On (the) sandhi between the Sanskrit and the Modern Western Grammatical Traditions: From Colebrooke to Bloomfield via Müller

Abstract

This article traces the history of how modern Western linguistics adopted the term sandhi from the Sanskrit grammatical tradition and adapted it to its theoretical needs. In particular, we will acknowledge the fundamental role played by Muller, 1 who combining both Indic (Prakriyā grammars and Prātiśākhyas) and Western approaches (those of Colebrooke and Bopp) to the representation of Sanskrit grammar, coined in 1866 the labels of internal sandhi and external sandhi. Such labels gained momentum thanks to the works of Whitney in the 19th century and Bloomfield in the 20th century and eventually became common parlance in Western linguistics.