Learning Sanskrit as a sacred language in the West: A narrative study

Abstract

Aims and objectives: This exploratory study investigates experiences and perceptions of Sanskrit language learning in Western non-heritage learners by analysing their language learning narratives. Methodology: Sanskrit language learning narratives were elicited through unstructured interviews. Data and analysis: Four Italian adults at a Sanskrit language Saturday class in Italy volunteered to participate: The teacher and three students, all yoga practitioners. Narratives were analysed using a combination of structured, thematic, and discursive approaches based on Riessman’s dialogic/performance approach. Findings: Sanskrit appears to be a sacred language to these learners, as it is the language of ancient philosophical or spiritual texts, and its sound has special effects on the mind and body. They learn Sanskrit to access texts in the original language and appear to have internalised Sanskritic views of perfection of the sounds of Sanskrit, their effects, and the joy of Sanskrit. Their approach to learning Sanskrit is at the interface of Western and Sanskritic traditions, as they embrace Western grammar-translation and Sanskritic teacher-disciple oral transmission and ignore the Western communicative approach and Sanskritic rote memorisation. Originality: This is the first investigation of Sanskrit learning in non-heritage Western settings and one of the first to investigate the learning of a sacred language. Yoga practitioners are a hitherto unexplored population in language learning research. A narrative approach facilitates the exploration of participants’ meaning-making and understanding. Significance: The study contributes to the emerging field of research on the learning of sacred languages, revealing some similarities and differences between learners of Sanskrit and other sacred languages. It shows that narrative approaches are suitable for researching sacred language learning.