Prabodh Pandit

Prabodh Pandit Biography

Prabodh Pandit was a linguist and writer belonging to Gujarati language, who lived in the 20^th century. Apart from 10 books in Gujarati language, he published numerous papers and research papers. Such works were mostly published in journals. Gujarati Bhashanun Dhvaniswarup ane Dhvani-Parivartan (1966) is his best contribution as a linguist and author. He was a recipient of literary honours such as Sahitya Akademi Award (1967) and Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak (1973). One of the pioneers in Gujarati linguistics and sociolinguistic studies in India, he lived during the period, 23 June 1923 - 28 November 1975. He passed away at the age of only 52.

Prabodh Pandit was born on 23 June 1923 in Vala village, Bhavnagar district, Gujarat. His full name is Prabodh Bechardas Pandit. His schooling was done at Ahmedabad and Amreli. He matriculated from Navchetan High School, Ahmedabad before pursuing graduation. During his college days he participated in freedom struggle movement, and also missed a few classes. He was involved with Quit India Movement and got jailed for six months too. Finally he graduated in Sanskrit and Ardhamagadhi languages in 1944, and later took Master’s in Sanskrit and Linguistics.

He moved to London and joined School of Oriental and African Studies for his doctoral studies. He received the guidance of linguist Ralph Lilley Turner. He took inspiration from Jules Bloch and also studied various Indian dialects before he moved back to India. Since then he worked as a professor and linguist in different colleges and universities till his retirement.

His published 10 books are Prakrit Bhasha (1954), (/ɛ/) and (/ɔ/) in Gujarati, Nasalization, Aspiration and Murmur in Gujarati, Historical Phonology of Gujarati Vowels, Borrowing: A Study of Linguistic Expression of Social Distance, Gujarati Bhashanun Dhvaniswarup ane Dhvani-Parivartan, Phonemic and Morphemic Frequencies of the Gujarati Language, Some Observations Studies in Speech Analysis and Language in Plural Society.

Published: January 17, 2019

Updated: January 17, 2019