Parataxis – An Unrecognised Feature of Pali Syntax

Abstract

I aim to address the hitherto unexamined issue of parataxis in Pali. Provisionally we can gloss parataxis as an aside or parenthetic statement. Published grammars of Pali, reflecting a predominant historic obsession with morphology at the expense of syntax, do not address this syntactic structure. Adapting definitions of parataxis employed in the discussion of Latin and other Indo-European languages, I will identify instances of parataxis in the Pali corpus – beginning with the IndoAryan ‘place name parenthesis’ – and thus begin to map its usage in Pali language. Further instances include personal naming, expository or declarative functions, seyyathāpi analogies and -ti clauses. This involves both positive identification of paratactic structures and the exclusion of non-paratactic syntactic forms that appear similar, amongst which I include lists, juxtapositions, repetitions and chiasmus. My working proposition is that we should understand parataxis as lying on a spectrum running from the clear and unambiguous towards marginal examples, the status of which can be disputed. I will also briefly discuss the significance of identifying parataxis for our translation and text editorial practices. Keywords: Pali language, syntax, parataxis, grammar, translation, parenthetic place naming