaging. Buddhist practitioners will find it especially beneficial for their meditation and recitation practice. Academics in any area of Buddhism and Historical Linguistics who do not know Pali will find it a useful introduction to the language and its evolution, while Pali scholars will find here a unique perspective on the special role the language played in the communication of the Buddha’s teachings.