TLC Combined Slides Till Module 7

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
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Jayashree (KS20201) Lanugage Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 1 / 33
Table of Contents
1 Pre-Introduction
2 Introduction: Key Concepts
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Pre-Introduction
Table of Contents
1 Pre-Introduction
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Pre-Introduction
The Details of the Course (1/3)
● What? What not?

● Why?
● How?
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Pre-Introduction
● Syllabus
● Teaching and Study Material
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Pre-Introduction
● Evaluation Scheme
1 Objective (MCQs, Fill in the blanks, and such)
2 Short Notes (2-4 Marks/Q)
3 Long Answers (5-8 Marks/ Q)
4 Essays/ Observations/ Reflections/ Interpretations/ Analysis (10-12 Marks/ Q)
● Expectations
1 Pay attention in the class
2 Read the study material
3 Practice- Daily-life examples
4 Inside and Outside View
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Pre-Introduction
Some Preliminaries
● Knowledge of Sanskrit?
● IAST System
Figure: International Alphabet for Sanskrit Transliteration
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Pre-Introduction
The Title of the Course
Theories of Language Comprehension: India and Beyond

● Theories
● Language Comprehension
● Indian Theories
● Western Theories
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Pre-Introduction
The Emergence of the Concept
Indian Philosophy:
● Philosophy: Metaphysics (Fundamental nature of existence and reality), Epistemology
(Nature of knowledge, and beliefs), Ethics (Moral values, logic, reasoning, inferencing)
● Epistemology: Knowledge, Knower, Means of Knowledge
● True Means of Knowledge: Perception, Inference, Analogy, Word
● Word= Verbal Testimony of an authoritative person
● Process of Verbal Cognition
● How does a language generate knowledge?
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Pre-Introduction
The Emergence of the Concept
Indian Philosophy: Western Psychology + Linguistics:

● Behaviorism- Late 19th C
● BF Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism (Environmental stimuli –> Behaviour)
● ’Verbal Behaviour’ (1958)
● Noam Chomsky’s Innatism
● Rebuttal of ’Verbal Behaviour’ in 1959
● Psycholinguistics and Biolinguistics
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Pre-Introduction
Reading Material
1 A note on Pramana at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/pramana

2 A note on Shabda Pramana at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/shabda
3 Additional Reading: The articulate mammal: An introduction to psycholinguistics,
Aitchison, Jean, 2007 (Routledge)
4 Additional Reading: The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language, Pinker
Steven, 2003 (Penguin UK)
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Introduction: Key Concepts
Table of Contents
1 Pre-Introduction
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Language
Mode of communication: Emotions, feelings, ideas, thoughts

Medium: Vocal-Auditory Channel and Written-Oculomotor Channel
Is it exclusive to human? How?

Set of rules,
Arbitrariness,
Semanticity,
Displacement,
Turn-taking,
Structure-dependence,
Creativity,
Culturally transmitted,
Ability to read intentions...
[Aitchison2007, p. 28-35]
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Natural Language
A few Examples to ponder:

1 He saw the man with a telescope.
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Natural Language

2 The car hit the pole while it was moving.
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Natural Language

3 ‘After Nine Months, Women’s Body to Get a New Head’
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Natural Language

4 I made her duck.
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Natural Language

4 I made her duck.
5 The horse ran up the hill. It was very steep. It soon got tired.
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Natural Language

4 I made her duck.
5 The horse ran up the hill. It was very steep. It soon got tired.
6 The complex houses married and single soldiers and their families.
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A few key concepts
1 Jñāna, Dhīḥ, Bodha

‘...arthasaṃpratyayaḥ’- Patanjali
The cognition of meaning.
2 Śābdabodha
Understanding generated from linguistic utterance
Verbal understanding
Sentential cognition
3 padārtha:
Category of things, Ontology of the objects
Referent/ object/ vastvartha/ meaning
Semiotic triangle (Word- Meaning- Referent)
4 Śakti/ Power
‘śaktiś-ca padena saha padārthasya saṁbandhaḥ’ (Visvanatha’s
Nyaya-Siddhanta-Muktavali)
‘pada-padārthayoḥ saṁbandhāntaram eva śaktiḥ, vācya-vācaka-bhāv-āpara-paryāya...’
(Nagesha’s Laghu-Manjusha)
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A few key concepts: Padam
1 Padam/ Word
What is a word?
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1 Padam/ Word
What is a word?
2 Definitions:
‘śaktaṃ padam’ (Annambhatta’s Tarksamgraha)
(A linguistic unit that has a denotative power.)
‘te vibhakyantāḥ padam’ (Gautama’s Nyayasutra)
(Those linguistic units that have case markers attached at the end.)
‘suptiṅantaṃ padam’ (Panini’s Ashtadhyayi)
(A linguistic unit ending either in nominal or verbal suffixe/s.)
3 Summary:
Word= A Meaningful unit
Word= A Minimal Meaningful, Independent, linguistic unit, in a particular language
4 Useful in tasks such as Speech synthesis, speech recognition...
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Words to ponder upon:

1 Vernaculars :
‘I’ma’, ‘Dunno’, ‘Gotta go’, ‘Hodor!’
2 Pseudo-words, Non-words, Unknown words:
‘transponster’, ‘zhitkdnlyswmirf’, ‘gleba’, etc.
3 Compound words:
‘Ram-Lakshman’, ‘Hair-band’, ‘bow tie’,
’Wissenschaft’- ‘Naturalwissenschaft’- ’Naturalwissenschaftliche’, etc.
4 Additions to the existing vocabulary:
Coined words such as gluten-free, brainwashing, blog, etc.
Borrowed words such as Guru, Yoga, Karma, Science, Government, Salon, Democracy,
pretzel, pizza, burrito, sultan...
5 Frozen metaphors:
‘silver fox’ (attractive, grey-haired man), ‘black swan’ (an unpredictable event)
6 Words in Unknown Language:
Ex: Kiliki or Dothrarki
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Classification of Words (1/2)
nāma, ākhyata, upsarga, nipāta [Yaska’s Nirukta]
1 nāma [noun/ substantive]

sattva- ‘thing’
Ex: ‘apple’, ‘snow’, ‘a cut’, ‘a dream’...
2 ākhyata [verb]
bhāva- ‘process’
Ex: ‘eat’, ‘fall’, ‘cutting’, ‘dreaming’...
3 upsarga [pre-verb or prefix]
Dependently meaningful
Modify, add, reverse the verb-meaning
Ex: pra,parā, apa, sama, anu, ava, nis, nir, dus, dur, vi, ni, ati, su, abhi, prati...
E.g.:
Sanskrit: hṛ- ‘to steal’, pra+hṛ- ‘to strike’, ā+hṛ- ‘to eat’, pari+hṛ- ‘to abandon’.
English: ‘disconnect’, ‘autotune’, ‘rewatch’, ‘overrule’, ‘cooperate’, ‘devalue’.
Indicative power (No denotative power)
4 nipāta [particle/ invariant words/ prepositions]
Ex: ca, ha, tu, vā, iti...
Heterogeneous group of words
Contextual meaning, no fixed meaning.
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Classification of Words (2/2)

Yaugika, Rūḍha, Yoga-Rūḍha, Yaugika-Rūḍha
K. Raja’s Book (p. 59-63)
1 Yaugika= Conjoining, Derivative

Ex: Nāyaka (nai + aka), Pācaka (pac + aka), admirable, magical, desha-bhakti,
vidyalaya, ...
2 Rūḍha = Conventional
Ex: ghaṭa (pot), paṭa (cloth), mango, time, kapda (cloth), ghar (home), etc.
3 Yoga-Rūḍha = Derivative-conventional
Ex:
Paṅkaja (Derivative meaning: something that grows in the mud, Conventional meaning:
lotus),
taila (Derivative meaning: Oil extracted from sesame seeds, Conventional meaning: any
oil),
Himalaya (Derivative meaning: A mountain covered in snow, Conventional Meaning: a
particular mountain),
Pitambara (Derivative Meaning: someone wearing yellow clothes, Conventional meaning:
Lord Vishnu)
4 Yaugika-Rūḍha = Either Derivative or Conventional (Based on the context)

Ex: Udbhid (something that springs from the earth), Aśvagandhā (having a smell like a
horse)... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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A few key concepts
Vākya/ Sentence (1a/5)
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A few key concepts
Vākya/ Sentence (1a/5)
1 What is a sentence?
How many words make a sentence?
Can there be a single-word sentence?
Can there be a sentence without words?
Is verb important to form a sentence?
Is a capital letter indication of the beginning of a sentence?
Should it always end with a punctuation?
Is it mere a combination of words, or
A combination of meaningful Words, or
A combination of meaningful words that are syntactically connected, or
A unit that gives a complete idea...?
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A few key concepts
Vākya/ Sentence (1b/5)
1 Examples to ponder upon:

Mommy come, Eve read, Car go... (Child’s language)
‘jevle’ (I have eaten), ‘chusko’ (Pay attention! Beware!), ‘Done!’, ‘eating’... (Single-verb
sentences)
yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam, ‘sevā paramo dharmaḥ’, jñānaṁ paramaṁ dhyeyam, ‘On the
table’, ‘Landing now’... (Nominal Sentences/ No-verb Sentences)
‘Cow sheep home go evening black fat...’ (Words without syntactic connection)
‘Eat, Pray, Love!’ (Many verbs)
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A few key concepts

Vākya/ Sentence (2/5)
Definitions:
1 ‘pada-saṅghātajaṁ vākyam’ (Rk Pratishakhya)

‘padasamudāyo hi vākyam’ (Nyasa)
‘padasamūho vākyam’ (Tarkasamgraha)
‘ekārtha-padasamūhaḥ vākyam’ (Kasika)
‘viśiṣṭ-aikārtha-prātipadika-nirākāṅkṣa-padasamūho vākyam’
(Paygunde’s Commentary)
‘padasamūho vākyam-artha-parisamāptau’ (Kautiliya Arthashastra)
‘suptiṅantacayo vākyam’ (Amarakosa)
‘kārak-ānvita kriyābodhaka suptiṅantacayo vākyam’ (Nagesa)
‘vibhaktyantaṃ padaṃ vākyam’ (Candraloka)
2 Summary: A linguistic unit, a combination of meaningful words, that

are syntactically connected, give a single idea/ meaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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A few key concepts

Definitions:
1 ‘ākhyātaṃ-sāvyaya-kāraka-viśeṣaṇam vākyam’ and ‘eka-tiṅ vākyam’

(Katyayana’s Varttikas)
‘arthaiktvād-ekaṃ vākyaṃ sākāṅkṣam ced vibhāge syād’ (Jaimini’s
Mimamsa Sutra II.1.46)
2 Summary:
A linguistic unit, consisting of a verb, particles, word playing thematic
roles, adjectives, etc.,
All words having mutual expectancy of each other,
Gives a complete idea.
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A few key concepts

Definitions:
1 ‘vākyam tu ākāṅkṣā-yogyatā-sannidhi-matāṃ padānaṃ samūhaḥ’

(Annambhatta’s Tarkasamgraha)
‘vākyaṃ syād-yogyat-ākāṅkṣ-āsatti-yukta-padoccayaḥ’ (Visvanatha)
2 Summary: ...
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A few key concepts

Definitions:
1 ‘eko’navayavaḥ śabdaḥ’, and ‘buddhyanusaṁhṛtiḥ’ (Bhartrhari’s

Vakyapadiyam)
2 ‘sabdaḥ’
3 Summary:
The meaning principle in the mind of a listener, devoid of any parts,
The single-whole meaning unit in the mind, having no expectancy.
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Key Takeaways:
1 Emergence of the concept of ‘Language Comprehension’- Indian

Philosophy, Pramāṇa, Śabda Pramāṇa
2 What are the exclusive features of human language? (Features, and
examples)
3 Preliminary concepts: Jñāna, Padārtha, Śabdaḥ, Śakti, Śābdabodha.
4 Define the following concepts: Padam, Vākyam (Give Examples.)
5 Mention the classification of words/ Padam.
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Jean Aitchison.
2007.
The Articulate Mammal: An introduction to Psycholinguistics.
Routledge.
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India and Beyond

IIT Kharagpur
Elective Course
Autumn, 2022-2023
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Table of Contents
1 Words and Word Meanings
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Words and Word Meanings
Table of Contents
1 Words and Word Meanings
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On ‘Word-Meaning’
Word-Meaning
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Contextual Meaning (?)
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Literal vs. Secondary Meaning
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Secondary Meaning ?
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Pragmatics ?
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On ’Word-Meaning’ (1/7)
Primary and Non-Primary Word-Meanings

Śakti: The Power of a Word
K. Raja’s Book (P. 231-238)
1 Abhidhā (Primary word meaning)

2 Lakṣaṇā (Secondary word meaning)
3 Vyañjanā (Suggestive word meaning)
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1 Abhidhā
‘saying’, ‘denotative’ power of a word
Primary/ Literary meaning of a word
“saḥ mukhyaḥ arthaḥ abhidhā ucyate |” (Mammata’s Kavyapraksha)
“vācyaḥ arthaḥ abhidhayā bodhyaḥ |” (Visvanatha’s Sahitya-darpana)
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2 Lakṣaṇā or Gauṇī
‘indicating’/ ‘pointing’/ ‘signifying’ power of a word
Also known as a ‘metaphor’, Indirect meaning of the word
Applied Only when (1) primary meaning is misfit and (2) secondary meaning is related to
the primary meaning, (3) Secondary meaning is conveyed either by convention or
speaker’s intention.
“mukhyārtha-bādhe tadyoge rūḍhito’tha prayojanāt |
anyo’rtho lakṣyate yat sā lakṣaṇāropitā kriyā ||” (Mammata’s Kavyaprakasa II.9)
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On ’Word-Meaning’ (4a/7)
3 Vyañjanā
‘Suggestive’ power
It is a Figurative use of words
Emotive and other associative meanings
Propounded by Anandavardhana in his Dhvanyāloka (9th C)
Dhvani- Reverberations of meaning
Hearer-relative, appeals to the sensitive reader (sahṛdaya)
Both primary and indicative meanings are understood
It can be understood via inference (anumāna) as well,
Hence, according to some scholars- It is not a separate power of a word.
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On ’Word-Meaning’ (4b/7)
Vyañjanā
The relation between the words and its suggestive meaning is that of:
● Between the limbs of a beautiful woman and her beauty (Dhvanyāloka 1.4)
(Substratum-One that rests Relation),
● Between the lamp and the its light (Dhvanyāloka 1.9) (Manifestor-Manifested Relation),
and
● Between the beautiful woman and her shyness (Dhvanyāloka 3.28) (Part-Whole Relation,
Contextual).
Thus word is: vācaka, ādhāra, sādhana...

And the suggesting meaning is: vācya, ādheya, sādhya.
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Non-Primary Word-Meanings: Lakṣaṇā

Examples:
1 Sanskrit- ‘gaṅgāyāṃ ghoṣaḥ’ (Cowshed on the Ganges –> Cowshed on the bank of the
Ganges), ‘mañcāḥ krośanti/ hasanti’ (Beds are shouting/ laughing –> Children on the
bed are making noise)
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Examples:
2 English- ‘old-school’, ‘Eye on the ball!’, ‘Break a leg!’, ‘Antman’, ‘Batman’, ‘Ironman’,
‘All this time I was a shoe... What if I want to be a purse?’
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Examples:
3 Hindi- ‘dimag mat kha’ (Do not eat my head –> Do not irritate me!), ‘pagdi ki laj
rakhiye’,...
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Examples:
rakhiye’,...
4 Telugu- ‘msg pettyanu’ (I have put the msg –> I have sent a msg), ‘fan vesko’ (Drop a
fan –> Switch on the fan), ‘emotions to adukovaddu’ (Don’t play with [my] emotions!)
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Examples:
rakhiye’,...
5 German- ‘die leseratte’ (Read-rat –> A Bookworm)
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Examples:
rakhiye’,...
5 German- ‘die leseratte’ (Read-rat –> A Bookworm)
6 French- ‘buveur d’encre’ (A drinker of ink –> A Bookworm)
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Non-Primary Word-Meanings: Vyañjaṇā

Examples:
1 English: ‘Tomorrow is another day!’ 1 , ‘But still, like dust, I’ll rise...’ 2
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‘Gone with the Wind’, 1936 novel
2
1978 poem by Maya Angelou
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Famous telugu song by Veturi Sundararama Murthy from 1993 movie ‘Matrudevo
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Bhava’
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Examples:
2 Telugu: ‘rali-poye puvva neeku ragalenduke....’ 3
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Bhava’
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Examples:
2 Telugu: ‘rali-poye puvva neeku ragalenduke....’ 3
3 Marathi: ‘mor hava asel tar apan-ch mor vhave...’
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Bhava’
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Non-Primary Word-Meanings
Vyañjaṇā Power of a Word
Examples:
4 Urdu:
‘mere ashq bhi hai isme, ye sharab ubal na jaye...
mera jaam chune wale, tera haat jal na jaye...’ 4
4
By Anwar Mirzapuri
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From 1986 Hindi movie Ijaazat, penned by Gulzar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-Primary Word-Meanings
Vyañjaṇā Power of a Word
Examples:
4 Urdu:
‘mere ashq bhi hai isme, ye sharab ubal na jaye...
mera jaam chune wale, tera haat jal na jaye...’ 4
5 Hindi:
‘mera kuch saamaan, tumhare paas pada hai...
sawan ke kuch bheege bheege din rakhhe hai...
aur mere ek khat me lipti raat padi hai...
woh raat bujha do... mera wo samaan lauta do...’ 5
4
By Anwar Mirzapuri
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From 1986 Hindi movie Ijaazat, penned by Gulzar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Situational Meaning
Also known as Contextual Meaning (by Ludwig Wittgenstein, 20th C)
Acquired through practice, guessing, inferencing...
J. R. Firth- “You shall know a word by the company it keeps!”
Examples:
● ‘I am not feeling well.’
● ‘Wear a mask as you always do.’
● ‘Breathe...’
● ‘Order!’
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Reading Material:
1 K Raja’s ‘Indian Theories of Meaning’

2 BK Matilal’s ‘The Word and the World’ (p. 32)
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Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
1 Type of word meanings (Application and Examples)
2 Contextual/ Situational Meaning
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India and Beyond

IIT Kharagpur
Elective Course
Autumn, 2022-2023
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Table of Contents
1 Word-Meaning Acquisition
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Word-Meaning Acquisition
Table of Contents
1 Word-Meaning Acquisition
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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)

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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)
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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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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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)...
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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)
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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...’) .
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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...’
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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.’
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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)
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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...
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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)
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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.)
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India and Beyond

IIT Kharagpur
Elective Course
Autumn, 2022-2023
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Table of Contents
1 Conditions for Knowing Sentential Meaning
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Conditions for Knowing Sentential Meaning
Table of Contents
1 Conditions for Knowing Sentential Meaning
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Ākāṅkṣā, Yogyatā, Sannidhi

K. Raja’s Book, p. 149 and John Vhattanky’s Book, p. 407
Meaning:
“The knowledge of contiguity, semantic competency, syntactic expectancy,
and the intention of the speaker are the causes (of verbal comprehension).
The juxtaposition of words is called contiguity.”
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Meaning:
“The connection of one meaning with another meaning is called semantic
competency.”
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Meaning:
“A word has syntactic expectancy with another word without which it
cannot produce verbal knowledge.”
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1 Ākāṅkṣā: Mutual expectancy among the words (Syntactic/
Psychological/ Grammatical expectancy)
2 Yogyatā: Semantic compatibility or Logical Consistency
3 Āsatti/ Sannidhi: Proximity (space and time) or Phonetic Contiguity
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They are:
1 Introduced by the Mimamsakas,
2 From the Analytical and Associationist standpoint,
3 These are the cementing factors that unite different words in a
sentence.
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Ākāṅkṣā (1/4)
1 It is All comprehensive, the most imp factor
2 Different views on Ākāṅkṣā:
● Separated words in the Mantras are left wanting and incapable of
effecting the single purpose (Mimamsa-sutra by Jaimini and
Śabara’s commentary on it.)
● Applies to ordinary sentences as well. Single meaning is
understood. (Kumarila Bhatta)
● A single purpose is understood. (Parthasarathi Misra)
● Words in the sentence must be related to the purpose.
(Prabhakara Misra)
● Expectancy on the part of the listener. Psychological factor.
(Salikanatha)
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3 Can be applied on Paragraph-level as well.
When sentences are independent of each other, and they have no
expectancy for one another= It is known as Vākya-bheda (‘syntactic
split’), the most efficient factor in suppressing comprehension.
Thus, sentences must be dependent and expectant of each other.
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4 Advaita Vedanta school: Accepts only Psychological expectancy
Division:Utthita and Utthāpya ākāṅkṣā
Natural or Actual Expectancy Vs. Potential Expectancy
Ex: ‘Bring a Cow’ (with a stick, black cow, under the shed, from the
garden, etc.)
5 The Naiyayikas: Accepts both Psychological & Grammatical
expectancy
Ex: Root (stem) + Suffixes
Ex: pācaka (a cook), rāmam (to Ram), etc.
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Ākāṅkṣā (4a/4)
Examples:
1 Sanskrit: ‘gaṅgāyām ghoṣaḥ’ (Cowshed on the Ganges)
(Psychological expectancy on the reader’s part ‘What is on the
Ganges?’)
2 English: ‘He is going to his father’s home’ (Grammatical expectancy
between ‘Father’s’ and ‘home’, psychological expectancy about
‘Where is he going?’),
‘The barber gave him a hair cut’ (Grammatical expectancy between
‘hair’ and ‘cut’, psychological expectancy about ‘What did a barber
give?’)
‘The arm... Julie... Ross...!’ ‘Oh my God! Get the verb!’
(Expectancy of a verb)
‘With great power.... !’ (Expectancy to have a complete sentence.)
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Ākāṅkṣā (4b/4)
Examples:
3 Hindi: ‘Don ko pakdna mushkil hi nahi, namumkin hai...’
(Psychological and Syntactic expectancy for the second phrase)
4 Marathi: ‘jityachi khod melyashivay jaat nahi’ (Some bad habits
follow us upto the grave.) (Both psychological and syntactic
expectancy for a complete meaning.)
5 Telugu: ‘peddala maata, chadannam moota’ (Elder’s suggestions are
always good.) (Both psychological and syntactic expectancy for a
complete meaning.)
6 German: ‘Ich habe ihr ein Buch gegeben’ (I have given her a book-
Psychological expectancy of a verb ‘gegeben’ [given])
7 Urdu: ‘diwan-e-khaas’ (A hall for special people), and
‘hukumat-e-Hindusthan’ (Government of India) (Both psychological
and grammatical expectancy between two words, in both examples) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Yogyatā (1/3)
1 Logical compatibility/ consistency.
2 It gives us the idea of- Whether a sentence makes sense or not.
3 It tells us- whether the meaning of the sentence is not contradicted
by experience.
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Yogyatā (2/3)
Examples:
1 Sanskrit: ‘vahninā siñcati’ ([He] wets with the fire.), ‘vandhyā-suta’
(son of a barren woman), ‘kha-puṣpa’ (a flower in the sky),
‘śaśa-śṛṅga’ (a rabbit’s horn)
2 English: ‘background at front’, ‘living dead’, ‘act natural’, ‘Big Little
Lies’.
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Yogyatā (3/3)
1 What is it’s role in verbal cognition?
Does it effect cognition or prevents it? (by Naiyayikas)
● Yogyata knowledge is a pre-requisite for Verbal cognition.
● A comprehender must acknowledge the absence of of any
incompatible senses.
● The incompatibility does not prevent Verbal cognition but just
the validity or the truth value of knowledge. (by Kumarila
Bhatta)
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Sannidhi or Āsatti (1/2)

1 Uninterrupted speech or utterance (Interruption of space, time, with
some other words)
2 Unbroken apprehension of speech
3 Words in juxtaposition
4 Views on Proximity:
● View 1: Moving of the words and word meanings in the mind
(Kumarila Bhatta)
● View 2: Contiguity in cognition of the sense (Prabhakara)
● View 3: Immediate recollection of the word meanings (Navya Nyaya)
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Sannidhi or Āsatti (2/2)

Examples:
1 ‘gām ānaya’ (Bring the cow.) (Words uttered one after the other,
without any break) ‘gām ānaya, gāṁ badhāna’ (Bring the cow, Tie
the cow.) (unless ‘horse’ is intended)
2 Kelly Kapoor Vs. Kevin Malone1 (Uninterrupted vs Interrupted
talking)
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The Office, American Sitcom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Fourth type of Condition:

Tātparya (1/2)
K. Raja’s Book (p. 176), and Vhattanky’s Book, p. 496
Meaning:
“It is stated that the desire of the speaker is intention.”
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Tātparya (1/4)
1 Speaker’s intention or General purport of the sentence
2 Knowledge of tātparya: Essential factor in verbal cognition
3 Accepted by the later Naiyayikas, and Abhinavagupta
4 Even in the ordinary sentences like ‘ghaṭam ānaya’ (Bring the pot).
5 Q: Is there any universal, inherent, objective meaning to the words?
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Tātparya (2/4)
1 Some Naiyayikas deny Lakṣaṇā meaning, and accept only tātparya.
(Ex: Health is wealth.)
2 Vedantin reject tātparya- Example of speakers having no knowledge
of their speech.
(Ex: Parrots, Retarded, Child...)
3 Abhinavagupta accepts tātparya- by virtue of which words convey
their syntactic relation.
(Ex: Fat men eat accumulates, The cotton clothing is made of grows
in Mississippi.)
4 Anandavardhana does not accept tātparya as a separate power of
the words. He accepts it in case of cognition of passages.
(Ex: ...)
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Tātparya (3/4)
1 Bhoja/ Bhojadeva’s Classification of tātparya:
(In his Sringara-Prakasha, 11th C)
● vācya- Expressed
(Ex: It’s cold today!)
● pratīya-māna- Implied
(Ex: What time was the meeting?)
● dvani-rūpa- Suggested (Resides in sahṛdaya)
(Ex: End of an era!)
2 Visvanatha in his Sahitya-darpana

Tātparya resides in the sentence, not in words.
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Tātparya: (4/4)
Examples:
1 English:
‘I would have done it in July!’2
‘I am Groot!’3
‘I can’t believe we live here!’, ‘How you doing?’, ‘Funeral for 60
people?!’4
2
Sully, 2016 American Film
3
Guardians of the Galaxy, 2014 American Superhero Film
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American TV Series, F.R.I.E.N.D.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tātparya: (4/4)
Examples:
1 English:
‘I would have done it in July!’2
‘I am Groot!’3
‘I can’t believe we live here!’, ‘How you doing?’, ‘Funeral for 60
people?!’4
2 Hindi- ‘...’
3 Telugu- ‘taggede le...’ (I will not bow down, I am ready for a fight/
consequences...)
4 Sanskrit ‘gato’stam arkaḥ’ (The sun has set!) (Meanings: 1. It’s time
to return home, 2. It’s time to take the cattle to their calves, 3. It’s
time to meet the beloved, 4. It’s time for me to grieve,...)
2
Sully, 2016 American Film
3
Guardians of the Galaxy, 2014 American Superhero Film
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American TV Series, F.R.I.E.N.D.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reading Material:
Reading Material:
1 K Raja’s ‘Indian Theories of Meaning’
2 BK Matilal’s ‘The Word and the World’
3 John Vattanky’s ‘The Nyaya Philosophy of Language’
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Key Takeaways:
Key takeaways:
1 Three conditions for understanding sentential meaning: Mutual
expectancy, Semantic compatibility, and Proximity
2 Speaker’s Intention- the fourth condition
3 Examples of each
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India and Beyond

IIT Kharagpur
Elective Course
Autumn, 2022-2023
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Table of Contents
1 Śābdabodha
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Śābdabodha
Table of Contents
1 Śābdabodha
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Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha
On ‘Śābdabodha’
How does a linguistic utterance generate knowledge?
What are the requirements?
What are the pre-requisites?
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Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha
“padajñānaṃ tu karaṇaṃ dvāraṃ tatra padārthadhīḥ |

śābdabodhaḥ phalaṃ tatra śaktidhīḥ sahakāriṇī” ||
Nyaya-siddhanta-muktavali of Visvanatha (Verse 81)
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Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha
Three Factors in the Process of Śābdabodha:

1 Pada-jñānam- ‘Knowledge of words’
Through sense organs
(Sense-Object-Contact = ‘indriyārtha-sannikarṣa’)
Ex: Unlike a silent man writing a poem, etc.
2 Padārtha-dhīḥ- ‘Knowledge of word-meanings’
Meaning should be cognized by words only &
Remembrance of word-meanings
(‘pada-janya-padārtha-smaraṇam’)
Ex: Unlike in the cases of cognition via perception of an object, etc.
3 śakti-dhīḥ- ‘Knowledge of the relation between word and its meaning’
Both primary and secondary meaning are considered.
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Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha
Three-Step Causal Model:

Three Factors in the Process of Śābdabodha:
1 Pada-jñānam- ‘Knowledge of words’
2 Padārtha-dhīḥ- ‘Knowledge of word-meanings’
3 śakti-dhīḥ- ‘Knowledge of the relation between word and its meaning’
They are said to be:

1 Karaṇam - ‘Special cause’1 , ‘Instrumental/ The most efficient cause’
2 Dvāram - ‘An operational cause’2 , ‘Functional Cause’
3 Sahakāriṇī - ‘An auxiliary’ cause3 or ‘A supportive Cause’
1
[Röer1850, p. 44]
2
[Abhyankar1928, p. 374]
3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[Vattanky1995, p. 5] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha:
Pada-jñānam
Padārtha-dhīḥ
śakti-dhīḥ
Speech Production: Ideas –> Sounds

(Conceptualization- Formulation- Articulation)
Speech Comprehension: Sounds –> Ideas
(Recognition- Lexical Access- Integration)
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Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha
‘Sabdabodha and The Problem of Knowledge-Representation in Sanskrit’, by Bimal Krishna

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Matilal, 1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha
Causal Model:
Ex:
Instrument →Operation/ Function →Auxiliaries →Result
Pen →physical contact with the paper →knowledge of orthography etc.
→Writing
Axe →physical contact with the wood →stable platform etc. →Cutting
Word recognition →remembrance of word meanings →Knowing relation
between words and their meanings →Verbal cognition
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Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha
Why Pada-jñāna is said as Karaṇam :

No ‘Knowledge of words’ –> No cognition.
● Incorrect phonological representations/ pronunciations (speech by
children, speech by elderly people, poor printing, missed letters...)
Ex: ‘tomato bath’, ‘baiyya’, ‘Arghya’, ‘aab-o-daana’
● External disturbances. Ex: noise, too much or too little light, too low
or too fast speech...
● Vaiśeṣika Sūtra- failure in knowledge (reasons: too small or too big
substance, too far or too near perception, malfunctioning of sense
organs...)
● Lack of attention (Mind-wandering) Words are heard, but not
registered.
Thus, ‘knowledge of words’ = the most efficient cause!
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Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha
Why Padārtha-dhīḥ is said as dvāram :

No ‘Knowledge/remembrance of word meanings’ –> No cognition.
● Words are heard, but no knowledge of their meanings:
(1) Known language, unknown words.
Ex. rendezvous, sesquipedalianism (a very long word), mehfooz
(‘safe’), ‘moseeqi’ (music), ‘rashq-e-qamar’ (envy of the moon)...
(2) Unknown language
Ex. Arbeitslosigkeitsversicherung (‘unemployment insurance’),
internet, online, Einstein...
(3) Unknown orthography (Ex: Russian, Japanese...)
● Words are heard, but no remembrance of their meanings:
Ex: Due to issues in memory/ retrieval
Thus, ‘knowledge of word meanings’ = the operational cause!
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Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha
Why Śakti-dhīḥ is said as sahakāriṇī :

No ‘knowledge of the relation between W and WM’ –> No cognition.
● Words are known... concepts (meanings) are known... but, no
knowledge of their inter-relation...
Ex: felicitate vs. facilitate, effect vs. affect, advice vs. advise
Indophile... etc.
Thus, ‘knowledge of the relation between words and their meanings’ = the
auxiliary cause!
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Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha
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Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha
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Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha: Critical Analysis
Points to consider:
● Are they sequential?
Do we understand words first and their meanings later, or
do we understand words because we already know their meanings?
Ex: Known and unknown languages
● Are they hierarchical?
● Are they mutually dependent?
● Can we overstep any level?
In some cases, there is lack of ‘knowledge of words’, but still
cognition happens.
Ex: During learning foreign language/s or in children’s speech
(‘Auf Wiedersehen!’= See you!) (Children learning rhymes)
● Is it all-pervading? Universal? Pan-human? Pan-cultural?
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Śābdabodha
Some Miscellaneous Concerns
Sometimes, all three levels available, but no desired verbal cognition!

Are three levels enough?
(i) Suggestive meaning (Tomorrow is another day!)
(ii) Speaker’s intention or tātparya (I would’ve done it in July.)
(iii) Idioms (Break a leg!)
(iv) Metaphors (Books are the mirrors of the soul.)
(v) Frozen/ dead metaphors (Hands of a clock...)
(vi) Metonyms (bluestocking, silver fox)
(vii) Sarcasm (I love it when my son rolls his eyes at me.)
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Śābdabodha
The Process of Sābdabodha: (1/2)
Complete Model of Verbal Cognition:

1 Knowledge of words (Padajñāna)
2 Knowledge of word-meanings (Padārthadhīḥ)
3 Knowledge of the relation between word and its meaning (Śaktidhīḥ)
4 Knowledge of different types of word meanings: primary, implied, and
suggestive (Abhidhā, Lakṣaṇā, Vyañjanā)
5 Knowledge of speaker’s intention (Tātparya)
6 Auxiliary Factors: Syntactic expectancy, semantic compatibility, and
physical proximity (Ākāṅkṣā, Yogyatā, Sannidhi/ Āsatti)
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Śābdabodha
On Sābdabodha: (2/2)
7 Knowledge of word’s ontological categories (Padārtha- categorisation)

8 Knowledge of verb’s selectional restrictions (Kāraka-yogyatā)
9 Knowledge of grammatical rules (‘Linguistic Competence’ or Acquired
Knowledge)
10 Attention, Perception, Cognitive processing, Active working memory
(Pre-requisites)
11 Inferencing, Co-referencing, Integration, Summarization, etc.
(Processes)
12 Other logical, psychological, socio-cultural factors...
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Śābdabodha
Key Takeawyas:
1 Explain the process of sabdabodha, with examples. Critique on it.

OR Describe the Three-Step Model/ Causal Model of sabdabodha.
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Śābdabodha
Reading Material:
1 Bimal Krishna Matilal’s ‘Sabdabodha and The Problem of

Knowledge-Representation in Sanskrit’
2 John Vattanky’s Book
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Śābdabodha
Vasudeva Shastri Abhyankar.

1928.
Nyāyakośa or Dictionary of Technical Terms of Indian Philosophy by
Mahamahopadhyaya Bhimacarya Jhalakikar.
The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona.
Edward Röer.
1850.
Division of the categories of the nyāya philosophy.
Asiatic Society of Bengal.
John S. J. Vattanky.
1995.
Nyāya Philosophy of Language.
Sri Satguru Publications, Indological and Oriental Publishers, Delhi.
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India and Beyond

IIT Kharagpur
Elective Course
Autumn, 2022-2023
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Jayashree (KS20201) Language Comprehension Elective, Autumn 2022-2023 1 / 54
Table of Contents
1 Dichotomy of Sentential Meaning
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Dichotomy of Sentential Meaning
Table of Contents
1 Dichotomy of Sentential Meaning
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Based on the structure and sense of a Sentence

1 Sakhaṇḍapakṣa (Connectionism/ Associationism):
2 Akhaṇḍapakṣa (Holism/ Monism)
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Theories on Sentential Meaning:

1 Saṁsarga-maryādā-vāda: Naiyāyikas
2 Abhihita-anvaya-vāda: Bhātta Mīmāṁsakas
3 Anvita-abhidhāna-vāda: Prabhākara Mīmāṁsakas
4 The Sphoṭa Theory: Vaiyākaraṇas
5 The Apoha Theory: Buddhist
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The Saṁsarga-maryādā-vāda- ‘Mutual Coalescence’

The Saṁsarga-maryāda-vādā (1/3)
K. Raja’s Book, p. 168 (One paragraph)
1 The Nyāya View of sentential meaning
2 Literal Meaning:
Saṁsarga = mutual association
maryādā = coalescence, appropriateness, combination
vāda= theory, argument
3 Saṁsarga-maryāda-vādā:
‘The Law of Association’/ ‘The Theory of Mutual Coalescence’/ ‘The
Theory of Relational Appropriateness’
4 The concept is found in Gangesha’s ‘Tattva-cintāmaṇī’ (first half of
14th century). But the term is first used by Raghunatha Siromani in
his ‘Ākhyātavāda’ (circa 1477–1547), and later by Gadadhara in his
‘Vyutpatti-vāda’ (circa 1650).
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The Saṁsarga-maryādā-vāda- ’Mutual Coalescence’
The Saṁsarga-maryādā-vāda (2/3)

The theory adopts Khale-kapota-nyāya (pigeons on the threshing floor1 )
1 Words have their own meanings.
2 Word-meanings, small or big, get connected with each other by
virtue of their juxtaposition. They become correlated with each other,
simultaneously, not in order, just like all the pigeons, small or big,
come on the floor to pick grains...
3 Sentence meaning is the association of connected word meanings. It
arises by recollection of the last letter associated with the impressions
of the earlier letter in preceding words and of their meanings.
(=samūhālambana-smṛti)
4 The SM is over and above of the all word-meanings put together. It
is understood by tātparya- intention of the speaker.
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floor space for spreading grains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Saṁsarga-maryādā-vāda (3/3)

1 nīlam utpalam (‘a blue lotus’)
2 parvato vahnimān (‘the mountain is the possessor of fire’)
3 caitraḥ pacati (‘Chaitra cooks.’)
4 sundaraṁ puṣpam (‘a beautiful flower’)
5 Vedāḥ pramāṇam (‘Vedas are authoritative.’)
6 pitaraḥ devatāḥ (‘Forefathers are gods.’)
7 nīlo ghaṭaḥ (‘The pot is blue.’)
8 stokaḥ pākaḥ (‘Slightly cooked.’)
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Figure: The Saṁsarga-maryādā-vāda- SM derivation
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The Sakhaṇḍapakṣa View of Mīmāṁsā
The Sakhaṇḍapakṣa View of Mīmāṁsā
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The Abhihitānvaya View: ‘Relation of the Expressed’

(‘Expression-precedes-Relation View’)
The Abhihitānvaya View (1/4)

K. Raja’s Book p. 203 onwards
1 Propounded by the Bhāṭṭa school of Mīmāṁsā, led by Kumarila
Bhatta
2 One of the earliest theories about the nature of SM
3 Literal meaning:
Abhihita= expressed, said, denoted
Anvaya= relation
Vāda= theory, argument
4 Abhihitānvayavāda= The theory of Expression-Precedes-Relation
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The Abhihitānvaya View: ’Relation of the Expressed’

(’Expression-precedes-Relation View’)
Theory:
1 Words convey their individual meanings alone, independent of one
another, by virtue of abhidhā. Word-meanings, in turn, convey the
mutual relation between the words.
Words –> word meanings –> mutual relation
2 Sentence meaning is the concatenation of such individual
word-meanings. SM does not have its independent meaning apart
from the combination of WMs.
3 The unitary sentence meaning arises:
(1) indirectly, by the virtue of lakṣaṇā- secondary meaning,
(2) from the recollection of the individual word meanings,
(3) when associated with ākāṅkṣā, yogyatā and sannidhi.
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The Abhihitānvaya View- ’Relation of the Expressed’


4 Where does the Sentence meaning lie?
● Saṁsargaḥ vākyārthaḥ: SM lies in the ‘connection’ of
word-meanings.
Ex: ghaṭam ānaya (Bring a pot.)
● Nirākāṅkṣa-padārthah vākyārthaḥ: SM lies in the WMs
having no expectancy of anything else. (WMs are particularised
and associated with other word-meanings in the S.)
Ex: Put that book on the table.
● Prayojana vākyārthaḥ: SM lies in the ‘intention of the speaker’.
Ex: She has a heart of stone.
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The Abhihitānvaya View- ’Relation of the Expressed’


5 Justifications for the view that ‘Words have their own meaning’:
● The relation between Words and their meanings (=śakti) is natural
and permanent.2
● Words can be classified into noun, verb, adj, etc. based on their
meanings,
● To understand any S, first we have to understand the words in it.
To understand a new verse, we have to first understand the new and
unintelligible words in it.
● A sentence has its particular meaning by virtue of its words, otherwise
any sentence would denote any meaning,
2
In experience, we learn a language by observing various linguistic phrases in specific
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situations. These situations reveal this natural relation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Abhihitānvaya View- ‘Expression-precedes-Relation View’
Figure: The Abhihitānvaya View- SM derivation
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The Anvitābhidhāna View- ’Expression of the related’

(’Relation-precedes-Expression View’)
The Anvitābhidhāna View (1/5)

K. Raja’s Book p. 189 onwards
1 Propounded by the Prābhākara school of Mīmāṁsā, led by
Prabhakara Misra (The ancient school of the Mīmāṁsā)
2 Literal meaning:
Anvita= related
Abhidhāna= expressed, denoted, said
Vāda= theory, view, argument
3 The Anivtābhidhāna= The Relation-precedes-Expression View
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Theory:
1 Words have their own status/ reality, but they convey their meanings
only in a particular context of a sentence. Thus, words in isolation
cannot convey any meaning, because there is no kārya or kriyā.3
2 Hence, all the words in connection (anvita) with other words, denoting
their individual meaning (abhidhāna), convey the sentential meaning.
In a sentence, we understand mutually related word meanings.
3 Words should be entitled with ākāṅkṣā, yogyatā and sannidhi.
3
It is the experience of the listener that words in isolation just convey the general meaning.
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It is from the sentence only, words are fully meaningful. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Anvitābhidhāna View (3a/5)

4 Sentence meaning is directly conveyed by the words themselves.
(unlike in the Abhihitānvaya -vāda)
The recollection occurs by rousing the mental impressions of
previous experience of the use of words.
5 In this view, SM dominates WMs.
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The Anvitābhidhāna View (3b/5)
6 Where does the Sentence meaning lie?
● ‘Kriyā vākyārthaḥ’: SM lies in the ‘action’ denoted by the verb.
The primary meaning of any S is either pravṛtti (to do) or nivṛtti
(not to do). It is denoted by a verbal form in it.
Mostly related to injunctive Vedic sentences that suggest some
kind of religious duties. Verb commands to do the act (and is a
principal word in the sentence), and other words have meanings
only in relation with the ‘action’.
Ex: dadhnā juhoti (‘One should perform sacrifice using curd.’),
‘brāhmaṇo na hantavyaḥ’ (‘A Brahmin should not be killed.’)
● ‘Saṁsṛṣṭa vākyārthaḥ’: SM lies in the ‘first word’ itself which
denotes the connected meanings of the remaining words.
Ex: Devadattaḥ yāti (‘Devadatta comes.’) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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7 This view is a psychological analysis of learning a language .
Children learn language by observing vṛddha-vyavahāra, following the
āvāpa-udvāpa or anvaya-vyatireka technique.
Vṛddha-vyavahāra always happens in sentences, not words.
Ex: While listening to the sentences ‘Bring a cow’ –> ‘Bring a horse’
–> ‘Tie a cow’, a child tends to understand the complete SM as a
unit of connected WMs.
This is natural and subconscious process, rather than deliberate and
conscious.
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The Anvitābhidhāna View- ‘Relation-precedes-Expression View’)
Figure: The Abhihitānvaya View- SM derivation
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Summary: Sakhandapaksa
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Akhaṇḍapakṣa
Akhaṇḍapakṣa View
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The Akhaṇḍapakṣa View: The Sphoṭa Theory
The sphoṭa Theory:
1 Introduction
2 Literal Meaning of the term sphoṭa
3 sphoṭa Theory by Bhartrihari
● Unification of Sentence-meaning
● The Outer Sentence
● The Inner Sentence
● Sentence Meaning is Praitbha
● Final Conclusion on the Nature of a Sentence
4 Eight-fold Division of sphoṭa
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The Sphoṭa Theory

1 Developed by Bhartrihari (grammarian, philosopher, and poet) in his
Vākyapadīyam (circa 5th century BC)
2 History:
Sphoṭa as the theory is propounded by earlier scholars. Bhartrihari
has developed it in detail.
Panini refers to a grammarian named Sphoṭāyāna (P.6.1.123).
Patanjali mentions in his ‘Mahābhāṣya’ that Vyāḍi (in his lost text
Saṁgraha) is the progenitor of the idea of Sphoṭa.
Hardatta in ‘Padamañjarī’ (10AD) & Nagesa in ‘Sphoṭavāda’ state
that Sphoṭāyāna is one of the precursors of this theory.
Yaska in his ‘Nirukta’ (1.1) ascribes it to Audumbarāyaṇa.
Bhartrihari (VP.II.347) himself mentions Vārtākṣa’s view as ‘sentence
is a mental faculty of language-users’.
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The Sphoṭa Theory
Literal meaning : (1/2)
1 Verb sphuṭ- ‘to burst’ (Pātanjali), ‘is revealed’ (Nagesa)
Sphoṭa= Bursting forth of meaning or idea on the mind with the
utterance of the language.
2 ‘breaking forth’, ‘splitting open’, ‘bursting’ (Apte’s Dict)
...the idea which bursts out or flashes on the mind when a sound is
uttered, the impression produced on the mind at hearing a sound.
3 ‘sphuṭyate vyajyate varṇaih iti’ (‘something that burst out or
manifested by the letters’)
‘sphuṭati asmāt [arthaḥ] iti’- ‘from which the meaning bursts out’
4 ‘bursting, splitting’, ‘opening, unlocking’, ‘indivisible creative word’
(in Philosophy), ‘eternal and imperceptible element in sounds and
words regarded as the real vehicle of the sense’ (in Grammar)
(Macdonell’s Dict) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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The Sphoṭa Theory
Literal meaning : (2/2)
5 ‘splitting open, breaking’, ‘revealing, disclosure’ (LR Vaidya’s Dict)
6 ‘bursting, opening, expansion, disclosure’, ‘sound conceived as
eternal, indivisible, and creative’ (in Philosophy), ‘the eternal and
imperceptible element of sounds and words and the real vehicle of
the idea which bursts or flashes on the mind when a sound is
uttered’ (Monier William’s Dict)
7 ‘The Sphoṭa is simply the linguistic sign in its aspects of
meaning-bearers’ (John Brough)
8 ‘a mysterious entity’ (De Keith)
9 ‘not a sound or a conglomerate of sound’, but ‘un-analysable units
which make up the linguistic reality a speaker has in his intellect and
whereby he communicates’ (George Cardona)
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The Sphoṭa Theory by Bhartrihari:

Vākyapadīya, Chapter II (Vākya-kāṇḍa) :
Verses 7-14 (The Unification of Sentence Meaning)
Verses 19-29 (The Outer sentence: The Bahiḥ Sphoṭa)
Verses 30-33 (The Inner sentence: The Antaḥ Sphoṭa)
Verses 143-152 (The nature of Pratibhā- ‘Flash of Insight’)
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Unification of sentence-meaning (1/4)

VP II.7-14
Analogy of a ‘Picture’ and a ‘Sentence ’
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● Cognition of a picture or a sentence:
One, single, whole, unitary cognition.
There are no parts (vibhāga) in cognition (jnāna or ākāra).
Complete cognition. No expectancy of the other.
Examples:
‘pānakarasa-mayūrāṇḍarasacitrarūpa-narasiṁha-gavayaśarīra-
citrajñāna-vat’ 4
(pānaka-rasa= juice made of six different flavours,
mayūrāṇḍa-rasa-citra-rūpa= an egg yolk of a peahen manifesting into different
colors,
nara-siṁha= the fourth Avatar of Lord Vishnu (part-lion, part-man being),
gavaya-́sarīra= a wild animal closely resembling a cow,
citra-jñāna= cognition of a picture.)
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Helaraja’s Commentary, and R. Sharma’s Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

● Analysis of a picture/ sentence cognition:
● In terms of parts, sections, strokes, components... (Based on which
part is to be perceived.)
● These parts do not have their own importance/meaning in the overall
cognition. They have expectancy of each other.
● Parts are extracted from a sentence just for the purpose of analysis.
For pragmatic purposes. This analysis/synthesis is mere a
grammatical fiction. They are unreal.
● It is for the people who have weak intellect (bāla-vyutpādanāya).
● In reality (vastutaḥ), there are no parts in it. But it is perceived so
(bhāsate).
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Summary:
● vākyam (sentence)=
(1) nir-vibhāgam (partless, devoid of any parts),
(2) sphoṭa-lakṣaṇam (something that is sphoṭa itself),
(3) vācakam (the expressive of meaning)
(4) akhaṇḍam (integrated unit),
(5) nir-ākāṅkṣam (having no expectancy of anything else),
(6) ekam (one/ single unit),
(7) pada-vyatiriktam (different than the words= words cannot be
distinguished from it).
● vākyārthaḥ (sentence meaning)=
(1) nir-vibhāga (having no components),
(2) padārtha-vyatiriktaḥ (different than all word meanings coming
together.)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Outer Sentence: The Bahiḥ Sphoṭa (VP.II.19-29) (1/3)

● A Sentence can be defined as:
(1) “jātiḥ saṅghātavartinī”= Sentence is a universal that lies in the
combination of words.
Ex: Analogy of āvṛttiḥ (Repititive circular movements)
(A Separate motion is not perceived here, but the class/ universality
of action. Similarly, the components of a language (i.e., letters,
words) are not perceived, but the complete, universal sentence is
perceived.
(2) “eko’navayaḥ śabdaḥ”= Sentence is one, devoid of parts.
Ex: Analogy of buddhiḥ (cognition)- It is One and part-less
(bhāga-varjitā).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Outer Sentence:- The Bahiḥ Sphoṭa (2/3)

● Hence, Sentence is:
(1) akramaḥ= sequence-less,
It appears as karamvān (having sequence of words) when mind dwells
on it, for analysis purpose.
(2) ekaḥ= One,
(3) anavayavaḥ= Part-less,
(4) nir-vibhāgam= devoid of any components/ parts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Outer Sentence: The Bahiḥ Sphoṭa (3/3)

● Sentence is manifested (Sphoṭa) by:
(1) varṇas (letters) and padas (words)
The letters and words have hrasva (short) and dīrgha (long)
differences.
Ex: Analogy of kāla (time) = Just as Time has varieties of ciraḥ
(long) and kṣipram (short) etc., letters also have differences in their
characteristics.
● Hence, sentence is also known as:
(1) pada-abhivyaṅgyaḥ= something that is manifested by words,
(2) vācakaḥ= something that is expressed.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Inner sentence: The Antaḥ Sphoṭa (VP.II.30-33) (1/3)

● Sentence can also be defined as:
‘buddhi-anusaṁhṛtiḥ’ = single meaning principle in the mind.
(Sentence is that unit of meaning that a speaker has in his/her mind
before the utterance of the words, and a listener has in his/her mind
after s/he listens to it.)
● Hence, sentence is:
(1) antaḥ or hṛdayāntar-avasthitam= inner principle,
(2) ekam= single unit,
(3) nādaiḥ prakāśitam= manifested/ lightned by sounds
(4) bodha-rūpam= has cognitive properties.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Inner sentence: The Antaḥ Sphoṭa (2/3)

● Sentence meaning (Sphoṭa) is also:
(1) antaraḥ= something that is inner,
(2) arthabhāgaiḥ prakāśate= lightened by the meaning components,
(3) akhaṇḍaḥ= continuous, having no parts.
● Sentence is real, not words.
A word is:
(1) buddhyā prakalpita= imagined by intellect (for the purpose of
analysis, grammar, etc.)
(2) anṛta= unreal.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Inner sentence: The Antaḥ Sphoṭa (3/3)

● The relation between sounds (word) and their meaning is of:
(1) vācaka and vācya (Expressor and Expressed),
(2) prakāśaka and prakāśya (Something that lights up and Something
that is lightened).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sentence Meaning is Pratibhā (VP.II.143-152) (1/3)
● Sentence meaning (vākyārtha or Sphoṭa) is: pratibhā5
(1) padārthaiḥ upapāditā (expressed by the word-meanings)
(2) idam tad iti anakhyeyā (cannot be explained as ‘this is that’)
(3) pratyayātma-vṛtti-siddhā (can be understood by the
comprehender alone)
(4) sākṣād śabdena bhāvanā-anugamena vā janitā (is produced by
the words itself, sometimes by the recollection)
(5) pramāṇatvena tam anupaśyati (All look at it like the means of
true knowledge/ Authoritative)
(6) tiraścām api tadvaśāt samārambhāḥ (Even animals bahave by
virtue of it.) (Ex. birds and animals eat, love, hate, and leap.)
Ex: A cuckoo being able to sing, birds being able to build their nest,
a spider spinning its web (They do not know the rules of it, but have
instinctive capacity to do it.)
5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bhartrihari’s explanation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sentence Meaning is Pratibhā (3/3)

● The nature of Pratibhā6 :
(1) padārthaiḥ upapāditā, abhivyaktā= expressed or manifested by
the word-meanings,
(2) padārtham ativyatirīktā= (but) Which is over and above the
words,
(3) kevalam sva-saṁvedana-siddhā= only known by the
comprehender within himself/ herself,
(4) a-yatnajam= happens without conscious efforts,
(5) anākhyeyā= cannot be expressed (like the sweetness of grapes,
honey, sugar, etc. cannot be precisely explained to the other person)
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commentary of ancient scholars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sentence Meaning is Pratibhā (2/3)

● Sentence meaning (vākyārtha) is: pratibhā7
= ‘a flash of insight’, ‘an instantaneous flash of insight’, ‘flash of
understanding’, ‘flash of cognition’
= ‘a sudden moment when one thinks that s/he got the point’
= ‘an immediate consciousness of a single unity’, ‘transformation of
consciousness’
= ‘spontaneous and reliable kind of knowledge’
= ‘the intuition that flashes lightlike on the mind’, ‘that “know-how”
awareness’, ‘flash of awareness in the mind’, ‘intuitive awareness’,
= ‘eine Zusammenfassung [vön Wörtern] im Bewusstsein’ (‘an
integration [of words] in consciousness/ awareness’, ‘unification in
the mind’, ‘what hangs together in the intellect’
7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Translation by modern scholars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Final Conclusion on the Nature of a Sentence
● Words and Sentence:
Sentence is real, words are unreal. Words are analysed only for the purpose
of grammar. They do not have any meaning of their own apart from the
sentence they are in. When language is in operation, we do not notice
words, but only sentences. Sentence is one, whole, integral, continuous,
single, partless entity.
● Sentence meaning:
SM is also one, integrated unit. It is manifested by the word-meanings. But
it is over and above them. Hence, word-meanings do not make up
sentence-meaning (contrary to the Sakhaṇḍapakṣa view), as S has its
unitary meaning.
● SM is known by virtue of Pratibhā:
Pratibhā is indescribable, happens in the mind, like a flash. By virtue of it,
one can have a unitary, integrated cognition. It is there in birds and animals
as well as a form of an instinctive urge, it can only be experienced and
cannot be expressed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Changing notion of sphoṭa

Modern grammarian’s view on sphoṭa: a meaning-bearing unit
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Modern scholar’s View on The Sphoṭa Theory :

● The theory of the sphoṭa is one of the most important theories
dealing with the central problem of semantics, general linguistics and
philosophy of language. (SD Joshi, 1967, p.1)
● Sphoṭa=
(1) Primarily, meaning-bearing unit
(Bhartrihari= it may or may not bear any meaning. It is a
manifestation or lightening of meaning in the mind.)
(2) Other interpretations:
It is a hypostatization of sound, a linguistic symbol, a grammatical
fiction, a mystical conception, a transcendental word, a notion, an
indivisible idea, something over and above the sounds, and as
something beyond the hearing...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Later grammarian’s View on The Sphoṭa Theory :

● Bhattoji Dikshita in ‘Sabdakaustubha’: gives the Eight-fold division
of sphoṭa, based on meaningfulness and indivisibility.
Kaundabhatta in ‘Vaiyakarana-bhushana-sarah’: explains in detail
(Chapter Sphota-nirnaya).
Translation in English by SD Joshi and JAF Roodbergen
Johannes Bronkhorst’s 2005 artcile
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Eight-fold Division of Sphoṭa

Given by Bhattoji Dikshita:
1 varṇa-sphoṭa (morphemes are meaningful)
2 pada-sphoṭa (words are meaningful)
3 vākya-sphoṭa (sentence is meaningful)
4 akhaṇḍa-pada-sphoṭa (complete words are meaningful)
5 akhaṇḍa-vākya-sphoṭa (complete sentence is meaningful)
6 varṇa-jāti-sphoṭa (universal in the morphemes is meaningful)
7 pada-jāti-sphoṭa (universal in the words is meaningful)
8 vākya-jāti-sphoṭa (universal in the sentences is meaningful)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Apoha Theory (1/4)
The Apoha View

K. Raja’s book (p. 78 onwards)
1 Introduced by Diṅnāga in his ‘Pramāṇasamuccaya’
2 Apoha= Mental exclusion
3 Essence of meaning is negative in character.
4 Words denote Conceptual images (that are mere subjective
constructions in the mind of a listener= vikalpa)
5 Thus, Word meaning= Vikalpa (Conceptual image)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 Word meanings: negation of all its counter-correlates, as the

exclusion of everything other than the concept. (anya-Apoha)
Ex: ‘cow’= exclusion of all those that are not cows
2 Criticism by Mimamsakas and Naiyayikas: that “It is purely negative
approach.”
Buddhists’ Justification: Words do not have direct reference to
objective or positive realities.The conceptual image of a thing and the
external thing- are mutually different. The identity among them is
apparent. It is produced by identical efficiency between them (Ex:
black cow and white cow).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Arguments by Diṅnāga:
1 Each person has a different experience of the conceptual image, but
everyone’s imaginative operations agree with each other
Ex: two people with same eye disease seeing two moons...
2 Thus, there are two types of truths: the empirical (or practical) truth
and the Supreme Truth.
3 What is real is the Thing-in-itself (sva-lakṣaṇa pratyakṣa), and not
the word-meaning (it is vikalpa).
4 The relation between the thing and word-meaning is of
Effect-and-Cause (kārya-kāraṇa-bhāva).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thus, according to the Buddhist’ (Diṅnāga’s) View of Apoha,

The verbal cognition of the phrases like ‘blue lotus’ will be:
Step 1: ‘blue’= excludes all lotuses that are not blue
Step 2: ‘lotus’= excludes all blue things that are not lotuses
Step 3: Hence, ‘blue lotus’= excludes all things that are ‘non blue’ and
’non lotus’.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Key Takeaways:
1 Saṁsarga-maryādā-vāda (Khale Kapota Nyāya): Naiyāyikas

2 Abhihita-anvaya-vāda: Bhātta Mīmāṁsakas
3 Anvita-abhidhāna-vāda: Prabhākara Mīmāṁsakas
4 The Sphoṭa Theory: Vaiyākaraṇas
5 The Apoha Theory: Buddhist
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reading Material:
1 For Samsarga-maryada-vada of Naiyayikas: Kuppuswami Shastri’s ‘A

Primer of Indian Logic’ (p. 258-259)
and
Research Article on Springer, also found in JSTOR: “Sabdabodha,
Cognitive Priority and The Odd Stories on Prakaratavada and
Samsargatavada” by Achyutananda Dash (p. 325 onward, till
approximately p. 338)
2 For everything else, K Raja’s ‘Indian Theories of Meaning’ (p. 168)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
India and Beyond

IIT Kharagpur
Elective Course
Autumn, 2022-2023
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Table of Contents
1 Word Sense Disambiguation
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Word Sense Disambiguation
Table of Contents
1 Word Sense Disambiguation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words

Contextual Factors for Disambiguation (1/2)
“saṃyogo viprayogaśca sāhacaryaṃ virodhitā

arthaḥ prakaraṇaṃ liṅgaṃ śabdasyānyasya sannidhiḥ
sāmarthyamauciti deśaḥ kālo vyaktisvarādayaḥ
śabdārthasyānavachhede viśeṣasmṛtihetavaḥ ”
(Vakyapadiya II.316-7)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words

Contextual Factors for Disambiguation
Features:
They are Non-exhaustive (there can be more techniques),
They are not mutually exclusives (they can overlap in application),
Their meanings overlap with each other.
K. Raja, 1968, p. 48-59
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors

1 saṃyogaḥ (Association) (1/2)
Constant Association with a famous word/ known word
Can be understood in terms of ‘with’
Ex:
● Sanskrit: ‘dhanurdharaḥ rāmaḥ’ (Ram holding a bow= Dāsarathi
Ram), ‘paraśudharaḥ rāmaḥ’ (Ram holding a battle-axe=
Parashuram), haladharaḥ rāmaḥ (Ram holding a plough= Balaram)
● Sanskrit: ‘sa-śaṅkha-cakraḥ hariḥ’ (Lord Vishnu with Shankha and
Cakra)
(Other meanings of hari include: Indra, Brahma, Yama, Surya, Kubera,
Lord Shiva, a man, a lion, a horse, a monkey, a frog, a snake,
Bhartrihari, Durva plant, powder of the blossom of a Nagakesara tree,
yellow color, green color, a white lotus,...)
● English: Bank of a river..., Bank transfer..., She works in a bank, I am
banking on you...
● English: The old man walked into the well, because he did not see that
well. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors
1 saṃyogaḥ (Association) (2/2)

Constant Association with a famous word/ known word.
Can be understood in terms of ‘with’
Ex:
● Hindi: ‘madhu-makkhi’ (Honey bee) (madhu = honey, nectar, milk,
sweet)
● Hindi: ‘varṇa-mālā’ (Alphabets) (varṇa= caste, colour, letter)
● Telugu: ‘āṭā-pāṭā’ (Dance and music- as a stage performance) (Other
meanings of ata= a game, a joke, gambling)
● Telugu: ‘dabbulu kaṭṭu’ (Pay the money) (Other meanings of kaṭṭu=
to tie, to wear, to connect, to build, to charm, to water a garden, to
dress a wound...)
● German: ‘ein furchtbares Tier’ (a terrifying animal) (Other meanings of
fruchtbar = very, giant, great, impressive, bad...)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2b/2)
2 viprayogaḥ (Dissociation)
Constant Dissociation with a famous word/ known word or meaning.
Can be understood in terms of ‘without’
Ex:
● Sanskrit: ‘sītā-viyuktaḥ rāmaḥ’ (Ram devoid of Sita)
● Sanskrit: ‘a-vatsā gauḥ’ (A cow without a calf) (Other meanings
of gauḥ= rays of sun, the earth...)
● Sanskrit: ‘a-śaṅkha-cakraḥ hariḥ’ (Lord Vishnu without Sankha
and Cakra)
● The artist lost his fans...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2c/2)
3 sāhacaryam (Mutual Companionship or Company)

Association with a famous/ known word or word-meaning.
Mutual Association
Can be understood in ‘dvandva’ compound (=Dual)
Ex:
● Sanskrit: ‘Rāma-lakṣmaṇa’ (Ram and Laksman)
● Sanskrit: ‘bhīma-arjuna’ (Bhim and Arjun) (Other meanings of
Bhīma= great, enormous...)
kṛṣṇa-arjuna (Krishna and Arjuna) (Other meanings of Arjuna=
Kartavirya Arjuna)
● English: head-band (head= chief, title...)
pen-cap (cap= soft hat, cover on),
Batman and Robin (Robin= a European bird)
● Famous Duo in Bollywood/ Music: ‘Laxmikant-Pyarelal’ (Vs.
‘Laxmikant-Basu’), Hari-Shiv...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2d/2)
4 virodhitā (Hostility/ Opposition)

When two words are famously opposite to each other.
Can be understood in terms of ‘on contrary’/ ‘opposite to’.
Ex:
● Sanskrit: ‘rāma-rāvaṇa’ (Ram and Ravan)
‘karṇa-arjuna’ (Karna and Arjuna) (Other meanings of karṇa=
an ear, an angle of a triangle...)
● Sanskrit: ‘chāyā-prakāśa’ (Shadow and Light) (Other meanings
of Chāyā= reflection, resemblance, complexion, blending of
colors, beauty, bribe, nightmare, a line, a row...)
● English: Tom and Jerry, Batman and Joker, Rich and Poor,
Black and White, Right and Left
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2e/2)
5 artaḥ (Purpose)1
Also known as prayojana (Purpose, reason, motive, intention).
Can be understood in terms of ‘for’, ‘because of’, ‘due to’, ‘owning
to’, ‘by virtue of’, ‘on account of’...
Ex:
● Sanskrit: ‘dugdhāya gāṁ śraya’ (Resort to a cow for milk)
(gauḥ= a cow), ‘kṛṣaye gāṁ śraya’ (Resort to the earth for
farming) (gauḥ= earth)
● English: An ant-powder, a rat-cake, a hair-band, living-room,
rail-track, mail-box, sofa cover
● Telugu: aggi-pullā (match stick)
● Hindi: bhojana-ālaya (dining room) (ālaya- greateness)
● German: die Mausefalle (a mouse trap) (falle= bed, latch)
1
Patanjali in his Mahabhasya emphasizes on artha and prakarana while deciding the
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
sentence meaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2f/2)
6 prakaraṇam (Context/ situation)2 (1/2)

Also known as prasaṅga (Situation, topic, discourse, incident,
occasion, context)
Studied in the Pragmatics branch of Linguistics
Ex:
● Sanskrit: ‘madhumattah kokilah’ (A cuckoo intoxicated in the
Spring season) (Other meanings of madhu= nectar, sweet, milk)
● Sanskrit: ‘saindhavam ānaya’ (Context 1: on dining table=
Bring salt!, Context 2: In the battlefield, Bring a horse!)
● Hindi: ‘rahiman paani rakhiye, bin paani sab suun’ (paani=
water, Sammaan/ Respect, Humility, Brightness..)
2
Patanjali in his Mahabhasya emphasizes on artha and prakarana while deciding the
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
sentence meaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2f/2)
6 prakaraṇam (Context/ situation) (2/2)

Also known as prasaṅga (Situation, topic, discourse, incident,
occasion)
Ex:
● English: ‘Cover me!’ (cover= protect, conceal...)
I am sorry! (Sorry= express regret, ask forgiveness...)
Finish it! (Finish= complete, furnish...)
The girl wore a white gown in a wedding. (girl= the bride)
I’ve spent two months in a woods. I must be bananas.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2g/2)
7 liṅgam (Indicatory sign- from another place) (1/2)

Association with a famous sign- that helps in disambiguation.
The sign must lie in a different sentence.
Sometimes, just a normal association will also restrict the senses, it
need not be famous.
Ex:
● Sanskrit: ‘akhtāḥ śarkarā upadadhāti- tejo vai ghṛtam’ (Wet
pebbles are placed nearby [a sacrifice]. Ghee itself is a Teja.)
(Due to association with the famous meaning ‘gṛta’, the meaning
of akta is clear, i.e. ‘soaked in ghee’.)
● Hindi: ‘maanas shaanta hai...’ ‘maanas me snaan karnaa
bhaaratiya pavitra maante hai.’ (Meanings of maanas= the
Mana lake, mind)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2g/2)
7 liṅgam (Indicatory sign- from another place) (2/2)

Ex:
● English:
‘I’d like to order a dish as well.’ ‘Do you have anything in
stir-fried?’ (dish= food, an artefact, a concave container...)
‘I had a dream.’ ‘I dreamt that I was poor...’
Versus
‘I had a dream.’ ‘I will achieve it in the next two years.’
(dream= nightmare, aspiration, ambition)
‘Let’s go on a drive.’ ‘The forest mostly had pines all over.’
(drive= desire, need, pilot, steer, an organized effort...) (forest=
a dense mass of vertical objects)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2h/2)
8 śabdasya anyasya sannidhiḥ (Proximity with another word)

Also known as Sampīpatā (Closeness, nearness, juxtaposition)
Can be understood in terms of ‘and’,
Ex:
● ‘rāmo jāmadagnyaḥ’ (Jamadagni Ram) (Ram here means
Parashuram)
● ‘Rāṇā-śivā’ (Maharana Pratap and Shivaji Majarah),
Gandhi-Patel, Lal-Bal-Pal
● ‘Holmes and Watson’
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2i/2)
9 sāmarthaym (Capacity)
A word sense is decided based on its ability to perform some actions
mentioned in the same sentence.
Ex:
● Sanskrit: ‘anudarā kanyā’ (‘a girl with no stomach’= with
thin-waist) (Kanyā= an unmarried girl, heroine, daughter,
Goddess Durga...)
● Sanskrit: ‘kālāya tasmai namaḥ’ (I bow down to the Time!)
(Kāla= black, weather, the black part of the eye, the Indian
cuckoo, the planet Saturn, Lord Siva, Goddess Parvati, black
ink...)
● Pre-school children used markers in drawing competition.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2j/2)
10 auciti (Propriety or Congruity) (1/2)

The compatibility of a word-sense narrows down its meaning.
Other words in the sentence help in determining the propriety of a
particular word.
Ex:
● Sanskrit: ‘dvijāḥ paṭhanti’ (The Brahmins read/ are reading.)
‘dvijaiḥ khādyate’ (One eats with teeth), ‘dvijāḥ uḍḍīyante’
(Birds fly/ are flying). (Dvija has three meanings- Brahmin
person, tooth, and a bird)
● English: ‘He held a chair in physics’ (chair= professorship, a
four-legged seating thing, headship, lift someone to celebrate a
victory)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2j/2)
10 auciti (Propriety or Congruity) (2/2)

Ex:
● English: ‘A narcotics team cooked the evidence’ (Cook= falsify
or alter dishonestly, prepare food, plan, proceed...)
● Hindi: ‘chidiyon ne ek ḍāl pan ghar bana diya...’ (ḍāl = a branch
of a tree, a hanger, a blade of sword...)
● Hindi: ‘Dusshera ko sonā baantnaa Bharatiya parampara hai...’
(sonā = the leaves of a Sona tree are, gold, sleeping, an artefact
of great importance...)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2k/2)
11 deśaḥ (Place)
The geographical place decides the word senses.
Ex:
● Sanskrit: badaryāṁ vasudhārā-prapātaḥ (A waterfall in the
Badarinath) (Badari = Badarinath, Indian Jujube...)
● ‘I can’t believe I’m taking this trip.’ (Trip= light steps,
Vacationing)
● I am going to lie for a while. (lie= sleep, to hide the truth)
● ‘Consult a doctor’ Versus ‘I consult the interns’ (Consult = to
seek advice, to give professional advice)
● ‘Order! Order!’
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2l/2)
12 kālaḥ (Time)
The time/ moment/ occasion decides the word meaning.
Ex:
● Sanskrit: ‘prātaḥ hariḥ udeti’ (The sun rises in the morning.)
(hari= Yama, Lord Vishnu, a monkey, a snake, a lion...)
● English:
‘It was a fine piece of art!’ (Fine =great, admirable, good, well,
bright, impressive, thin, subtle...)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2m/2)
13 vyakti (Gender)
In Sanskrit and other Indo-European languages, gender of a word
decides its meaning.
Ex:
● Sanskrit:
‘durgaḥ’ (masculine, a fort), durgā (feminine, Goddress Durga),
rāmaḥ (masculine, Lord Ram), ramā (feminine, Goddess
Lakshmi),
mitram (neuter, a friend), mitraḥ (masculine, the sun),
kṛṣṇaḥ (masculine, Lord Krishna), kṛṣṇā (feminine, Draupadi),
kapilaḥ (masculine, Kapila Muni), kapilā (feminine, a yellow
colored cow),
mugdhaḥ (masculine, a stupid person), mugdhā (feminine, a
beautiful lady)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2n/2)
14 svara etc. (Accent) (1/2)

The accent of a word (especially a compound word) decides its
meaning, in Vedic Sanskrit.
There are three types of accents: Udātta, Anudātta, and Svarita
Ex:
● ‘indraśatruḥ vardhasva’ (The enemy of Indra, Grow in your
power!)
Two meanings of this compound word based on two different
accents:
1. Indra’s Enemy [= Vṛtra] if the accent it put on the word
śatru, so that Vṛtra is being emphasized. It gives the meaning
“Oh! The enemy of Indra! Grow in your power!”
2. Indra, who is the enemy, if the accent is put on the indra, so
that Indra is being emphasized. It gave the meaning “Oh Indra,
the enemy! Grow in your power!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambiguity among the Words and Contextual Factors (2n/2)
14 svara etc. (Accent) (2/2)

Intonation or prosody can also decide the sense of a word.
Ex:
● Standard Chinese, Vietnamese are accented languages.
Accents on the words change the word meanings.
● English is a pitch-accept language.
Rather than syllable length, syllable pitch changes the sense of a
word.
Ex: (FRIENDS)
‘Based on this play?’ (increasing tone) Vs. ‘Based on this play!’
(decreasing tone)
‘Got the keys?’ Vs. ‘Got the keys!’
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reading Material and Activity:
Reading Material:
1 K Raja’s ‘Indian Theories of Meaning’ (p. 50-57)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
1 What are polysemous words?
2 How a human disambiguates multiple word senses?
3 Give examples.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Theories of Language Comprehension:

India and Beyond

Dr Jayashree Aanand Gajjam

Centre of Excellence for Indian Knowledge System,

2 Introduction: Key Concepts

2 Introduction: Key Concepts

The Details of the Course (1/3)

● What? What not?

The Details of the Course (2/3)

The Details of the Course (3/3)

Figure: International Alphabet for Sanskrit Transliteration

The Title of the Course

Theories of Language Comprehension: India and Beyond

The Emergence of the Concept

Theories of Language Comprehension: India and Beyond

The Emergence of the Concept

Theories of Language Comprehension: India and Beyond

Indian Philosophy: Western Psychology + Linguistics:

1 A note on Pramana at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/pramana

2 Introduction: Key Concepts

Mode of communication: Emotions, feelings, ideas, thoughts

Is it exclusive to human? How?

A few Examples to ponder:

A few Examples to ponder:

A few Examples to ponder:

A few Examples to ponder:

A few Examples to ponder:

A few Examples to ponder:

A few key concepts

1 Jñāna, Dhīḥ, Bodha

A few key concepts: Padam

A few key concepts: Padam

4 Useful in tasks such as Speech synthesis, speech recognition...

A few key concepts: Padam

Words to ponder upon:

Classification of Words (1/2)

nāma, ākhyata, upsarga, nipāta [Yaska’s Nirukta]

1 nāma [noun/ substantive]

Classification of Words (2/2)

1 Yaugika= Conjoining, Derivative

4 Yaugika-Rūḍha = Either Derivative or Conventional (Based on the context)

A few key concepts

Vākya/ Sentence (1a/5)

A few key concepts

Vākya/ Sentence (1a/5)

A few key concepts

Vākya/ Sentence (1b/5)

1 Examples to ponder upon:

A few key concepts

1 ‘pada-saṅghātajaṁ vākyam’ (Rk Pratishakhya)

2 Summary: A linguistic unit, a combination of meaningful words, that

A few key concepts

Vākya/ Sentence (3/5)

1 ‘ākhyātaṃ-sāvyaya-kāraka-viśeṣaṇam vākyam’ and ‘eka-tiṅ vākyam’

A few key concepts

Vākya/ Sentence (4/5)

1 ‘vākyam tu ākāṅkṣā-yogyatā-sannidhi-matāṃ padānaṃ samūhaḥ’

A few key concepts

Vākya/ Sentence (5/5)

1 ‘eko’navayavaḥ śabdaḥ’, and ‘buddhyanusaṁhṛtiḥ’ (Bhartrhari’s

1 Emergence of the concept of ‘Language Comprehension’- Indian

Dr Jayashree Aanand Gajjam

Centre of Excellence for Indian Knowledge System,