Apbhramsa Me Vakya Samrachna Ke Sanche

Here's a comprehensive summary in English of the provided Jain text, "Apbhramsa me Vakya Samrachna ke Sanche" by K.K. Sharma:

The book "Apbhramsa me Vakya Samrachna ke Sanche" (Patterns of Sentence Structure in Apabhramsa) by K.K. Sharma, explores the grammatical intricacies of sentence construction in the Apabhramsa language. The author emphasizes that a sentence is the fundamental unit of language, with some scholars considering it the smallest unit, while others view it as a composition of morphemes, phrases, and clauses.

Key points discussed in the text include:

• Nature of Apabhramsa Sentence Structure:

  • Unlike highly agglutinative languages where word order is flexible, Apabhramsa, while retaining some agglutinative tendencies from Sanskrit, began to develop a more fixed word order.
  • The text highlights the transition from Sanskrit's highly inflected system, where case endings carried significant meaning, to Apabhramsa where many case distinctions blurred and postpositions started gaining prominence. Examples of postpositions like kerak, ker, kera (genitive), so, sajo, saha (instrumental), kehi (dative), and maajh, uppari (locative) are mentioned.
  • There was a shift from finite verb forms (tinganta) in Sanskrit to participial forms (kridanta) in Apabhramsa, especially in non-present and future tenses.
  • Apabhramsa was described as becoming "somewhat" agglutinative, with the majority of uses still reflecting agglutinative forms.

• Syntactic Patterns:

  • Apabhramsa employed both endocentric (where a modifier is contained within the phrase) and exocentric (where a phrase relates to something outside) sentence structures.
  • Basic sentences were generally simple, with complexity arising from the addition of adjectival or verbal phrases.
  • Contrary to some scholarly opinions, the author argues that Apabhramsa did not necessarily have a fixed positional order for subject, object, and instrumental cases. However, recurring patterns or "sanches" (patterns) are evident, a characteristic of all languages. Each poet or writer also develops their own stylistic markers through these patterns.

• Active Voice Structures (Kartrivachya):

  • The general sentence structure in Apabhramsa active voice was Subject + Object + Verb (SVO) or Subject + Verb (SV).
  • Due to its agglutinative nature, other orders were also observed. Examples from Svayambhudeva's Paumacariu illustrate these patterns.
  • The text provides specific examples like "Pabhaṇai sāyarabuddhi bhaḍārau" (Sayarbudhhi Bhadarau speaks), demonstrating the SV structure.
  • Extended sentences showing adjective and noun phrases are also analyzed, like "Pabhaṇai sāyarabuddhi bhaḍārau, kusumāuha-sara-pasara nivārau," where the adjective phrase follows the subject. The order of adjective and noun phrases could be influenced by emphasis or metrical requirements.
  • Sentences with adjuncts of time (AT) and location (AL) are also discussed, showing structures like AT. S. AL V. The author notes that the placement of these adjuncts is not rigidly fixed due to the language's agglutinative nature.
  • Mixed sentences with subordinate clauses, like "Dasaraha—jaṇaya viṇīsaraū lepрamau thaveppinu addhaṇaū," are analyzed, showing an SVO structure with a subordinate clause functioning as the object.
  • Compound sentences with two clauses are presented, illustrating the conjunction of phrases.
  • The text points out the prevalence of the SV and VS orders in active voice constructions, with VS possibly influenced by Sanskrit sentence structure.
  • Examples from Pushpadanta and Muni Ramsingh further reinforce the SV structure, even when participial endings convey subject-verb agreement.
  • Muni Kanakamar and Acharya Hemchandra's works also showcase similar patterns, with Hemchandra's use of compound forms highlighting the agglutinative nature of Apabhramsa.

• Passive Voice Structures (Karmavachya):

  • In passive voice, the subject takes the instrumental case (tritiya vibhakti), and the verb's number, gender, and person are determined by the object. This is represented by the formula O-n-p-g V (Object determining Number, Person, Gender of the Verb).
  • The instrumental subject is independent in its gender and number.
  • Examples illustrate the O-n-p-g V structure, with verbs agreeing with the object in number, person, and gender.
  • The text also discusses the OSV and OVS patterns within passive constructions, emphasizing the flexibility of word order in agglutinative languages.
  • The author acknowledges the presence of a Bhavavachya (impersonal voice) where the verb is always in the singular masculine form.

• Modifier-Head Relationship:

  • The text addresses the relationship between modifiers and their heads, noting that other phrases can intervene between them without hindering meaning, as long as they share similar case endings. Examples demonstrate this, where shared postpositions clearly indicate the modifier-head relationship.

• Conclusion:

  • The author concludes that Apabhramsa was not entirely analytical (ayogatmak) as some scholars suggested. Instead, its sentence patterns indicate a predominance of agglutinative tendencies in the spoken language.
  • While Apabhramsa had its own unique syntactic patterns and order, these were largely rooted in its agglutinative nature, even with the development of independent case markers. The common active voice structures were predominantly VS and SV, and passive voice structures involved the object influencing the verb, with flexible ordering of subject, object, and verb.

In essence, the book provides a detailed linguistic analysis of Apabhramsa sentence structures, illustrating the language's transitional phase from Sanskrit and its inherent agglutinative characteristics through numerous examples from classical Apabhramsa literature.