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In this following context, how should I take this italic and bold part?

Is something (like 'that is') omitted between the words 'Magadh'i and 'proper'? '

What is this part's simple form?

Could you give me simple form of this, please?

In connection with the designation of the canonical language as Magadhi, Windisch also refers to the Ârșa, the language of the Jaina-suttas. It is called Ardha-Magadhi, i.e., ‘‘half- Magadhi.’’ Now it is surely significant that the Ardha-Magadhi differs from Magadhi proper on similar points as Pali.

Source: P. 5, 'Pali literature and language' by Wilhelm Geiger

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    Yes, you could picture that "Magadhi proper" means "Magadhi that is proper" or just "standard Magadhi."
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Jul 2 at 12:41
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    The cited example is effectively a stylised "literary inversion" of proper Magadhi. The inversion isn't exactly uncommon, but it would nearly always use proper, where the uninverted form would usually be real Magadhi or standard Magadhi. Oddly, "fronting" to proper Magadhi would often be thought of as "downmarket, uneducated" phrasing, where the other way round is "upmarket". But real / standard Magadhi is neither high nor low register.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jul 2 at 12:43
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    It's an example of a "predicative" (after the noun) adjective usage. Compare heir apparent, Princess Royal, times past.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jul 2 at 12:50
  • Thanks you all!
    – Sakya Kim
    Commented Jul 2 at 13:32
  • Thanks you all! Could you give me simple form of this sentence, please? I need the interpretation of this sentence. I do this as: it is surely significant that the Ardha-Magadhi differs from proper Magadhi, on similar points, as Pali differs from Magadhi. Is it correct?
    – Sakya Kim
    Commented Jul 2 at 13:38

1 Answer 1

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"Proper" has several meanings and usages. For whatever reason, with this particular usage, it's common to put it after the noun it modifies. It's covered by definition 6 in Merriam-Webster:

6: strictly limited to a specified thing, place, or idea: "the city proper"

Or in Cambridge:

[ after noun ]: belonging to the main, most important, or typical part: "It's a suburb of Los Angeles really - I wouldn't call it Los Angeles proper."

The point here is that it's for times that we're talking about what might be included in some category, and distinguishing between official or strict inclusion and more unofficial or general inclusion. Note that both dictionary examples talked about cities. This is perhaps the most common situation for it: A house might be outside the city limits, but still be in the general metropolitan area. (E.g. the opposite to "Atlanta proper" might be "greater Atlanta.") In your example, the author is distinguishing between a language that is "half-Magadhi" and the language that falls within the most official or strict boundaries of Magadhi—as it says earlier, "canonical."

Note, this ngram shows that this "after the noun" usage isn't terribly common, and that by far the most common uses for it are about geographical boundaries.

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  • Thanks you so much, Andy Bonner.
    – Sakya Kim
    Commented Jul 2 at 14:07

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