[youtube=http://youtu.be/t7Rs-2b-1og]

This week’s How to say is a bit different although very important with respect to knowing how to pronounce Sanskrit words correctly. It focuses on the usage of letter A in writing Sanskrit words in English. In English, the pronunciation of A in different words varies according to the spelling and the rules of English. For example, the pronunciation of letter A in words bAt, cAse and hAlf are three typical ways in which it is pronounced in English language. However, the conventions in case of Sanskrit words are quite different.

Because of the linguistic differences in English and Sanskrit, words in the latter are written as their phonetic equivalents in English (Latin alphabet). Hence, the conventions of pronunciation in English do not always apply. Especially confusing is the usage of letter A when spelling out Sanskrit words.

In Sanskrit, any consonant can be pronounced in a short (abrupt) or long (complete) manner. The video explains how the letter A is generally used to symbolise these intonations and how, also, it is mis-pronounced most of the times due to lack of understanding about short and long consonant pronunciation in Sanskrit.

The concept of short and long pronunciation of consonants is the same as in German, where letter E is added in front of the consonant to symbolise a long (complete) intonation. For example, Gertrud and Gertrude. Please watch the video for detailed explanations of these ideas.