11 - Sanskrit and Pali Derivatives in the Language of Burmese Government and Politics

Summary

Sanskrit and Pali derivatives in the language of Burmese government and politics can be conveniently divided into three major periods:

1. The monarchic period, 1044-1886

2. The first post-monarchic period, 1886-1962

3. The second post-monarchic period, 1962 to the present

During the monarchic period, Pali was a second language to Burmese scholars and writers. Pali is the language of the Scriptures of Southern Buddhism, which was introduced to Burma some time in the tenth century AD. This faith was patronized by the Burmese despotic monarchs and propagated by the Buddhist monks chiefly through their writings. New concepts from the vast Pali literature were incorporated into the Burmese language by translating and adapting or adopting Pali words or expressions.

Sanskrit's contribution to the growth of neologisms was chiefly confined to subjects such as astrology, astronomy, medicine, and such sciences. There is in Burmese, therefore, a preponderance of Pali derivatives compared to Sanskrit ones.

During the first post-monarchic period, many Burmans took up the study of English seriously for obvious reasons in the time of the British administration, 1886-1948. Many of them also took up politics. Terms for new concepts in the fields of government and politics were borrowed from English in much the same way as they were borrowed earlier from Pali and Sanskrit. Tradition, however, dies hard. Several English words, expressions and terms were translated into Pali and to a lesser extent, into Sanskrit, by using either the existing vocabulary or new equivalents.

In the present period of military rule, the Revolutionary Council has abolished many institutions which, according to them, have a feudal flavour; and they have banned political parties other than the Burmese Socialist Programme Party. The linguistic tradition of coining neologisms is, however, still maintained.

The following list of derivatives set out to illustrate what I have been saying. This list is divided into four sections.

Derivatives introduced during the Monarchic Period

I have also noted which derivatives were retained in the second and third periods, and shown whether or not the meaning has been changed. There are altogether six subsections, namely, Rulers, Titles, Epithets, Officials, Quality, Instruments, and Articles of Government.