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Sanskrit Pronunciation

1) k g c j ṭ ḍ t d p b (all consonants) are pronounced with minimal breath, much less than is used in the release in English.

2) the ‘h‘ which follows the same consonants (kh, gh, etc.) designates additional breath released simultaneous to the consonant.

3) ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh ṇ are cerebral, pronounced by turning the tip of the tongue up towards the very front of the upper roof of the mouth (not on the slope down to the teeth as in English).

4) t th d dh n are dental, pronounced with the tip of the tongue at the back of the upper teeth.

5) r and ṛ are cerebral (see note 3) and are created by lightly touching the tip of the tongue, rather than by shaping the mouth as in the English ‘r’.

6) ś is palatal, pronounced as ‘shh’ with the tongue at the same position as y or c; is cerebral (see note 3) like ‘sh’ with the tongue the same as in r.

7) ṁ can be pronounced simply as m. The dot placed under indicates the option of pronouncing an ‘n’, blended with the first letter of the following word. Ex: nīlaṁ kamalam could optionally be nīlankamalam.

8) bars over vowels indicate a longer sound (ā ī ū) than normal.