Pre Paninian Linguistic Studies

Presents Sanskrit language studies in a new setting-that of `socio-linguistics'. Illustrate how some of the missing links in traditional Sanskrit studies can be understood if the evolutionary aspect of language studies is connected with the study of socio-cultural history of the speech The new model of socio-historical linguistics is for the first time conceived and developed as a variational, dynamic and developmental model. Neatly planned and richly illustrated, this book breaks a new ground in modern linguistic studies showing how socio-linguistic studies can be enjoyed not only as sources of new hypotheses in historical studies but also as source of rich cultural contexts lost from material archaeological discoveries. Language, pleads the author, preserves a rich cultural archaeology of a community. The formulation of the scientific methodology of language studies from this point of view has to be the logical sine qua non of all historical linguistic studies which have been in a state of revival since 1965.