W E L C O M E
"We bow to the cuckoo of Vaalmeeki that rests on the branch of poetry and gives out the sweet cooing of the beatiful sounds of "Raama" , "Raama" for our pleasure. "
DEDICATED TO MY LATE MOTHER Smt JOGAMMMA
PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NOUNS IN SAMSKRITHAM
We provide a very brief guide to vowel and consonant sounds in Samskritham, matching with the equuivalant or near-equal English counterparts. The way we spell Samskritham proper nouns in English in this document is a little bit different from the usual praactice . An example : Usually, it is Rama, we spell as Raama , to tell between a short and a long vowel.
While spelling the names ending with H ie Visarga in Samskritham, we drop th H and end the spelling with the vowel before that H. For example, Raamah in Samskritham becomes Raama here. Similarly, note that it is also customary to spell a lon-vowel ending Samskrutham name as a short-vowel ending English name. For example, Seethaa and Mandodaree in Samskritham become Seetha and Mandodari here.
And this short guide will not even make a mention of the feature 'accent' which is vital in Vedic pronunciation but not usually required in normal usage of this language.
The way of pronouncing vowels and consonants in Samskritham ( or Sanskrit ) language is to be understood first so as to be able to read the names correctly. Names of persons in this language are meaningful i.e. the composition of the word itself gives its meaning. (As far as possible, we provided the guide to pronunciation of some consonant sounds, either peculiar or ambiguous, in the headlines of the respective links themselves.).
One importaint vowel sound in Samskritham, not available in English is 'r' . It is customary to represent this vowel with the letters 'ri', though this 'r' signifies a consonant in English. This vowel has both its short and long sounds. Though the long sound is very rare, the short sound is very common. The best example is the word 'Krishna'. Here the letter 'i' does not represent the vowel sound in the third row of the above table, like 'ri' in 'bring', but it represents the vowelish 'r'. Details can be understood only through oral instruction from a perfect pronouncer of the language. In this translation, there can be a confusion whether the combination of letters 'ri' ( R is always a consonant except in this combination.) represents the third one in the above table or the peculiar vowel mentioned just now. Only oral clarification or the context can make it understood. In Raamaayanam, the names Richeeka, Rishabha, Riksharajas, Rishyashringa, Rishyamooka and Rikshavaan start with this special vowel itself. whenever the vowel sound occurs in the middle of a name, clarification is given in its link.
In Samskritham, there are no short E and short O as are in English like E in BEND and like O in LOCATE. Nor are there sounds corresponding to those of short A in CAN and long A in MAN. As mentioned above, the peculiar vowel sound 'r' in Samskritham,( spelt RI ) nearer to R in English, , like RI in KRISHNA, should be learnt by hearing from Indian speakers of the language.
Now,to the consonants. Some ( 10, rather )consonant sounds here are of two types,
Light ie Soft Consonant sounds correspond to English counterparts normally. Hard ones ( derived by adding an H to the English consonants) are not that common in English (Except TH in THING and CH in CHAIR and TH in METHOD etc.). One more important point to note - unlike in English, no letter is silent here. Pronunciation of English T,D and V are not exactly the same as those letters are pronounced in Samskritham names. Difference can be known only by oral instruction by good speakers.
However, while representing the spelling of proper nouns in English, certain English consonants pronounce in two different ways here. For example, D,DH,TH,L,SH,CH,N etc. Also, Y gives a vowel sound and a consonant sound too. Trying to explain such equivocations will only lead to confusion. (As far as possible, we provided the guide to pronunciation of some consonant sounds, either peculiar or ambiguous, in the headlines of the respective links themselves.)We tried to give the detailed guidance in the respective links, about the pronunciation of each proper name. Such things are,however, better learnt orally from a good speaker of the language.
Important vowel sounds in Samskritham and their English equivalants
Vowel sound ( spelling ) Pronunciation English example Example here a short A As U in BUS or GUN a in Janaka aa long A As A in CALL or HALL aa in Raama I short I As I in BILL or PILL I in VIBHEESHANA EE long I As EE in PEEL or KEEP EE in SEETHA U short U As U in PUT U in GUHA OO long U As U in RUDE or FLUTE OO in OORMILA or OORVASHI E long E As AY in BAY or LAY E in MERU or in MENAKA (In the middle of a word) Y or AI,
(In the beginning of a word) AY not followed by any vowel long Y As Y in MY or BY Y in MYNAAKA or MYNDA .
AY in Ayraavatha is the example for the second case.
Y is also a consonat, more so in the beginning of a name. See below under consonant sounds.O ( or OA sometimes) long O AsO in POST or HOST O in ROMAPAADA OU / AU long OU As OU in ROUND or FOUND OU in KOUSALYA
Some consonants ( around 12 ) have no hard sound as such . ( M,Y,R,L,V,S etc.) . Some consonants have no English matches at all . For example, the sound similar to 'gjna' in 'Yagjna' , meaning a sacrifice, 'ksha' in the names Thaksha and Daksha etc.
Important consonant sounds in Samskritham and their English equivalants
Consonant sound ( spelling) Pronunciation Example in English Example here
K Light K K in make K in JANAKA
KH Hard K Not found. K in king is a bit near KH in KHARA
G Light G G in GUN. G in GARUDA
GH Hard G Gh in Ghost GH in RAGHU
CH Light Ch tu in nature ch in MAAREECHA or CHANDRA
CH Hard Ch ch in chop Rare in proper nouns. J Light J J in JUG J in JANAKA
JH Hard J Not found in English. Rare in proper nouns. T Light T T in TEA The T in JATAAYU
TH Hard T Imagine a hardened sound of T in tug th in VASISHTHA D Light D D in DUMP D in GARUDA. D has another sound. See the fifth row below.
DH Hard D (Not found in English.)A hardened sound of D in DUMP DH in DEVAMEEDHA or DRIDHANETHRA N HARD N like N in TURN N in LAKSHMANA or RAAVANA. See the fifth row below. These two N's confuse the beginner. Usually an N - with an R an SH immediately before it, or, with some letters between them in some cases - will be Hard. Eg Vishnu, Bhaasakarna, Vibheeshana, Dooshana, Raavana etc. TH Light TH TH in WITH TH in SUMITHRA TH Hard TH TH in THING TH in DASHARTHA or MANMATHA D Light D TH in THE D in DASHARATHA or ANGADA or INDRA. D has another sound. See the fifth row above. DH Hard DH Not found in English. Imagine a hard sound for TH in THUS. DH in KABANDHA or VIRAADHA N Light N N in GUN N in JANAKA. See the fifth row above. These two N's confuse the beginner. P Light P P in CUP P in PAMPA or SAMPAATHI PH Hard P Not found in English except the starting p like in 'PIN'. Imagine a hard sound for p in 'pun'. PH in SHUNASHSHEPHA or PHALGUNI B Light B B in BUS B in SHABARI BH Hard BH Not found in English BH in BHARATHA or SHARABHA M M M in MAN M in RAAMA or SUMITHRA Y Y Y in YOU Y in AYODHYA or KOUSALYA. Y in the beginning of a name is essentially a consonant, but in the middle of a word, it can be a vowel too, usually when not followed by a vowel. R R R in RAY R in RAAMA or BHARATHA . Unlike in english, R here is never silent. L Soft L L in LEG L in LAKSHMANA . L has another sound. See next row. L Hard L L in GIRL L in Oormila or KAALIKA . L has another sound. See the previous row. But, in Samskritham, a hard L can be pronounced like a soft L, but not the converse. V V V in VAN V in VAALMEEKI or VASISHTHA SH SH Not found. Harder than S in Sand and lighter than SH in shaft. We used the expression 'Intermediary SH' to describe this sound. SH in DASHARATHA or SHATRUGHNA . Compare with the row below, do not confuse with that sound. sh SH SH in SHUT SH in VIBHEESHANA or DOOSHANA. Compare with above row. Do not confuse with that sound. S S S in SUN S in SUMITHRA or KOUSALYA H H H in HUT H in HANUMAAN or in GUHA KSH Hard KSH Nearly like CTIO in ACTION or DICTION KSH in LAKSHMANA or AKSHA or DAKSHA "We bow to the cuckoo of Vaalmeeki that rests on the branch of poetry and gives out the sweet cooing of the beatiful sounds of "Raama" , "Raama" for our pleasure. "
DEDICATED TO MY LATE MOTHER Smt JOGAMMMA