[INDOLOGY] Hindi v Sanskrit

[George Hart]

Sanskrit compounds, even when they are several lines long, tend to reproduce very closely Dravidian syntactical order and usage. I remember reading a historical novel in Malayalam that had Sanskrit compounds of 10 or 15 words. Malayalis would have little trouble with these, as their own language works the same way — all they need is to know the vocabulary, which they do. Of course, Sanskrit compounds can seem difficult if one’s native language does not mimic their syntax. Both Hindi and Sanskrit are right-branching, whereas Dravidian is left-branching. Naturally, people who speak those languages find Sanskrit compounds, which are left-branching like Dravidian languages, somewhat difficult. George Hart

> On Aug 14, 2015, at 4:41 PM, patrick mccartney <psdmccartney at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> An interesting article about an interesting study in Sanskrit compounds and why we prefer not to use them.
> 
> http://www.financialexpress.com/article/lifestyle/science/why-we-prefer-easier-hindi-over-complicated-sanskrit-language/119387/ <http://www.financialexpress.com/article/lifestyle/science/why-we-prefer-easier-hindi-over-complicated-sanskrit-language/119387/>_______________________________________________
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