The Original Pronunciation of Sanskrit

Devangar Transliteration IPA-Symbols

`C C

`C C

$D(

au De8



gh J+

ch We+ M

Ge

+

jh

I

)

h +

Z

th

W+

G{

[

ph S+

E

U{

` O

]



K



YDULRXV

n $D

#H

ai

De,

$DH

N{

R

kh N+

J

F

We

'

T

4

W

S

\

V

OC

Ge+ _

>

dh G+

Q



bh E+

P

Y

Y 9

Drafted by Maciej Zieba and Ulrich Stiehl under the auspices of Manfred Mayrhofer.
Improvements by Jost Gippert, Madhav Deshpande, Sunder Hattangadi, John Smith
and others. This chart is a compromise, since the original pronunciation of Sanskrit
is not exactly known in every detail. 06/09/2002/us.

Notes:
1. $ seems to have been pronounced originally as [n] or as [], possibly never as [D].
Not even the pronunciation of this most often used letter $ is exactly known!
2. The original pronunciation of is not known. It occurs only in the verb dS(kp).
3. U{seems to have been pronounced as [`] or as [], and likewise the liquid seems
to have been pronounced as syllabic [`C] (notation: [`]+ [ C]) or as syllabic [C].
4. The pronunciation of the semi-vowel Y seems to have been either [Y] or [9].
5. Visarga (!): a) Visarga seems to have been pronounced originally always as [[].
b) Nowadays however it is usually pronounced as [], followed by a repetition of
the preceding shortened vowel, e.g. GHY! [GHYnn], GHY(![GHYDe,,], etc.
6. Anusvra ( ): a) At the end of words before words initialled with any consonant,
it is a shortcut for Ppronounced as [P]. b) Before all the plosives (k, c, , t, p, etc.)
it is a shortcut for the respective class nasal, e.g. VL[! (sadhi) = VL1[! (sandhi)
= [VnQG+L[]. c) Before sibilants (],,V), semi-vowels (\,U,O,Y) and K, it seems to
have nasalized its preceding vowel, e.g. VYW (savat) as [VDYnW]. Controversial!
It should be stressed that nowadays pronunciation of Sanskrit differs considerably
from the original pronunciation, being heavily influenced by the mother tongue of
the speaker (Hindi, Marathi etc.). Example: W-`DQP (taj jnam = that knowledge),
which seems to have been pronounced originally as [WnGeGeDQnP], is nowadays
pronounced as [WnGeJMDQnP] (Hindi) or [WnGeGQMDQnP] (Marathi), irrespective of the
sound assimilation caused by Sandhi rule (d + j = j + j, i.e. tad jnam = taj jnam).
http://home.t-online.de/home/ulrich.stiehl/polfonts.htm

THE INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET (revised to 1993, updated 1996)

CONSONANTS (PULMONIC)
Bilabial Labiodental Dental

Alveolar Post alveolar Retroflex

p b
m

Plosive
Nasal
Trill
Tap or Flap
Fricative
Lateral
fricative
Approximant
Lateral
approximant

t d

n
r
|
F B f v T D s $z S Z
L
&

Palatal

Velar

Uvular

Pharyngeal

Glottal

" c k g q G
/
=
#
N

% J x V X ? h H

'

Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a voiced consonant. Shaded areas denote articulations judged impossible.

Clicks

>

VOWELS

Bilabial
Dental
(Post)alveolar
Palatoalveolar
Alveolar lateral

Bilabial
Dental/alveolar
Palatal
Velar
Uvular

Front

Ejectives

Voiced implosives

p
t
k
s

Close

Examples:

Central

Bilabial

Close-mid

Dental/alveolar
Velar

Open-mid

Alveolar fricative

OTHER SYMBOLS

0 Voiceless labial-velar fricative Alveolo-palatal fricatives

w $ Voiced labial-velar approximant Alveolar lateral flap
Voiced labial-palatal approximant
Simultaneous S and x
Voiceless epiglottal fricative
Affricates and double articulations
$ $Voiced epiglottal fricative
can be represented by two symbols
joined by a tie bar if necessary.
$ $ Epiglottal plosive

Open

2
$
+
`
8

n9 d9
Voiced
s3 t$3
Aspirated
t d
More rounded O7
Less rounded
O
Advanced
u
Retracted
e2
Centralized
e
Mid-centralized e+
Syllabic
n`
Non-syllabic
e8
Rhoticity
a

e !

E {

"

kp ts
N(

b a " Dental
t$+ d+
Creaky voiced
b0 a0 Apical
t$ d
Linguolabial
t$ $d 4 Laminal
t$4 d4
Labialized
tW dW ) Nasalized
e)
Palatalized
t, d, Nasal release
d
Velarized
t- $d- Lateral release d
Pharyngealized t. $ d.
} No audible release d}
Velarized or pharyngealized :
Raised
e6 $( 6 = voiced alveolar fricative)
Lowered
e ( B = voiced bilabial approximant)
Advanced Tongue Root
e5
Retracted Tongue Root
e/
Breathy voiced

W
,
.

5
#

u
o
O
A

SUPRASEGMENTALS

Diacritics may be placed above a symbol with a descender, e.g.

Voiceless

IY
e P

Where symbols appear in pairs, the one

to the right represents a rounded vowel.

DIACRITICS

Back

CONSONANTS (NON-PULMONIC)

Primary stress
Secondary stress

foUn"tISn

!
.
*
e$_
e!
e@
e~
e

e
e
e*

Long
Half-long
Extra-short

Minor (foot) group

Major (intonation) group
Syllable break

i.kt

Linking (absence of a break)

TONES AND WORD ACCENTS

LEVEL
CONTOUR
Extra
Rising
or
&or
high

High
Mid
Low
Extra
low

Downstep
Upstep

e
e$
e%
e
e&

Falling
High
rising
Low
rising
Risingfalling

Global rise
Global fall