Pàli Lookup System User Manual

Pàli Lookup System

System Requirements Monitor: minumum 800x600 resolution Operating System: Windows 95 or later CPU: It runs fine on a slow Pentium. It is believed that it would work alright on a 486, but this hasn’t been checked.

Pàli Lookup System - 1 Pàli Lookup System—Installation Using the Pàli Lookup System

It’s as easy as this:

1. Place the CD-Rom in your CD-Rom drive. 2. Double click on the Windows 95 (or later) ‘My computer’ icon. Then double click on your CD-Rom drive. 3. Double click on the file ‘setup.exe’. This will run the setup program. It’s only a matter of following the dialogue boxes contained in it. 4. When it’s finished, there will be a ‘Pali Lookup’ option under your programs menu under the start menu. Click on it, and enjoy!

The Main Dialogue Box typing ‘gacc’ in the figure above) When the user first enters the and press the Search button. In system, he or she is met with this a moment, the system will show dialogue box. The screen is all the words that match your divided into two parts. The top query. The system does, however, half of the dialogue box is the off a few options to make your area were searches are specified search more effective. and initiated. The bottom half of the dialogue box, below the black line, is where saved words can be viewed and manipulated. The Saved Words area will be dealt with later. For now we are going to look at conducting a search. Search Types (Wildcard options) Running a Search Using the system is as simple The system offers some as this: type the word you are different search types. looking for (such as the user • Look for exact match: The

Pàli Lookup System - 2 Pàli Lookup System - 3 system tries to find an exact Usually, the word you are pañigacca, saïgacchati and so the ‘Search’ button. Up will match for the word you looking for will be in the on. pop aõõa, a¤¤a, and a¤¤à. entered in the dictionary. If search-results table. If not, you entered ‘gacc’, as above, then perhaps you chopped off you would get no result a bit too many. Then it’s time because there is no such word to try again. in Pàli. If you wanted to look You can change the default up a word like gacchati you’d setting in the wildcards box at Accents options have to know and type out the any time. Whatever you Include words options entire word. This is great if you choose will remain in effect This option was added simply know the exact word you are until you change it again, or because it is sometimes difficult The Include words option looking for. Know, though, that the session ends. to remember whether the word restricts your search to whatever the dictionary only contains • Entry is at end of Pali word: you are looking for started with grammatical group you specify. root forms of words, and the This is like the previous option, a long-a or a short-a; was it a Only words that both resemble words you will encounter in except that the wildcard plain ‘t’ or was it a ‘t’ with a dot the search word you entered and texts will be inflected. character is at the beginning underneath. If you think it could belong to the grammatical group • Entry is at front of Pàli word: of the string (*string). be either, then it is easiest to click you specified will be returned in This will pick up all words that Entering ‘gacc’ wouldn’t return the ‘Ignore accents’ radio button the search-results dialogue box. start with the string you have anything here, because there and let the system find what it • All words: This is the default, entered. It is equivalent to are no Pàli words that end this can. and when you submit your using a wildcard character at way. But if you entered some- • Use accents: This is the default search, every word in the the end of the string (string*). thing like jànàti, you’d pick up and assumes that you want dictionary will be considered. The user who entered ‘gacc’ words like jànàti itself, and words that resemble the word • Nouns & Adjectives: Press this above will get words like also anujànàti, abhijànàti, or string you entered. If you and when you submit your gacchati, gaccha, gacchi, and so àjànàti and so on. typed in ‘anna’ (and you are search, only nouns and adjec- on. This option, ‘Entry is at • Entry is anywhere in Pàli word: looking only for exact tives will be looked at. Note front of Pàli word’, is the With this option selected, the matches), no words would be that nouns includes pronouns default of the system. This is system looks up all words in returned, because there is no and adjectives includes so because most words one the system that contain your such word in the dictionary. If numerals. comes across in texts are string, whether it is at the you typed ‘a¤¤a’, you would • Verbs: Press this and only finite inflected, i.e., they have an beginning, end or middle of get this one word, and only verbs will be considered. This ending. Unless you know all the word. Entering ‘gacc’ here this word returned. includes all tenses (present, the endings and can accurately would produce a list that • Ignore accents: What if you past, optative, etc.) and were looking for a¤¤a, but tell what the root form would included all the words we saw excludes all participles. weren’t sure about the be, it is probably easier to chop earlier with ‘Entry is at front They’re in the next group. diacritics? Easy—just type in off the last few characters and of Pali word’, but it would also • Participles/Verbals: Press this ‘anna’ press the ‘Ignore and only participles will be run a query on what remains. return words like adhigacchi, accents’ radio button and press considered. There are five

Pàli Lookup System - 4 Pàli Lookup System - 5 types of participles included in and let the program run. It only After you’ve saved a few words, the dictionary: past part- takes a second or two and up the main dialogue box might iciples, present participles, pops the search-results dialogue look something like the figure future passive participles, box, a dialogue box that shows above. Buttons for the saved-words list gerunds (also known as all the words in the dictionary This saved-words list is useful absolutes), and infinitives. that match the specifications you for at least two reasons. The saved-words area has three • Indeclinables: Press this and made. First, if you are anything like buttons, and their meanings are only indeclinable words will be There is a Help/About button, the creator of the system, you these: considered. This is a gram- but mostly what it does is direct might find yourself reading a • Export List: This permits you matical group in Pàli that does you to this User Manual. It also sutta. You look up a word and export the list so that you can not take inflections and gives the copyright notice and read it’s meaning. You under- work with it somewhere else. includes adverbs, interjections, some credit to data sources used stand the sentence and move on A windows ‘Save as’ dialogue conjunctions and assorted by the system. to the next one. The word box will pop up which will other particles. The search-results dialogue appears in that sentence as well, allow you to specify the file With all this information you box will be described shortly, but but by this point you’ve already name. The data you save will are fully set up to conduct a first we will have a look at the forgotten what it means and you be saved in comma-delimited search. Press the search button lower half of the main dialogue have to look it up again. The format. box, the saved-words area. saved-words list helps in that you • Delete Row: If you click on a can keep track of words you’ve row to select it (such as karã already looked up, because often on the figure on page 6), then a sutta will use a word over and press this button, the row will over again. be eliminated from the list. A second benefit is provided • Delete List: Press this and the through the Export button. You entire list will be deleted. Note can work your way through a that there is no way to get it sutta, saving all the words you back. don’t know and then export the list. You can print off the list One other note about the using spreadsheet or word- saved-words area: if the infor- processing software. Presto: you mation in the Meaning fields is have a vocabulary for that wider than the field width, it’s particular sutta and should you permitted to widen the column. want to read it again, that list will If you move the mouse cursor to make going through the sutta a the right edge of the field, the shape of the cursor will change The Saved-Words Area one, such as the search-results lot quicker (unless you memo- and permit you to widen the At the bottom of the main dialogue box, permit the user to rised every last word at the first column. dialogue box is the saved-words save words that they are looking go—your system creator is not area. Screens that succeed this at. Those words are shown here. quite this clever.)

Pàli Lookup System - 6 Pàli Lookup System - 7 The Search-Results Dia- words list on the main logue Box dialogue box. A little box will After you press the ‘Search’ pop up when you do this button on the main dialogue box, confirming that the word was this screen comes up with the saved. It will look something results of your query. Depending like this (note: words are on what you asked, you might spelled here using the Velthuis have no words returned, one encoding scheme): word, several words or hundreds of words. If the word you are looking for doesn’t show up, it The Noun- and Participle- may be misspelled in the main Declension Dialogue Box dialogue-box or it may simply If you pressed the ‘Inflect’ not be in the dictionary. • Inflect: Press this and the word button on the search-results If the word you are looking for will be inflected. If it’s any- dialogue box and the word you Scroll bars applied to a word is in the list then great. You may thing other than an had selected was a noun, adjec- only want to find the meaning— indeclinable, a further screen tive, pronoun or participle, then This just means that there is and there it is. Most of the will pop up showing you the you will shortly see this screen more than one alternative columns on the grid are self- word’s inflections. If the word with all the word’s potential endings. In this particular case, explanatory, except perhaps is indeclinable, then a little endings. The dialogue box locative singular for the a- ‘Defn’. When two words share the message will pop up telling should be fairly straightforward, declension has as alternatives ‘e’ same spelling, the first one is you that the word doesn’t but I will make a few notes. and ‘asmiü’. If you click on the Definition 1, the second actually take any inflections, Nouns, of course, will be scroll bar you can see the other Definition 2, etc. which, after all, is what an declined in their own gender alternatives. indeclinable is. column. Pronouns, adjectives The search-results screen • Close: Press this and the and participles will be declined At the top of the screen is a text provides you with a few buttons: dialogue box will close, in all three genders. box entitled ‘Declension of root’. • Save Word: Press this and the returning you to the main Some boxes have little scroll This is the form of the word in word is saved to the saved- dialogue box. bars on their right edge: the dictionary. It is the root from

Pàli Lookup System - 8 Pàli Lookup System - 9 which all the declined forms are stored in a database, fully spelled in the Grammar and Meaning computed. out, and brought up whenever a columns will be for the Just below the ‘Declension of user requests it. The regular uninflected form. The second root:’ text box is a text box forms, however, are predicted, Declension dialogue box buttons thing to note is that the labelled ‘In role:’ using the word’s stem and Meaning column for the word applying regular endings to it. The Noun and Participle in the saved-words list will be The important point is this: Pàli Declension Dialogue box has adjusted. It will have a seg- is a dead language and there is three buttons. Note that, except ment in square brackets In-role text box no way to tell, just by looking at for the Close button, you must indicating the word’s gender, a word, whether that form was select a word from the declined- number (singular or plural) The purpose of this box is to ever actually used. This doesn’t forms grid first so that the button and case. Knowing these tell you what declension the mean that the creation of the has something to act on. things, one can mentally adjust word belongs to. Importantly, it form is necessarily wrong. It is the meaning to fit the will also tell you when a word is consistent with the conventions • Check Usage: The system offers declension details. irregular. (If it doesn’t say of the language and may very the user the opportunity to try • Close: Pressing this button ‘Irregular’, it’s assumed to be well have been used in speech at to determine whether the closes the dialogue box and regular.) Sometimes this box has the time—we just have no way word showed up in the Pàli returns you to the search- a scroll bar also, because there is of telling for sure. canon. This work is performed results dialogue box. the odd word that serves several As an example, in the dialogue on the Check-Usage dialogue roles. Bhojaniya is such a word. box above, purisena, the box and this work will be It acts as both an adjective instrumental form of purisa, is described in detail there (see meaning ‘fit to be eaten’ and as selected. This word can be found below). a neuter noun meaning ‘soft in the Pàli canon. The word • Save Word: Pressing this button food’. What shows underneath above, it, purisàya, one of the saves the word much the way this scroll box, i.e., the declined dative forms, however, cannot be the same button did on the forms, will correspond to the role found. It may show up in the search-results dialogue box indicated in the ‘In-role’ text box. commentarial works. The writer (see page 8). There are two If you select another entry in this of this document is not certain things to note here, though. box, the screen will quickly erase here. First, you will be saving an the last role and fill in the In any case, sometimes inflected form of the word. In dialogue box with the new students of Pàli like to translate the diagram on page 9, purisa values. English back into Pàli. Knowing is a word in the dictionary, but all the potential forms of words, the word selected, purisena, is There are two types of even if some were never not. It is an declined form of declinable nouns (including recorded, will be helpful for this purisa. What will show up in adjectives, pronouns and parti- kind of work. the Pàli column of the saved- ciples): regular and irregular. words list will be the inflected The irregular forms are simply form, but what will show up

Pàli Lookup System - 10 Pàli Lookup System - 11 middle, causative and passive- computer calculates where never causative. It is admitted, that used. Very few middle forms are causative isn’t really a valid available, for example, and yet grammatical voice, but, in that it the computer consistently calcu- can have a full set of tenses, it lates them for all regular present- acts like one, and so it is easiest tense verbs. This information is to represent it as it has been. The provided not as an authoritative tenses represented in the system guide as to what word were used are six: present, imperative, past in Pàli, but as an indication of (aorist), future, optative and what the forms of tenses verbs conditional. Again, optative and would have, if the rules of the conditional, arguably are not language are applied. This may really tenses—they’re more like be of use to those translating moods—but they behave like from English to Pàli. tenses and it was felt to be a fair All of the tenses in the finite- simplification to treat them as verb grid are in third-person such. singular. This is the person/ When this dialogue box first number in which words in the starts up, the software pulls up dictionary are stored. The Verb-Conjugation Dia- as many words in the dictionary There is a Conjugation button logue Box and first, in the traditional Pàli as it can that relate to the word in this frame. If you have a verb order) and two numbers (singu- the user clicked on in the search- form selected and you press it, it If you pressed the ‘Inflect’ lar and plural). The different results form. The dictionary is will be conjugated in the Conju- button on the search-results areas of this dialogue box were quite generous with it’s inclusion gated Forms frame. More will be dialogue box and the word you created with an eye to the best of tenses and so a number can said about this under the heading had selected was a verb, then you way to represent this. be represented on the form. The for that frame. will shortly see this screen with The form is divided into four software also makes an attempt all the verb’s different tenses and major areas: to compute predictable tenses. The Participle/Verbal Nouns potential conjugated endings. • The Finite Forms frame For example, if you know the frame is just below the Finite- This dialogue box is a little • The Participle/Verbal Nouns active-present tense of a verb in forms frame. It contains a grid more complex than the Noun frame Pàli (and it is regular) you can of participles arranged under the and Participle Declension dia- •The Indeterminate Forms predict it’s active-optative tense. same set of voices. The Parti- logue box. This is due to the frame This is what is being done with ciples available in the dictionary relative complexity of verbs. • The Conjugated Forms frame bandheyya in the image above. and represented in the grid are Verbs come in different tenses This tense is not in the dic- five: past participles, present and different voices. Note only The Finite Forms frame is at tionary: it was calculated by the participles, gerunds (also known that, each of these tense-voice the top and it is a voice/tense software. Again, it is quite as absolutes), future passive combinations can be conjugated grid. The voices represented in possible that the tenses the participles, and infinitives. What- in three persons (third, second the system are active, passive,

Pàli Lookup System - 12 Pàli Lookup System - 13 ever participles are available in show up in the Conjugated Forms computed form was com- recorded in the written the dictionary for the verb under frame. Once this dialogue box puted. This is normally the records. This button will pull review are presented here. has opened, however, you have present-tense form of the same up the Check Usage dialogue These participles are presented the option of conjugating any of voice as the computed verb. box and let you know whether solely for the user’s instruction. the other tenses in the Finite • Check Usage: I’ve added this it can find the word you’ve There are no options to do Forms frame. because the verb forms calcu- selected in the Pàli Canon. anything with them. If they are There’s a label just over the lated by the system, though This will be described in more declinable participles and the conjugated forms that shows the valid formulations, may not be detail in the next section. user wants to see their forms, verb’s voice and tense. It also then he or she must look them shows whether the verb is regular up individually—they can’t be or irregular. As with nouns, if it declined from here. doesn’t say irregular, it’s assumed to be regular. As with nouns, The Indeterminate Forms irregular forms are stored, fully frame is at the bottom left. There spelled out in a table, but regular are a few words in the dictionary forms are computed by adding that relate to particular verbs, but standard endings to the verb for which the creator of the tense’s stem. system could get no validation of their existence. Rather than There are two buttons ignore these forms, they are associated with the Computed placed here for the user to do Forms frame: with as he or she pleases. There • Save Word: This button will are not very many such forms. save the word you have selected to the saved-words list. The Conjugated Forms frame As with declined nouns, the The Check Usage Dialogue Lanka Tipitaka Project (SLTP, see is on the bottom right. This is Meaning column of the saved- Box “Sources” at the end of this where the full conjugation for a word record will be adjusted If you pressed the ‘Check document for details). A verb tense will show up. When to show the word’s conjugation Usage’ button on either the program was written and run you first open this dialogue box, details (voice, tense, person). Noun/Participle Declension or against all of the 50 or so books the conjugations shown in this There’s one other nuance: the Verb Conjugation dialogue of the Pàli Canon itself. frame will be those of the verb computed verbs, because there box, then you will shortly see Commentarial works were not you entered with. In the dialogue is no meaning for it in the dic- this dialogue box which may included, but one book box shown above (page 12), if tionary, will bear the Meaning show how many times the word considered apocryphal in some you had clicked on the aorist (and Grammar) columns of a you selected shows up in the Pàli places was, viz., the Milinda- form of bandhati, i.e., bandhi on verb that is available in the Canon. pa¤ha. The program simply the search-results dialogue box, dictionary. This will normally The version of the Pàli Canon pulled out every word in each of the inflections of bandhi would be the verb from which the that was used was that of the Sri the books and compiled a list of

Pàli Lookup System - 14 Pàli Lookup System - 15 which words were used where. it only shows up in forms The important point is that these changed by sandhi. are all inflected forms. Dhamma, The software does provide a Sources for example, will show up on all button ‘Check Sandhi Variations’. it’s many forms. If you press this button, the When this dialogue box first software will attempt to find as The dictionary, the heart of the system, comes from: opens, it will show, with luck, one many possible variations to the 1. Pali-English Dictionary Version 1.0, created by a group of line telling how many times the spelling of the word as it can. It foreign monks in Sri Lanka. It is an electronic, public-domain word you selected shows up in does this by suffixing the word edition based primarily on A.P. Buddhadatta Mahathera's each of the books—if it had the with ‘ca’, ‘ti’, ‘pi’; prefixing the Concise Pali-English and English-Pali Dictionary, expanded exact same spelling as the word word with anything; and with a series of corrections and additions. The Dictionary is you selected. In the figure above, lengthening the final vowel (or made available as Public Domain on www.metta.lk we can see that the word purisena changing a ‘ü’ character to n, m These people were involved in the project: Phra Acan Sau of (by the man), shows up 105 or ¤). Malaysia, Ven. Rahula of Nepal, Ven. Dhammapala of times in the Canon, 2 of them in As is written on the dialogue Malaysia, Ven. Dhamma Jyoti of India, Ven. Mon Dãgha Nikàya, 12 in Majjhima box itself, however: ‘This is a Dhammadinna of Myanmar, Ven. Sao Suvan of Myanmar, Phra Nikàya and so on. However, complex area, and all of the Maha Anucha of Thailand, Phra Maha Phichit of Thailand, spellings of words sometimes possible variations may not be Phra En Piang of Malaysia, Ven. Kolita of Nepal, Ven. change in Pàli due to the present. Also, some of the Saddhatissa of Nepal, Ven. Phuntsok of India, Ven. Sheelaratna influence of surrounding words. variations present may not be of India, Ven. Sao Sutananda of Myanmar, Ven. Sao This is known as sandhi, or valid. Use this information Sukhaminda of Myanmar, Ven. Sao Aggavamsa of Myanmar, junction. carefully.’ Ven. Sao K.H. Nyaninda of Myanmar, Ven. Sao Pannavamsa of Sometimes no records will The final figure below, shows Myanmar, Ven. Ashin Manijoti of Myanmar, Ven. Sao show up. This means either that what comes up when with press Pannananda of Myanmar, Ven. Sao Indobhasa of Myanmar, the form of the word you picked this button with the word Ven. Indasilo of Indonesia and Indika Rohan Peiris. was never used in the Canon, or purisena.

The Pali-canon word list was derived from: 2. Sri Lanka Tipitaka Project (SLTP). This input of the entire Pali Canon was completed at the "Siri Vajira¤àna Dharmàyatanaya," Bhikkhu Training Center, Maharagama, Sri Lanka in 1994. The project ran under the auspices of Venerable Madihe Pa¤¤àsãha Mahà Nàyaka Thera, Head of the Amarapura branch of the Buddhist Sangha in Sri Lanka. It is an electronic edition of the Pali Canon. These files are made available under the GNU GPL license. A copy of this license may be found in the program directory (AGnuGplForSltp.txt).

Pàli Lookup System - 16 Pàli Lookup System - 17 These texts were used to develop the inf lection tables: 3. Rhys Davids, T.W. and Stede, William, 1921-25, Pali-English Dictionary, Pali Text Society, London. 4. Cone, Margaret, 2001, A Dictionary of Pàli, Part 1, Pali Text Society, Oxford. 5. Warder, A.K., 1963, Introduction to Pali, Pali Text Society, London. 6. Duroiselle, Charles, 1997, A Practical Grammar of the Pàli Language, Third Edition, U. Dhamminda, Mawlamyine, Myanmar. [Avalailable as a PDF e-book from sites like www.buddhanet.net]

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