Prabodh Bechardas Pandit (23 June 1923 – 28 November 1975) was an Indian

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

from

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He published a total of ten books in the Gujarati language, along with many research papers published in various journals. In 1967, he received the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

, and in 1973, the

Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak, also known as the Ranjitram Gold Medal, was founded by Gujarat Sahitya Sabha and is considered the highest literary award in Gujarati literature. The award is named after renowned Gujarati writer Ranjitram Mehta. It is ...

, for his contribution to the study of Gujarati language and linguistics.

Biography

Pandit was born on 23 June 1923, in Vala, a village in the

Bhavnagar district Bhavnagar District is a Districts of India, district of southeastern Gujarat, India, on the Saurashtra (region), Saurashtra peninsula. It is also known as Gohilwar as a major portion of Bhavnagar district was ruled by Gahlot, Gohil Rajputs. The a ...

of Gujarat. He studied at various institutions, including Pritamnagar municipal school of

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

and Amreli. He matriculated in 1939 from the Navchetan High School, Ahmedabad. He initially missed out on graduate studies due to participating in the Indian independence movement of 1942, which led to him being jailed for six months. He later completed his Bachelor of Arts in 1944 in the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and Ardhamagadhi languages, then attained his Master of Arts at

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by Dr K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent instit ...

in 1946 in Sanskrit and

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. Later, he went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and joined the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...

, where he worked under the guidance of linguist

Ralph Lilley Turner Sir Ralph Lilley Turner (5 October 1888 – 22 April 1983) was a British philologist of Indian languages and a university administrator. He is notable for composing an Indo-Aryan comparative dictionary. He is also the author of some publicatio ...

for his doctorate. There, he obtained his Ph.D. in 1950 for his research on ''Shadavashyak-balavabodhvritti''. His interest in linguistics brought him into contact with

Jules Bloch Jules Bloch (May 1, 1880 in Paris – November 29, 1953) was a French linguist who studied Indian languages, and was also interested in languages in their cultural and social contexts. Doctor of Letters in 1914, he was director of studies at the � ...

, who inspired him to study various Indian dialects. After returning to India, Pandit joined the L.D. Arts College, Ahmedabad, as a lecturer in Sanskrit. In 1957, he transferred to the Gujarat University as a Reader in the Linguistics department. From 1964 to 1965 he taught at the Deccan College,

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. In 1967, he went to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and joined

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

as a lecturer of Linguistics where he remained until 1975. During this time he taught as a visiting lecturer at several academic institutions including the

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

, and Cornell's respective

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Works

Pandit is considered to be one of the pioneers in Gujarati linguistics and sociolinguistic studies in India. He published a total of ten books in the Gujarati language along with many research papers published in various journals. His most significant works are ''Prakrit Bhasha'' (1954), ''(/ɛ/) and (/ɔ/) in Gujarati'' (1955), ''Nasalization, Aspiration and Murmur in Gujarati'' (1957), ''Historical Phonology of Gujarati Vowels'' (1961), ''Borrowing: A Study of Linguistic Expression of Social Distance'' (1961), ''Gujarati Bhashanun Dhvaniswarup ane Dhvani-Parivartan'' (1966), ''Phonemic and Morphemic Frequencies of the Gujarati Language'' (1968), ''Some Observations Studies in Speech Analysis'' (1971) and ''Language in Plural Society'' (1976). Prabodh Pandit also wrote a book on India, ''India as a sociolinguistic area''.

Awards

His book ''Gujarati Bhashanun Dhvaniswarup ane Dhvani-Parivartan'' received the

in 1967. He also received

in 1973 for his contribution to the study of Gujarati language and linguistics.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pandit, Prabodh Writers from Gujarat Gujarati-language writers 1923 births 1975 deaths 20th-century Indian linguists Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Gujarati People from Bhavnagar district Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Scholars from Gujarat Linguists from India

Biography

Works

Awards

See also

References

Further reading

External links