434 $si Caitanya-caritamrta

The letter a is implied after a consonant with no vowel symbol.
The symbol virdma (s) indicates that there is no final vowel. <= k
The letters above should be pronounced as follows:

a—tlike the o in hot; sometimes like the o in go; d —like the d indawn.

final @ is usually silent. dh —like the dh in good-house.
a —like thea in far. n —like the n in gnaw.
i, T—like the ee in meet. t—as in talk but with the tongue against the
u, u —like the w in rule. the teeth.
t —like the ré in rim. th—as in hot-house but with the tongue against
r —like the ree in reed. the teeth.
e —like the ai in pain; rarely {tke e in bet. d—as in dawn but with the tongue against the
al —like the of in boil. teeth.
o —like the o in go. dh—as in good-house but with the tongue
au —like the ow in owl. against the teeth.
m —(anusvara) like the ng in song. n—as in nor but with the tongue against the
h —(visarga)a final hk sound like in Ah, teeth.
n — feandra-bindu) a nasain sound p —like the p in pine.

like in the French word bon. ph —like the ph in philosopher.

k —like the & in kite, b —like the b in bird.
Kh —like the k/t in Eckhart. bh —like the bh in rub-hard.

g —like the g in got.

gh —like the gh in big-kouse.
n —like then in bank.

c —like the ch in chalk.

m —like the m in mother.
y —like the j in jaw. ¥

y —like the y in year, 9

r —like the in run.

ch —like the chh in much-haste. | —like the / in /aw.

J —like the / in joy. v —like the 6 in bird or like the w in dwarf.
jh —like the gehk in college-hall. é, like the sh in shop.

n —like then in bunch. s—like the s insun.

{ —like the ¢ in alk. h-like the A in home.

th —like the sh in hot-house.

This is a general guide to Bengali pronunciation. The Bengali transliterations in this
book accurately show the original Bengali spelling of the text. One shovid note, however,
that in Bengali, as in English, spelling is not always a true indication of how a word is pro-
nounced. Tape recordings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
chanting the original Bengali verses are available from the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness, 3959 Landmark St., Culver City, California 90230.
