Psychological Analysis of Language in Theravada Tradition

Buddhism has mainly been propagated throughout the world over two thousand five hundred years by verbal communication. So, it includes a wealth of information regarding the nature of language and its usage which can be considered as a contribution to the existing knowledge of communication in the modern world. Our attention has mainly been focused on the psychological analysis of language with reference to the development of the abhidhammic concept of paññatti, the Theravada conception of expression. The main sources consulted for this study belong to the Pali traditional grammar and some important points mentioned in the early Buddhist sources have been explained in order to elucidate the background of the evolution of the concept of paññatti. Psychological basis of expression, hearing and comprehension has been clarified with reference to the abhidhammic analysis of paññatti in Theravada tradition.