91Ï㽶ÊÓƵ is offering a?course in P¨¡li language this Spring 2016 semester.?P¨¡li?is an Indic language,?closely related the Sanskrit. It is the?language of the?earliest extant Buddhist canon, the?texts of Theravada Buddhism. 91Ï㽶ÊÓƵ?Students who have taken at least three semesters of Sankrit are?invited to join the?class. Students are learning how to pronounce?P¨¡li?by chanting the?Mettasutta,?using melodies from various traditions. The class is?reading,?translating?into English, and interpreting P¨¡li suttas from the?Sa?yutta Nik¨¡ya?and verses from the?Dhammapada.
The first two weeks of class were spent?introducing the nuts and bolts of P¨¡li grammar, as it differs from Sanskrit?grammar. The rest of the semester is spent?translating?and interpreting the meaning and structure texts.