Brief notes on Sanskrit alternations and on teaching Sanskrit

Abstract

This article focuses on the system of tripartite vowel alternations in Sanskrit “zero grade / full grade (guṇa) / long grade (vr̥ddhi)”, going back to Proto-Indo-European ablaut and representing one of the cornerstones of the entire grammatical system of Sanskrit. I argue that the most exhaustive and at the same time compact description of this system is offered in the article by A. A. Zaliznyak on the morphophonology of Old Indian verbal roots [1975]. I propose some corrections to this system, in particular, in the description of the zero grade of roots ending in a long sonant (-r, -m) in the unaccented position, where the long vowel is shortened (īr /ūr → ir /ur, ām → am). Another addition is proposed for the zero grade of the roots in long ī, which often exhibit iy (not written in standard transliteration, but detectable in metrical texts: i y) before a vowel: always in the accented position in the earliest parts of the R̥gveda and sporadically without accent. A few minor changes in the rules of selection of zero grade variants may be necessary if we add to the general system of rules compiled for only verbal roots rules for auxiliary morphemes (primarily suffixes). I also focus on the importance of ablaut alternations for the successful learning of Sanskrit and demonstrate the benefits of using Zaliznyak’s system in teaching. Furthermore, I briefly discuss some other aspects of teaching Sanskrit, such as the advantages and shortcomings of some handbooks of Sanskrit.