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Guide
Lesson 1: Letters of the Alphabet
INTRODUCTION
Devanagari (lit. “land of the
demigods”) is indeed one of the most popular scripts in
DIVISIONS
OF THE LETTERS
The Devanagari alphabet is
one of the most organized alphabet systems that exist today. It has thirteen
vowels (swara) and thirty-three consonants (vyañjana) along with the nasal element (anusvāra)
and aspirated element (visarga).
VOWELS:
1.
The letter “a” is pronounced as “u” in “but.”
2.
The letter “ā” is pronounced as “a” in “father.”
3.
The letter “i" is pronounced as “i” in “sin” (say “seen” with a shorter “ee”
sound)
4.
The letter “ī” is pronounced as “ee” in “seed”
5.
The letter “u” is pronounced as “u” in “should” (say “shood”
with a shorter “oo” sound)
6.
The letter “ū” is pronounced as “oo” in “roof”
7.
The letter “ṛ” is pronounced as “ri” in “rip”
(say “reep” with a shorter “ee”
sound)
8.
The letter “ṛ ́” is pronounced as “ree” in
“reed”
9.
The letter “ļ” is pronounced as “lary” in
“salary.” Sounds more like “lree” actually.
10.
The letter “e” is pronounced as “ay” in “pay” (avoid adding the “y” sound at
the end)
11.
The letter “ai” is a combination of the letters “a”
and “i”
12.
The letter “o” is pronounced as “o” in “no” (avoid the u/w sound as the end)
13.
The letter “au” is a combination of the letter “a” and “u”
CONSONANTS
In the Devanagari
alphabet, there are many subdivisions. The first major set of subdivisions consists
of five rows of consonants. Each row depends on where the sound was originated.
Within each of these five subdivisions is another division of five. Each row
has the letters formed in this manner:
Letter 1: Voiceless
non-aspirated: Without any aid of a vowel, the sound can be produced. No
additional puff of air is needed
Letter 2: Voiceless
aspirated: This is the same letter as Letter 1, but it requires a puff of
air to produce a slightly harder sound.
Letter 3: Voiced
non-aspirated: The sound of this letter will require the voice to allow
correct pronunciation of the letter.
Letter 4: Voiced
aspired: This is the same letter as Letter 3, but it requires a puff of air
to produce a slightly harder sound.
Letter 5: Nasal
element: Usually, for Letters 1-4, this letter will allow a nasal
combination. This will be discussed later on in detail.
GUTTURALS
The first set of five consonants is known as the gutturals. They are sounds pronounced
through the throat.
1. ka 2. kha 3. ga 4. gha
5. ńa
1. The letter “k” is pronounced as “k” in “kite”
2. The letter “kh” is
pronounced as “ck-h” in “kick-hard”
3. The letter “g” is pronounced as “g” in “goat”
4. The letter “gh” is
pronounced as “g-h” in “dig-hard”
5. The letter “ń” is pronounced as “n” in
“song.” (Just the n, not the g. This is the nasal
element for the gutturals)
PALATALS
The second set of five consonants is known as the
palatals. They are sounds pronounced through the palette.
1. ca 2. cha 3. ja 4. jha 5. ña
1. The letter “c” is pronounced as “ch” in “church.”
2. The letter “ch” is
pronounced as “ch-h” in “staunch-heart”
3. The letter “j” is pronounced as “j” in “jiffy”
4. The letter “jh” is
pronounced as “dge-h” in “hedge-hog”
5. The letter “ñ” is pronounced as “ny” in “canyon” (This is the nasal element for the
palatals)
CEREBRALS
The third set of five consonants is known as the
cerebrals. They are sounds pronounced through the tongue touching the roof of
the palette.
1. ṭa
2. ṭha 3. ḍa 4. ḍha 5. ṇa
1. The letter “ṭ” is pronounced as “t” in
“hot”
2. The letter “ṭh”
is pronounced as “t-h” in “hot-house”
3. The letter “ḍ” is pronounced as “d” in
“road”
4. The letter “ḍh”
is pronounced as “d-h” in “red-hot”
5. The letter “ṇ” is pronounced as “na” in “nut.” (This is the nasal element for the
cerebrals).
DENTALS
The fourth set of five consonants is known as the
dentals. They are sounds pronounced through the tongue touching the teeth.
1. ta
2. tha 3. da 4. dha 5. na
1. The letter “t” is pronounced as “t” in “hot”
2. The letter “th”
is pronounced as “t-h” in “hot-house” or “thick”
3. The letter “d” is pronounced as “d” in “road”
4. The letter “dh” is pronounced as “d-h” in
“red-hot” or “th” in “though”
5. The letter “n” is pronounced as “na” in “nut.” (This is the nasal element for the dentas).
LABIALS
The fifth set of five consonants is known as the
labials. They are sounds pronounced through the lips.
1. pa 2. pha 3. ba 4. bha
5. ma
1. The letter “p” is pronounced as “p” in “popcorn.”
2. The letter “ph” is pronounced as “p-h” in “up-hill”
(This is not pronounced like f. There is no “f” in Sanskrit.)
3. The letter “b” is pronounced as “b” in “baby”
4. The letter “bh” is
pronounced as “b-h” in “tub-hot”
5. The letter “m” is pronounced as “m” in “mother.”
SEMI-VOWELS
The next four consonants are known as semi-vowels. They reason why they are
“half-vowels” is because they require the human voice in order to make a sound.
Some of the semi-vowels are derivatives of some previously mentioned vowels.
1. ya
2. ra 3. la
4. va
1. The letter “y” is pronounced as “y” in “yes.”
2. The letter “r” is pronounced as “r” in “right.”
3. The letter “l” is pronounced as “l” in “light.”
4. The letter “v” is pronounced as “v” in “victory.”
If “v” is the second half of a combined letter, then it will be pronounced like
a “w.”
SIBILANTS
There are three sibilants in the Devanagari
alphabet. Sibilants are letters that give a hissing sound.
1. śa
2. ṣa 3. sa
1. The letter “ś” is pronounced as “sh” in “shut.” (This is the palatial s)
2. The letter “ṣ” is pronounced as “sh” in “shine.” (This is the cerebral s)
3. The letter “s” is pronounced as “s” in “seven.”
(The is the universal and dental s)
ASPIRATE
1. The last official consonant in the Devanagari alphabet is “ha.” The letter “h” is pronounced
as “h” in “heaven.”
MISCELLANEOUS
These last two are not really letters, but more or
less markings that will be used in later applications.
1. The anusvāra is
the nasal element (ḿ). It is pronounced as “n” in “wrong” (no “g” sound
included). It assumes any appropriate nasal element.
2. The visarga is the
aspirate element (ḥ). It causes a “ha” sound to come. For instance,
aḥ is pronounced as “aha” or iḥ is
pronounced as “iḥ.”
Study these letters carefully and know each letter
before entering Lesson 2.
UPDATED: June 16, 2009