Page 35 - Ramayana - Eng
P. 35
a a a
Within this book a standard transliteration system accepted
by scholars to indicate standard pronunciation of Sanskrit is
used.
Long vowels are indicated by a line above the le er
representing it.
e short vowel a is pronounced like the u in but, long ā as
in far. Short i is pronounced as in win, long ī as in pique; short
u as in bull, long ū as in rule.
e vowel is pronounced like the ri in rim; e and ai as in
they; o and au as in go.
e anusvāra ( ), a pure nasal sound, is pronounced as in
the French word bon; the visarga ( ), a strong aspirate, like a
nal h sound. At the end of a couplet a is pronounced aha, i
pronounced ihi, and so on.
e gu ural consonants k, kh, g, gh, and are pronounced
from the throat in much the same manner as in English—k as
in kite, kh as in pack-horse, g as in give, gh as in bighearted,
and as in sing.
e palatal consonants c, ch, j, jh, and ñ are pronounced: c
as in chair, ch as in French horn, j as in joy, jh as in bridgehead,
and ñ as in canyon.
e retroex consonants , h, , h, and are pronounced
with the tip of the tongue turned up and drawn back against
the dome of the palate— as in tub, h as in right-hand, as in
demigod, h as in glad heart, and as in neem.
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