The following pages are the outcome of two years' (1961-63) research by the author in the Department of Sanskrit, Banaras Hindu University. Now-a-days two years' time is generally considered insufficient for a big research undertaking, and even many brilliant students fail to complete their thesis within the narrow span of that period. Being a College Lecturer on just two years' leave, the present writer, however, could not choose but sit at his table day in day out reading and writing like one possessed right from the start to bring about a finish within the time allotted, and the present volume at last took shape just in the nick of time.
It was accepted for the Ph.D. Degree of Banaras Hindu University in April 1964.
The work was undertaken under Prof. Dr. Surya Kanta whose advanced age and other engagements afforded his pupils only rare opportunities of consulting his enviable learning. He, however, had made a few valuable suggestions in his occasional fiery speeches, but for which the work would have been greatly handicapped.
But it was under the final and sage guidance of Dr. S. Bhattacharya M.A., Ph.D., D.Litt., Bar-at-law etc. who took over on the retirement of Dr. Suryakanta, that the work was brought to a close. The long and frequent discussions that the writer had the opportunity to hold with him have always been enlightening. The pains that he has taken in going through every line of the manuscript and suggesting additions and alterations are awfully great. Above all, his keen interest in, and affectionate treatment of, his pupils are unforgettable, and will remain a bliss for their hour of solitude.
The thesis is entirely the author's own work based on the materials indicated in the Bibliography at the end. The work gives the extent of cognate words between English and Sanskrit and on the basis of that proposes amendment to some phonetic laws, which, it is hoped, will be of some use in philology. Further discussions in this connection are made in the Preamble section of the Introduction that follows.
The author is grateful to the Banaras Hindu University Library which has the very unique system of placing the entire library at the disposal of the reader, allowing him to handle at will any number of books he requires at a time. This is undoubtedly a great facility for comparative study and research. The author also expresses his sincerest gratitude for the occasional enlightenment and inspiration that he has received in course of his work from a number of friends and Teachers of this University, and elsewhere.
In fine, unbounded is the gratefulness of the author to the Banaras Hindu University authorities for their very kindly undertaking the publication of the thesis just after awarding the Ph.D. Degree thereon.
(by Dr. S. Bhattacharya, M.A. (Hons.) Ph.D. (London), D.Litt. (Lille), Bar-at-law (Gray's Inn), Mayurbhanj Professor and Head of the Deptt. of Sanskrit & Pali, Banaras Hindu University.)
The present work may appear to be the adventure of a freelancer. To trace parallelism between a most modern language (English) and a classical language (Sanskrit) may be taken as toying with a linguistic myth that has long been exploded. Can accidental similarity between the two languages mean vital link between the two?
The attempt of Dr. Nath is more serious than it looks like. He has probed into English to get at the Teutonic, the Latin and Greek elements that have constituted its nucleus. His comparison is based upon these elements and Sanskrit. He has examined for this purpose more than twelve hundred cases too many to be brushed aside as mere coincidence.
He has applied the deductions, so arrived at, to the examination of the established phonetic laws the Grimnn's, the Verner's, the Paul's and Kluge's. The deductions suggest amendment to the existing position. Dr. Nath has called attention exactly to this point. Originally a. Ph.D. thesis under my supervision, the work is now thrown upon.to the scholarly world for its consideration.
As is known to the student of language, Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Teutonic (or Germanic), Slavonic etc. constitute the great Indo-European family of languages supposed to have been derived from a common parent tongue which is long extinct. Of these Teutonic is split up into a numer of languages of which English is one. Sanskrit and English are therefore sister or related langages, or languages of common origin. Hence common vocabulary between them is expected.
But this common vocabulary between English and Sanskrit has never been the theme of a treatise. Lexicographers have done something in this respect. But they have left out, willy-nilly, numerous cases, where an English word could be compared with a Sanskrit word. Besides, what is done by them in this regard is not palpable, being side-tracked by their otherwise vast etymological discussions. A treatise on Anglo-Sanskrit parallelism in vocabulary was thus a desideratum.
The present undertaking is intended to fulfil this need, bringing to the fore all the English and Sanskrit words which are cognate (connected, related, allied, kindred, akin, parallel, comparable). Besides cognate words, cases of borrowing by each other or from a third source have also been noted as constituting another class of common vocabulary. Another object behind this compilation of English and Sanskrit cognates is to see whether such a collection has any bearing on the Science of language. As will be evident from the following pages, a number of such bearings have come to our notice. These mainly relate to some Phonetic Laws.
Accordingly, the thesis has been entitled "(i) The Extent of Anglo-Sanskrit Parallelism in Vocabulary and (ii) Its Bearings on the Science of Languages".
In so far as this work deals with the extent of Anglo-Sanskrit word connections and their bearings, it relates to philology and the philologist. But it is intended to serve a wider purpose besides, the defence of Sanskrit, a Cinderella in the literary household, against the English-knowing critics who do not give sufficient importance to the study of Sanskrit. From the innumerable word connections between English and Sanskrit as borne out in the following chapters, it will be evident that English and Sanskrit words are the same in sense and sound although few people are suspicious of this fact.
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