SOAS LANGUAGE CENTRE 
                                                                                            
                                                                            Sanskrit Beginners 1 
                                                                                            
                        Materials: Maurer, W. H. (2001) The Sanskrit Language: An Introductory Grammar and Reader 
                                                                (Revised edition). London: Routledge. 
                                                                                            
                               Overview of course contents                                                           Synopsis 
                                                                                 
                     • Historical and linguistic background                     The emphasis of Sanskrit Beginners 1 is to introduce the student to Sanskrit as a 
                     • The sound system: consonants                             linguistic system, by putting it in its appropriate linguistic context and looking 
                     • The sound system: semi-vowels and sibilants              carefully at how it is structured both in terms of its sound system and its grammar. 
                     • The sound system: vowels (initial and ‘short’ forms)     The course presupposes no knowledge of an Indian language or of Latin or Greek. 
                                                                                 
                     • The conjunct consonant                                   The course is divided into two sections of five weeks, the first establishing a 
                     • Reading, writing and pronunciation practice              familiarity with the pronunciation and writing of the language, the second 
                     • Word order and parts of speech                           concentrating on further practice in pronunciation and writing whilst starting to 
                     • First sentences in Sanskrit                              investigate the grammar of the language.  
                                                                                 
                     • Mid-term consolidation                                   Grammatical terminology is gradually incorporated, giving the student confidence 
                     • The noun: gender, number and case                        in identifying parts of speech in Sanskrit before tackling grammar. There is a mid-
                     • Introduction to the verbal system                        term session, consolidating the first half, and an end-of-term consolidation session, 
                                                                                concentrating on the material covered in the second half of the course.  
                     • From sentence to text: ‘Our Town’ (Maurer, p. 62)         
                     • Gerunds: verbal information without the fuss             At the end of the course, the student is able to read and understand basic sentences 
                     • Second text: ‘A Heavenly Retreat’ (Maurer, p. 70)        in the present tense (and the active voice), can read Sanskrit script, albeit with some 
                     • Overview and consolidation                               difficulty and with frequent recourse to transliteration, and will have acquired a 
                                                                                vocabulary of around 150 words.