A grammatical problem which has defeated Sanskrit scholars since the 5th Century BC has finally been solved by an Indian PhD student at the University of Cambridge, it emerged as his thesis was published on Thursday.
Rishi Rajpopat made the breakthrough by decoding a rule taught by Panini, known as the father of linguistics, and is now encapsulated in his thesis entitled 바카라In Panini, We Trust: Discovering the Algorithm for Rule Conflict Resolution in the Astadhyayi바카라.
According to the university, leading Sanskrit experts have described Rajpopat바카라s discovery as 바카라revolutionary바카라 and it could now mean that Panini바카라s grammar can also be taught to computers for the first time.
What was the puzzle?
Panini바카라s system 바카라 4,000 rules detailed in his renowned work, the Astadhyayi, which is thought to have been written around 500 BC 바카라 is meant to work like a machine.
Feed in the base and suffix of a word and it should turn them into grammatically correct words and sentences through a step-by-step process.
바카라Panini had an extraordinary mind and he built a machine unrivalled in human history. He didn바카라t expect us to add new ideas to his rules. The more we fiddle with Panini바카라s grammar, the more it eludes us,바카라 says Rajpopat.
The 2,500-year-old algorithm decoded by him makes it possible, for the first time, to accurately use Panini바카라s so-called 바카라language machine바카라.
Until now, however, there has been a big problem. Often, two or more of Panini바카라s rules are simultaneously applicable at the same step leaving scholars to agonise over which one to choose.
Solving so-called 바카라rule conflicts바카라, which affect millions of Sanskrit words including certain forms of 바카라mantra바카라 and 바카라guru바카라, requires an algorithm. Rajpopat바카라s research shows that Panini바카라s so-called language machine is also self-sufficient.
What did the scholar say?
Rajpopat바카라s discovery makes it possible to 바카라derive바카라 any Sanskrit word, to construct millions of grammatically correct words, using Panini바카라s revered language machine, which is widely considered to be one of the greatest intellectual achievements in history.
바카라My student Rishi has cracked it 바카라 he has found an extraordinarily elegant solution to a problem which has perplexed scholars for centuries. This discovery will revolutionise the study of Sanskrit at a time when interest in the language is on the rise,바카라 said Professor Vincenzo Vergiani, Sanskrit professor and Rajpopat바카라s PhD supervisor.
Six months before Rajpopat made his discovery, Professor Vergiani gave him some prescient advice: 바카라If the solution is complicated, you are probably wrong.바카라 A major implication of Rajpopat바카라s discovery is that now there is the algorithm that runs Panini바카라s grammar, it could potentially teach this grammar to computers.
바카라I had a eureka moment in Cambridge,바카라 recalls Rajpopat.
바카라After nine months trying to crack this problem, I was almost ready to quit, I was getting nowhere. So, I closed the books for a month and just enjoyed the summer, swimming, cycling, cooking, praying and meditating. Then, begrudgingly I went back to work, and, within minutes, as I turned the pages, these patterns started emerging, and it all started to make sense. There was a lot more work to do but I바카라d found the biggest part of the puzzle,바카라 said the 27-year-old scholar.
Over the next few weeks, he was so excited that he couldn바카라t sleep and would spend hours in the library, including in the middle of the night, to check what he바카라d found and solve related problems. It would take another two and half years before he would get to the finish line.
바카라Computer scientists working on Natural Language Processing gave up on rule-based approaches over 50 years ago. So teaching computers how to combine the speaker바카라s intention with Panini바카라s rule-based grammar to produce human speech would be a major milestone in the history of human interaction with machines, as well as in India바카라s intellectual history,바카라 said Rajpopat.
Sanskrit is an ancient and classical Indo-European language from South Asia. While only spoken in India by an estimated 25,000 people today, it has influenced many other languages and cultures around the world.
바카라Some of the most ancient wisdom of India has been produced in Sanskrit and we still don바카라t fully understand what our ancestors achieved. We바카라ve often been led to believe that we바카라re not important, that we haven바카라t brought enough to the table. I hope this discovery will infuse students in India with confidence, pride, and hope that they too can achieve great things,바카라 added Rajpopat.
(With PTI Inputs)
