Sanskritisation (language) on:
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Sanskritisation is the process of introducing features from
Sanskritisation is the process of introducing features from Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, such as vocabulary
A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...
and grammar
In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...
, into other languages. It is sometimes associated with the "Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
-isation" of a linguistic community, or less commonly, with introducing a more upper-caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
status into a community. Many languages throughout South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
were greatly influenced by Sanskrit (or its descendant languages, the Prakrits
The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usua ...
and modern-day Indo-Aryan languages
The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily ...
) historically.
Sanskritisation often stands in opposition to the Persianisation
Persianization () or Persification (; fa, پارسیسازی), is a sociological process of cultural change in which a non- Persian society becomes "Persianate", meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by the Persian ...
or Englishisation of a language within South Asia, as occurs with the Hindustani language
Hindustani (; Devanagari: ,
*
*
*
* ; Perso-Arabic: , , ) is the '' lingua franca'' of Northern and Central India and Pakistan. Hindustani is a pluricentric language with two standard registers, known as Hindi and Urdu. Thus, the lan ...
, which in its Sanskritised, Persianised, and English-influenced registers becomes Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
, Urdu
Urdu (;"Urdu"
''
"Revisiting the Making of Hindi as a ‘National’ Language"
M.Phil. Since the 1947
''
Hinglish
Hinglish, a portmanteau of Hindi and English, is the macaronic hybrid use of English and languages of the Indian subcontinent, and especially Hindi. It involves code-switching or translanguaging between these languages whereby they are freely i ...
respectively. Support for Sanskritisation in South Asia runs highest among Brahmins and Hindu nationalists
Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" or the correct term ''Hindū rāṣṭ ...
.
Sanskritization of the names of people and places is also commonplace in India, except in many areas like Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
.
History
Ancient era
Modern era
During the medieval era, the Indian languages had taken in a lot of Perso-Arabic influences as a result of Muslim invasions, particularly in the northwestern subcontinent; colonial-era education policies, religious nationalism, and the influence of some of the more Sanskritised Indian languages played a role in Hindus and Muslims increasingly separating in terms of their linguistic influences, with Hindus tending towards the usage of Sanskrit words and the Sanskrit-associatedDevanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...
script for writing Hindi.Ganpat Teli, M.Phil"Revisiting the Making of Hindi as a ‘National’ Language"
M.Phil. Since the 1947
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
, the Indian government, which at one point considered making Sanskrit the national language, instead has sought to further Sanskritise Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
, considering it to be easier for Indians to learn, and as a way of distancing Hindi from the Urdu
Urdu (;"Urdu"
''
''
new words to describe modern concepts and technologies in several South Asian languages by forming calques based on English words. In addition, Sanskrit words that have been nativised into other languages have been mixed with words from other language families, such as the
Dravidian languages
The Dravidian languages (or sometimes Dravidic) are a family of languages spoken by 250 million people, mainly in southern India, north-east Sri Lanka, and south-west Pakistan. Since the colonial era, there have been small but significant ...
, to form new words.
Cultural debates have emerged over how much Sanskrit should appear in Hindi and how acceptable Persian and English influences should be, with Hindu nationalists
Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" or the correct term ''Hindū rāṣṭ ...
favouring Sanskritised Hindi, opposing Urdu in part because it is a Muslim-associated language, and some boycotting
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
the Hindi-language Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
film industry for featuring too much Urdu and English in its movies.
See also
*Sanskrit revival
Sanskrit revival is the accumulation of attempts at reviving Sanskrit that have been undertaken. This revival is happening not only in India but also in Western countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and in many European ...
* Sanskritism Sanskritism is a term used to indicate words that are coined out of Sanskrit for modern usage in India, in Sri Lanka and elsewhere or for neologisms. These terms are similar in nature to taxon terms coined from Latin and Greek
Greek may refer to: ...
* Prestige (sociolinguistics)
In sociolinguistics, prestige is the level of regard normally accorded a specific language or dialect within a speech community, relative to other languages or dialects. Prestige varieties are language or dialect families which are generally consi ...
** Linguistic purism
Linguistic purism or linguistic protectionism is the prescriptive practice of defining or recognizing one variety of a language as being purer or of intrinsically higher quality than other varieties. Linguistic purism was institutionalized th ...
References
{{Sanskrit language topics Sanskrit