Les éléments linguistiques porteurs de sens dans la tradition grammaticale du sanskrit

This article deals with the changing ideas about meaning bearing elements in language from Pânini through Patanjali to Bhartrhari. For Pânini the grammatical constituents of words verbal roots, nominal stems and suffixes are the primary bearers of mening ; from their meanings the meanings of larger linguistic units such as words are derived. For Patanjali, on the other hand, the primary meaning bearing units are the words; grammatical constituents only have a derived meaning. For Bhartrhari in his Vâkyapadïya, finally, the primary meaning bearer is the sentence, from which the meanings of words and grammatical constituents are derived. This remarkable development is in need of an explanation, which may be obtained by comparison with other contemporary currents of thought, primarily Buddhist

Epistemology · Linguistics · Meaning (existential · Sanskrit · Sentence · Historical Linguistics and Language Studies · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Philosophy