Page 107 - GOTIL (ENG) Sample

Sanskrit/Bengali Pronunciation Guide 329

pronunciation of hot; ai like the oy in boy. In Bengali, the
final a of many words is silent.

When between two vowels, ḍ is pronounced similarly to
the r in red; ph is pronounced as f; v is pronounced as b,
except after ś, ṣ, or s, when it becomes almost silent.
M is pronounced as in mantra, except after ś, ṣ, s, and kṣ,
in which cases it becomes almost silent, and after ṭ, ṭh, ḍ,
ḍh, t, th, d, dha, when it becomes almost silent and doubles
the consonant it follows (e.g., padma is pronounced
approximately padda).

When at the beginning of a word, and after l and r, y
is pronounced as j. After other consonants, it becomes
almost silent and doubles the consonant it follows (e.g.,
anya is approximately pronounced anna). After vowels it
is pronounced as in prayer.

Ś, ṣ, and s are each pronounced as in she; kṣa as kha.

P