We provide a very brief guide to vowel and consonant sounds in Samskritham, matching with the equuivalant or near-equal English counterparts. The way we spell Samskritham proper nouns in English in this document is a little bit different from the usual praactice . An example : Usually, it is Rama, we spell as Raama , to tell between a short and a long vowel . And this short guide will not even make a mention of accent, which is vital in Vedic pronunciation but not usually required in normal usage of this language.
The way of pronouncing vowels and consonants in Samskritham ( or Sanskrit ) language is to be understood first so as to be able to read the names correctly. Names of persons in this language are meaningful i.e. the composition of the word itself gives its meaning. (As far as possible, we provided the guide to pronunciation of some consonant sounds, either peculiar or ambiguous, in the headlines of the respective links themselves.).
One importaint vowel sound in Samskritham, not available in English is 'r' . It is customary to represent this vowel with the letters 'ri', though this 'r' signifies a consonant in English. This vowel has both its short and long sounds. Though the long sound is very rare, the short sound is very common. The best example is the word 'Krishna'. Here the letter 'i' does not represent the vowel sound in the third row of the above table, like 'ri' in 'bring', but it represents the vowelish 'r'. Details can be understood only through oral instruction from a perfect pronouncer of the language. In this translation, there can be a confusion whether the combination of letters 'ri' ( R is always a consonant except in this combination.) represents the third one in the above table or the peculiar vowel mentioned just now. Only oral clarification or the context can make it understood.
In Samskritham, there are no short E and short O as are in English like E in BEND and like O in LOCATE. Nor are there sounds corresponding to those of short A in CAN and long A in MAN. As mentioned above, the peculiar vowel sound 'r' in Samskritham,( spelt RI ) nearer to R in English, , like RI in KRISHNA, should be learnt by hearing from Indian speakers of the language.
Now,to the consonants. Some ( 10, rather )consonant sounds here are of two types,
Light ie Soft Consonant sounds correspond to English counterparts normally. Hard ones ( derived by adding an H to the English consonants) are not that common in English (Except TH in THING and CH in CHAIR and TH in THUNDER etc.). One more important point to note - unlike in English, no letter is silent here. Pronunciation of English T,D and V are not exactly the same as those letters are pronounced in Samskritham names. Difference can be known only by oral instruction by good speakers.
However, while representing the spelling of proper nouns in English, certain English consonants pronounce in two different ways here. For example, D,TH,L,SH,CH,N etc. Also, Y gives a vowel sound and a consonant sound too. Trying to explain such equivocations will only lead to confusion. (As far as possible, we provided the guide to pronunciation of some consonant sounds, either peculiar or ambiguous, in the headlines of the respective links themselves.)We tried to give the detailed guidance in the respective links, about the pronunciation of each proper name. Such things are,however, better learnt orally from a good speaker of the language.
Important vowel sounds in Samskritham and their English equivalants
Vowel sound ( spelling ) Pronunciation English example Example here a short A As U in BUS or GUN a in Nakula aa long A As A in CALL or HALL aa in Raama I short I As I in BILL or PILL I in HARI EE long I As EE in PEEL or KEEP EE in BHEEMA U short U As U in PUT U in ARJUNA OO long U As U in RUDE or FLUTE OO in OORVASHI or in POORU E long E As AY in BAY or LAY E in MENAKA (In the middle of a word) Y or AI,
(In the beginning of a word) AY not followed by any vowel long Y As Y in MY or BY Y in SYNDHAVA or Mynaaka .
AY in Ayraavatha is the example for the second case.
Y is also a consonat, especially in the beginning of a name. See below under consonant sounds.O ( or OA sometimes) long O AsO in POST or HOST or Toast O in DRONA OU / AU long OU As OU in ROUND or FOUND OU in KOURAVAS
Some consonants ( around 12 ) have no hard sound as such . ( M,Y,R,L,V,S etc.) . Some consonants have no English matches at all . For example, the sound similar to 'gjna' in yagjna meaning a sacrifice, 'ksha' in the names Thakshaka and Daksha etc.
Important consonant sounds in Samskritham and their English equivalants
Consonant sound ( spelling) Pronunciation Example in English Example here
K Light K K in make K in NAKULA
KH Hard K Not found. K in king is a bit near KH in SHANKHA
G Light G G in GUN. G in GARUDA
GH Hard G Gh in Ghost GH in GHATOTHKACHA
CH Light Ch tu in nature ch in GHATOTHKACHA or Kacha
CH Hard CH CH in Chair CH in Ahichchathram. Occurs in few names. J Light J J in JUG J in ARJUNA
JH Hard J Not found in English. Rare in proper nouns. T Light T T in TEA The first T in GHATOTHKACHA
TH Hard T Imagine a hardened sound of T in top th in Vipaatha or second th in Shithikantha D Light D D in DAY D in GARUDA. D has another sound. See the fifth row below.
DH Hard D (Not found in English.)A hardened sound of D in down DH in Ajaameedha N HARD N like N in TURN N in DRONA. See the fifth row below. These two N's confuse the beginner. Usually an N with an R before it - with some letters between them in some cases - will be Hard. Eg Karna, Varna, Praana, Raavana etc TH Light TH TH in WITH TH in KUNTHI TH Hard TH TH in THING TH in Kraatha or Manmatha D Light D TH in THE D in DRONA. D has another sound. See the fifth row above. DH Hard DH Not found in English. Imagine a hard sound for TH in THE. DH in Jaraasandha N Light N N in GUN N in NAKULA. See the fifth row above. These two N's confuse the beginner. P Light P P in CUP P in KRIPA PH Hard P Not found in English except the starting p like in 'PIN'. Imagine a hard sound for p in 'page'. PH in Shvaphalka or Phalguna B Light B B in BUS B in BAKA BH Hard BH Not found in English BH in BHEEMA M M M in MAN M in Maadri Y Y Y in YOU Y in YAMA. Y in the beginning of a name is essentially a consonant, but in the middle of a word, it can be a vowel too, usually if not followed by any vowel. R R R in RAY R in ARJUNA. L Light L L in LEG L in NAKULA. L has another sound. See next row. L Hard L L in GIRL L in Shaalva or Maalava. L has another sound. See the previous row. V V V in VAN V in VIRAATA SH SH Not found. Harder than S in Sand and lighter than SH in shaft SH in SHAKUNI . Compare with the row below, do not confuse with that sound. sh SH SSIO in MISSION SH in BHEESHMA . Compare with above row. Do not confuse with that sound. S S S in SUN S in SUBHADRA H H H in HUT H in HANUMAAN KSH Hard KSH Nearly like CTIO in ACTION KSH in PAREEKSHITH