Hello Pali friends,
A clever and natural approach is described at the webpage:
http://lifehacker.com/5903288/i-learned ... -heres-how
First, I would recommend to listen to Pali and learn the pronunciation:
http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/A ... -index.htm
http://www.audtip.org/
http://www.dhamma.ru/sadhu/directory?catid=25
To learn the core vocabulary,
http://www.amazon.com/Frequency-Diction ... im_sbs_b_7
http://dhamma.ru/paali/MN2000word_list.odt
you can use the flash cards, preferably with pictures corresponding to the words, and audio:
http://www.memrise.com/topic/pali/wordlists/
http://www.memrise.com/courses/english/pali/
http://ankisrs.net/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/aba-flas ... 35464?mt=8
http://quizlet.com/pariyatti
http://www.memorylifter.com
The type of flash cards to use would depend on your learning style, which can be determined at:
http://www.bgfl.org/custom/resources_ft ... e_lang.cfm
http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm
http://www.learning-styles-online.com/inventory/
http://www.howtolearn.com/learning-styles-quiz
http://www.berghuis.co.nz/abiator/lsi/lsiframe.html
As for declension, the table of endings:
http://dhamma.ru/paali/tables/palisufi.htm
http://dhamma.ru/paali/tables/Pali%20endings.xls
would be more than enough for the beginning.
To learn the structure of sentences, it's very useful to diagram them:
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=14281
For compounds, there's a reference:
http://dhamma.ru/paali/Pali_compounds.htm
I would recommend to move as soon as possible to finding the Pali definitions of the words instead of using the bilingual dictionary:
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2790
Such Pali glosses can also be used for flash cards.
Next, you can listen to the Pali suttas, having the text in view, and a good translation, looking up as much words as you find interesting.
You can read more about such approach at: http://english.franklang.ru/index.php?o ... &Itemid=11
A course by Gair and Karunatillake is very well structured, from easy to complex, and there's an audio available:
http://bodhimonastery.org/a-course-in-t ... guage.html
and flash cards:
http://quizlet.com/Larry_Rosenfeld
http://www.coursehero.com/flashcards/st ... sid=397768
There's also an audio for a textbook by Kurt Schmidt:
http://pali.nibbanam.com/
Find those things that would be interesting and enjoyable for you, and explore them.
You can find support here and at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pali/
Best wishes,
Dmytro
How to learn Pali
How to learn Pali
Last edited by Assaji on Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:56 am, edited 6 times in total.
- appicchato
- Posts: 1602
- Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:47 am
- Location: Bridge on the River Kwae
Re: How to learn Pali
Very helpful Dmytro...thank you...
Re: How to learn Pali
Thanks for sharing this.
My steps in learning Pali were the following:
1st: Working through De Silva's Pali Primer (difficulty: easy)
2nd: Working through "A New Course in reading Pali" and listening to Bhikkhu Bodhi's lessons
http://bodhimonastery.org/a-course-in-t ... guage.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (difficulty: medium)
3rd: Working through "Introduction to Pāli" by A. K. Warder (a bit more comprehensive than the previous book)
After those steps (or even after the first 2), one is ready to begin translating the Pali canon with the help of one or two translations, and a dictionary.
As dictionary, I use
http://dictionary.buddhistdoor.com/en/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and my print version of the Pali-English dictionary by Rhys Davids.
For learning vocabulary I use Anki 2.
My steps in learning Pali were the following:
1st: Working through De Silva's Pali Primer (difficulty: easy)
2nd: Working through "A New Course in reading Pali" and listening to Bhikkhu Bodhi's lessons
http://bodhimonastery.org/a-course-in-t ... guage.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (difficulty: medium)
3rd: Working through "Introduction to Pāli" by A. K. Warder (a bit more comprehensive than the previous book)
After those steps (or even after the first 2), one is ready to begin translating the Pali canon with the help of one or two translations, and a dictionary.
As dictionary, I use
http://dictionary.buddhistdoor.com/en/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and my print version of the Pali-English dictionary by Rhys Davids.
For learning vocabulary I use Anki 2.
Re: How to learn Pali
Nice!
Very useful.
Thank you.
P.S. David2: I love David's dict so much.
Very useful.
Thank you.
P.S. David2: I love David's dict so much.
Above message maybe out of date. Latest update will be in massage's link.
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Tipitaka memorization is a rule of monks. It isn't just a choice. They must done it.
bahussuto nāma tividho hoti – nissayamuccanako, parisupaṭṭhāpako, bhikkhunovādakoti.
http://UnmixedTheravada.blogspot.com/20 ... monks.html
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Tipitaka memorization is a rule of monks. It isn't just a choice. They must done it.
bahussuto nāma tividho hoti – nissayamuccanako, parisupaṭṭhāpako, bhikkhunovādakoti.
http://UnmixedTheravada.blogspot.com/20 ... monks.html
Re: How to learn Pali
The 4 Revolutionary Language Learning Principles
http://youtu.be/09_gYlsZD7I" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://youtu.be/09_gYlsZD7I" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
- Sambojjhanga
- Posts: 109
- Joined: Sat Nov 03, 2012 3:51 pm
- Location: San Diego, California, USA
Re: How to learn Pali
Wow, this is great, thank you very much. I have recently wished to learn Pali, so I'm glad I found this post before investing any resources.
Oh, forgot to ask, how would any of you who have learned it rate Pali in comparison to difficulty in learning other languages for English speakers? How does it compare to say, French, Russian and Chinese?
Metta,
Oh, forgot to ask, how would any of you who have learned it rate Pali in comparison to difficulty in learning other languages for English speakers? How does it compare to say, French, Russian and Chinese?
Metta,
Sabba rasam dhammaraso jinati
The flavor of the dhamma exceeds all other flavors
The flavor of the dhamma exceeds all other flavors
Re: How to learn Pali
Sādhu, Sādhu, Sādhu!
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
- Bhikkhu Pesala
- Posts: 4647
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:17 pm
Re: How to learn Pali
I would say that it is no harder than learning French or German — there is no need to learn a new alphabet, as there is for Russian or Chinese. However, there are not many who can talk in Pali so it's not as easy as learning a living language from native speakers.Sambojjhanga wrote:Oh, forgot to ask, how would any of you who have learned it rate Pali in comparison to difficulty in learning other languages for English speakers? How does it compare to say, French, Russian and Chinese?
Pāli has some similarities to Latin, so if you ever learn Latin conjugations and declensions in school, you would have a head start.
I have never really learnt Pāli properly, doing no more than working through the "New Pali Course" text books that would be used in Sri Lankan schools by teenagers when learning Pāli. However, it gave me enough knowledge to get started, so I can now follow the gist when reading the Pali texts or Commentaries.
Blog • Pāli Fonts • In This Very Life • Buddhist Chronicles • Software (Upasampadā: 24th June, 1979)
Re: How to learn Pali
It's also worth pointing out that it is much easier to learn to read a language than to learn to speak it.
I suggest working your way through Warder's Introduction to Pali, then carefully read through the book a second time. Having accomplished that immerse yourself in the Pali texts themselves - I recommend the Majjhima Nikaya using Ven. Bodhi's revision of Ven. Nanamoli's translation as a guide. A keen interest in etymology also helps.
Parsing is laborious but very helpful in mastering the language as well.
I suggest working your way through Warder's Introduction to Pali, then carefully read through the book a second time. Having accomplished that immerse yourself in the Pali texts themselves - I recommend the Majjhima Nikaya using Ven. Bodhi's revision of Ven. Nanamoli's translation as a guide. A keen interest in etymology also helps.
Parsing is laborious but very helpful in mastering the language as well.
"Dhammā=Ideas. This is the clue to much of the Buddha's teaching." ~ Ven. Ñanavira, Commonplace Book