Course Outline: PL101 Pāli Grammar I, 2011/2012, Semester 1

Basic Data
Program: 
Bachelor of Arts (Buddhist Studies)
Semester: 
First Semester (July 11 – November 12, 2011) Academic year 2011/2012
Subject: 
PL101 - Pali Grammar I
Credit / status: 
3 Credits / Core subject
Instructor: 
Dhammanandhi法师博士
Recommended Texts: 

Required Textbook

  • Buddhadatta, A. P. The New Pāli Course (Part1, chapters 1~13). 6th ed. Sri Lanka: Buddhist Cultural Centre, 1937. Print.

Recommended for Reference

  • Amanda Maitreya Mahanayaka Thera. Pāli Made Easy. Sri Lanka: Udumulla, n.d. Print.
  • Duroiselle, Charles. A Practical Grammar of the Pāli Language. Third ed. Rangoon: n. p., 1997. Print.
  • Minayeff, J. Pāli Grammar (A phonetic and Morphological Sketch). New Delhi: Bahri, 1990. Print.
  • Perniola, V. Pāli Grammar. London: Pāli Text Society, 1997. Print.
Course Organization: 

The course will be organized on lectures, assignments and examinations. Students will be required to submit assignments and each missed assignment will result in an appropriate percentage reduction.

The classes begin with introductory of the correct pronunciation and step on grammatical order according to the Text Book.

  • Nouns: Ending in vowels: a, 1, i, 2, u,3 in three genders, two numbers and in eight cases.
  • Conjugation: Discuss seven classes of verbs except 5th conjugation
  • Tenses: Present, Aorist and Future in six classes of verbal roots
  • Mood: Imperative, Potential and Conditional
  • Participle: Formation and usage of Indeclinable Past Participle
  • Sandhi: Vowel sandhi, consonant sandhi and mixed sandhi in vowels and consonants.

Students should pay attention to grasp the elementary structure of Pāli grammar and should concentrate their attention on learning by heart the basic structure of Pāli grammar i.e. declensions, conjugations and sandhi etc. Students will be required to attend Quizzes and exercises in the form of written examinations in every chapter.

Course Requirements: 

All students will be required to clear two tests, i.e., mid-term and the final examination. Students must attend a minimum of 80% of scheduled classes to be eligible to fit for the final examination.

Allocation of Marks: 
  • Quizzes and class participation: 12%
  • The mid-term Examination: 38 %
  • Final written examination: 50%
Course Objectives: 

The course is expected to introduce students to Pāli grammar as the foundation for higher learning and usage of Pāli language. The main purpose of learning Pāli is to grasp the indispensable teaching of the early Buddhism through Pāli Canon that is an extensive body of the central Pāli literature.

Grading: 

All tests, assignments and examinations are graded as follows with grade point and numerical marks:

Grade Performance Grade value Percentage Equivalence
A+ Excellent 4.0 90-100
A Almost Excellent 3.75 85-89
A- Fairly Excellent 3.5 80-84
B+ Very Good 3.25 75-79
B Good 3.0 70-74
B- Fairly Good 2.75 65-69
C+ Fair 2.5 60-64
C Satisfactory 2.25 55-59
C- Minimum Satisfactory 2.0 50-54
D+ Fairly Poor 1.5 40-49
D Poor 1.0 30-39
F Fail 0.0 29 or less
I Incomplete
W Withdrawn
WF Withdrawn because of failure
AU Audit