George L. Hart
Encyclopedia
George L. Hart is a professor of Tamil language
at the University of California, Berkeley
.
Hart received his Ph.D.
in Sanskrit
from Harvard University
and taught at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
before joining the faculty at Berkeley. He has studied Latin
and Greek
as well as several modern European and Indian languages.
Hart is best-known for his translations of several Tamil epics into English
and for asserting that Tamil should be classified as a classical language
, which is stated clearly in a letter addressed to Professor Maraimalai on April 11, 2000. On September 18, 2004 the Indian Union Cabinet recognized Tamil as a classical language. In 2002, Hart, along with co-author Hank Heifetz, was the recipient of the AAS South Asia Council (SAC) Ramanujan Book Prize. The two produced a volume of translated Tamil poetry entitled Four Hundred Songs of War and Wisdom.
Hart is also the author of several Tamil and Sanskrit textbooks. He is married to Kausalya Hart
, herself a professor and Tamil textbook author.
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
Hart received his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and taught at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
before joining the faculty at Berkeley. He has studied Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
as well as several modern European and Indian languages.
Hart is best-known for his translations of several Tamil epics into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and for asserting that Tamil should be classified as a classical language
Classical language
A classical language is a language with a literature that is classical. According to UC Berkeley linguist George L. Hart, it should be ancient, it should be an independent tradition that arose mostly on its own, not as an offshoot of another tradition, and it must have a large and extremely rich...
, which is stated clearly in a letter addressed to Professor Maraimalai on April 11, 2000. On September 18, 2004 the Indian Union Cabinet recognized Tamil as a classical language. In 2002, Hart, along with co-author Hank Heifetz, was the recipient of the AAS South Asia Council (SAC) Ramanujan Book Prize. The two produced a volume of translated Tamil poetry entitled Four Hundred Songs of War and Wisdom.
Hart is also the author of several Tamil and Sanskrit textbooks. He is married to Kausalya Hart
Kausalya Hart
Kausalya Hart is a scholar of Tamil language at UC Berkeley. She is famous for translating Sangam literature from Tamil to English and for writing many Tamil textbooks.-Life:...
, herself a professor and Tamil textbook author.
Works
- The Poems of Ancient Tamil, Their Milieu and Their Sanskrit Counterparts
- A Rapid Sanskrit Method
- The Four Hundred Songs of War and Wisdom: An Anthology of Poems from Classical Tamil, the Purananuru
- Poets of the Tamil Anthologies: Ancient Poems of Love and War
- The Forest Book of the Ramayana of Kampan