HISTORY OF NORMATIVE GRAMMAR. Until the nineteenth century the history of grammar is confined to the normative type. Only with the introduction into Europe of the knowledge of Sanskrit did the impulse come to study language comparatively and historically. The few attempts made along those lines before had all proved abortive for lack of material and method, and grammarians contented themselves with recording linguistic phenomena of given periods. In the Orient grammatical study began in India with the Nirukta of Yaska (fifth century B.c.), although the first formal grammar of which we have any knowledge was that of Panini (q.v.), probably about B.C. 300. In some three thousand sections comprised in eight books he summarized and fixed the rules for classical Sanskrit. He enumer ates sixty-four predecessors, and was himself the forerunner of a long line of grammarians. His rules, which are couched in formulas almost algebraic in type and abounding in arbitrary designations (e.g. at = the group of vowels, semi vowels, and It; am = the same group together with the nasals: left = imperfect tense; lat = aorist tense; lit = perfect tense; tut = peri phrastic future, etc., where 1 denotes all personal endings, t a primary tense, fi a secondary tense, etc.), formed the basis of many commentaries such as the Varttikas of Katyayana (probably third century B.C. ) , and Patanjali's Mahabhashya (probably a half-century later). About the mid dle of the seventh century A.D. the first complete commentary on Panini was composed, entitled Kdaika Vrtti, or Renares Commentary, by Jaya ditya and Vamana. Of the non-Paninean school of Sanskrit grammar the most important is Hemacandra of the twelfth century, the eighth book of whose Siddhahemacandra is the main source for native Prakrit grammar. The oldest grammarian in Prakrit (q.v.) is Vararuci, said by native tradition to have been a contemporary of Kalidasa (q.v.). Here, too, there is a. long series of grammarians of minor importance. The Sanskrit term for grammar, vyakdrana, analysis, is indicative of the Indian method. Systematic and exact with their passion for minute division and subdivision, the work of the Hindus in this branch of learning reached its acme in the wonder fully exhaustive work of Panini, with which no grammar can be compared till modern times. The
grammar of India was of indigenous origin. It dis cussed.phonology, etymology, and inflection, but there is almost no mention of syntax. Of the other Oriental peoples only the •Arabs and the Jews developed grammatical works. Arabic grammar was founded shortly after the Hejira. Abu '1 as-Wad ad-Duil (died A.D. 088) is con sidered the first Arabic grammarian, and he classified the parts of speech as nouns, verbs, and particles. This branch of literature in Arabic is an enormous one, no less than 2500 writers on grammar, lexicography, and philology being enu merated. The earlier grammarians are the most important, such as al-Farahidi, and his pupil, Abu 'I Masan al-Basri, more usually known as as-Sibawaih (latter part of the eighth century). The source of Arabic grammar is involved in obscurity. It is, however, a significant fact that many of the Arabic grammarians, like more than one of their greatest historians, were Persians by birth. Through the medium of the Syrians Greek culture penetrated Persia, and doubtless some knowledge of Greek grammar came through the same channel, so that it does not seem un warranted to suppose that Arabic grammar, which is treated with exactness and comprehen siveness, was ultimately influenced by Greek. It is at least certain that Syriac grammars, of which that of Elia of Sobha (eleventh century) is an excellent example, were based on Greek models. The Jewish grammarians had originally the same purpose as those of Arabia, the preser vation of their sacred books. In a certain sense their grammar commences with the Massorites, although it was not until the Jews came under the influence of fully developed Arabic culture that they wrote formal grammars. The oldest extant Hebrew grammatical work is a lexicon by David ben Abraham (tenth century), but the greatest is that of Yona ben Gannach, of the be ginning of the eleventh century. His work, di vided into forty-six chapters, leaves scarcely a problem of Hebrew grammar untouched, and though after him there were many native Hebrew grammarians, none attained to his standard.