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Johann Ernst Hanxleden

Johann Ernst Hanxleden

Johann Ernst Hanxleden (b. at Ostercappeln, near Osnabrück, in Hanover, Germany, 1681; d. at Palayur, in Trichur, Kerala, 20 March, 1732), known as Arnos Paathiri [Padre Ernst] in Kerala, was a Malayalam/Sanskrit poet, grammarian, lexicographer, and philologist. In addition to his mother tongue German, and his mastery of Malayalam and Sanskrit, he also had a good command over Latin, Syriac, Portuguese, and Tamil. He volunteered for service as a Jesuit missionary in Kerala while a student of philosophy at his home town. Together with his superiors Wilhelm Weber and Wilhelm Meyr, and a barber Franz Kaspar Schillinger, he set forth on 30 October, 1699, travelled through Italy, Turkey, Syria, Armenia, and Persia, and set foot in India at Surat on 13 December, 1700; Weber and Meyr had died at sea; Schillinger would later write an account of the perilous voyage. Hanxleden then went through Goa to the Jesuit seminary at Ampazhakkad in Kerala, completed his religious studies there, and was ordained. He moved to Palayur and, after surmounting several formidable barriers, learnt Sanskrit and Malayalam from namboothiri brahmins in Trichur. Later he served as secretary to John Ribeiro (the Archbishop of Cranganore from 1701 to 1716) for a few years; during this time he travelled widely throughout Kerala on various tasks such as preaching and catechesis. Hanxleden moved to Velur, a small village near Trichur, in 1712 and built a church there. This was his abode for most of his remaining life. The Puththenpaana, a Malayalam epic on the life of Christ, is his most celebrated poem. This is one of the earliest poems written in simple Malayalam. It has been an inalienable part of Christian (not restricted to Catholic) life in Kerala since the time of its composition; its paadhams [cantos] are sung in a characteristic manner in Christian households on various solemn occasions, the most notable ones being Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and other days of Holy Week and Lent, and evenings preceding funerals. The poem consists of fourteen paadhams; the couplets are written in the sarppini vruththam [metre], except for those in the twelfth paadham, which are in the nathonnatha metre. Lent The twelfth paadham on the lament of the Virgin Mary at the crucifixion and death of Jesus is the heart of the poem. Other important paadhams are concerned with the Fall of Man (second), the Annunciation (fourth), the Nativity (fifth), the Sermon on the Mount (seventh), the Last Supper (tenth), the trial and Crucifixion (eleventh), the Resurrection (thirteenth), and the Ascension (fourteenth). The first paadham has the poet telling us that he is writing the poem at the request of Antonio Pimental, Archbishop of Cranganore; since Pimental held the ecclesiastical office from 1721 to 1752, the poem was composed some time during the period 1721-1732. The Chathuranthyam is a mystic poem on the four ends of man: maranam [death], vidhi [judgement], moksham [paradise], and narakam [perdition]; parts of the poem are sung on occasions similar to the Puththenpaana recitals. While his poems are written works, they also have a strong oral tradition; many pious Christians retain his poetical works in their memory and are able to recite it by heart. Hanxleden was the first to compile a Malayalam dictionary. His lexicon describes Malayalam words in both Sanskrit and Portuguese (the then predominant European language in India). He also wrote a short and succinct grammar (the earliest) for the Malayalam language. Hanxleden and his predecessor, Heinrich Roth, were the pioneering European Sanskrit scholars: he was the first European to write a Sanskrit grammar, and also the first European to compose Sanskrit verse. From 1729 onwards, he lived at Ampazhakkad, Pazhuvil, and Palayur. He died at Palayur of a snake-bite, and is buried there in the ancient church founded by St. Thomas. His home, and the church he built (St. Francis Xavier forane church), are preserved as historical monuments in Velur. Paulinus of St. Bartholomew [Johann Philipp Wesdin, known as Paulinus Paathiri (1748-1806)] of the Carmelite order, who had lived in Kerala from 1776 to 1789, brought some of Hanxleden's works, such as his Sanskrit grammar, to Europe, and also wrote about Hanxleden and his writings extensively in his memoirs.

Works

# Puththenpaana [Mishihaadaey paana / New song-poem] (Malayalam poem; published by St. Joseph's press, Mannanam) # Chathuranthyam [Naaluparvvam / The four ends] (Malayalam poem) # Genevieva punyacharithram [The epic of St. Genevieve] (Malayalam poem) # Ummaadaey dhukhkham [Mater dolorosa / The sorrow of Mother] (Malayalam poem; thought to have later become the twelfth paadham of the Puththenpaana) # Malayalam-Portuguese nighandu [Dictionarium Malabarico-Lusitanum] (published in 1988 by Kerala sahithya academy) # Malayalavyaakaranam [Grammatica Malabarico Lusitana / Arte Malabar] (Malayalam grammar; published in 1993 by Ranjima publications, with original in Portuguese and English translation by Miss Pinto; Editor: P. V. Ulahannan Mappila) # Samskrutham-Portuguese nighandu [Dictionarium Samscredamico-Lusitanum] (completed by [http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/b/bischopinck_b.shtml Bernhard Bischopinck] and Archbishop Antonio Pimental) # Samskruthavyaakaranam [Sanskrit grammar] # Ave Maris Stella [Hymn; not extant]

References

- Franz Kaspar Schillinger: Persianische und Ost-Indianische Reis, welche Franz Kaspar Schillinger mit P. Wilhelm Weber und P. Wilhelm Mayr durch das Türckische Gebiet im Jahr 1699 angefangen und 1702 vollendet, Nürnberg, 1707.
- Paulinus of St. Bartholomew: Examen historico-criticum codicum indicorum bibliothecae sacrae congregationis de propaganda fide, Propaganda press, Rome, 1792.
- Paulinus of St. Bartholomew: India orientalis Christiana, Propaganda press, Rome, 1794.
- Paulinus of St. Bartholomew: De manuscriptis codicibus indicis R. P. Joan Ernesti Hanxleden epistola ad. R. P. Alexium Mariam A. S. Joseph Carmelitam excalceatum, Vienna, 1799.
- Mathew Ulakamthara: Arnos Pathiri, Kerala history association, Cochin, 1982.
- J. J. Pallath, Ed.: Arnos Padiri: the first Malayalam poet scholar orientalist, Arnos Padiri publications, Calicut, 1994.
- Joseph J. Palackal: Puthen pana: a musical study, Master's thesis, Hunter college of the City university of New York, 1995; Christian musicological society of India.

External links

- [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/Puththenpaana.pdf The twelfth paadham]
- [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07131a.htm Catholic encyclopaedia]
- [http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/h/hanxleden_j_e.shtml Kirchenlexikon]
- [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004111402780300.htm&date=2004/11/14/&prd=th& John Kalliath, Arnos nagar, Velur]
- [http://www.kerala.gov.in/dept_culture/dept_sahithya_akademi.htm Kerala sahithya academy]
- [http://www.namboothiri.com/articles/chathurangam.htm Chathurangam] Hanxleden, Johann Ernst Hanxleden, Johann Ernst Hanxleden, Johann Ernst Hanxleden, Johann Ernst

Osnabrück

Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80km NNE of Dortmund, 45km NE of Münster, and some 100km due West of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehengebirge and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest, which is a series of parallel ridges running SE towards Bielefeld and beyond to Detmold, that makes the generally pretty area attractive to bicycle riders, amongst others. As of June 30, 2002, its population was 163,919, making it the third largest city in Lower Saxony.

History

Osnabrück was founded in 780 by Charlemagne, king of the Franks, although the date is not entirely certain. Some time before 803, the city became seat of the Bishopric of Osnabrück. This date is also uncertain, but it makes Osnabrück the oldest bishopric in Saxony. In 889 it was given merchant, customs, and coinage privileges by King Arnulf of Carinthia. It is first mentioned as a "city" in records in 1147. Shortly afterwards, in 1157, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa granted the city fortification privileges (Befestigungsrecht). Most of the towers that were part of the medieval fortification are still visible in the city. Osnabrück became a member of the Hanseatic League in the 12th century, as well as a member of the Westphalian Federation of Cities. Westphalian Federation of Cities Still a bishopric today, the city has a fair-sized cathedral in the late romanesque style. While nothing is left of the original cathedral from the city's foundation, excavations have traced the oldest parts of today's building to the 10th century. Most of it stems from the 12th and 13th centuries though, with the choir being a later gothic addition. Curiously, the southwestern tower that was also added later in gothic style occupies four times the ground space of the older, northwestern one. The plan to re-erect the second tower was never executed, making the two towers look very much out of proportion to each other (see the external links below). Since the citizens elected to follow the course of the Protestant reformation, this led to an ongoing conflict with the Catholic bishop that was not resolved until the 17th century. Probably the most significant event in the city's history was then the negotiations from 1643 to 1648 that led to the Peace of Westphalia that ended the Thirty Years' War. Since the Catholic and the Protestant delegations refused to negotiate in person, the Catholics were seated in Münster, while the Protestants resided in Osnabrück. The Friedenssaal, where the negotiations took place, can be seen in the city's impressive Town Hall building from 1517. For the city, the Westphalian Peace led to the unique regulation that it would be governed alternately by a Roman Catholic and a Protestant bishop, with the Protestant bishops being nominated by the Dukes (later Electors) of Brunswick-Luneberg. This led to the last prince-bishop, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1763-1827), being elected at the age of 196 days to enable him to hold the position for as long as possible. Today, the city's population is roughly divided between the two confessions. Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany In the course of the secularization that preceded the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the Bishopric of Osnabrück was appropriated into the Kingdom of Hanover in 1803. This was confirmed by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Not until 1858 was the diocese re-erected as a church entity, while the city continued to belong to Hanover and thus also became part of Prussia with the annexation of Hanover in 1866. Osnabrück suffered very much from the bombings at the end of World War II, but selected parts of the historic buildings have been re-erected. Today's Altstadt thus may not be entirely original, but still delivers the impression of a medieval city. Osnabrück remains an important British Army garrison as part of British Forces Germany (BFG).

Famous people from Osnabrück

Personalities from Osnabrück include the writer Erich Maria Remarque and the painter Felix Nussbaum, for whom the city erected a very modern museum designed by Daniel Libeskind that opened in 1998. This looks like a scaled-down version of the same architect's well-known Jewish Museum in Berlin. British King George I was born and raised here, and the poet and scholar Johann Ernst Hanxleden was born in Osnabrück, as was the current Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Christian Wulff.

Academic Education in Osnabrück

In addition to the "Universität Osnabrück" (University of Osnabrück) and the "Fachhochschule Osnabrück" (University of Applied Science), the "Katholische Fachhochschule Norddeutschland" (Catholic University of North Germany) has some of its faculties in the city of Osnabrück.

Traffic

The city of Osnabrück is placed next to the A1(motorway 1, E37) and the A30. Osnabrück has an international airport, called FMO

External links

- [http://www.osnabrueck.de osnabrueck.de,] the city homepage on the Web (in German)
- [http://www.panorama-cities.net/osnabrueck/osnabrueck.html City Panoramas] - Panoramic Views of Osnabrück's Highlights
- [http://home.t-online.de/home/eckhard.roessel/foto/foto10.htm Osnabrück picture gallery]
- [http://www.klaes-w.de/webseiten/owl_teutob_wald/osnabrueck_markt_mit_rathaus_6739.htm Photo of the historic Town Hall]
- [http://www.daniel-libeskind.com/projects/pro.html?ID=4 Felix-Nussbaum-Haus (project description with photos on the Libeskind homepage)]
- [http://www.remarque.uos.de/ Remarque centre (English, German, other languages)]
- [http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/RemarqueErichMaria/ Remarque biography at LeMO (German)]
- http://www.remarque.net/ (German)
- [http://www.ub.fu-berlin.de/internetquellen/fachinformation/germanistik/autoren/multi_pqrs/rema.html Link collection on Remarque (German)]
- [http://www.uni-osnabrueck.de University of Osnabrück, available in English and German] Category:Cities in Germany Category:Towns in Lower Saxony ja:オスナブリュック

1681

Events

- March 4 - Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
- October 12 - A London woman is publicly flogged for the crime of "involving herself in politics."
- August 31 - Titus Oates is told to leave his state apartments in the Whitehall - his fame begins to wane and he is soon arrested and imprisoned for sedition
- France annexes the city of Strasbourg
- The last Dodo is killed
- Collections made in England for needy French refugees

Births

- March 14 - Georg Philipp Telemann, German composer (d. 1767)
- June 26 - Hedwig Sophia, duchess of Holstein-Gottorp, Swedish writer (d. 1708)
- September 11 - Johann Gottlieb Heineccius, German jurist (d. 1741)
- September 28 - Johann Mattheson, German composer (d. 1764)
- November 17 - Pierre François le Courayer, French theologian (d. 1776)
- November 28 - Jean Cavalier, French protestant rebel leader (d. 1740)

Deaths

- January 28 - Richard Allestree, English royalist churchman (b. 1619)
- March 12 - Frans van Mieris, Sr., Dutch painter (b. 1635)
- May 25 - Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish dramatist and poet (b. 1600)
- July 1 - Oliver Plunkett, Irish saint (b. 1629)
- July 25 - Urian Oakes, English-born President of Harvard University (b. 1631)
- August 22 - Philippe Delano, Dutch Plymouth Colony settler (b. 1602)
- December 22 - Richard Alleine, English Puritan clergyman (b. 1611)
- Gerard Terborch, Dutch painter Category:1681 ko:1681년

Trichur

Thrissur (Malayalam: തൃശു൪) is a city situated in the central part of Kerala state, India. It is an important cultural centre, and is known as the "cultural capital" of Kerala. It is famous for the Thrissur Pooram festival, the most colourful and spectacular temple festival of Kerala. The festival is held near the Vadakkumnathan temple, in April or May. It has a large number of well known temples around, including the temple town of Guruvayoor. The name Thrissur is derived from 'Tri-Shiva-Perur' (Malayalam: തൃശ്ശിവപേരൂ൪) , which means the place with three famous Siva temples which are said to be 1)the Vadakkunathan, 2) Kottapuram Siva temple and 3)Punkunnam Siva temple. (Alternately, the name can be parsed as 'Thiru-Siva-Perur', the place with the holy name of Siva). Thrissur was also known as Vrishabhadripuram and Ten Kailasam in ancient days.

History

From ancient times, Thrissur district has played a significant part in the political history of south India. The early political history of the district is interlinked with that of the Cheras of the Sangam age, who ruled over vast portions of Kerala with their capital at Vanchi. The whole of the present Thrissur district was included in the early Chera empire. The district can claim to have played a significant part in fostering the trade relations between Kerala and the outside world in the ancient and medieval period. It can also claim to have played an important part in fostering cultural relations and in laying the foundation of a cosmopolitan and composite culture in this part of the country. Kodungalloor which had the unique distinction of being the 'Premium Emporium India', also belongs to the signal honour of having first given shelter to all the three communities which have contributed to the prosperity of Malabar. These three communities are the Christians, the Jews and the Muslims. The history of Thrissur district from the 9th to the 12th centuries is the history of Kulasekharas of Mahodayapuram and the history since 12th century is the history of the rise and growth of Perumpadappu Swarupam. In the course of its long and chequered history, the Perumpadappu Swarupam had its capital at different places. According to the literary works of the period, the Perumpadappu Swarupam had its headquarters at Mahodayapuyram and had a number of Naduvazhies in southern Kerala. Central Kerala recognised the supremacy of the Perumpadappu Moopil and he is even referred to as the 'Kerala Chakravarthi' in the 'Sivavilasam' and some other works. One of the landmarks in the history of the Perumpadappu Swarupam is the foundation of a new era called Pudu Vaipu era. The Pudu Vaipu era is traditionally believed to have commenced from the date on which the island of Vypeen was thrown from the sea. The 14th and 15th centuries constituted a period of aggressive wars in the course of which the Zamorins of Calicut acquired a large part of the present Thrissur district. In the subsequent centuries the Portuguese dominated the scene. By the beginning of the 17th century the Portuguese power in Kerala was on the verge of collapse. About this time other European powers like the Dutch and the English appeared on the scene and challenged the Portuguese. Internal dissension in the Perumpadappu Swarupam helped the Dutch in getting a footing on the Kerala coast. As the Kerala chiefs were conscious of the impending doom of the Portuguese, they looked upon the Dutch as the rising power and extended a hearty welcome to them. The decadence and consequential want of solidarity opened the flood gates of aggression. Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan figured very prominently during the period. In 1790 Raja Rama Varma (1790-1805) popularly known as Sakthan Thampuran ascended the throne of Cochin. With the accession of this ruler the modern period in the history of Cochin and of the district begin. Sakthan Thampuran was the most powerful maharaja as the very name indicate. He is the architect of Thrissur town. Sakthan Thampuran ascended the throne just before the conclusion of a treaty with the British East India Company. According to that treaty, Cochin threw off all allegiance to Tippu Sultan and became a tributary to the Company. The wave of nationalism and political consciousness which swept through the country since the early decades of this century had its repercussion in the district as well. Even as early as 1919 a committee of the Indian National Congress was functioning in Thrissur. In the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1921, several persons in Thrissur town and other places in the district took active part and courted arrest. Thrissur district can claim the honour of having been in the forefront of the countrywide movement for temple entry and abolition of untouchability. The famous Guruvayur Satyagraha is a memorable episode in the history of the National Movement. The Government of Cochin under the guidance of Sri. R. K. Shanmughom Chetti followed a policy of conciliation. By decree the public demand for the introduction of responsible Government in the State grew strong. In August 1938 Cochin announced a scheme for reforming the State legislature and introducing a system as per the Government of India Act of 1919 in the British Indian provinces. The administration of certain departments was entrusted to an elected member of the legislature to be nominated by the Maharaja. In the elections to the reformed legislature two political parties, viz. the Cochin State Congress and the Cochin Congress won 12 and 13 seats respectively. With the help of a few independents Ambat Sivarama Menon who was the leader of the Cochin Congress Party took up office as Minister under the scheme in June 1938. On his death in August 1938 Dr. A.R. Menon was appointed as Minister. When the State Legislature passed a vote of non-confidence against him, Dr. Menon resigned office on February 25,1942 and was succeeded by Sri T.K. Nair who continued in office till July 11,1945. The introduction of dyarchy did not satisfy the political aspirations of the people of Cochin. The idea of full responsible Government on the basis of adult franchise had caught their imagination. On January 26, 1941 a new political organisation called the Cochin State Praja Mandal took shape on the initiative of a few young politicians under the leadership of V.R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan. The Quit India Movement of 1942 had its echoes in the district. After the release of the leaders from jail in 1943, the Cochin State Praja Mandal pursued its organisational activities more vigorously. In the elections to the State Legislature in 1945 it won 12, of the 19 seats contested by its candidates. At the annual conference of the Praja Mandal held at Ernakulam in 1946 it was decided to start a state wide movement for the achievement of a responsible Government. The State Legislature was scheduled to meet on July 29, and it was decided that the day should be observed all over the State as 'Responsible Government Day'. In pursuance of this decision, meetings and demonstrations were held all over the State demanding the end of Dewan's rule and the transfer of full political power to the elected representatives of the people. The Maharaja of Cochin announced in August 1946 his decision to transfer all departments of the State Government except law and order and finance to the control of Ministers responsible to the State Legislature. In co-operation with other parties in the State Legislature, the Cochin State Praja Mandal decided to accept the offer. Consequently the first popular Cabinet of Cochin consisting of Panampilli Govinda Menon, C.R. Iyyunni, K. Ayyappan and T.K. Nair assumed office. The first step towards the achievement of the goal of 'Aikyakerala' was taken with the integration of 'Travancore Cochin' States in July 1949. With the linguistic reorganisation of States in India, in November 1956 the Kerala State came into existence.

Geography

Thrissur is situated in south western india and is in the central part of Kerala state, India. Thrissur is at sea level and spans an area of about 66.15 km². The center of the city is the Vadakkumnathan temple located on a small hillock. The city enjoys a tropical climate, the monsoons start in June. The months of April-May can get pretty humid which is also one of the best time to visit the city for the famed Thrissur Pooram. The best weather is from October to February.

Culture

Thrissur is built around a hillock, crowned by the famous Vadakkunathan (Siva) Temple, believed to have been founded by legendary Parasurama. The temple is a classical example of Kerala style of architecture and houses several sacted shrines. It is believed that Adi Shankaracharya spent his last days here. Thrissur also has added to its name The Church of Our Lady of Dolors, popularly known as the New Church. It is one on the biggest Catholic churches in south Asia. The first church of India is also situated in Thrissur, the St. Thomas church at Palayoor. The Metropolitan of the Chaldean Syrian Church (the name used for the Church of the East in India) is also headquartered in Thrissur, and many religious publications are printed by Mar Narsai Press.The largest christian piligrim centre in the district,St.Joseph's Shrine is situated at Pavaratty. Saint Thomas (Apostle) is believed to have landed in Kodungalloor (Formerly called Muziris) in 52 AD. The Saint Thomas Church established by him houses ancient relics. Guruvayoor is situated 25 Km north-west of the city, here the famous Sree Krishna temple is situated, is one of the most sacred and important pilgrim centres of India. The historic temple is shrouded in mystery. According to belief, the temple was created by Guru - the preceptor of the Gods and Vayu - the God of winds. The major cultural attraction is the Thrissur Pooram festival, celebrated during April - May, the Elephant Umbrella competition is spectacular, as richly caparisoned elephants carrying ceremonial umbrellas take the deity around the main temple. The passionate drum concerts and the spectacular firework displays are all part of the Pooram celebration Kerala Sahithya Akademy, Sangeetha Nataka Akademy and Kerala Lalithakala Academy are head quartered at Thrissur making the epithet 'cultural capital of Kerala' more meaningful Here are list of some of the temples around Thrissur,
- The Kodungallur Bhagavati Temple
- Vadakkumnathan Temple
- Paramekkavu Bhagawathy Temple
- Thiruvambady Temple
- Poonkunnam Temple
- Mulangunnathukavu
- Thiruvilwamala Sree Rama Temple
- Guruvayoor Temple
- Koodal Manikyam Temple
- Thriprayar Temple
- Arattupuzha Temple
- Kurumali Kavu Temple
- Areswaram Temple
- Payammal Temple
- Mammiyoor Temple

Educational institutions

Government Engineering College ,Thrissur is situated 2.5 kilometers away from Thrissur town. Established in 1958, GEC is one of the premier institutes in the field of technical education. The institution offers B.Tech courses in 7 branches and M.Tech and MCA courses too. Kerala Agricultural University is located at Vellanikkara, about 9 km away from Thrissur. One of the important animal research institution in the State College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences is located at Mannuthy, 5 km away from Thrissur. The Kerala Forest Research Institute ([http://www.kfri.org KFRI]) is established under the Science and Technology policy adopted by the Government of Kerala as an autonomous institution to undertake research in areas like forestry, biodiversity etc., that are vital to the development of Kerala State. The Institute was registered as a society on July 3, 1975 under the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act, 1955. The institution fulfills number of economic, social and environmental objectives set by the Government. Major Colleges: Govt Engg College, Thrissur Achutha Menon Memmorial Govt College,Thrissur Sree Kerala Varma college, Thrissur St.Thomas College , Thrissur St.Marys College ,Thrissur St.Alosias College ,Thrissur Vimala College ,Thrissur

Places in Thrissur District

- Ayyanthole
- Viyyoor
- Trichur Round
- Triprayar
- Poonkunnam
- Chiyyaram
- Patturaikkal
- Kunnamkulam
- Pulikkanny
- Varandarappilly
- Mupliam
- Kodakara
- Amballur
- Pudukkad
- Vadanappilly
- Wadakkancheri
- Irinjalakuda
- Kodungallur

Media

Kerala's leading Malayalam news papers, Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi have Thrissur edition published from Thrissur.

External links

- [http://www.thrissur.com For travel guide, information on pilgrimage centres etc.]
- [http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/prd2/keralam/dis_tsr.htm For more informations ] Category:Districts of Kerala Category:Cities and towns in Kerala DEEPIKA ALSO PUBLISHING FROM THRISSUR

Kerala

Kerala (or Keralam - കേരളം ) is a state in South India, occupying a narrow strip of India's southwestern coast. It is known for being the most literate state in India, with a literacy rate more than 90%.

Origin of name

The origin of the name Kerala is often disputed. The theory most often advanced is that it comes from "kera" (coconut tree) and "Alam" (land or location). Keralites, the occupants of Kerala, refer to the place as Keralam. Possibly, the name comes from chera alam (the land of the cheras, a dynasty that ruled kerala) or cher alam (a swamp) (land reclaimed from the sea).

History

According to local mythology the land of Kerala was created by Parusurama the avatar of Mahavishnu who claimed the land by throwing his axe into the ocean. People have lived in the region now known as Kerala since ancient times. The Sanskrit epic Aitareya Aranyaka has the earliest specific mention of Kerala. Katyayana (4th century BC) and Patanjali (2nd century BC) show their acquaintance with the geography of Kerala. Pliny the Elder mentions Muziris (modern Kodungallur) as the first port in India (N.H. 6.26); slightly later in time, the unknown author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea notes that "both Muziris and Nelkunda (modern Kottayam) are now busy places". The emergence of the Malayalam language from Tamil sheds light on the ancient past of Kerala. Malayalam (Mala or Mountain + Alam or location) means the 'living/inhabitants in mountain' in Tamil (Malayalam, which earlier implied the geographical location of the region, was replaced by 'Kerala' and now identifies the language spoken in the region). At first, the area was simply another Tamil-speaking region, however, it became linguistically separate from the Tamil region in the early 14th century. The Chera empire ruled the area of Kerala from ancient times with Tamil as their court language. Allied with the Pallavas, they were continually at war with the neighbouring kingdoms of the Cholas and Pandyas. The Chera capital was Vanchi, whose exact location is still a matter of conjecture. A regional identity distinct from the Tamils developed in 8th-14th centuries, with the second Chera empire and with the development of the Malayalam language. Both Buddhism and Jainism reached Kerala at an early period. Like other parts of ancient India, Buddhism and Jainism co-existed with early Shaivite beliefs and faiths associated with tribal life during the first five centuries. It was only after the "Sangam" Period that large groups of Northern Brahmins started migrating to Kerala, possibly during Kalabhra, Rashtrakuta, Chalukya, Pallava and Hoysala invasions. By the 8th and 9th centuries, 2nd Chera kings inclined to Vaishnavism and some of them wrote great literary works in the stream of Vishnu Bhakthi. When all over India Hinduism was revived by intellectuals like Shankara and by Bhakti movements, and finally Buddhism and Jainism merged into their mother religion. Jewish settlers avoiding persecution in their homeland migrated to Kerala in the early centuries. Arab merchants founded Kerala's early Muslim community, the Mappilas, in the 8th century. According to some the history of Christianity in Kerala dates back to the arrival of St. Thomas the Apostle at Kodungallur in A.D. 52. For a long time this was disputed. However in 2002 The British researcher, William Dalrymple travelled across the Arabian Sea to Kerala in a boat similar to those mentioned in ancient Jewish and Roman texts and showed how the Nasrani-Jewish people had travelled to Kodungalloor. He followed the same course as mentioned in the Acts of Thomas, a copy of which survives in a monastery on Mount Sinai. A Christian-Jewish community was later established by a contingent of Jewish Nasranis led by Knai Thoma who arrived in 345. Cheraman Perumal, the then king of Malabar issued a proclamation giving land and privileges to the Knanaya Yehudeya(jewish)-Nasranis on copper plates on a Saturday in March (Kumbham 29), 345. This was followed by another round of migration from Syria recorded in the Tharisappally records from around the 8th century. When the Portuguese arrived in the early 1500s, they tried to impose Roman Catholicism on the original Syrian-Christian (Nasrani) people. The Nasranis (also called Syrian-Christians in Kerala) resisted the conversion attempts of the Portuguese to bring them under Romans or the Pope with Latin rite, and instead established a church based on ancient Hebrew-Jewish traditions using original Syriac/Aramaic language for their liturgy. Vasco da Gama's voyage to Kerala from Portugal in 1498 was largely motivated by Portuguese determination to break the Arabs' control over the trade between local spice producers and the Middle East, which existed even before Islam originated. He established India's first Portuguese fortress at Cochin (Kochi) in 1503 and from there, taking advantage of the rivalry existing between the royal families of Calicut and Cochin, managed to destroy the monopoly. The dispute between Calicut and Cochin, however, provided an opportunity for the Dutch to come in and finally expel the Roman Catholic Portuguese from their forts. The Dutch would, in turn, be routed by the Travancore (Thiruvithamcoore) ruler Marthanda Varma at the Battle of Kulachal in 1741. The British supported the Raja for a fixed annual payment of money and moved into the Malabar area in the form of the British East India Company and were firmly established by the end of the eighteenth century. Tipu Sultan attempted to encroach on British-held territory in 1792, but was defeated and the British remained in control until independence. Organised expressions of discontent with British supremacy were relatively infrequent in Kerala. Uprisings of note include the rebellion by Pazhassi Raja, Veluthampi Dalawa, and the Punnapra-Vayalar revolt of 1946. Mass protests were mainly directed at established social evils such as untouchability. The non-violent and largely peaceful Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924 was instrumental in securing entry to the public roads adjacent to the Vaikom temple for people belonging to backward castes. In 1936, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balaramavarma Maharaja, ruler of Travancore issued the Temple Entry Proclamation, declaring the temples of his kingdom open to all Hindu worshippers, irrespective of caste. Modern Kerala was created in 1956 when Malabar, which had been part of the Madras Presidency, was merged with Travancore and Kochi. The latter two were princely states, distinguished in that they had concerned themselves with the education and provision of basic services to the residents of their Kingdoms. First assembly elections in Kerala took place in 1957 and the first elected communist government of asia came into power headed by E.M.S.Namboothirippadu. The radical reforms introduced by that government in favour of farmers and labourers changed the social order which prevailed in kerala for centuries to a great extent.

State formation

The modern State of Kerala was formed by the amalgamation of three regions, the Kingdom of Thiruvithamcoore (Travancore), the Kingdom of Kochi (Cochin) and Malabar District. Thiruvithaamcoore and Kochi, former princely states, were merged to form Thiru-Kochi on July 1, 1949. Thiru-Kochi was merged with Malabar District and Kasargod taluk of South Kanara District to form the State of Kerala on November 1, 1956, based on the recommendations of the State Reorganisation Commission set up by the Government of India.

Administration

Kerala is divided into 14 districts. They are (from north to south) Kasargod, Kannur (Cannanore), Wayanad (Wynad), Kozhikode (Calicut), Malappuram, Palakkad (Palghat), Thrissur (Trichur), Ernakulam (Cochin), Idukki, Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Kollam (Quilon) and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital. Kochi is the largest city and considered the commercial capital of the state.

Demographics

Malayalam is the official language of Kerala. A large number of Tamil speaking people are present in the state, perhaps the biggest Tamil population outside Tamil Nadu. The major religions followed^{[http://www.censuskerala.org/religious.XLS]} in Kerala are Hinduism (56.1%), Islam (24.7%), and Christianity (19%). Kerala also had a tiny Jewish population till recently, said to date from 587 BC when they fled the occupation of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. The state has many famous temples, churches, and mosques. The synagogue in Kochi is the oldest in the British Commonwealth.

Geography

British Commonwealth British CommonwealthKerala is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west and the Western Ghats on the east. The states of Karnataka in the north and Tamil Nadu in the east are Kerala's immediate neighbours. Mahe, a part of the union territory of Pondicherry, is an enclave within Kerala. Geographically Kerala is divided into three regions:
- Highland or Mountain region
- Midland or the rolling hills
- Lowland or the coastal plain land There are 44 rivers flowing through Kerala, most of them are small and entirely fed by the Monsoons. The Kerala Backwaters, an interconnected system of brackish water lakes and river estuaries, lies behind the coast and runs virtually the length of the state.

Politics

Kerala gained the distinction, in 1957, of having democratically elected a Communist government, one of few anywhere in the world. Kerala has a reputation as one of the most left-wing states in India. The people of Kerala are very politically aware and are more active participants in the political process than those in the rest of the country. Today the political life of Kerala is dominated by two alliances, the United Democratic Front (led by the Indian National Congress) and the Left Democratic Front (led by CPI(M)). Currently UDF in which the Congress (I) is the largest coalition partner, controls the government. Oommen Chandy is the current Chief Minister of Kerala. List of Famous Politicians of Kerala

Arts

Kerala has a rich tradition in the arts, both classical and folk. In addition to the classical art forms like Koodiyattom (UNESCO Human Heritage Art), Kathakali, Kerala Natanam, Koothu, Mohiniyaattam Thullal, Padayani and Theyyam, Kerala has several folk art forms performed by people in various regions of the state. The region also has a tradition of Christian and Muslim performing arts. Most of these art forms have become artefacts of the past showcased in tourism fares or youth festivals, as contemporary art forms weave their own identity according to changing needs. Mimicry and parody have gained considerable mass appeal in recent years. Though sometimes risque and often politically incorrect, these devices are used by artists to mock social luminaries. Malayalam Cinema is another mode of artistic expression, and films from Kerala are very distinct from films made in Bollywood or Hollywood. In music, the dominant classical stream is carnatic music, the classical music of south India. Travancore king and music composer Swathi Thirunal was instrumental in popularising carnatic music in Kerala. Kerala has its own music system called sopanam which is a slow, step-by-step rendition of raga based songs. This is the music style used in Kathakali. Like rest of India, film songs are the major outlet for popular music. Kerala also has a unique and varied heritage in the percussion instruments genre. Classical styles of percussion music known as 'Melam' ( major categories are 'Paandi', 'Panchari') are performed using the unique Kerala instrument 'Chenda' during temple festivals. These are performed by large ensembles of percussion artists numbering up to 150 in numbers, each performance lasting up to 3 to 4 hours. Another major percussion ensemble of Kerala is 'Panchavadyam' consisting of 5 percussion instruments, again played by around 100 artists in major festivals. In addition to these major percussion orchestras, there are other varieties of percussion instruments / percussion methods associated with different folk and classical art forms of Kerala - all of them unique and found to be used only in this region. Apart from such performing arts, Kerala has made its mark in fine arts as well. Modern Indian art scenario is blessed with the presence of Kerala. However these artists have not been successful in invoking mass appeal as other artforms do.

Social scene

Kathakali Kerala ranks highest in India with respect to social development indices such as elimination of poverty, primary education and healthcare. Kerala has one of the most secular population in India though nowadays there have been disruptive influence from the religious extremist organisations. Kerala was declared the world's first "baby-friendly state" under WHO-UNICEF's Baby Friendly Hospital initiative. The state is known for Ayurveda, a traditional system of medicine which has found a new market in the growing tourist industry. As per the 2001 census, Kerala is the only state in India with a female-to-male ratio higher than 0.99 (the ratio for Kerala is 1.058 while the national figure is 0.933). However, the ratio for the 0-9 age group is 0.963, which not significantly higher than the national figure of 0.928. It is the only state in India to have sub-replacement fertility. The literacy rate in Kerala is the highest among Indian states, and so is the unemployment rate. Education and early influences of Arabs, Jews, Chinese and Portuguese have also made Kerala one of the most religiously diverse states in India. Ironically, Kerala is also noted as the state with the highest suicide rate in India. Kerala has an ancient solar calendar called the Malayalam calendar which is used by various communities primarily for Agircultural related activities and religious functions. Kerala has its own form of martial art, Kalarippayattu. Theyyam and Poorakkali are popular ritual arts of North Malabar, the northern part of Kerala.Oppana is most popular among mappilas,the muslim community in Malabar. This is a group dance that is performed by clapping hands and singing ishaland it is generally performed at weddings gatherings. Onam, associated with the legend of Mahabali is a state festival, but Keralites celebrate many other religious festivals, including Eid-ul-Fitr, Christmas, Easter, Deepavali and Vishu.

Economy

The economy of Kerala is predominantly agrarian in nature. In terms of per capita GDP and production Kerala lags behind many Indian states, but in terms of the Human Development Index and the standard of living of the people, Kerala is well ahead of most of the rest of India. In fact, in certain development indices Kerala is on a par with some developed countries. This peculiar paradox often termed the "Kerala Phenomenon" or Kerala model of development by experts, and is mainly due to the state's strong service sector. Kerala's economy can be best described as a socialistic welfare economy. However, Kerala's emphasis on social welfare has also resulted in slow economic progress with few major industries. Remittances from Keralites working abroad, mainly in the Middle East, make up over twenty percent of State Domestic Product (SDP). (For details, See Kannan K.P. and Hari K.S, 2002, Kerala's Gulf Connection, Emigration, Remittances and their Macro Economic Impact, 1997-2000, Working Paper 328, Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum.) Agriculture is the most important economic activity. Coconut, tea and coffee are grown extensively, along with rubber, cashew and spices. Spices commonly cultivated in Kerala include pepper, cardamom, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Much of Kerala's agriculture is in the form of home gardens.

Tourism

home gardens Kerala is a popular tourist destination for both domestic and foreign travellers. Among the tourist attractions are great beaches (Kovalam, Cherai and Varkala), serene hill stations (Ponmudi and Munnar), wildlife sanctuaries (Periyar and Eravikulam) and beautiful Kerala Backwaters (Alleppey, Kumarakom, and Punnamada), as also the marvel of kerala building art revealed through Padmanabhapuram Palace, Padmanabhapuram. The tourism department of the state calls the state as God's Own Country. National Geographic Society described Kerala as one of the 50 must-see destinations of a lifetime. Kochi, the commercial capital of the state is known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea. Alappuzha, the first planned town in Kerala is called the "Venice of the East". Tourism plays an important role in the state's economy.

Livestock sector

The livestock sector plays a vital role in the economy of Kerala, and offers great potential for alleviating poverty and unemployment in rural areas. The majority of livestock owning farmers are small and/or marginal or even landless. In view of its suitability for combination with the crop sub-sector and its sustainability as a household enterprise with the active involvement of the farm women, livestock rearing is emerging as a very popular supplementary vocation in the small farm segment. Rural women play a significant role in the development of the livestock sub-sector and are involved in operations such as feeding, milking, breeding, management, health care and running micro-enterprises. It is estimated that about 32 lakh (3.2 million) out of the total number of 55 lakh (5.5 million) households in Kerala are engaged in livestock rearing for supplementing their income. The homestead settlement pattern, the relatively high level of literacy - particularly among women, the highly favourable agroclimatic conditions conducive for biomass production and the long tradition in livestock rearing are inherent strengths which the Kerala economy possesses in favour of livestock rearing. There is a Livestock department is in Keralam for promoting livestock in Kerala. This advocate farmers on their issues. Kerala livestock development board took the initiative to produce the cattle breed "Sunandini".

Road network

India has more than 3.3 million km of road network at present making it one of the largest in the world. Length of roads in Kerala is 145704 km (4.2 percent of that in India). Kerala has 4.62 km of road per thousand population, against the national figure of 2.59 km. Road network in Kerala has the distinction of achieving connectivity to all the villages in Kerala. But as the villages are relatively large compared to other states, the development has not ensured connectivity of all the habitats. Main arterial roads are built and maintained by the Kerala Public Works Department. Traffic in Kerala has been growing at a rate of 10 to 11 percent every year, resulting in excessive pressure on the roads. Total road length in Kerala increased by 5 percent during 2003-2004. The road density in Kerala is nearly four times the national average, and is a reflection of the unique settlement patterns in the State. National Highways form the prime arterial routes in India, spanning 58,112 km throughout the country and cater to about 45 percent of the total road transport demand. The National Highway network in Kerala is 1524 km, only 2.6 percent of the national total. There are eight National Highways in the State. A major challenge has been taken by the state government for the upgrading and expansion of important roads to the standards prescribed by the Indian Road Congress for each category of road. Upgrading and maintenance of 1600 km of state highways and major district roads have been taken up under the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP). The much applauded GIS based Road Information & Management Project(RIMS) is developed under KSTP.

Trivia

- Arundhati Roy's Booker Prize winning novel The God of Small Things is set in Kerala.
- Salman Rushdie's novel The Moor's Last Sigh begins in the coastal area of Kerala (Mattanchery) and talks about the spice business.
- The town of Alleppey was featured on the American reality show The Amazing Race.
- Kerala is picked by National Geographic as [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/kerala.html 50 Places of a Lifetime]
- Kerala has the lowest infant mortality rate among the states in India, almost one-third of the national figure.
- Kerala has the highest life expectancy among the Indian States, with the life expectancy for males and females both being over 70.
- Kerala is said to have the highest density of telephone connections, vehicles, primary health centers and government run schools among the states in India

External links

- [http://www.kerala.gov.in Government of Kerala]
- [http://www.keralacm.gov.in Chief Minister of Kerala]

Kerala Trivia

- Poorams
- Pachakam
- Category:States and territories of India

1732

Events

- February 23 - First performance of Handel's Orlando, in London
- June 9 - James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia. [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/ga01.htm]
- December 7 - The original Covent Garden Theatre Royal (now the Royal Opera House) is opened
- Genoa regains Corsica
- 139 members of the Paris Parlement are exiled by order of the King, but are eventually triumphant over the Crown, and secure their recall in December
- Cobalt discovered

Births

- January 24 - Pierre de Beaumarchais, French writer (d. 1799)
- February 22 - George Washington, 1st President of the United States (d. 1799)
- March 31 - Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer (d. 1809)
- April 5 - Jean-Honoré Fragonard, French painter (d. 1806)
- September 30 - Jacques Necker, French politician (d. 1804)
- October 6 - Nevil Maskelyne, English Astronomer Royal (died 1811)
- November 13 - John Dickinson, American lawyer and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention (d. 1808)
- December 6 - Warren Hastings, British administrator (d. 1818)
- December 23 - Richard Arkwright, English inventor (d. 1792)
- Abbas III, Shah of Persia

Deaths

- January 12 - John Horsley, British archaeologist
- February 13 - Charles-René d'Hozier, French historian (b. 1640)
- February 17 - Louis Marchand, French organist and harpsichordist (b. 1669)
- February 22 - Francis Atterbury, English bishop and man of letters (b. 1663)
- March 20 - Johann Ernst Hanxleden, German philologist (b. 1681)
- May 20 - Thomas Boston, Scottish church leader (b. 1676)
- July 16 - Woodes Rogers, English privateer and first Royal Governor of the Bahamas
- September 24 - Emperor Reigen of Japan (b. 1654)
- October 31 - Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (b. 1666)
- December 4 - John Gay, English poet and dramatist (b. 1685) Category:1732 ko:1732년

Malayalam

:Note: Malayalam is not the Malay language, which is spoken in Malaysia. Malayalam (മലയാളം) is the language of the state of Kerala, in southern India. It is one of the 22 official languages of India, spoken by around 30 million people. A person who speaks Malayalam is called a "Malayali" (or rarely, a "Keralite"). It belongs to the family of Dravidian languages. Both the language and its writing system are closely related to Tamil. Malayalam has a script of its own.

Evolution

With Tamil, Kota, Kodava Thakk and Kannada, Malayalam belongs to the southern group of Dravidian languages. Its affinity to Tamil is the most striking. Proto-Tamil Malayalam, the common stock of Tamil and Malayalam apparently disintegrated over a period of four of five centuries from the ninth century on, resulting in the emergence of Malayalam as a language distinct from Tamil. As the language of scholarship and administration Tamil greatly influenced the early development of Malayalam. Later the irresistible inroads the Namboothiris made into the cultural life of Kerala and the trade relationships with Arabs and the conquest of Kerala by Portuguese, establishing vassal states accelerated the assimilation of many Romance, Semitic and Indo-Aryan features into Malayalam at different levels spoken by different castes and religious communities like Muslims, Christians and Hindus. Kerala and Lakshadweep Islands are the only place in world where Malayalam is the main spoken language. Malayalam colloquial grammar is available at [http://www.geocities.com/malayalamgrammar]

Development of literature

The earliest written record of Malayalam is the vazhappalli inscription (ca. 830 AD). The early literature of Malayalam comprised three types of composition:
- Classical songs known as /Pattu/ of the Tamil tradition
- Manipravalam/ of the Sanskrit tradition, which permitted a generous interspersing of Sanskrit with Malayalam
- The folk song rich in native elements Malayalam poetry to the late twentieth century betrays varying degrees of the fusion of the three different strands. The oldest examples of /Pattu/ and Manipravalam respectively are /ramacharitam/ and /vaishikatantram/, both of the twelveth century. The earliest extant prose work in the language is a commentary in simple Malayalam, Bhashakautaliyam (12th century) on Chanakya's Arthasastra. Malayalam prose of different periods exhibit various levels of influence from different languages such as Tamil, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali, Hebrew, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Syriac, Portuguese, Dutch, French and English. Modern literature is rich in poetry, fiction, drama, biography, and literary criticism.

The script

In the early ninth century /vattezhuthu/ (round writing) traceable through the Grantha script, to the pan-Indian Brahmi script, gave rise to the Malayalam writing system. It is syllabic in the sense that the sequence of graphic elements means that syllables have to be read as units, though in this system the elements representing individual vowels and consonants are for the most part readily identifiable. In the 1960s Malayalam dispensed with many special letters representing less frequent conjunct consonants and combinations of the vowel /u/ with different consonants. Malayalam now consists of 56 letters including 20 long and short vowels and the rest consonants. The earlier style of writing is now substituted with a new style from 1981. This new script reduces the different letters for typeset from 900 to less than 90. This was mainly done to include Malayalam in the keyboards of typewriters and computers.

Language variation and external influence

Variations in intonation patterns, vocabulary, and distribution of grammatical and phonological elements are observable along the parameters of region, religion, community, occupation, social stratum, style and register. Influence of Sanskrit is most prominent in the Hindu high caste dialects and least in the lower caste dialects like most other Indian languages. Loan words from English, Syriac, Hebrew, Latin, and Portuguese abound in the Christian dialects and those from Arabic and Urdu in the muslim dialects. Malayalam has borrowed from Sanskrit thousands of nouns, hundreds of verbs and some indeclinables. Some items of basic vocabulary also have found their way into Malayalam from Sanskrit. Like other parts of India, Sanskrit was considered as the aristocratic and scholastic language, similar to Latin in Europe. But a greater degree of Sanskrit influence is confined to the Namboothiri dialect of Malayalam which is spoken by people constituting less than 2% of the total Malayali population. At the same time Portuguese and Arabic influence is limited to loan words but outnumbers those from Sanskrit.

Trivia

- Malayalam is the longest language name in English which is a palindrome.
- The Malayalam script, of the Malayalam language spoken in Southern India, Kerala, is a descendant of the Grantha script.
- The first Malayalam dictionary was compiled by a German missionary, Hermann Gundert (Grandfather of Nobel Laureate German writer Herman Hesse.)

External links

- [http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/prd2/mala/mala.htm Information on Malayalam language at Department of Public Relations, Government of Kerala]
- [http://www.geocities.com/malayalamgrammar Grammar of colloquial Malayalam]
- [http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0D00.pdf Unicode Code Chart for Malayalam (PDF Format)]
- [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=MJS Ethnologue report for Malayalam]
- [http://www.malayalamdictionary.com Malayalam Online Dictionary]
- [http://www.iit.edu/~laksvij/language/malayalam.html Indian Language Converter] A means to transliterate romanised to Unicode Malayalam Category:Agglutinative languages Category:Dravidian languages Category:Languages of India Category:Kerala ms:Bahasa Malayalam ja:マラヤーラム語

Poet

Poets are authors of poems, or of other forms of poetry such as dramatic verse. Poets are often regarded as imaginative thinkers or writers. Bad poets are called poetasters.
- List of poets
- List of poetry groups and movements
- Apocalypse poets
- List of surrealist poets
- Mystic poets
- Symbolist poets
- War poets
- Georgian poets

Poets by language

Poets by nationality

- List of Canadian poets
- List of Nigerian poets
- List of South African poets
- List of contemporary Turkish poets ---- Poets day is a reference to Friday in workplaces which have a shorter working day at the end of the week. In this context, POETS is an acronym for "Push off early, tomorrow's Saturday". ja:詩人
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Grammarian

:This article is about grammar from a linguistic perspective. For English grammar rules, see English grammar or Disputed English grammar Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language. The set of rules governing a particular language is also called the grammar of the language; thus, each language can be said to have its own distinct grammar. Grammar is part of the general study of language called linguistics. The subfields of modern grammar are phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. Traditional grammars include only morphology and syntax.

Types of grammar

- A prescriptive grammar presents authoritative norms for a particular language, and tends to deprecate non-standard constructions. Traditional grammars are typically prescriptive. Prescriptive grammars are usually based on the prestige dialects of a speech community, and often specifically condemn certain constructions which are common only among lower socioeconomic groups, such as the use of "ain't" and double negatives in English. Though prescriptive grammars remain common in pedagogy and foreign language teaching, they have fallen out of favor in modern academic linguistics, as they describe only a subset of actual language usage.
- A descriptive grammar attempts to describe actual usage, avoiding prescriptive judgements. Descriptive grammars are bound to a particular speech community, and attempt to provide rules for any utterance considered grammatically correct within that community. For example, in many dialects of English, the use of double negatives is very common, though ungrammatical from the point of view of a prescriptive English grammar. A descriptive grammar of a speech community where "I didn't do nothing" is acceptable will treat that sentence as grammatical, and provide rules that account for it. A descriptive grammar of formal English would rather provide rules for "I didn't do anything."
- Traditional grammar is the collection of ideas about grammar that Western societies have received from Greek and Roman sources. Prescriptive grammar is always formulated in terms of the descriptive concepts inherited from traditional grammar. Modern descriptive grammar aims to correct the errors of traditional grammar, and generalize them, so as to avoid shoehorning all languages to the model of Latin. Nearly all materials used in teaching language, however, are still based on traditional grammar.
- A formal grammar is a precisely defined grammar, typically used for computer programming languages.
- A generative grammar is a formal grammar that can in some sense "generate" the well-formed expressions of a natural language. An entire branch of linguistic theory is based on generative grammars. Generative grammars were popularized by Noam Chomsky.

Development of grammars

Grammars evolve through usage and human population separations. With the advent of written representations, formal rules about language usage tend to appear also. Formal grammars are codifications of usage that are developed by observation. As the rules become established and developed, the prescriptive concept of grammatical correctness can arise. This often creates a gulf between contemporary usage and that which is accepted as correct. Linguists normally consider that prescriptive grammars do not have any justification beyond their authors' aesthetic tastes. However, prescriptions are considered in sociolinguistics as part of the explanation for why some people say "I didn't do nothing", some say "I didn't do anything", and some say one or the other depending on social context. The formal study of grammar is an important part of education from a young age through advanced learning, though the rules taught in schools are not a "grammar" in the sense most linguists use the term, as they are often prescriptive rather than descriptive. Planned languages are more common in the modern day. Many have been designed to aid human communication (such as Esperanto or the intercultural, highly logic-compatible artificial language Lojban) or created as part of a work of fiction (such as the Klingon language and Elvish languages). Each of these artificial languages has its own grammar. It is a myth that analytic languages have simpler grammar than synthetic languages. Analytic languages use syntax to convey information that is encoded via inflection in synthetic languages. In other words, word order is not significant and morphology is highly significant in a purely synthetic language, whereas morphology is not significant and syntax is highly significant in an analytic language. Chinese and Afrikaans, for example, are highly analytic and meaning is therefore very context dependent. (Both do have some inflections, and had more in the past; thus, they are becoming even less synthetic and more "purely" analytic over time.) Latin, which is highly synthetic, uses affixes and inflections to convey the same information that Chinese does with syntax. Because Latin words are quite (though not completely) self-contained, an intelligible Latin sentence can be made from elements placed in largely arbitrary order. Latin has a complex affixation and a simple syntax, while Chinese has the opposite. ----- In computer science, the syntax of each programming language is defined by a formal grammar. In theoretical computer science and mathematics, formal grammars define formal languages. The Chomsky hierarchy defines several important classes of formal grammars.

External links

- [http://www.krysstal.com/grammar.html Grammar Terms]
- [http://www.gramster.com/ English Grammar Software]
- [http://www.figarospeech.com/ It Figures-Figures of Speech]
- als:Grammatik ja:文法 simple:Grammar th:ไวยากรณ์

Philologist

Philology is the study of ancient texts and languages. The term originally meant a love (Greek philo-) of learning and literature (Greek -logia). In the academic traditions of several nations, a wide sense of the term "philology" describes the study of a language together with its literature and the historical and cultural contexts which are indispensable for an understanding of the literary works and other culturally significant texts. Philology thus comprises the study of the grammar, rhetoric, history, interpretation of authors, and critical traditions associated to a given language. Such a wide-ranging definition is becoming rare nowadays, and "philology" tends to refer to a study of texts from the perspective of historical linguistics. In its more restricted sense of "historical linguistics", philology was one of the 19th century's first scientific approaches to human language but gave way to the modern science of linguistics in the early 20th century due to the influence of Ferdinand de Saussure, who argued that the spoken language should have primacy. In the United States, the American Journal of Philology was founded in 1880 by Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve, a professor of Classics at Johns Hopkins University.

Branches of philology

Comparative philology

One branch of philology is comparative linguistics, which studies the relationship between languages. Similarities between Sanskrit and European languages were first noted in the early 18th century and led to the speculation of a common ancestor language from which all of these descended - now named Proto-Indo-European. Philology's interest in ancient languages led to the study of what were in the 19th century "exotic" languages for the light they could cast on problems in understanding and deciphering the origins of older texts.

Radical philology

Radical philology is a contemporary re-appropriation of a centuries-old tradition of scholarly interaction with the materiality of texts. In its main outlines, radical philology diverges from main-stream philology in its understanding of the relationship between textual scholarship and literary interpretation. While main-stream philology uses the fruits of textual research as "evidence" for broader, more abstract claims, radical philology sees textual research as an end in itself.

Text reconstruction

Philology also includes elements of textual criticism, trying to reconstruct an ancient author's original text based on variant manuscript copies. A related study, known as Higher criticism, which studies the authorship, date, and provenance of texts, proves invaluable in these attempts, but also is informed by them. These philological issues are often inseparable from issues of interpretation, and thus there is no clear-cut boundary between philology and hermeneutics. As such, when the content of the text has a significant political or religious influence (such as the reconstruction of early versions of christian gospels), it is difficult to find neutral or honest conclusions.

Deciphering ancient texts

Another branch of philology is the decipherment of ancient writing systems, which had spectacular successes in the 19th century involving Egyptian and Assyrian. Beginning with the sensational publication of the decipherment of the Rosetta Stone by Jean-François Champollion in 1822, a number of individuals attempted to decode the great inscriptions of the ancient world. Work on the ancient languages of the middle east progressed rapidly, with Hittite decoded in 1915 by Bedřich Hrozný, and the cuneiform languages of the Behistun Inscription, namely Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian, being decoded by Sir Henry Rawlinson. The most famous inscriptions, also amongst the most important for what they tell of the ancient Mediterranean civilisations, are Linear A, and Linear B. While Linear B was deciphered in the 1950's by Michael Ventris and proclaimed as an early form of Greek (indicating that the Mycenaean language, and thus likely the Mycenaeans, was Greek), this conclusion is still heavily debated in the field. Linear A, the unknown language of the Minoans (which would shed much light on this ancient civilisation), on the other hand, still resists translation. Work still continues on scripts such as Mayan hieroglyphics (with great progress made in the late 20th century), and on Etruscan. J.R.R. Tolkien was a noted philologist of his day, although he is now best known for writing The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Another was C.S. Lewis, his friend and colleague at Oxford, who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy. Perhaps the most famous however was Friedrich Nietzsche, who started his career with an extensive knowledge in classical philology ( He was Extraordinary Professor of Classical Philology at the University Of Basel) but soon took up philosophy. However his love of language never left him, and it formed the basis of some of his most illuminating works.

External links

- [http://www.unizar.es/departamentos/filologia_inglesa/garciala/bibliography.html A Bibliography of Literary Theory, Criticism, and Philology (ed. José Ángel García Landa, University of Zaragoza, Spain)] Category:Historical linguistics Category:Writing ja:文献学 ko:고전문헌학

Latin

Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages, those being most notably Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian, are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. The Latin alphabet, derived from the Greek, remains the most widely-used alphabet in the world. It is said that 80 percent of scholarly English words are derived from Latin (in a large number of cases by way of French). Moreover, in the Western world, Latin was a lingua franca, the learned language for scientific and political affairs, for more than a thousand years, being eventually replaced by French in the 18th century and English in the late 19th.

Johann Ernst Hanxleden

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