u/Certain_Basil7443

> Abstract - This paper investigates variation in the linearization of noun phrasesin Vedic and Post-Vedic Sanskrit. Employing a large set of structural, information-theoretic, and complexity-related features, we develop a Bayesian model assessing which of these features drives continuous versus dis-continuous linearization of noun phrases. Results show that variation inword order patterns is largely systematic, with pronominal dependents being the only word class that significantly favors discontinuous linearization. Contrary to previous assumptions, diachronic differences largelydisappear once other linguistic factors are controlled for, suggesting thatsynchronic determinants such as genre and style play a more central rolethan previously recognized. Individual texts, among them the Paippalāda Saṃhitā of the Atharvaveda, show idiosyncratic behavior that remains unexplained by our model, and may point to dialectal differences.

Abstract - This paper offers a systematic reinterpretation of the Gārgya controversy, a remarkable episode in the his- tory of early India’s reflections on language. Recorded in Yāska’s Nirukta, this controversy centers on the issue whether all or only certain nouns are ‘born from’ (i.e., derived from) verbs. While Śākaṭāyana and the etymologists, including Yāska, believe that all nouns are derivable, Gārgya and the grammarians maintain that only morphologically regular nouns are derivable. This paper examines the arguments developed in this controversy and argues that Yāska’s belief that all nouns are derivable is not only a linguistic axiom but also reflects non-linguistic concerns pertaining to the raison d’être assigned to the discipline of etymology and to the belief that the Veda transcends history.