Guide to Sanskrit Pronunciation

Throughout the centuries, the Sanskrit language has been written in a
variety of alphabets. The mode of writing most widely used throughout
India, however, is called devandgari, which literally means ‘‘the city writ-
ing of the devas, or gods.’” The devandgarialphabet consists of forty-eight
characters, including thirteen vowels and thirty-five consonants. The an-
cient Sanskrit grammarians arranged the alphabet according to concise
linguistic principles, and this arrangement has been accepted by all
Western scholars. The system of transliteration used in this book con-
forms to a system that scholars in the last fifty years have almost univer-
sally accepted to indicate the pronunciation of each Sanskrit sound.

The short vowel a is pronounced like the u in but; long 4 like the a in
far; and short i like the iin pin. Long 1is pronounced as in pique, short u
as in pull, and long i as in rule. The vowel r is pronounced like the ri in
rim. The vowel e is pronounced as in they; ai as in aisle; 0 as in go; and
au as in how. The anusvara (th), which is a pure nasal, is pronounced like
the n in the French word bon, and visarga (h), which is a strong aspirate,
is pronounced as a final h sound. Thus ah is pronounced like aha, and ih
like ihi.

The guttural consonants—k, kh, g, gh, and n—are pronounced from
the throat in much the same manner as in English. K is pronounced as in
kite, kh as in Eckhart, g as in give, gh as in dig hard, and nas in sing.
The palatal consonants—c, ch, j, jh, and fi—are pronounced from the
palate with the middle of the tongue. C is pronounced as in chair, ch as in
staunch heart, j as in joy, jh as in hedgehog, and fi as in canyon. The
cerebral consonants—t, th, d, dh, and n—are pronounced with the tip of
the tongue turned up and drawn back against the dome of the palate. T is
pronounced as in tub, th as in light heart, d as in dove, dh as in red-hot,
and n as in nut..The dental consonants—t, th, d, dh, and n—are pro-
nounced in the same manner as the cerebrals but with the forepart of the
tongue against the teeth. The labial consonants—p, ph, b, bh, and m—
are pronounced with the lips. P is pronounced as in pine, ph as in uphill,
bas in bird, bh as in rub hard, and mas in mother. The semivowels—y, r,
1, and v—are pronounced as in yes, run, light, and vine respectively. The
sibilants—$S, s, and s—are pronounced, respectively, as in the German
word sprechen and the English words shine and sun. The letter h is pro-
nounced as in home.

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