Bachelor of Arts Archives - Rangjung Yeshe Institute

Building on Newar III, this course continues with increasingly more complex and nuanced sentence structures and vocabulary usage. There will be continued emphasis on practical language use and fluency in spoken Newar. At the same time, students will enhance their ability to decipher and translate 30

Newar manuscripts, including those written in Old Newar. Students will work closely with the instructor to learn the art of editing and translating Newar manuscripts. As in Newar III, students have access to native Newar speakers with whom to practice conversational and reading skills.

Prerequisites

WLAN 201: Nepal Bhasa III

This course builds on the basic understanding of Newar grammar and vocabulary acquired in Newar I and II. Students develop facility with more complex sentence structures and gain a more extensive vocabulary. After a review of the basic Newar grammatical structures learned previously, this course covers increasingly more complex sentence structures while emphasizing practical language use and application so that students become more and more comfortable and fluent with their spoken Newar. In addition to enhancing language skills that are useful for field research purposes, students will study the most common alphasyllabaries used in Newar manuscripts. They will also gain familiarity with the use of the National Archives and the Asha Saphu Kuti, the main repositories of Newar Buddhist manuscripts. During classes students are given the opportunity to practice their skills privately or in small groups with a native Newar speaker.

Prerequisites

WLAN 102: Nepal Bhasa II

Building on Newar I, this course aims to develop students’ ability to communicate in spoken and written Newar. More complicated grammatical structures and further vocabulary are introduced and students engage actively in the classroom to further develop their skills in basic communication. An emphasis will be placed on acquisition of language skills that will facilitate communication with local informants, for field research purposes. As in Newar I, students have access to native Newar speakers with whom to practice conversation skills.

Prerequisites

WLAN 101: Nepal Bhasa I

This course introduces students to basic patterns of spoken Newar, or Nepal Bhasha, the indigenous language of Kathmandu Valley and its environs. At the introductory level students use the Devanāgarī script to enhance their understanding of Newar morphology. They will learn basic sentence structure and begin building a vocabulary of colloquial words and phrases. Basic grammatical concepts of spoken Newar are introduced and illustrated. Emphasis is placed on active learning, with students using techniques such as role-playing in order to develop confidence in speaking. Students are given the opportunity to practice their skills individually or in small groups with a native Newar speaker.

Prerequisites

None.

This is a reading course in Pāli Buddhist texts that provides a broader introduction to the various genres of Buddhist literature including Pāli commentaries, histories, Apadānas, and Jātakas. This course also looks at the resources available for scholarship in the field of Pāli literature and Theravāda Buddhism, including online resources, dictionaries, and reference works, and formalizes the discussion of the methodology and principles for translating Buddhist Pāli texts.

Prerequisites

PLAN 201: Pali III.

This course continues from Pāli II, building on the foundational grammar and vocabulary used in earlier courses to enable students to read increasingly longer and more complex texts, including texts from the “three baskets” of teachings; Sutta, Abhidhamma and Vinaya. Passages from commentarial works are also introduced to expose students to a greater variety of literary styles. Assessments include homework assignments, quizzes, exams, classroom participation, and translations.

Prerequisites

PLAN 102: Pali II

This course continues from Pāli I, and introduces more complex grammar structures such as compounds, sandhi rules (rules of euphonic combinations), nominal derivatives, and verbal derivatives. By the end of the semester, students will be able to identify the common grammatical features of the Pāli language and will be able to translate simple Pāli texts with the aid of a grammar and dictionary. As they begin reading simple texts, students begin to relate their language studies to the act of interpreting original Pāli philosophical and doctrinal discourses. Assessments include homework assignments, quizzes, exams, and classroom participation.

Prerequisites

PLAN 101: Pali I

This is an introductory course that provides students with the opportunity to learn the basics of the Pāli language, in which a rich collection of the words of the Buddha and their Theravāda commentaries have been preserved. Students are introduced to the general principles of Pāli syntax and grammar, with a focus on understanding and memorizing the rules of declension and conjugation. Important Pāli doctrinal and philosophical terms will be explained as they appear in the exercises, which are selected from the canonical (nikāya) texts so that students can begin working with the texts directly. Assessments include homework assignments, quizzes, exams, and classroom participation.

Prerequisites

None.

This is a reading course in Chinese Buddhist texts that continues from the previous course, again using readings from various genres of Buddhist literature, including translations of Sanskrit scriptures, Chinese commentaries, philosophical treatises, and hagiographies. The course is designed to increase fluency and improve interpretation skills and continues to expose the students to the tools and methods of interpretation needed for the translation of Buddhist Literary Chinese texts into English.

Prerequisites

CLAN 301: Buddhist Literary Chinese V

This is a reading course in Chinese Buddhist texts, providing a broader introduction to various genres of Buddhist literature in Literary Chinese, including translations of Sanskrit scriptures, Chinese commentaries, philosophical treatises, and hagiographies. It is intended for students with at least two years of study of Classical or Buddhist Literary Chinese. This course also looks at the resources available for scholarship in the field of Buddhist Literary Chinese and East Asian Buddhism, including online resources, dictionaries, and reference works, and continues the discussion of the methodology and principles for translating Buddhist Chinese texts is a more formalized way.