Theories of Language Comprehension:

India and Beyond

Dr Jayashree Aanand Gajjam

Centre of Excellence for Indian Knowledge System,

IIT Kharagpur

Elective Course
Autumn, 2022-2023

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 1 / 15
Table of Contents

1 Word-Meaning Acquisition

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 2 / 15
 Word-Meaning Acquisition

Table of Contents

1 Word-Meaning Acquisition

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 3 / 15
 Word-Meaning Acquisition

On Word-Meaning Acquisition

Śaktigraha
From the Nyaya-siddhanta-muktavali of Visvanatha Panchanana, Verse 81

“śaktigrahaṃ vyākaraṇopamānakośāptavākyādvyavahārataśca |
vākyasya śeṣādvivṛtervadanti sānidhyataḥ siddhapadasya vṛddhāḥ ||”

K. Raja’s book (p. 26-31)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 4 / 15
 Word-Meaning Acquisition

On Word-Meaning Acquisition

Śakti-graha Sources:
1 Vyākaraṇa (Grammar)
Meanings of the words- stem + suffix + suffix etc. (Derivative
meaning)
Patanjali in Mahabhasya: ‘lāghava’ is one of the reason to learn
grammar (= brevity/ economy/ easy method).
Ex:
Sanskrit: pācaka (a cook), nāyaka (a leader), maithili (a female
belonging to the Mithila region), āruṇi (the son of Aruṇa, Uddālaka),
āruṇeya (a grandson of Aruṇa, Śvetaketu)
English: vision, visual, visible, video
Urdu: kitāb (book), kutub (books), kitābat (writing), maktūb
(written), kātib (male writer), kātibat (female writer)...
German: Haustürschlüssel (House + Door + Key= Front door key)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 5 / 15
 Word-Meaning Acquisition

On Word-Meaning Acquisition
Śakti-graha Sources:
2 Upamāna (Analogy/ Comparison with well-known and established
fact.)
An unknown or unfamiliar object is known by analogy.
Phrases such as ‘like’, ‘similar to’, ‘just as’ are used to describe it.
It is based on either (1) similarities, or (2) dissimilarities between two
objects, or on (3) peculiarities of the unknown objects.
Analogy is accepted as a Valid means of knowledge (Pramana) by the
Mimamsakas and Naiyayikas. It is known as an instrumental cause
(Tarkasamgraha 56).
Ex:
Sanskrit: ‘go-sadṛśa gavayaḥ’ (A wild ox is just like a cow),
English: Kangaroo, Chinese bowls...
Hindi: (E.g. A Mother-child conversation)
General: Rassam is just like Sambhar, minus lentils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 6 / 15
 Word-Meaning Acquisition

On Word-Meaning Acquisition

Śakti-graha Sources:
3 Kośa (Lexicon)
Dictionary, Thesaurus, Vocabulary, Electronic resource.
Includes both Primary and Metaphoric meanings of the words.
Arranged by the Frequency of usage, most frequent meaning comes
first.
Ex:
Sanskrit: ātman: breath, soul, life, self, essence, peculiarity, body,
intellect, universal Soul...
Hindi: jījiviṣā (a desire to live), mumūkṣā (a desire to have Moksha),
jijñāsā (a desire to know), pipāsā (a desire to drink)...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 7 / 15
 Word-Meaning Acquisition

On Word-Meaning Acquisition

Śakti-graha Sources:
4 Āptavākya (Statement of a trustworthy person)
Āpta: Parents, teachers, other authoritative people..
Learning is conscious and deliberate.
¯
Especially useful for the concepts that are experiential: Iśvara, pāpa,
puṇya, mokṣa, etc.
Ex:
‘This is an orange!’ (Mother to child), ‘It is called Gunpowder’
(Native to non-native speaker), ‘This is called a variable’ (An expert
to an amateur), etc.
Versus
‘This is all a moo-point’ (Joey to Rachel in FRIENDS), ‘left
phalange’ (Phoebe to Rachel in FRIENDS),
‘I am Iron Man!’, ‘We have a hulk!’ (Tony Stark vs. Other person)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 8 / 15
 Word-Meaning Acquisition

On Word-Meaning Acquisition
Śakti-graha Sources:
5 Vyavahāra (Speech-behaviour of elders)
Perception, inference, intention, bodily movements
Ex: ‘Bring a cow’, ‘Tie a cow’.
Āvāp-odvāpa [Āvāpa + Udvāpa]
(Association- Dissociation) or (Assimilation- Elimination)
Modern Linguistics: Environmental stimuli, Contact, Linguistic
Exposure
Prabhakara (Mimamsaka)= This is the only method of learning a
language.
Nagesha (Grammarian)= It is the best method to learn a language.
Jagadisha (Naiyayika)= It is the first and foremost method for
learning a language.
Modern pedagogy: Written-language Teaching
‘Whole-Language Method’ (Ex: ‘Rabbit is eating, Rabbit is running,
Dog is running...’) .
.
.
.
.
. . . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . . .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 9 / 15

 Word-Meaning Acquisition

On Word-Meaning Acquisition

Śakti-graha Sources:
6 Vākyasya Śeṣa (Larger context of the sentence/ passage)
Jaimini= When in doubt about the WM, Vākya-śeṣa helps.
Especially useful in cases of Polysemous words
Also known as ‘prakaraṇa’ (Context)
Ex:
‘The complex houses married and single soldiers.’
‘Adrak ho gaya hai ye admi... kahin se bhi badh raha hai...’
‘Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.’ (flies= [1]
Verb, [ii] Plural Noun)
‘The blind man fell into the well, because he could not see that well.’
(Well= [i] Noun, [ii] Adjective/ Noun)
‘The hands of a wall clock...’

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 10 / 15
 Word-Meaning Acquisition

On Word-Meaning Acquisition

Śakti-graha Sources:
7 Vivṛtiḥ (Explanation/ Commentary)
Explanation by the synonymous words, description of meaning...
Patanjali in Mahabhasya: ‘vyākhyānato viśeṣa-pratipattir- na hi
sandehād-alaksaṇam...’ (In cases of doubt, one does not throw away
a theory, but rather one resorts to the explanation to understand it in
its entirety.)
Especially useful in cases of technical words, unknown words.
Ex:
‘Federal form of Govt is a system of govt in which power is divided
between centre and state govts.’
‘The word Śābdabodha means Sentential understanding.’
‘The term Advaita refers to the non-duality between the Supreme
Truth with the Self.’
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 11 / 15
 Word-Meaning Acquisition

On Word-Meaning Acquisition

Śakti-graha Sources:
8 Siddha-padasya Sannidhiḥ (Syntactic connection with words whose
meanings are famous or already known)
Especially useful in cases of polysemous words
Ex:
‘sudhā-sikta-bhavana’ (A home washed with limestone) (sudhā=
limestone), and sudhā-pāna (Drinking of the nectar) (sudhā= Nectar)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 12 / 15
 Word-Meaning Acquisition

Critical Analysis:

Questions to ponder upon:

1 Are they mutually exclusives?
The ‘Apta-vakya’ (statement of an authoritative person) may include
‘vivruti’ (Explanation),
2 Any hierarchy/ sequence among them?
Children first learn by ‘Vyavahara’, then by Upamana, etc.
Ex: Different phases in childrens speech such as:
Babbling, One-word phrases, Two-word sentences, Inclusion of
adjectives etc., inclusion of ‘but’, ‘although’, ‘then’ etc.
3 Can we create any pedagogical models based on these?
4 Is that all?
5 And so on...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 13 / 15
 Word-Meaning Acquisition

Reading Material:

Reading Material:
1 K Raja’s ‘Indian Theories of Meaning’ (p. 26 onward)
2 John Vattanky’s 1995 Book ‘Nyaya Philosophy of Language’
(Introduction Section and p. 133 onward)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 14 / 15
 Word-Meaning Acquisition

Key Takeaways:

Key Takeaways:
1 What are the different sources of Śakti-graha?
(Explain: What is Śakti? What is graha? What are the sources?
Examples.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 15 / 15