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Vedic Sounds

The document describes the phonetic rules for pronouncing sounds in Vedic Sanskrit. It discusses the four main positions of the tongue for consonant sounds: guttural, palatal, cerebral, and dental. Vowels are classified based on whether they involve the guttural, palatal, cerebral, dental or labial regions of the mouth. Some consonant and vowel combinations, like 'ai' and 'au', produce diphthongs. In total there are 25 consonants, 16 vowels, and several other sounds like nasals, semi-vowels, sibilants, and aspirates. Diacritics are used to distinguish between similar sounding vowels and consonants.

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336 views3 pages

Vedic Sounds

The document describes the phonetic rules for pronouncing sounds in Vedic Sanskrit. It discusses the four main positions of the tongue for consonant sounds: guttural, palatal, cerebral, and dental. Vowels are classified based on whether they involve the guttural, palatal, cerebral, dental or labial regions of the mouth. Some consonant and vowel combinations, like 'ai' and 'au', produce diphthongs. In total there are 25 consonants, 16 vowels, and several other sounds like nasals, semi-vowels, sibilants, and aspirates. Diacritics are used to distinguish between similar sounding vowels and consonants.

Uploaded by

ngc1729
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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o Palatal: The sound a + the sound i give the sound .

The sound ai is uttered as a brief a (guttural) followed by a


long (palatal). (ex: kavim, vjinvat, dv, utainam)

Sounds in the Vedas

o Cerebral: The tongue is positioned as per Fig.3, but without


contact tongue-palate. (ex: pthiv, amta)
Fig. 1
Guttural or velar

Fig. 2
Palatal

Fig. 3
Cerebral or retroflex

Fig. 4
Dental

Above are the 4 main positions of the tongue, represented with a contact
between the tongue and the organ of speech (throat, palate, teeth). This
contact may be full or slight and brief. The tongue may also approach at a
large or short distance towards the concerned area to allow an air flow.
Labial sounds are created with the lips joined or slightly opened or
opened in a small circle and so on.

o Dental: The tongue is positioned as per Fig.4, but without


contact tongue-palate. (ex: kptam)
o Labial: The sound a + the sound u give the sound .
The sound au is uttered as a brief a (guttural) followed by a
long (labial). (ex: guru, sktam, nam, asau)

25 consonants, organized in 5 co-phonic rows of 5 each. In order


to utter them, the following vowel used in the recordings is a.

Nasal sounds, which may also belong to one of the above families, imply
an air flow in the nose.

16 vowels

Guttural
Palatal
Cerebral
Dental
Labial

short

long

extended

a
i

3
3

long
diphthong

ai

guttural

palatal

cerebral

dental

labial

non aspirated

ch

aspirated

kh

chh

th

ph

non aspirated

aspirated

gh

jh

dh

bh

nasal

o Guttural: (ex: kavnm, mukh, giri, ghha, hakara)

au

o Guttural: Please note the difference between a (as in up,


without effort from any part of the mouth) and (as in
farther, uttered with the mouth widely opened).
(ex: bhagavn, rudrya)

o Palatal: (ex: vachas, chhanda, rjam, jhtis, pacha)


o Cerebral: (ex: kyya, khya, mayati, mhuh, gaapati)
o Dental: (ex: trthyya, ratha, dv, dhanvan, ntha)
o Labial: (ex: pahupati, phalam, bindu, bhava, magalam)

4 semi-consonants also called semi-vowels:

1 other cerebral consonant (only in gveda):


(ex: : iaspad)

palatal cerebral dental labial

v is mostly uttered as a w. In case that v is followed by


another consonant, then the v is harder, with a contact between
upper teeth and lower lip. (ex: sarasvatyai, nam vrtapatay)

3 sibilants & 1 aspirated consonant:


palatal cerebral dental

guttural
&

(ex: hiva, puruha, st, saha, hrasva, hdaya)

1 jihvmlya, noted [hk], is a guttural sound. The back of the


tongue quickly approaches towards the throat till contact. The sound
stops in a k, creating a hhhk sound.

3 gm-kras (only in taittirya hkh), noted gm (uttered with


joined lips), ge and gge (the e is very short).
(ex: : gaapatigm havmah, pahgesthgehchakr,
sarvaligaggesth, priyaggehraddh)

1 svarabhakti sound (only in taittirya style). The r sound is


separately uttered as ra when it is followed by h, h, s, h, [hk] or
[fp].
(ex: sammarhinaa, sahasrahrh, barhihi)
In addition: The sound j is uttered by positioning the tongue for a j,
and immediately creating the sound . Hence, before uttering the , the
tongue is in the palatal position with a large contact with the palate.
(ex: jna, yajna)

(ex: nama[hk] kakubhya, du[hk]kha)

1 upadhmnya, noted [fp], is a labial sound. The upper teeth


approaches towards the lower lip till contact. The sound stops in a
p, creating a fffp sound.

(For memory)

(ex: s[fp] puruham, na[fp] prachdayt)

1 anusvra, noted , is a nasal sound. Before v, it becomes a


nasal v with slightly opened lips. Before l, it becomes a nasal l.
(ex: savatsar v, vaihnavi lka)

1 visarjanya, noted , is a guttural sound, followed by a vowel


uttered as an echo (half powered) of the vowel preceding the .
(ex: namaa, dhanuu, hntii, khamchara)

Fig. 1
Guttural or velar

Fig. 2
Palatal

Fig. 3
Cerebral or retroflex

Fig. 4
Dental

Recap Chart
Vowels

(traditional order)

guttural-palatal

=a+i
ai = a followed by

ai

au

guttural

palatal

cerebral

dental

labial

non- aspirated
aspirated
non- aspirated
soft consonants
aspirated
nasal
semi-vowels
only in gveda
sibilant
steamy or
fricatives
aspirated

k
kh
g
gh

ch
chh
j
jh

t
th
d
dh
n
l

p
ph
b
bh
m
v

jihvmlya
steamy or
fricatives
upadhmnya
svarabhakti (taittirya style only)

[hk]

Consonants
hard
consonants

guttural-labial

=a+u
au = a followed by
tongue or lips
/
organ of speech

full contact

slight/brief contact
without contact

[fp]
r as ra

anusvra
visarjanya

from no contact to full


contact
slight/brief contact

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