It is wonderful that Pali chanting is now available freely on the web. There are some YouTube videos that I found today which show Pali Language chanting. This is an important development for helping all languages which are not commonly spoken - religious or not. It will be a great help to Pali students.
I think it is very easy to see how these short videos (that take only a couple of minutes to make and a couple of minutes to upload to YouTube) could be used to quickly improve the Pali Language learning resources available on the Internet.
Thai Buddhist Paritta Chanting
Buddhist Forest Monks Chanting the Morning Puja
Buddhist Monks from Wat Washington Chant Blessings 1 of 2
Buddhist Monks from Wat Washington Chant Blessing 2 of 2
The difference between YouTube videos and all other video formats is that they are very easy to use on web pages and in web blogs (like this one). It took me 3 minutes to add the following videos to this blog page, center them (by clicking on them and using the ‘center’ button - like I would for any text).
YouTube videos are faster to make and easier to use on web pages than mp3 files (or any other sound file format)! Several examples follow. The texts (and translations) are freely available from several web sites on the Internet.
Hi. Here are some thoughts about supporting the Pali Language on the web.
YouTube is the Best Format for longer Pali Sound Files
First, YouTube is an excellent resource. Your obvious question is : why not just use sound file? The answer is technical. It is very easy to use YouTube videos on blogs and on web pages. YouTube itself provides excellent search facilities. YouTube even has a special section with videos from educational institutions (like the big universities). However, sound files (like mp3) are still a nuisance. There are many different formats and each player (Windows Media Player, Quicktime, Realplayer, etc) will behave differently in different browsers and on different computers. YouTube is definitely the best format for sound files. On top of that, you can show things in a video.
I can imagine a series of YouTube videos that help future monks learn the ordination ceremony and chanting, how to put on the robes, proper etiquette and more. I can also imagine YouTube videos that show people reading the Pali texts (like a Sutta) clearly - chanting tends to be too fast.
Many languages lack transcripts and translations for spoken texts. For the Pali Language - both the original texts and the translations are freely available.
You could even just read a word list in Pali - listen and repeat style. Pali dictionaries are also freely available. For instance, you could make a list of the unique word forms in a sutta and read just those words. This would help a person prepare themselves for listening to the text being spoken or chanted. And it would only take a few minutes to make the YouTube video.
You can make YouTube videos with inexpensive digital cameras. For instance, I have a little camera that I bought several years ago for $ 200 that can make simple videos with sound for up to 20 minutes!
Finally, the videos do not have to digital masterpieces! A simple video with clear sound is already far superior to nothing at all. The quality of the files can be improved over time.
OGG is the best format for short sound files (like a single word)
OGG is the most ethical file format for supporting the Pali Language.
OGG is a free sound file format. MP3 (and many others) are patented sound file formats. OGG is not only free - it produces smaller files with better sound quality than MP3! OGG will run on Linux, Windows and Apple computers without any license fees or user registration. OGG may be the only file format which is suitable (ethically and technically) for students of the Pali Language.
If you have Windows or Apple computers you may need to install OGG support. This is very simple, very fast and very free.
Finally, you can use OGG files in the Wiktionary word definitions.
So, that is two technical hurdles out of the way!
Pali Language Dictionary Thoughts
Lots to be said but the key points are
Wiktionary is under the GNU Free Documentation License. Ethically, this is very important for Buddhists.
You can automate looking up Pali word definitions very easily in the Wiktionary. This means that creating automated support for Pali learning is very easy. You actually use the correct Pali word for the lookup. This means that no transliteration is necessary. You can actually just use a Pali word right out of a Pali text. This is very good.
Every form of every word should be added to the dictionary for instant access. Base words (like you would find in a paper dictionary) can have full definitions with conjugation tables, notes and more. Inflected forms of words would only need a quick explanation and a couple of examples with translations.
Wiktionary allows you to put definitions for multiple languages with the same entry. Very nice! People could add definitions for their own languages over time - without having to create a brand new dictionary entry. People could also add Burmese, Sinhalese and other scripts to existing examples without creating a new entry. So, an example could be written in Pali in several scripts with the translation in English.
A point that I personally find very important. Every entry should have a short ‘learning definition’. This definition could be used for creating drill and practice software.
In the Wiktionary, you can have more than one pronunciation sound file. There could be several pronunciation files - each one representing an accent.
You can legally download all Wiktionary content to your computer. This is handy for countries or learning centers where online access is slow and expensive. You can share the dictionary entries on a USB key or CD-ROM. You can also make as many copies as you wish - legally.
Entries to the Wiktionary can start with the most common words and forms of words first. The top 1000 inflected forms of words (what I call word forms) are already 50 % of the words you will see in the Pali Canon - exactly as they are written. A lot of value could be created fairly quickly.
You can add links to the Wiktionary definition for the PTS dictionary online, full online texts where examples were found, etc.
The English language word test in the Wiktionary is a great example of the power of the Wiktionary (be sure to click on the little word markers ’show‘). After you click on the following link - look at the address bar at the top of your browser to see how easy it is to use software to access the definitions. Click here to see The Wiktionary Entry for Test.
