Page 67 - Śrī Pañcatantra - Eng

Sanskrit/Bengali Pronunciation Guide

Used within this book is a standard transliteration system accepted
by scholars that approximates Sanskrit sounds. Most Bengali
words transliterated herein are also rendered according to this
system (employed in the publications of His Divine Grace A. C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda), even though the pronunciation
of some Bengali letters differs significantly from their Sanskrit
equivalents. Some Bengali words have been rendered approximately
phonetically, without diactrical marks.

In both Sanskrit and Bengali, long vowels are indicated by a line
above the letter representing it.
In Sanskrit, the short vowel a is pronounced like the u in trust, long
ā as in sari. Short i is pronounced as in bliss, long ī as in unique;
short u as in flute, long ū like the oo in moo.
The vowel ṛ is pronounced like the ri in Krishna; e as in whey or
sometimes as in pen; ai as in parfait; o and au as in glow and beau.
The anusvāra (ṁ), a pure nasal sound, is pronounced as in the
French word bon; the visarga (ḥ), a strong aspirate, like a final
h sound. At the end of a couplet, aḥ is pronounced aha, iḥ
pronounced ihi, etc.

The guttural consonants k, kh, g, gh, and ṅ are pronounced from
the throat in much the same manner as in English — k as in kind,
kh as in pack-horse, g as in god, gh as in bighearted, and ṅ as in sing.
The palatal consonants c, ch, j, jh, and ñ are pronounced: c as in
chant, ch as in thatch hut, j as in joy, jh as in bridgehead, and ñ
as in banyan.
The retroflex consonants ṭ, ṭh, ḍ, ḍh, and ṇ are pronounced with
the tip of the tongue turned up and drawn back against the dome
of the palate — ṭ as in temple, ṭh as in light-hearted, ḍ as in devotee,
ḍh as in Godhead, and ṇ as in nectar.

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