Abstract:
Sanskrit and Prakrit are two ancient languages that show differences between them in terms of grammar and linguistic structure. Although Sanskrit and Prakrit are syntactically similar they show differences in their morphology and semantics. Morphology deals with word formation in a language. It is interesting to note that both the languages are genealogically classified to come under the Aryan group of languages. They both come under the Indo-European family of languages. Sanskrit is the official language of India and is popularly recognised as a classical language of the country. It belongs to the Indic group of language family of Indo-European and its descendants which are Indo-Iranian & Indo Aryan. The meaning of Sanskrit is refined, decorated or produced in perfect form. It is said that Brahma was the creator and introduced Sanskrit language to the Sages of celestial bodies. Therefore, this language is also called Dev Vani, which means the language of gods. It was during 18th century when a similarity between Sanskrit, Latin and Greek was found, which gave the reason to study and discover the relationship of all Indo-European languages. Prakrit (Sanskrit: prākṛta, Shauraseni: pāuda, Magadhi Prakrit: pāua) is any of several Middle Indo-Aryan languages. The Ardhamagadhi ("half-Magadhi") Prakrit, which was used extensively to write the scriptures of Jainism, is often considered to be the definitive form of Prakrit, while others are considered variants thereof. Prakrit grammarians would give the full grammar of Ardhamagadhi first, and then define the other grammars with relation to it.
