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 retroƒex 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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