P.R. Sarkar on
Pronuncation and Spelling

 

"Mistaken pronunciation is a social offence because successive mistakes in the pronunciation of a word or words become widespread in the society and lead to the distortion of a language. Thus teachers should exercise extreme caution in this regard, otherwise their poor pronunciation will have an undesirable effect on their students and millions will suffer from it."

Varn'a vijina'na the Science of Letters
DISCOURSE 8
LANGUAGE AND DIALECT -- 2

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Systems and Styles of Pronunciation

From:
Varn'a Vijina'na The Science of Letters
DISCOURSE 1
PHONETICS -- 1

In Sanskrit there are four accepted styles of pronunciation -- Ka'shika', Daks'in'ii, Maha'ra's't'rii and Gaor'iiya [those of Benares, southern India, Maharashtra and Bengal].

 

Palatal, Cerebral and Dental Pronunciations

from:
Varn'a Vijina'na The Science of Letters
DISCOURSE 4
PHONETICS -- 4

The various letters are divided into palatal, cerebral and dental letters according to the differences in pronunciation.

The palatal letters are pronounced by touching the tongue to the upper palate. For example, ca, cha, ja, jha, ina, and sha are palatal letters.

The cerebral letters are pronounced by touching the tongue to the mu'rdha. The passageway by which water exits when you draw water up through the nose and then expel it through the mouth is known as mu'rdha. T'a, t'ha, d'a, d'ha, n'a, and s'a are cerebral letters.

The name given to those letters that are pronounced by pushing the tongue against the teeth is "dental letters". For example, ta, tha, da, dha, na and sa.

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a

From:
Varn'a Vijina'na The science of letters
DISCOURSE 5
PHONETICS, PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

a is pronounced in three ways: sam'vrta, vivrta, and tiryaka. Bengali pronunciation is sam'vrta. The Ka'shika' style is vivrta pronunciation. The pronunciation of the remaining two (Maha'ra's't'rii and Dravidian)is so lengthened or extended that the pronunciation of ka sounds like ka', kha like kha', and ga like ga'.

 

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á

From:
Varn'a Vijina'na The science of letters
DISCOURSE 5
PHONETICS, PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

Now the pronunciation of the letter á in the Gaor'iiya [Bengali] style is simply á.

In the remaining styles it is long á -- like the pronunciation of the French letter "a". For example, cheval (meaning "horse"), hopital ("hospital" in English). In both of these the pronunciation of the letter "a" is long á.

In eastern India it is simple á. Jamalpur is written Jámálpur in eastern India while in the rest of India it is written and pronounced Jamálpur.

 

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Vargiiya Ba and Antahstha Va

From:
Shabda Cayanika' Part 2
DISCOURSE 14
VARGIIYA BA AND ANTAHSTHA VA TO OS'ADHIPATI

In Bengali script, vargiiya ba and antahstha va have been separate letters since olden times, but in the last one hundred years or so the character for the two letters has become the same. However their pronunciation is completely different. It has been difficult, not only for children but for adults also, to know from the spelling of a word whether vargiiya ba or anatahstha va was being used; as a result, the separate pronunciation of the two letters has gradually been lost and errors in pronunciation, as well as spelling, have crept into the Bengali language. In English "b" should be written for the letter vargiiya ba and "v" for the letter anatahstha va. Body, because, bell, buoy, but, beacon, big, bag, beach, biija, bit, ban, beans, beet, bat, beam, etc., should be written in Bengali with vargiiya ba. Beca'l, beha'ya', besharam, beta'r, beka'r, beca'ra', beja'r, bed'hap, bena'ma', etc., should be written with vargiiya ba because they are all pronounced like the English sound "b". Ba'laka, ba'la', budha. buddha, bar'a, brhat, bandhana, ba'ndhu, ba'ddha, ba'ndh -- these words should also be spelled with vargiiya ba because they are pronounced like the English "b". Vote, value, valve, very, valley, van, veto, vapour, and so forth, should be written with antahstha va. Their pronunciation has no relationship with the English "b". In order to eliminate the current spelling and phonetic difficulties in the Bengali language it has become imperative to re-introduce the letter b with a line through the body of the letter. Moreover, if there is no separate character for vargiiya ba and anatahstha va in Bengali then the proper teaching and learning of Sanskrit becomes impossible.

Sanskrit does not have its own separate script, that is, there is no Sanskrit script. Traditionally, Sanskrit has been written in the local script. In the land of Bengal, Sanskrit has been written since ancient times in the Bengali script, thus distinct characters have to be maintained for ba and va.

 

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qua

 

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This letter is pronounced somewhat like "qh". This sound does not exist in Sanskrit and pure Bengali, but it is found in Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi. Kha'ja' should be spelled with this "qh".

 

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za

The sound is similar to the English "z". This letter is found in Hebrew, Arabic, Farsi, English, French, Latin and most of the Latin-group languages. If words from these languages are to be written in Bengali script then this letter is indispensable. We are compelled to use this letter to write words such as ga'zi, a'zim, "zig-zag", "zeal", "zoological", "zodiac" and so forth. Otherwise there will be confusion in pronunciation. In English, its pronunciation is not "ij" but "iz".

 

 

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r'a

From:
Shabda Cayanika' Part 2
DISCOURSE 14
VARGIIYA BA AND ANTAHSTHA VA TO OS'ADHIPATI

This is not a separate acoustic root. According to Sanskrit rules, the letter d'a is pronounced d'a at the beginning of a word and r'a in the middle or at the end of a word. For example, d'ambaru and d'aunka' but a'r'ambara. Although it is not accepted as a separate form from the Sanskrit d'a, it is desirable that it have a separate character due to the difference in pronunciation, and so it is in Bengali. The letter should be formally accepted.

 

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r'ha

From:
Shabda Cayanika' Part 2
DISCOURSE 14
VARGIIYA BA AND ANTAHSTHA VA TO OS'ADHIPATI

R'ha ( ): This is not a separate acoustic root. According to the Sanskrit rule it is pronounced d'ha at the beginning of a word and r'ha in the middle or at the end of a word. For example, d'hakka' but a's'a'r'ha. As this letter has a separate pronunciation and a separate character in the Bengali script, it should be accepted as a separate letter.

 

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t

From:
Shabda Cayanika' Part 2
DISCOURSE 14
VARGIIYA BA AND ANTAHSTHA VA TO OS'ADHIPATI

This is not a separate acoustic root. Actually it is ta with the a dropped. For a long time in Bengali there has been the custom of writing t rather than ta with a hasanta after it. Wherever ta is written with a hasanta beneath it, t can be written in its stead which takes less time. Thus t should be kept and given formal acceptance.

 

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fa

From:
Shabda Cayanika' Part 2
DISCOURSE 14
VARGIIYA BA AND ANTAHSTHA VA TO OS'ADHIPATI

This is not a separate acoustic root. Its pronunciation is similar to the English "f". This sound is enunciated by filling the mouth with air and creating pressure against the lips with that air from inside the mouth, then expelling it outside while opening the mouth. This sound does not exist in Sanskrit and pure Bengali; what exists is the pha sound. Its name is phan'ii which should be written in English as "phani", not "fani". This sound is found in Hebrew, Arabic, Farsi, English, French, and the majority of the Latin languages. This letter is needed to indicate the correct pronunciation of words such as farukh, fazal, fir, fer, frya't'a'r, fan, fair, frequent, fire, far, father, feya'r and so forth. If this letter is introduced into the modern Bengali script, then we will be able to indicate the pronunciation for words which we are unable to at present. We should write "Fazl-ul-Haque" but we write incorrectly "Phajl-ul-Hak". I do not consider this mistake excusable. By introducing the letter fa, this longtime error can be rectified.

 

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ya

From:
Shabda Cayanika' Part 2
DISCOURSE 14
VARGIIYA BA AND ANTAHSTHA VA TO OS'ADHIPATI

This is also not a separate acoustic root. Pada'nte padamadhyasthe ya-ka'ra ia ucyate, that is, if ya is at the beginning of a word, then is pronounced as a light ja; and in the middle and at the end of a word it is pronounced as ia, but it will be easier to recognize when it should be pronounced as a light ja and when it should be pronounced as ia if a dot is placed beneath the Bengali character [ya] for the ia sound. In the Bengali language, this ya with a dot below it has already been in use for a long time. It should be allowed to continue. Sanskrit does not have a separate form for ya when it is pronounced ia, but it is good that it remain in Bengali.

 

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lra

From:
Shabda Cayanika' Part 2
DISCOURSE 14
VARGIIYA BA AND ANTAHSTHA VA TO OS'ADHIPATI

This letter is not found in Bengali, Assamese and Hindustani, but it is found in Sanskrit, Marathi, Gujarati and the alphabets of south India. In north India, it is present in the pronunciation of the common people although there is no separate character for it. The rule is that whenever la is present in the middle or end of the original verbal root, then it will be antahstha la (lra), and if it is at the beginning of the original verbal root then it will be a'di la (la). If it is present in the radical of a compound word derived from the verbal root, or after the prefix, then this antahstha la (lra) will not undergo any change in either form or pronunciation. Similarly, if a root word contains a'di la, and it is present in the radical of a compound word made with that root, then that adi la will not undergo any change, for example, shriilata', shriilekha', sulekha', pus'palata', and so forth. All those suffixes which contain la have adi la, such as alac, ilac and so on. Without this antahstha la (lra) in the Bengali language, the proper teaching and study of Sanskrit is not possible; it should be part of the Bengali script. Otherwise Bengali-speaking students of Sanskrit will pronounce it incorrectly. The difference in pronunciation of words such as lata', phalra, kamala, ka'lraka'lra, etc.,will go unrecognized if the letter lra is not introduced. If, while reading the Vedas, we read agni miilre as agni miile it will be incorrect, so the letter lra should have a place. There is a great abundance in Bengali of words borrowed from Sanskrit which contain antastha la (lra), such as ka'lra, khalra, vimalra, samalra, amalra (not kamala), ta'lra, ta'lrii, dalra, palra, kalrya'n'a, kapa'lra, bha'lra (in the sense of forehead) -- it would be an error to spell these with adi la. Just as there is a need for the letters qa, qha, za and fa for writing words of foreign origin such as fazl, "hawk", haqiikat, qha'ja' sa'heb and so forth, there is an undeniable need for the letter lra for writing Bengali and Sanskrit words properly. For the same reasons, the letters rr, lr and lrr require a place. Although there are far fewer words in Bengali written with long rr (naerrta), lr (sam'klrpta, abhiklrpta), lrr (lrrt') in comparison with the abundance of words containing lra, they are necessary for the Bengali-speaking students of Sanskrit, so they should also be given a place. Otherwise Bengali-speaking students will be hampered in the arena of pronunciation. So I will reiterate the need for qa, qha, za and fa for indicating the proper pronunciation of English, Arabic and Farsi words, just as there is a need for the letter lra for indicating the Sanskrit letter.

 

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an

From:
Shabda Cayanika' Part 2
DISCOURSE 14
VARGIIYA BA AND ANTAHSTHA VA TO OS'ADHIPATI

In Sanskrit the candrabindu is not a full vowel but a special form of half-vowel, that is, although it is a ayogava'ha,* it is not a complete ayogava'ha. The candrabindu is not accepted in Sanskrit spelling but it is accepted as a sound. Ta'n + te is spelled ta'm'te but its Vedic-style pronunciation will be ta'nm'ste. Ta'n + tathaeva is spelled ta'm'stathaeva but is pronounced ta'nm'stathaeva. If the candrabindu is pronounced, then why should it not be written? The following words would be completely unacceptable if the candrabindu was left out: pha'nka', a'inca'no, a'incala, a'njala', a'nt'a', a'nsha, ka'nda', kha'nda', ga'nda', ca'nda', cha'nda, jha'njha, d'a'nt'a', ca'nda, pa'inca, pha'nda, ba'ndha, bha'nota', ya'nta', sha'nsa, and many more. Hence the candrabindu should be fully accepted as a letter in the Bengali script.

 

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am' and ah

from:
Varn'a Vijina'na the Science of Letters
DISCOURSE 2
PHONETICS -- 2

A vowel can be pronounced without any additional help, but in the case of am' and ah, the m' and the h cannot be pronounced by themselves. Since they cannot be pronounced alone they are called demi-vowels, that is, they are vowels but not full vowels. Thus they are called ayogava'ha in Sanskrit, that is, these two vowels cannot be pronounced without another's help. A thousand years ago the visarga (h) existed in Bengali and also in Maethili; however at that time it was written like the Bengali symbol for "four" [Bengali script].

 

 

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e

from:
Varn'a Vijina'na the Science of Letters
DISCOURSE 5
PHONETICS, PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

Although the letter e in Sanskrit is pronounced nearly the same everywhere, it is not exactly the same. In Vedic long e is pronounced but there is no practice of writing it.

 

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ae

from:
Varn'a Vijina'na the Science of Letters
DISCOURSE 5
PHONETICS, PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

Ae comes after e. In Sanskrit it is pronounced aya'y. For this reason "bank" can be written vaem'k in Sanskrit and in Hindi as well. Only in Bengali style is it written bya'm'k. In Sanskrit this pronunciation would become bia'm'k.

 

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ao

from:
Varn'a Vijina'na the Science of Letters
DISCOURSE 5
PHONETICS, PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

The pronunciation of the letter o is correct, but according to the Sanskrit style of pronunciation the letter ao [Bengali script] is pronounced a-o. In Hindi the word aos'adh is pronounced aos'adh. Other examples are mahaos'adh, aks'aohin'ii, daolat and so on. The pronunciation of ae and ao in Sanskrit should be maintained according to Sanskrit style, otherwise it will create difficulties with vowel elision.

 

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ks'a

from:
Varn'a Vijina'na The Science of Letters
DISCOURSE 4
PHONETICS -- 4

In the case of Panjabi-speaking areas and nearby areas (in Paesha'cii Pra'krta-speaking areas) ks'ama' is pronounced khama', not ks'ama'. This is the Yajurvedic style.

 

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Visarga (usually final h)

from:
Varn'a Vijina'na the Science of Letters
DISCOURSE 5
PHONETICS, PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES