5. The Soft-palatals or Vealers are pronounced with the back of the tongue touching the soft palate. क is pronounced like the k in speaker: कब 'when' कमल (Kamal) lotus'. ख (kh) is aspirated क, pronounced like the ckh in blockhead (but as a single sound): खग 'bird' खटमल 'bug'. ग is pronounced as the g in go: गरम 'hot', गरदन 'neck'. घ is aspirated ग pronounced like the gh (as a single sound) in log-house: घर 'house'. ङ (n) is pronounced as the ng in sing, or in England : अङग (अंग) 'body' सङग (संग) 'company'. The aspirated consonants should be clearly distinguished from the non-aspirates: ख is to be pronounced as kh, i.e. क (k) with a distinct h soun; similarly, घ is to be pronounced as gh, i.e. ग with a distinctly audible h-sound; and so on. garden गर्दन है या गार्डन है? sang सैंग है या संग?
6. The Palatals are sounded with the front of the tongue touching (or, in case of ञ almost touching), the hard palate i.e.the part at the back of the teeth-ridge. च is pronounced like the ch in much (but as a single unaspirated sound): चटपट 'quickly' चपत 'slap'. छ is aspirated क, pronounced like the chh (as a single sound) in church-hill: छत 'roof, ceiling', छल 'deceit, fraud'. ज is pronounced as the j in the jaw (but as a single sound): जब 'when', जय 'victory'. झ is aspirated ज, pronounced like the dgeh (as a single sound) in hedgehog: झट 'quickly, at once', झलक 'glimpse, shine'. ञ (n) is similar to a 'week' pronunciation of n in pinch: more or less like a nasalized y (of yes) : पञच (panc) 'five', मञच (manc) 'stage, platform'. क्या छ किसी अंग्रेज़ी या जर्मन शब्द में उपयोग होता है?
7. The Cerebrals (or Retroflex sounds) are pronounced with the underside of the tip of the tongue curled backwards, and placed against the top of the palate. ट is pronounced somewhat similar to t in part but with the tongue curled backwards: टन 'ton', टमटम 'tandem'. ठ is aspirated ट, pronounced like the in thin if pronounced with a louder aspiration: ठग 'thug, cheat'. ड is similar to d in hard, but pronounced with the tip of the tongue curled backwards: डर 'fear', डग 'foot, step'. ढ is aspirated ड and is pronounced like dh as a single sound in 'childhood' : ढब 'way, manner.' ण (n) is like a n, pronounced, as in the case of ट and ड, with the tip of the tongue curled backwards and touching the top of the palate ऋण 'debt', गण 'group, people'. (ण occurs onlyin borrowed Sanskrit words, and even in them, never in the beginning of a word). The Cerebrals are special Indian sounds with no parallels in English.
8. The Dentals are pronounced with the tip of the tongue spread out and touching the upper teeth, not the gums (or teeth-ridge), as in pronouncing English t. However, n has the same point of articulation as English n. त is similar to the Italian pronunciation of t: तब 'then', तट 'bank, coast'. थ is aspirated त, approximately like 'th' in 'thumb' : थन 'dug, teat'. द is similar to the Italian pronunciation of d: दमन 'suppression, control', दस 'ten'. ध is aspirated द: धन 'money, wealth', धड़ 'trunk, body'. न is identical with English n in not, etc.: नगर 'town', नमक 'salt'.
9. The Labials are pronounced with the two lips pressed together and then (immediately)separated. प (p) : पकड़ पचपन 'fifty-five'. फ is aspirated प, pronounced as the ph (as a single sound) in loophole not as in physics [fiziks], nor as the f in fox : फल 'fruit', फन 'hood of a serpent'. ब =बटन , बरगद 'banyan tree.' भ is aspirated ब, pronounced like the bh (as a single sound) in club house : भय 'fear', भवन 'house'. म (m)=m: मगर (magar) 'but; crocodile', मन 'mind'.
10. य (y) is a semi-vowel, i.e.a vowel (i) used as a consonant It is pronounced like the y in young and is 'voiced' : यह 'this, यश 'fame'.
11. र (r) is a 'trilled' and 'voiced' consonant. In uttering it, the tip of the tongue taps several times in quick succession against the ridge of the upper teeth. It is quite unlike the English r. रईस (rais) 'rich, wealthy (man)' रस (ras) 'juice, taste.'
12. ल is 'voiced' and pronounced with the tip of the tongue pressed against the upper gums, while the air is allowed to escape on one or both the sides. It is similar to the l in long : लचक (lacak), 'elasticity', लहर (lahar) 'wave'.
13. व is 'voiced' and formed by bringing the lower lip close to the upper teeth and the upper lip and allowing the air to pass through them. Thus, it is a 'fricative' or 'friction-sound' so far as Hindi is concerned : वन (van), 'forest,' वचन (vacan) 'word, speech, statement'. [When, however, व is combined with a preceding consonant, it changes into a pure semi-vowe, pronounced by 'rounding and pushing forward the lips' (without allowing them to touch), and is similar to English w].
14. श, ष and स are sibilants or 'hissing' sounds. They are 'voiceless' friction-sounds(fricatives).
15. श (s) is very much like the English sh in shut etc. It is pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the palate: (शक्कर) 'sugar', शहर (sahar) 'city'.
16. ष occurs only in borrowed Sanskrit words. So far as Hindi is concerned, it is identical in pronunciation with श : षट् 'six'
17. स (s) is pronounced with the tip of the tongue pressed against the ridge of the upper teeth. It is identical with Enlish s in some etc. (not in easy etc.) : सब 'all', समझ, 'understanding'.
18. ह is a 'fricative' consonant similar to the h in perhaps, behind, etc. (not in hard, hit etc.) It is 'voiceless' when it occurs at the beginning of a word, but 'voiced' otherwise,: हम 'we', हल 'plough'.
19. ङ (r) and ढ़ (rh) are called 'retroflex flapped consonants'. They are pronounced by curling the tip of the tongue backwards and by 'flapping', i.e. striking with a jerk, against as wide an area of the top of the palate as possible. They are 'voiced'. ङ is similar to American r as in 'very' and pronounced as a cerebral letter. ढ़ is aspirated ड: जड़ 'root', बड़ (bar) 'banyan tree', गढ़ 'stronghold' पढ 'read! (thou)'. ड़ and ढ़ never occur in the beginning of a word. They are not to be confused with ड and ढ ( nor treated as their modifications). They are pure Hindi sounds, never occurring in pure words borrowed from Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic or English.
20. The sign ः is called विसर्ग. It has the sound of a 'voiced' ह in Hindi. It occurs almost exclusively in Sanskrit words (छः, छिः are exceptions) borrowed into Hindi, and always preceded by a vowel : अतः 'hence', फ़लतः 'consequently'.
21. The consonant क़ occurs only in borrowwed Arabic, Persian and Turkish words. It is 'voiceless' and is produced by pronouncing क as far back in the the throat as possible : क़द 'size, height', क़तई 'altogether'.
22. ख़, ग़, ज़, and फ़ are 'fricative' consonants (made like श, ष, स and ह by friction of breath). The first two occur only in borrowed Arabic and Persian words, the last two in words borrowed from English as well as from Arabic and Persian. ख़ and फ़ are 'voiceless', while ग़ and ज़ are 'voiced'.
23. ख़ and ग़ are pronounced much farther back than ख and ग. They also differ from the latter two consonants in as much as the air-passage is only narrowed (not closed as in pronouncing ख and ग: ख़बर 'news, message', ग़म (gam) 'sorrow'.
24. ज़ (z) is proncunced like English z in zebra, etc. It is alveolar. ज़ is not a modification of ज, but the 'voiced ' form of स. ज़हर (zahar) poison'.
25. फ़ is similar to the English f in father, etc. It is not a modification of फ, since, unlike the latter, (and like व, 13), it is pronounced with the lower lip pressed against the upper teeth while the air forces its way between them : फ़कत (faqat) 'only, solely', फ़तह (fatah) 'victory'. [In pronouncing फ, the lower lip is pressed against the upper lip, and no air is allowed to escape, until the consonant is actually uttered. फ़ is, in fact, the 'voiceless' form of fricative व]
26. The sounds क़, ख़, ग़, ज़ and फ़ are restricted to the learned and the correct pronunciation of loan-words from Arabic, Persian, Turkish and English. In common speech, they are usually replaced by क, ख, ग, ज and फ. As a help to memory and practice in writing, the Hindi letters may be arranged in the following nine groups in accordance with their written forms:-
- व, ब, क, च
- प, ष, फ, ण
- ग, म, भ
- घ, ध, य, थ
- न, त, ज, ल, ञ, ऋ
- उ, ऊ, इ, ई, ड, ड़, ङ, झ, ह
- ट, ठ, ढ, ढ़, द, छ
- र, स, ख, ए, ऐ, श
- अ, आ, ओ, औ
27A. The first two consonants of each class (वर्ग), and श, ष, स and ह (at the beginning of a word only) are 'Voiceless'. The rest of the consonants are 'voiced'. All the vowels are also 'Voiced'. ख, छ, ठ, थ, फ are 'Voiceless Aspirates'. घ, झ, ढ, ध, भ are 'Voiced Aspirates'. व, श, ष, स, ह, ख़, ग़, ज़, फ़ are 'Voiced'. ह as given above is 'Voiceless' in the beginning of the word and 'Voiced' elsewhere. 'ः' (विसर्ग) is 'Voiced' ह. [For aspirated न, म and ल see 45(e)]. 'Fricatives' of which श, ष, स, ख़ and फ़ are of which श, ष.
28. The Hindi consonant letters do not indicate the consonant sounds only. They stand for the particular consonant + अ. Thus क is not simply k, but k+a; ल is not simply l, it is l+a. This अ is called 'the inherent' in the consonant letter.
29. When the simple consonant without the inherent ‚ is specifically to be expressed, a sing (right-slanting stroke), called Hal (or Halanta), is put below the letter. Thus, k = क्, r = र्, d=द् , etc. (In practice, however, the Hal mark is frequently omitted. see 51--51A).
30. When some vowel other than this inherent अ comes after a consonant, an abbreviated form of that vowel (called Matra) is tagged on to the consonant letter and is never written in full. Thus, k+i=क् + इ is written as कि, k+u=क् +उ is wrottem as कु, and not as क्इ, क्उ, which will indicate the pronunciation k-i, k-u.
31. The abbreviated forms of vowels i.e. the Matras when they come after consonant letters are written as follows :- आ=ा, इ=ि, ई = ी, उ = ु, ऊ = ू, ऋ = ृ, ए = े, ऐ = ै, ओ = ो‚ औ = ौ.
32. Of these, ा (आ), ी (ई), ो (ओ), and ौ (औ) are written after the consonant whereas ि (इ) is writtern before, ु (उ), ू (ऊ) and ृ (ऋ) are written below and े (ए) and ै (ऐ) are written above. Thus :- क् + आ = का, क् + ऋ = कृ, क् + इ = कि, क् + ए = के, क् + ई = की, क् + ऐ = कै, क् + उ = कु, क् + ओ = को, क् + ऊ = कू, क् + औ = कौ. Important exceptions :- र् + उ = रु, र् + ऊ = रू.
33. If a vowel is nasalized (अनुनासिक), the sign (चंद्रबिन्दु) is placed above the letter : कं, कां, कुं, कूं, but if the Matra is above the headline, only a dot is used instead of ं thus किं, कीं, कों, कौं, कें, कैं. It is to be noted that the dot is placed on the right of the Matra.
34. The विसर्ग `ः' is always placed after the vowel or consonant + vowel. Thus दुःख (duhkh) `pain, sorrow, unhappiness', `निःसीम (nihsim) `limitless'. The अनुस्वर `ं' is placed above the vowel (e.g. अंक) or consonant + vowel after which it is pronounced (e.g. आनसद).
35. Two or more consonants (with no vowel, including the inherent अ between them) can be combined together and thus form a ``conjunct''. क् + क = क्क (kka) is a conjunct, so is क् + या = क्या (kya) `what?'
36. It is, howwever, not usual to write a conjunct with the help of a Halmark as above in क्या. This mark is rarely used except with the final consonant of a Sanskrit word [as in महान् (Mahan) `great']. Most of the consonants, when forming a conjunct, omit a part of their original form. This happens sometimes only to the preceding consonant, sometimes only to the following, and sometimes to both. Thus क्, followed by another consonant, drops its final vertical stroke: क्या = क्या; but in a conjunct like ङ+ढ, it is ढ that loses its horizontal stroke ङ्ढ; in a conjunct like द्+म, which is written as द्म. both the consonants are truncated.
37. Most of the consonants formed and ending with a vertical stroke are joined to the following consonants by removing the vertical line. Thus ग् +घ = ग्घ, च् + छ = च्छ, त् + थ = त्थ, ञ् + च = ञ्च. etc. Those ending in a vertical half-stroke, drop the same क् +य = क्य, फ् +य = फ्य. The rest, which end in neither a full nor a half-vertical stroke, viz. ङ, छ, ट, ठ, ड, ढ, ध and ह, do not change. When combined with a following consonant, they may be written with a Hal mark. Thus ङ् + क = ङ्क, ट् + ठ =ट्ठ etc. The practice so far has been to write them in full, while the following consonant is written below them with the horizontal stroke omitted : ट् + ट =ट्ट, ट् +ठ = ट्ठ, ङ् +ढ = ङ्ढ, द् +ध =द्ध, ङ् +क = ङ्क, ह् + न, however, is â, ह्न, ह् + व = ह्व.
38. Exceptional forms:-
- र when combined with a following consonant is written thus i.e. above the consonant: र् +ग =र्ग, र् +च =र्च, र् +द =र्द। But when र follows a consonant, having a vertical stroke, it is written as a left slanting stroke below and to the left of the vertical stroke : क् +र =क्र, ज् +र =ज्र, द् +र = द्र। When preceded by ट, ठ, ड, ढ, छ and ह, it is written thus below: ट् +र =ट्र, ड् +र = ड्र, ह् +र =ह्र
- क् + ष = क्ष (ksha), त् +र =त्र (tra), ज् +ञ = ज्ञ, ज्ञ is generally pronounced as ग्यं (gya) or ग्य (gya). The correct Sanskrit pronunciation, however, is 'jna'. These are sometimes erroneously included in the alphabet. They are nothing but conjuncts with exceptional forms of writing.
- The pronunciation of Anuswwara (ं) is like ङ, ञ, ण, न, म. It depends on the following consonants : कंघा = कङ्घा (comb) or कंचन=कञ्चन (gold) etc.
- य and म, when combined with a preceding consonant, change sometimes and sometimes remain unchanged. ह + य =ह्य, ह् +म =ह्म, क् +य=क्य, क्+म=क्म, द्+म=द्म, द्+य=द्
- द् +व =द्व, द् +ध=द्ध, द्+द =द्द
- प्+न=प्न, घ्+न=घ्न, क्+क=क्क, क्+र=क्र, क्+न=क्न, क्+त=क्त, क्+व=क्व, क्+ल=क्ल, श्+र=श्र, श्+व=श्व, श्+च=श्च, च्+च=च्च, ल्+ल=ल्ल, ञ्+च=ञ्च.
39. Every conjunct, like a simple consonant, can be combined with any vowel-sign or with the inherent अः क्+र्+ई=क्री, त्+र्+ई=त्री, क्+ष्+उ=क्षु, क्+य्+ओ=क्यो (kyo, why). In combining more than two consonants, the same rules are followed: स्+त्+र=स्त्र, ङ्+क्+त=ङ्क्त, न्+द्+र=न्द्र, त्+स्+न=त्स्न, र्+त्+य=र्त्य, र्+क्+ष्+य=र्क्ष्य etc.