Introduction to Pali

by Anthony Kennedy Warder

The purpose o this book is to introduce the student, by the most direct path, to the langauge of the Pali Canon. Existing primers and readers fro the study of Pali teach the later language of the Commentaries and other medieval writings, and indeed of the present day-for this very copious and flexible language is still in use. Our grammatical analysis is based on the admirable science of the medieval monks. Their terminology is given, to aid reference, but may of course be ignored by the beginner. The intention here is to cover Pali grammar intention here is to cover Pali grammar and syntax in a comprehensive manner.

Genres: Buddhism

477 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

Reviews

[Pankaj Gautam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The purpose o this book is to introduce the student, by the most direct path, to the langauge of the Pali Canon. Existing primers and readers fro the study of Pali teach the later language of the Commentaries and other medieval writings, and indeed of the present day-for this very copious and flexible language is still in use. Our grammatical analysis is based on the admirable science of the medieval monks. Their terminology is given, to aid reference, but may of course be ignored by the beginner. The intention here is to cover Pali grammar intention here is to cover Pali grammar and syntax in a comprehensive manner.

[Preety · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to Pali and although I used it as part of a class, it is more suitable for self study. The book progresses gradually with exercises at the end of each lesson. In the later chapters, large passages of original texts (e.g. Aganna Sutta) are included along with the vocabulary needed to translate them. These more difficult passages provide excellent practice for learners. Some of the explanations can be a bit wordy and sometimes it was hard to find examples again whilst flicking through because they were nested in a paragraph, but these are minor criticisms. Overall, the breadth of material covered in the book is impressive and many idiomatic uses of structures are explained. I would highly recommend this book to other learners of Pali.

[Jessica Zu · Rating 4 out of 5]

It makes much more sense to read Prof. Gombrich's Pāli course book and use these old ones as references.