04-28-2008, 07:22 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-Pandyan+Apr 27 2008, 05:49 PM-->QUOTE(Pandyan @ Apr 27 2008, 05:49 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Can anybody tell me how the names "Shivaji", "Sambhaji" etc would be said in Sanskrit?
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Some people claim that the "ji" suffix used in hindi and other north Indian languages is an apabhraMsha of sanskrit "shrI".
The hindi Mahabharata TV serial also used terms like "pitA-shri", "mAtA-shrI" where in normal hindi people would use "pitAjI" and "mAtAjI".
If this interpretation is valid then the names would be written in sanskrit as:
shivAjI -> shiva-shrI
shambhAjI -> shambhu-shrI
<!--QuoteBegin-Husky+-->QUOTE(Husky)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Not many people are familiar with that ending H notation in Samskritam. Leastways, I wasn't when I first came across that notation. So in case you're like me and were wondering about it Pandyan, that H reflects the vowel preceding it:
So it's pronounced Shivaha, Shambhuhu, Krishnaha, Adhyapakaha, Purushaha.
Well, that's how I have heard it pronounced anyways.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
IMHO, the sanskrit visarga is almost uniformly pronounced wrongly.
The visarga is listed under vowels, not under consonants. Although precisely speaking, it is a vowel modifier, just like the nasal anusvAara. But prevalent pronunciations involve a heavy consonant "ha" in them.
The name "visarga" can mean throwing away, as well as ending. In my opinion the meaning as "ending" especially a <b>"sudden ending"</b> makes most sense.
If you pronounce a vowel, say "a", the vowel sound trails smoothly down to zero intensity. But that is not the only way to end a vowel. You can end the vowel sharply by cutting it off suddenly. That sudden cutting off gives a feeling as if the vowel is ending in the guttural region. If one is not careful and continues the sound even a bit longer, one can sound the guttural consonant "ha". The atrocity is further compounded when instead of just a slightly wrong hint of half "h", a full heavy "ha" is pronounced. As in slightly wrong sound of "rAmah", one often hears "rAmaha". Lets recall that Sanskrit is a very precise language. If grammarians had intended the visarga to mean either a half "h" or a full "ha" consonant, they could have easily written it as such. There was no need for a separate visarga in that case.
<b>IMHO the correct usage of "visarga" is a sudden cutting off the vowel, without introducing even a hint of the consonantal "ha".</b>
I noticed that the so called "clipped" british accent often shows such sudden cutting off of vowel sounds at the end.
Other way to end a vowel is by mixing a nasal sound to it, which is the "anusvAra" which is also listed under the vowels, right before listing the "visarga".
[right][snapback]80949[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Some people claim that the "ji" suffix used in hindi and other north Indian languages is an apabhraMsha of sanskrit "shrI".
The hindi Mahabharata TV serial also used terms like "pitA-shri", "mAtA-shrI" where in normal hindi people would use "pitAjI" and "mAtAjI".
If this interpretation is valid then the names would be written in sanskrit as:
shivAjI -> shiva-shrI
shambhAjI -> shambhu-shrI
<!--QuoteBegin-Husky+-->QUOTE(Husky)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Not many people are familiar with that ending H notation in Samskritam. Leastways, I wasn't when I first came across that notation. So in case you're like me and were wondering about it Pandyan, that H reflects the vowel preceding it:
So it's pronounced Shivaha, Shambhuhu, Krishnaha, Adhyapakaha, Purushaha.
Well, that's how I have heard it pronounced anyways.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
IMHO, the sanskrit visarga is almost uniformly pronounced wrongly.
The visarga is listed under vowels, not under consonants. Although precisely speaking, it is a vowel modifier, just like the nasal anusvAara. But prevalent pronunciations involve a heavy consonant "ha" in them.
The name "visarga" can mean throwing away, as well as ending. In my opinion the meaning as "ending" especially a <b>"sudden ending"</b> makes most sense.
If you pronounce a vowel, say "a", the vowel sound trails smoothly down to zero intensity. But that is not the only way to end a vowel. You can end the vowel sharply by cutting it off suddenly. That sudden cutting off gives a feeling as if the vowel is ending in the guttural region. If one is not careful and continues the sound even a bit longer, one can sound the guttural consonant "ha". The atrocity is further compounded when instead of just a slightly wrong hint of half "h", a full heavy "ha" is pronounced. As in slightly wrong sound of "rAmah", one often hears "rAmaha". Lets recall that Sanskrit is a very precise language. If grammarians had intended the visarga to mean either a half "h" or a full "ha" consonant, they could have easily written it as such. There was no need for a separate visarga in that case.
<b>IMHO the correct usage of "visarga" is a sudden cutting off the vowel, without introducing even a hint of the consonantal "ha".</b>
I noticed that the so called "clipped" british accent often shows such sudden cutting off of vowel sounds at the end.
Other way to end a vowel is by mixing a nasal sound to it, which is the "anusvAra" which is also listed under the vowels, right before listing the "visarga".