C: Pali Grammar Specification

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Part of “A Beginner (Non-Linguist) Guide to Learning Pali”

This chapter presents a concise summary of the structure of Pāḷi grammar and the technical terms used in Kaccāyana. It is structured using EBNF notation and presented as Syntax Diagrams (also known as “Railroad” diagrams).

The Pāḷi Alphabet or Orthography (saññā)

Phonemes {2}

Pāḷi is an oral language consisting of sounds, but can be transcribed in written form using a combination of phonemes. Overall, there are 41 phonemes, which are grouped as consonants and vowels. These phonemes can be rendered in various scripts, or using Roman letters.

Vowels {3}-{5}

The vowels can be short (1 mora in length) or long (2 morae). Some vowels can be short or long depending on circumstances.

Consonants {6}-{9}

Consonants can be grouped.

Voicing

The grouped consonants can be either voiced or unvoiced.

Sentence structure

Pāḷi text consists of sentences which contain one or more words. Words can be nouns, verbs, prefixes and particles. There is no strictly defined word order in sentences, but it is proto-typically subject-object-verb.

Nouns

Nouns are constructed from a base, the lemma. Kaccāyana refers to the nominal base as the liṅga, but this word is also used to refer to the grammatical gender of nouns. liṅga technically means defining “characteristic” or “attribute” and hence the term is appropriate for both, as the defining characteristic of a noun is the base together with the gender. Other words that can be used to represent the base are pāṭipadika or sadda.

A fully formed noun-word is constructed by combining the base with optional prefixes, infixes, affixes and suffixes. The final suffix is the inflectional-ending and expresses the inflection form (the relationship of the noun to other parts of a sentence), number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter).

kāraka (the roles)

The kāraka (roles) represent the relationship between words in a sentence (representing various participants) in the context of an action (verb). Kaccāyana defines seven kāraka {271}–{283}, and the calling form (ālapana) stands beside them.

There is a strong association between the roles and the inflection forms, but the association is not an equivalence, as a role can be represented by more than one inflection form, and an inflection form can represent more than one role.

Verbs

Technically, verbs in Pāḷi are finite verbs, inflected by applying verb endings which represent the perspective and voice of the actor, multiplicity, and the mood/tense of the action.

Infinitives, participles (past, present, future), absolutives and other forms of words considered as verbs in other languages are technically nouns in Pāḷi - they are created by combining a root with an affix (kita or kicca) and then inflected by adding a noun ending.

Complex nouns

Complex nouns include compounds, verbal derivatives (primary) and nominal derivatives (secondary).

Derivatives are nouns formed by combining either a root or a lemma with an affix, and then inflected by applying noun endings.

Prefixes

Prefixes can be used as words in a sentence (in which case they are uninflected), or embedded in another word (in which case they act as prepositions and form part of the word).

Particles

References

This appendix draws upon information provided in the following sources:

• Kaccāyana Pāli Vyākaraṇaṁ (Kaccāyana Pāli Grammar), Vols I and II, A. Thitzana, Pariyatti Press (2018)
• Technical Terms and Technique of the Pali and the Sanskrit Grammars, Mahesh A Deokar, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (2008)
• RŪPASIDDHI: A study of some aspects, Phramaha Sriporn Rachiwong, Department Of Sanskrit And Prakrit Languages, University Of Pune (1995)
• Pāli Grammar and Grammarians from Buddhaghosa to Vajirabuddhi: A Survey, O.H. Pind, The Journal of the Pali Text Society, Vol. XXXI (2012), pp. 57–124
• MĀGADHABHĀSĀ (PĀḶI): A Compendious Grammar on the Language of Pāḷi Buddhism, A. Bhikkhu, Sāsanārakkha Buddhist Sanctuary (SBS), Revised 2nd Edition (2023)