Allorigine dei linguaggi formali:

da Pnini a BNF.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sanskrit grammatical tradition of vykaraa (Sanskrit: , IPA: [jkr]) is one
of the six edanga disciplines! It has its roots in late edic India, and incl"des the famo"s #ork,
Adhyy, of Pini (c! $th cent"ry %&')!
The impet"s for ling"istic analysis and grammar in India originates in the need to (e a(le to o(tain a
strict interpretation of the edic texts!
)citation needed*
The #ork of the +ery early Indian grammarians has (een lost, for example, the #ork of Sakatayana
(ro"ghly -th c! %&') is kno#n only from cryptic references (y .aska (ca! /th01th c! %&') and
P2n3ini! 4ne of the +ie#s of Sakatayana that #as to pro+e contro+ersial in coming cent"ries #as that
most no"ns can (e deri+ed etymologically from +er(s!
In his mon"mental #ork on etymology, Nirukta, .aska s"pported this claim (ased on the large
n"m(er of no"ns that #ere deri+ed from +er(s thro"gh a deri+ation process that (ecame kno#n as
krit-pratyaya, this relates to the nat"re of the root morphemes!
.aska also pro+ided the seeds for another de(ate, #hether text"al meaning is inherent in the #ord
(.aska5s +ie#) or in the sentence (see P2n3ini, and later grammarians s"ch as Pra(hakara or
%hartrihari)! This de(ate contin"ed into the 6$th and 61th c! &', and has echoes in the present day
in c"rrent de(ates a(o"t semantic compositionality!
Pre-Pinian schools
P2n3ini5s Ashtadhyayi, #hich is said to ha+e eclipsed all other contemporary schools of grammar,
mentions the names of nine grammarians
)6*)7*
! A n"m(er of predecessors are referred to (y .2ska,
#ho is tho"ght to ha+e flo"rished a co"ple of cent"ries (efore Panini (c! -88 %&'
)9*
)! :any of these
indi+id"al names act"ally reflect the opinion of different schools of tho"ght!
The #orks of most these a"thors are lost ("t #e find reference of their ideas in the commentaries
and re("ttals (y later a"thors! .2ska5s Nirukta is one of the earlier s"r+i+ing texts, and he mentions
;2kat 32yana, kra"ST"ki, gArgya, etc! In .2ska5s time, nirukta <etymology< #as in fact a school
#hich ga+e information of formation of #ords! The etymological deri+ation of #ords! According to
the nairuktas or <etymologists<, all no"ns are deri+ed from s +er(al root! .2ska defends this +ie#
and attri("tes it to ;2kat 32yana! While others (elie+ed that there are some #ords #hich are <="dhi
Words<! 5="dhi< means c"stom! :eaning they are a part of lang"age d"e to c"stom, and a
correspondence (et#een the #ord and the thing if it (e a no"n or correspondence (et#een an act
and the #ord if it (e a +er(root! S"ch #ord can not (e deri+ed from +er(al roots! .2ska also reports
the +ie# of >2rgya, #ho opposed ;2kat 32yana #ho held that certain nominal stems #ere 5atomic5
and not to (e deri+ed from +er(al roots
)$*
4f the remaining schools, ;2kalya is held to (e the a"thor of the padapatha of the =ig+eda (a #ord?
(y?#ord pron"nciation scheme, aiding memory, for rit"al texts)!
Pini's school
Pini's extensi+e analysis of the processes of phonology, morphology and syntax, the
Aadhyy, laid do#n the (asis for cent"ries of commentaries and expositions (y follo#ing
Sanskrit grammarians!
Pini's approach was amazingly formal; his production rules for
deriving complex structures and sentences represent modern finite
state machines. Indeed many of the developments in Indian
Mathematics, especially the place value notational system may
have originated from Pinian analysis.
P2n3ini5s grammar consists of fo"r parts:
;i+as@tra: phonology (notations for phonemes specified in 6$ lines)
Aadhyy: morphology (constr"ction r"les for complexes)
Dht!ha: list of roots (classes of +er(al roots)
"aa!ha: lists classes of primiti+e nominal stems
Pini (Sanskrit: , IPA: [!in# i], a patronymic meaning <descendant of Pai<) #as an
Ancient Indian Sanskrit grammarian from P"shkala+ati, >andhara (modern day &harsadda,
Pakistan) (fl! $th cent"ry %&
)6*)7*
)!
Ae is kno#n for his Sanskrit grammar, partic"larly for his form"lation of the 9,B1B r"les
)7*
of
Sanskrit morphology, syntax and semantics in the grammar kno#n as Ashtadhyayi (
Adhyy, meaning <eight chapters<), the fo"ndational text of the grammatical (ranch of the
edanga, the a"xiliary scholarly disciplines of edic religion!
The Ashtadhyayi is one of the earliest kno#n grammars of Sanskrit, altho"gh he refers to pre+io"s
texts like the Unadisutra, Dhatupatha, and Ganapatha!
)7*
It is the earliest kno#n #ork on
descripti+e ling"istics and generati+e ling"istics, and together #ith the #ork of his immediate
predecessors (Cir"kta, Cighant", Pratishakyas) stands at the (eginning of the history of ling"istics
itself! Ais theory of morphological analysis #as more ad+anced than any eD"i+alent Western theory
(efore the mid 78th cent"ry, and his analysis of no"n compo"nds still forms the (asis of modern
ling"istic theories of compo"nding, #hich ha+e (orro#ed Sanskrit terms s"ch as (ah"+rihi and
d+and+a!
Pnini's comprehensie and scientific theory of grammar is
conentionally ta!en to mar! the end of the period of
"edic #ans!rit$ %y definition introducing &lassical
#ans!rit.
'ate and conte(t
Cothing definite is kno#n a(o"t P2n3ini5s life, not e+en the cent"ry he li+ed in! The scholarly
mainstream fa+o"rs a $th cent"ry %& floruit, corresponding to P"shkala+ati, >andhara!
&ontemporary to the Canda Eynasty r"ling the >angetic plain, ("t a 1th or e+en late /th cent"ry
%& date cannot (e r"led o"t #ith certainty! According to a +erse in the Panchatantra, he #as killed
(y a lion!
)9*
According to F"anGang (Aie"n?Tsang), a stat"e of him existed at ;al2t"ra, the place of
his (irth!
)$*
P2n3ini5s grammar defines &lassical Sanskrit, so that P2n3ini (y definition li+ed at the end of the
edic period: he notes a fe# special r"les, marked chandasi (<in the hymns<) to acco"nt for forms
in the edic script"res that had fallen o"t of "se in the spoken lang"age of his time, indicating that
edic Sanskrit #as already archaic, ("t still a comprehensi(le dialect!
An important hint for the dating of P2n3ini is the occ"rrence of the #ord yavann () (in
$!6!$B, either <>reek #oman<, or <>reek script<)!
)1*
Some >reeks, s"ch as the Persian admiral
Scylax of &aryanda #ere present in >andhara as co?citiGens of the Persian empire, #ell (efore the
conD"ests of Alexander the >reat in the 998s %&,
)/*
, the name co"ld also ha+e (een transmitted +ia
4ld Persian yauna, and the administrati+e lang"ages 'lamite or Aramaic, so that the occ"rrence of
yavann taken in isolation allo#s for a terminus post quem as early as 16B %&, i!e! the time of
Eari"s the >reat5s %ehist"n inscription that incl"des the Indian pro+ince of >andara (Sanskrit
>andh2ra)!
It is not certain #hether P2n3ini "sed #riting for the composition of his #ork, tho"gh it is generally
agreed that he kne# of a form of #riting, (ased on references to #ords s"ch as <script< and <scri(e<
in his Ashtadhyayi!
)H*
This m"st ha+e referred to Aramaic or early Iharosthi #riting! It is (elie+ed
(y some that a #ork of s"ch complexity #o"ld ha+e (een +ery diffic"lt to compile #itho"t #ritten
notes, tho"gh others ha+e arg"ed that he might ha+e composed it #ith the help of a gro"p of
st"dents #hose memories ser+ed him as 5notepads5 (as is typical in edic learning)! Writing first
reappears in India in the form of the %r2hmJ script from c! the 9rd cent"ry %& in the Ashokan
inscriptions!
While P2n3ini5s #ork is p"rely grammatical and lexicographic, c"lt"ral and geographical inferences
can (e dra#n from the +oca("lary he "ses in examples, and from his references to fello#
grammarians, #hich makes him a north#estern person! Ce# deities referred to in his #ork incl"de
as"de+a ($!9!B-)! The concept of dharma is attested in his example sentence ($!$!$6) dharmam
carati <he o(ser+es the la#< (cf! Taittiriya Kpanisad 6!66)!
)is life
Cothing sec"re is kno#n a(o"t P2n3ini5s personal life! According to later traditions, his mother5s
name #as E2ks 3J and his maternal "ncle name #as y2d 3i!
)-*
Some scholars s"ggest that his (rother5s
name #as Pi gala!
)B*
Less is kno#n a(o"t his father! Some s"ggest that his father5s name #as Pan 3i,
("t most scholars reMect this s"ggestion! :ore than a tho"sand years after the fact, the PaNcatantra
mentions that the >rammarian P2n3ini #as killed (y a lion
)68*
:
Traditional scholars agree that his death #as on TrayodaOJ TithJ ( , meaning thirteenth
day), and nati+e grammarians don5t read Sanskrit >rammar on that day!
)66*
*he Ashtadhyayi
The Ashtadhyayi (IAST: Adhyy Ee+anagari: ) is the central part of P2n3ini5s
grammar, and (y far the most complex! It is the earliest complete grammar of &lassical Sanskrit,
and in fact is of a (re+ity and completeness "nmatched in any ancient grammar of any lang"age!
)67*

It takes material from the lexical lists (Ehat"patha, >anapatha) as inp"t and descri(es algorithms to
(e applied to them for the generation of #ell?formed #ords! It is highly systematised and technical!
Inherent in its generati+e approach are the concepts of the phoneme, the morpheme and the root!
His rules have a reputation for perfection
[13]
that is, they are
claimed
[by whom?]
to describe Sanskrit morphology fully, without any
redundancy ! conse"uence of his grammar#s focus on brevity is its
highly unintuitive structure, reminiscent of modern notations such as
the $%ackus&'aur (orm$ His sophisticated logical rules and techni"ue
have been widely influential in ancient and modern linguistics
)t is likely that *anini#s grammar and the +g ,eda are the only te-ts that
were passed from one generation to another without being amended )n
the !shtadhyayi language is observed in a manner that has no parallel
among .reek or /atin grammarians *anini#s grammar marks the entry
of the profane into )ndian thought )t then defines the linguistic
e-pression of that thought
[10]
1he great thinkers of ancient )ndia were primarily linguists )t is not
possible to understand fully the works of philosophers such as
Shankara, +amanu2a and 3adhva without a knowledge of *anini 1he
!shtadhyayi is fundamental to the structure of their thinking )t is not a
didactic grammar4 it presupposes a knowledge of Sanskrit .radually,
mainly after the 5 century 67, manuals were produced that reorganised
the !shtadhyayi for didactic purposes 1hese generally had simpler
structures and were less ambitious than the !shtadhyayi
*anini made use of a technical metalanguage consisting of a synta-,
morphology and le-icon 1his metalanguage is organised according to
a series of metarules, some of which are e-plicitly stated while others
can be deduced 1he two fundamental principles on which the
metalanguage is based are non8redundancy, or the principle of
economy, and the necessity of all the rules in the !shtadhyayi
[19]
1he !shtadhyayi consists of 3,:9: sutras ;str i< or rules, distributed
among eight chapters, which are each subdivided into four sections or
padas ;pdh <
(rom e-ample words in the te-t, and from a few rules depending on the
conte-t of the discourse, additional information as to the geographical,
cultural and historical conte-t of *=n>ini can be discerned
*he rules
The first t#o s"tras are as follo#s:
6!6!6 vddhir daiC ( )
6!6!7 ade gua ()
In these s"tras, the capital letters are special meta?ling"istic sym(ols, they are called IT ()
markers or, in later #riters s"ch as Iatyayana and PatanMali, anubandhas (see (elo#)! The C and
refer to Shi+a S"tras $ (<ai, au, C<) and 9 (<e, o, <), respecti+ely, forming #hat are kno#n as the
pratyhras 5comprehensi+e designations5 aiC, e! They denote the list of phonemes Pai, auQ and
Pe, oQ respecti+ely! The (T) appearing in (oth s"tras is also an IT marker: S"tra 6!6!H8 defines it
as indicating that the preceding phoneme does not represent a list, ("t a single phoneme,
encompassing all s"pra?segmental feat"res s"ch as accent and nasality! For f"rther example,
(T) and (aT) represent PQ and PaQ respecti+ely!
Th"s the t#o s@tras consist of a term, follo#ed (y a list of phonemes, the final interpretation of the
t#o s@tras a(o+e is th"s:
6!6!6: (the technical term) vddhi (denotes the phonemes) P, ai, auQ!
6!6!7: (the technical term) gua (denotes the phonemes) Pa, e, oQ!
At this point, one can see they are definitions of terminology: gua and vddhi are the terms for
the f"ll and the lengthened a(la"t grades, respecti+ely!
+ist of ,* mar!ers
its or anubandhas are defined in P! 6!9!7 thro"gh P! 6!9!-! These definitions refer only to items
ta"ght in the grammar or its ancillary texts s"ch at the dhtupha, this fact is made clear in P!
6!9!7 (y the #ord upadee, #hich is then contin"ed in the follo#ing six r"les (y anuvtti, 'llipsis!
As these anubandhas are metaling"istic markers and not prono"nced in the final deri+ed form,
pada (#ord), they are elided (y P! 6!9!B tasya lopa ? 5There is elision of that (i!e! any of the
preceding items #hich ha+e (een defined as an it)!5 Accordingly, Pini defines the anubandhas as
follo#s:
6) CasaliGed +o#els, e!g! bha!"! &f! P! 6!9!7!
7) A final consonant (ha#)! &f! P! 6!9!9!
7a) except a dental, m and s in +er(al or nominal endings! &f! P! 6!9!$!
9) Initial i u u! &f! P 6!9!1
$) Initial of a s"ffix (pratyaya)! &f! P! 6!9!/!
1) Initial palatals and cere(rals of a s"ffix! &f! P! 6!9!H
/) Initial l, , and k ("t not in a taddhita 5secondary5 s"ffix! &f! P! 6!9!-!
A fe# example of elements that contain its are as follo#s:
suP nominal desinence
-IT
o i strong case endings
o lu elision
o a! acti+e marker
P-IT
o lu! elision
o ! ?stems
C!
"!
#!
o $ya! (H!6!9H)
L-IT
K-IT
o %tv
o lu% elision
saN Eesiderati+e
C-IT
M-IT
-IT
o & &a"sati+e
o ii ?stems
!
'
()
o ti +er(al desinence
o l* Aorist
o l+ Precati+e
S-IT
GHU class of +er(al stems (6!6!78)
GHI (6!$!H)
Au(iliary te(ts
P2n3ini5s Ashtadhyayi has three associated texts! The Shi+a S"tras are a (rief ("t highly organiGed
list of phonemes! The Ehat"patha and >anapatha are lexical lists, the former of +er(al roots sorted
(y present class, the latter a list of nominal stems gro"ped (y common properties!
#hia #utras
:ain article: Shi+a S"tras
The $hi%a $utras descri(e a phonemic notational system in the fo"rteen initial lines preceding the
Ashtadhyayi! The notational system introd"ces different cl"sters of phonemes that ser+e special
roles in the morphology of Sanskrit, and are referred to thro"gho"t the text! 'ach cl"ster, called a
pratyhara ends #ith a d"mmy so"nd called an anubandha (the so calledIT index), #hich acts as a
sym(olic referent for the list! Within the main text, these cl"sters, referred thro"gh the an"(andhas,
are related to +ario"s grammatical f"nctions!
-edit. 'hatupatha
The Dhatupatha is a lexicon of Sanskrit +er(al roots s"(ser+ient to the Ashtadhyayi! It is organiGed
(y the ten present classes of Sanskrit, i!e! the roots are gro"ped (y the form of their stem in the
present tense!
The ten present classes of Sanskrit are:
6! ,h-.daya (root?f"ll grade thematic presents)
7! ad.daya (root presents)
9! /u.ho.ti.daya (red"plicated presents)
$! div.daya (ya thematic presents)
1! su.daya (nu presents)
/! tud.daya (root?Gero grade thematic presents)
H! rudh.daya (n?infix presents)
-! tan.daya (no presents)
B! 0r.daya (ni presents)
68! 1ur.daya (aya presents, ca"sati+es)
:ost of these classes are directly inherited from Proto?Indo?'"ropean!
)citation needed*
The small n"m(er
of class - +er(s are a secondary gro"p deri+ed from class 1 roots, and class 68 is a special case, in
that any +er( can form class 68 presents, then ass"ming ca"sati+e meaning! The roots specifically
listed as (elonging to class 68 are those for #hich any other form has fallen o"t of "se (ca"sati+e
deponents, so to speak)!
-edit. /anapatha
The Ganapatha (gaapha) is a list of gro"ps of primiti+e nominal stems "sed (y the
Ashtadhyayi!
-edit. &ommentary
After P2n3ini, the $ah%hya (<great commentary<) of PataNMali on the Ashtadhyayi is one of
the three most famo"s #orks in Sanskrit grammar! It #as #ith PataNMali that Indian ling"istic
science reached its definite form! The system th"s esta(lished is extremely detailed as to shiksha
(phonology, incl"ding accent) and +yakarana (morphology)! Syntax is scarcely to"ched, ("t nir"kta
(etymology) is disc"ssed, and these etymologies nat"rally lead to semantic explanations! People
interpret his #ork to (e a defense of Pini, #hose S@tras are ela(orated meaningf"lly! Ae also
attacks Iatyayana rather se+erely! %"t the main contri("tions of PataNMali lies in the treatment of the
principles of grammar en"nciated (y him!
-edit. 0ditions
4tto %Rhtlingk, &anini's Grammatik 6--H, reprint 6BB- IS%C 9?-H1$-?6B-?$
Iatre, S"mitra :!, Astadhyayi of &anini, A"stin: Kni+ersity of Texas Press, 6B-H! =eprint
Eelhi: :otilal %anarsidass, 6B-B! IS%C 8?7B7?H89B$?1
:isra, idya Ci#as, The Descripti%e Technique of &anini, :o"ton and &o!, 6B//!
-edit. Pnini and the Bhat t i!ya
The learning of Indian c"rric"l"m in late classical times had at its heart a system of grammatical
st"dy and ling"istic analysis!
)6/*
The core text for this st"dy #as the As 3 t 32dhy2yJof P2n3ini, the sine
qua non of learning! This grammar of Pini had (een the o(Mect of intense st"dy for the ten
cent"ries prior to the composition of the %hat 3t 3ik2+ya ! It #as plainly &haiSs p"rpose to pro+ide a
st"dy aid to P2n3iniSs text (y "sing the examples already pro+ided in the existing grammatical
commentaries in the context of the gripping and morally impro+ing story of the '(yaa! To
the dry (ones of this grammar %hat 3t 3i has gi+en M"icy flesh in his poem! The intention of the a"thor
#as to teach this ad+anced science thro"gh a relati+ely easy and pleasant medi"m! In his o#n
#ords:
This composition is like a lamp to those #ho percei+e the meaning of #ords and like a hand mirror
for a (lind man to those #itho"t grammar! This poem, #hich is to (e "nderstood (y means of a
commentary, is a Moy to those s"fficiently learned: thro"gh my fondness for the scholar I ha+e here
slighted the d"llard!
%hat 3t 3ik2+ya 77!9909$!
*he traditional story gien to account for the technical or
shastric nature of the poem goes that Bhat t is class on
grammar 1as one day distur%ed %y an elephant am%ling
%et1een him and his pupils. *his %estial interruption
necessitated an interdiction of study for a year as
prescri%ed %y the solemn la1 %oo!s. *o ensure that no
ital study time 1as lost our poem 1as composed as a
means of teaching grammar 1ithout resorting to an actual
grammatical te(t.
Pnini and modern linguistics
P2n3ini5s #ork (ecame kno#n in 6Bth cent"ry '"rope, #here it infl"enced modern ling"istics
initially thro"gh FranG %opp, #ho mainly looked at P2n3ini! S"(seD"ently, a #ider (ody of #ork
infl"enced Sanskrit scholars s"ch as Ferdinand de Sa"ss"re, Leonard %loomfield, and =oman
Tako(son! Frits Staal disc"ssed the impact of Indian ideas on lang"age in '"rope! After o"tlining
the +ario"s aspects of the contact, Staal notes that the idea of formal r"les in lang"age, proposed (y
de Ferdinand de Sa"ss"re in 6-B$ and finally de+eloped (y Coam &homsky in 6B1H, (ased on
#hich formal r"les #ere also introd"ced in comp"tational lang"ages, has origins in the '"ropean
expos"re to the formal r"les of Paninian grammar! In partic"lar, de Sa"ss"re, #ho lect"red on
Sanskrit for three decades, may ha+e (een infl"enced (y P2n 3ini and %hartrihari, his idea of the
"nity of signifier?signified in the sign is some#hat similar to the notion of Sphot 3a! :ore
importantly, the +ery idea that formal r"les can (e applied to areas o"tside of logic or mathematics,
may itself ha+e (een catalyGed (y '"rope5s contact #ith the #ork of Sanskrit grammarians!
)6H*
P2n3ini, and the later Indian ling"ist %hartrihari, had a significant infl"ence on many of the
fo"ndational ideas proposed (y Ferdinand de Sa"ss"re, professor of Sanskrit, #ho is #idely
considered the father of modern str"ct"ral ling"istics! Sa"ss"re himself cited Indian grammar as an
infl"ence on some of his ideas! In his (emoire sur le systeme primitif des %oyelles dans les lan)ues
indo-europennes ((emoir on the "ri)inal $ystem of *o+els in the Indo-,uropean #an)ua)es)
p"(lished in 6-HB, he mentions Indian grammar as an infl"ence on his idea that <red"plicated
aorists represent imperfects of a +er(al class!< In his De l'emploi du )enitif absolu en sanscrit ("n
the Use of the Geniti%e Absolute in $anskrit) p"(lished in 6--6, a monograph on the geniti+e
a(sol"te, he specifically mentions Panini as an infl"ence on the #ork!
)6-*
Prem Singh, in his fore#ord to the reprint edition of the >erman translation of P2n 3iniSs >rammar in
6BB-, concl"ded that the <effect Panini5s #ork had on Indo?'"ropean ling"istics sho#s itself in
+ario"s st"dies< and that a <n"m(er of seminal #orks come to mind,< incl"ding Sa"ss"re5s #orks
and the analysis that <ga+e rise to the laryngeal theory,< f"rther stating: <This type of str"ct"ral
analysis s"ggests infl"ence from Panini5s analytical teaching!< >eorge &ardona, ho#e+er, #arns
against o+erestimating the infl"ence of Panini on modern ling"istics: <Altho"gh Sa"ss"re also
refers to predecessors #ho had taken this Paninian r"le into acco"nt, it is reasona(le to concl"de
that he had a direct acD"aintance #ith Panini5s #ork! As far as I am a(le to discern "pon rereading
Sa"ss"re5s (emoire, ho#e+er, it sho#s no direct infl"ence of Paninian grammar! Indeed, on
occasion, Sa"ss"re follo#s a path that is contrary to Paninian proced"re!<
)6-*
The infl"ence of P2n3ini on the fo"nding father of American str"ct"ralism, Leonard %loomfield, is
+ery clear, see e!g! his 6B7H paper <4n some r"les of P2n3ini<!
)6B*
Coam &homsky has al#ays
ackno#ledged his de(t to P2n3ini for his modern notion of an explicit generati+e grammar!
)78*
In
&homsky and :orris Aalle5s 6B/- text The $ound &attern of ,n)lish, the a"thors gi+e an implicit
nod to the Ashtadhyayi (y form"lating their final r"le <2 U 2<, #hich echoes the final P2n 3ini5s final
r"le, <a a iti< ( )! In 4ptimality Theory, the hypothesis a(o"t the relation
(et#een specific and general constraints is kno#n as <Panini5s Theorem on &onstraint =anking<!
P2n3inian grammars ha+e also (een de+ised for non?Sanskrit lang"ages! Ais #ork #as the
forer"nner to modern formal lang"age theory (mathematical ling"istics) and formal grammar, and a
prec"rsor to comp"ting!
)76*
P2n3ini5s grammar can (e considered
)by +hom-*
the #orld5s first formal system, de+eloped #ell (efore
the 6Bth cent"ry inno+ations of >ottlo( Frege and the s"(seD"ent de+elopment of mathematical
logic! In designing his grammar, P2n3ini "sed the method of <a"xiliary sym(ols<, in #hich ne#
affixes are designated to mark syntactic categories and the control of grammatical deri+ations! This
techniD"e, redisco+ered (y the logician 'mil Post, (ecame a standard method in the design of
comp"ter programming lang"ages!
)77*
Sanskritists no# accept that Panini5s ling"istic apparat"s is
#ell?descri(ed as an <applied< Post system! &onsidera(le e+idence sho#s ancient mastery of
context?sensiti+e grammars, and a general a(ility to sol+e many complex generati+e pro(lems! Frits
Staal has #ritten that <Panini is the Indian '"clid!< 'mil Post is Panini5s modern co"nterpart,
sho#ing the relationship (et#een a comp"tationally typical nat"ral lang"age grammar and
"ni+ersal comp"tation!
)citation needed*