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Sanskrit and Computers A Presentation

The document summarizes Sanskrit and its relationship to computing. It discusses: 1) The history of exploring Sanskrit and computing, beginning in the 1980s with conferences and research groups. 2) How Panini's grammar treatise, the Ashtadhyayi, laid the foundations for computational linguistics by establishing a formal language and programming techniques for Sanskrit syntax. 3) Current active research groups and individuals continuing work on using Sanskrit for natural language processing and developing computational tools for the language.

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Sathasivam Govindasamy
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167 views

Sanskrit and Computers A Presentation

The document summarizes Sanskrit and its relationship to computing. It discusses: 1) The history of exploring Sanskrit and computing, beginning in the 1980s with conferences and research groups. 2) How Panini's grammar treatise, the Ashtadhyayi, laid the foundations for computational linguistics by establishing a formal language and programming techniques for Sanskrit syntax. 3) Current active research groups and individuals continuing work on using Sanskrit for natural language processing and developing computational tools for the language.

Uploaded by

Sathasivam Govindasamy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 16

Aksharam, Bangalore

.
Sanskrit and Computing: Myth and Truth
.

Shrinivasa Varakhedi
Professor and Dean, Academic Affairs
Karnataka Sanskrit University
Bangalore
e-mail - [email protected]

September 21, 2013

. . . . . .

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. Route map

My experience with computer and technology


History
Idea of Computing
Sanskrit for Computing
Is Sanskrit really a Computer Language?
Concrete Efforts
Current Active Groups and Individuals
Scope for Further Research

. . . . . .

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. My experience with computer and technology

Higher studies and research at HCU in1996 , where worked with a


team of computer scientists engaged in Machine Translation Project
- Anusaaraka
Two years NLP research program in IIIT-Hyd from 1998-2000,
taught Navya Nyāya concepts to faculty of computer science and
had an opportunity to learn programming concepts, while working
on NLP projects
PhD research on Knowledge Representation involving western logic
and Navya Nyāya Language (1998-2003)
Started a new department in Rashtriya Sanskrit University, Tirupati
for Post Graduation studies and Research in Sanskrit Computational
Linguistics and Shabdabodha Systems.
Projects: Sanskrit-net, Vācaspatyam, Rāmāyaṇa on Internet
Research: Aṣṭādhyāyī Stimulation, Development of Sanskrit MT and
Computational Tools etc.
Compiled a Sanskrit dictionary for computer terminology
Member of International Sanskrit computational linguistics forum

. . . . . .

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. History

Article by Rick Briggs in AI Magazine (1984) (Rickbrigg.pdf)


First Conference in Bangalore (1985) - Paramananda Bharati and
Others at Shankar Muth
Groups were formed to take up the research activity in a systematic
manner
IITK, CDAC, CASS in Puna, IITM, IISC, IITB were front-runners
Many training programs, workshops, short term courses, seminars
and conferences were organised in order to bring the Sanskrit
Researchers and computer scientists together
Research groups started working on MT systems, theoretical models,
Logics, Knowledge Representation schemes, Computational Models
for languages etc,
Many efforts resulted in developing toy systems and redundant
theories and comparisons.

. . . . . .

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. Idea of Computing

Who is the father of Computer?


–> Charles Babbage??
The current research has proved that
Pāṇini was the author of first book of computing
Renaming of BNF as PBNF (PBNF_paper.pdf)
Aṣṭādhyāyī is nothing but a program
Pāṇini synthesized Logic, Language and Mathematics
1. Indian contribution to Mathematics is ‘0’
2. First binary system is used in Piṅgala’s Chandas
3. The traces of early formal logic are found in Buddhist logic

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. Sanskrit for Computing

Computing has two aspects:


Logic
Language
Logic gives power of motion which leads to the automation of the
process (invention of wheel)
Language gives the power of expression which provides space for
representing the content
We find contributions of Pāṇini in both the aspects
by writing a logical processing machine for generation of
Sanskrit words/syntax using a formal language and
programming techniques
by providing basis to analyze the language and to decode the
content coded in it

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. Pāṇini: an Information Scientist

Structure of Aṣṭādhyāyī (ashtadhyayi.pdf) - Arrangement of


sutras and programming technique
An exclusive Grammar for Sanskrit using finite state automata
Base of theoretical concepts used for analysing n languages
(panini.pdf)

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. Is Sanskrit really a Computer Language?

Formal Language vs Natural Language


Sanskrit: Natural or Artificial??
bhāṣā vs paribhāṣā (Restricted Language)

. . . . . .

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. Formal Language vs Natural Language

Natural Languages are the languages that are spoken or written for
human communication.
strength : good for expression of feelings and emotions etc.
Weakness : lead to ambiguity at all levels starting from word,
syntax and pragmatics
Formal Languages are used for representing facts in Science
Strength - unambiguous syntax
Weakness - intangible for human beings
Computing requires unambiguous representation of content.
Therefore, the natural choice is formal language
Since Natural Languages lack unambiguous representation, and do
not fit into the logic, Artificial Languages are created using formal
structure/syntax

. . . . . .

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. Sanskrit: Natural or Artificial?

Answer is Natural but Restricted


Sanskrit is highly rich in coding information in all levels. Therefore,
it is naturally ambigous 1
caturaṅgatajñaḥ
śleṣa
dvisandānakāvya
vyaṅgyārtha etc.

1
ambiguity is not weakness, rather power of any natural
. . language
. . . .
10 / 16
. bhāṣā vs paribhāṣā (Restricted Language)

The technical language employed by Indian shastric disciplines is a


derivation of Sanskrit, leaving all disqualifications of Natural
Language and taking qualities of artificial language
Language of Aṣṭādhyāyī
Language of Navya Nyāya, Jyotiṣa (astronomy)
Language used in Sāṅkhya, buddhist and Jain Logic
Hence, it is natural for human being and as good as artificial for a
machine
Śāstric Sanskrit or paribhāṣā could be called as Language of
Computing

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. Concrete Efforts

Good research papers and Research Dissertation/Thesis


Modern translations of Indian texts of Grammatical and Navya
Nyāya
Preparations of Electronic Dictionaries and Text annotations
Best NLP research teams and scholars trained in multi-disciplines
like linguistics, computers, Sanskrit traditions
Influence of Pāṇinian Model in CL or NLP field : Computational
Grammars for different languages in Paninian perspective (Kāraka
expectencies for verbs, Samāsas, Dependency Grammar,
Government and Binding Theories)
Birth of Sanskrit computational linguistics Forum(2005)

. . . . . .

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. Current Active Groups and Individuals

Sanskrit for Computers


Akshar Bharati, Vineet Chaitanya and Rajeev Sangal at IIIT
Hyd and IITK (http://ltrc.iiit.ac.in/)
KVRK - RSV Tirupati (http://sanskrit.uohyd.ac.in/)
Amba Kulakarni et all - HCU Hyd
(http://sanskrit.uohyd.ac.in/)
Pushpak Bhattacharya IITB (http://cfilt.iitb.ac.in/)
Shrinivasa Varakhedi at KSU Bangalore
(http://ksu.ac.in/)
Prof. Malhar Kulakarni, IITB (http://cfilt.iitb.ac.in/)

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. Current Active Groups and Individuals

Computers for Sanskrit


Gerard Huet, INRIA, France - Heritage Site
(http://sanskrit.inria.fr/)
Amba Kulakarni et all - HCU Hyd
Girishnath Jha, CASS JNU New Delhi
(http://sanskrit.jnu.ac.in/)
Peter Scharf, USA (http://sanskritlibrary.org/)
Ramanujam, CDACB (http://ihg.cdacb.in/)

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. Scope for Further Research

Designing of a programming Language using Sanskrit syntax


1. Information in vibhakti

2. Aṣṭādhyāyī techniques

Stimulation of Aṣṭādhyāyī
writing programs in the Aṣṭādhyāyī model and testing it, that
helps in understanding Aṣṭādhyāyī process
Application of Vyākaraṇa, Nyāya and Mīmāṃsā principles in natural
language understanding through computers Eg: MT systems, Search
Engines, Intelligent machines

. . . . . .

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. Acknowlegement

Aksharbharati, Prof. Vineet Chaitanya, Prof. Rajiv Sangal, IIIT,


Hyderabad
Prof. D. Prahladacar, Prof. K V Ramakrishnamacaryulu, RSVP,
Tirupati
Dr. Amba Kulakarni, Prof. Uma Mahesvara Rao, HCU
Dr. V Sheeba, Chinmaya International Foundation Shodha
Sansthan, Kerala
Dr. Tirumala Kulakarni, Poorna Prajna Vidyapeetha, Bangalore

. . . . . .

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