Appendix A: Pronunciation and Script Guide¶
All through this book, a new word from a South Asian language shows up three ways at once: in its own script, in an English-style respelling, and with its meaning. Diwali, for example, appears as दीवाली, dee-VAH-lee, "row of lamps". This appendix explains how to read those respellings, why they are only a starting point, and where to find the words again.
A.1 Transliteration and Respelling Are Not the Same¶
There are two common ways to write a word from another script in English letters.
Transliteration means writing a word from one script in another script, letter by letter, so that a reader could rebuild the original spelling. Scholars often use extra marks to do this. In one widely used system, दीवाली becomes dīvālī: the line over the ī and ā shows a long vowel. Transliteration is careful and exact, but you have to learn its rules before it helps you say anything.
Phonetic Respelling means writing how a word sounds using ordinary English spelling patterns, with no special marks. The same word becomes dee-VAH-lee. A respelling doesn't tell you how the word is spelled in its own script. It only tries to get your mouth close to the right sound on the first try.
This book uses respellings in the text because most readers can use them right away. The script form sits beside each one so you can see the real word, and you can always look up a scholarly transliteration in a dictionary.
| Transliteration | Phonetic respelling | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Record the spelling exactly | Help you say the word |
| Looks like | dīvālī, tamiḻ | dee-VAH-lee, THUH-mizh |
| Uses special marks? | Often (ā, ī, ṭ, ṣ) | Never |
| Can you rebuild the original spelling? | Yes | No |
A.2 How to Read the Respellings¶
Hyphens split syllables. dee-VAH-lee has three syllables.
CAPITAL letters show stress, the syllable to lean on a little. In dee-VAH-lee, say "VAH" slightly louder and longer. Many South Asian languages put much less weight on stress than English does, so think of the capitals as a gentle hint, not a hammer.
Vowels follow this key. Some chapters write the long "a" as aa (as in BAANG-laa) and others as ah. Both mean the same sound.
| Respelling | Sounds like the vowel in | Example from this book |
|---|---|---|
| ah (or aa) | father | raga, RAHG |
| uh | up, sofa | katha, KUH-thaa |
| ee | see | Holi, HOH-lee |
| i | sit | Hindi, HIN-dee |
| oo | moon | Urdu, OOR-doo |
| u | put | gurdwara, gur-DWAH-rah |
| ay | say | namaste, NUH-mus-tay |
| eh | bed | Telugu, TEL-oo-goo |
| oh | go | gho, GOH |
| ai | my, sky | chai, CHAI |
| ow | now | (rare in this book) |
| oi | boy | Boishakh, BOI-shakh |
A.3 Sounds English Doesn't Have¶
Retroflex and dental t and d¶
Most South Asian languages have two kinds of t and two kinds of d, where English has only one.
- Dental sounds are made with the tip of your tongue touching the back of your top front teeth. They sound soft and a little "flat". The t in Hindi tīn, "three", is dental.
- Retroflex sounds are made by curling the tip of your tongue back and tapping the roof of your mouth, behind the ridge where English t and d live. They sound heavier, almost hollow. The ṭ in roṭī (roti) is retroflex.
English t and d sit in between, which is why South Asian speakers often hear English t and d as retroflex. Our respellings can't show this difference with plain letters, so when the book writes TH for a soft dental sound (as in Tamil, THUH-mizh), it does not mean the English "th" in "think". Listen to a speaker to catch it.
Aspirated sounds: bh, kh, gh, ph, th, dh, chh¶
Hold your hand in front of your mouth and say "pin", then "spin". You'll feel a puff of air after the p in "pin" but not in "spin". In English that puff doesn't change meaning. In Hindi-Urdu, Bangla, Punjabi, Nepali and many other languages, it does. Writers mark the puff with an h after the consonant:
- bh in bhangra or Bangla bhat (rice): a b with a puff of air, not a "b" and then an "h" sound.
- kh in Dzongkha: a k with a puff, not the throaty sound in German "Bach".
- ph is a p with a puff, not an f.
One exception: in Urdu, Pashto and Dari words, gh (as in ghazal) and kh can be throaty sounds made far back in the mouth, a little like gargling softly. The script tells you which one it is, which is a good reason to learn to recognize scripts.
Nasal vowels¶
Some vowels are said partly through the nose, like the vowel in French "bon". Devanagari marks this with a small dot or moon-and-dot above the letter (ं or ँ). You can hear it at the end of Nepali दशैं (Dashain) and in Hindi मेहँदी (mehndi, henna). Our respellings show it with an n, but don't press your tongue down for a full "n" sound. Let the vowel hum through your nose instead.
Ask a real speaker
Every respelling in this book is approximate, and many words sound different from region to region and family to family. The best way to learn a word is to ask someone who grew up saying it. Most people are happy to be asked, and you'll learn far more than any table can teach.
A.4 Key Words from Across the Book¶
The table lists words from twelve languages, grouped by language. Every script spelling was checked on Wiktionary. Where a spelling could not be verified, the script cell shows "(not verified)". The "Chapter" column points to where the word matters most.
| Word | Script | Respelling | Meaning | Language | Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindi | हिन्दी | HIN-dee | the Hindi language | Hindi | 6 |
| Diwali | दीवाली | dee-VAH-lee | festival of lamps, "row of lamps" | Hindi | 7 |
| Holi | होली | HOH-lee | spring festival of colors | Hindi | 7 |
| rangoli | रंगोली | rung-GOH-lee | colored floor designs | Hindi | 7 |
| mehndi | मेहँदी | MEH-hun-dee | henna | Hindi | 13 |
| Eid | ईद | EED | Muslim festival day | Hindi | 5 |
| namaste | नमस्ते | NUH-mus-tay | a respectful greeting | Hindi, Nepali | 6 |
| thali | थाली | THAH-lee | a plate meal with small bowls | Hindi | 8 |
| chai | चाय | CHAI | tea | Hindi | 8 |
| raga | राग | RAHG | a melodic framework in music | Hindi | 9 |
| sari | साड़ी | SAH-ree | a long draped garment | Hindi | 12 |
| katha | कथा | KUH-thaa | story | Hindi | 14 |
| guru | गुरु | GOO-roo | teacher | Hindi | 5 |
| yoga | योग | YOHG | yoga; also "union" | Hindi | 16 |
| shunya | शून्य | SHOON-yuh | zero, empty | Hindi | 16 |
| Nepali | नेपाली | nay-PAH-lee | the Nepali language | Nepali | 20 |
| Dashain | दशैं | duh-SHAIN | Nepal's biggest Hindu festival | Nepali | 20 |
| Tihar | तिहार | tee-HAR | Nepal's festival of lights | Nepali | 20 |
| Urdu | اردو | OOR-doo | the Urdu language | Urdu | 6 |
| Eid | عید | EED | festival day, feast day | Urdu | 7 |
| Ramzan | رمضان | rum-ZAHN | Ramadan, the month of fasting | Urdu | 5 |
| ghazal | غزل | GHUZ-ul | a poem of rhyming couplets | Urdu | 14 |
| qawwali | قوالی | kuh-WAH-lee | Sufi devotional song | Urdu | 9 |
| shalwar kameez | شلوار قمیض | SHUL-war kuh-MEEZ | loose trousers and a long tunic | Urdu | 12 |
| biryani | بریانی | beer-YAH-nee | layered rice dish | Urdu | 8 |
| Bangla | বাংলা | BAANG-laa | the Bangla (Bengali) language | Bangla | 6 |
| Pohela Boishakh | পহেলা বৈশাখ | poh-HAY-lah BOI-shakh | Bangla New Year's Day | Bangla | 7 |
| Eid | ঈদ | EED | Eid | Bangla | 7 |
| puja | পূজা | POO-jah | worship | Bangla | 5 |
| mishti | মিষ্টি | MISH-tee | sweets | Bangla | 8 |
| bhat | ভাত | BHAHT | cooked rice | Bangla | 8 |
| golpo | গল্প | GOL-po | story | Bangla | 14 |
| Baul | বাউল | BAH-ool | wandering mystic singers | Bangla | 9 |
| Punjabi | ਪੰਜਾਬੀ | pun-JAH-bee | the Punjabi language | Punjabi | 6 |
| Sat Sri Akal | ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ | sut sree uh-KAHL | a Sikh greeting | Punjabi | 5 |
| gurdwara | ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ | gur-DWAH-rah | Sikh place of worship | Punjabi | 5 |
| langar | ਲੰਗਰ | LUNG-gur | free community kitchen | Punjabi | 8 |
| bhangra | ਭੰਗੜਾ | BHUNG-rah | Punjabi folk dance and music | Punjabi | 9 |
| dastar | ਦਸਤਾਰ | dus-TAAR | turban | Punjabi | 12 |
| Vaisakhi | (not verified) | vai-SAH-khee | spring harvest festival | Punjabi | 7 |
| Tamil | தமிழ் | THUH-mizh | the Tamil language | Tamil | 6 |
| vanakkam | வணக்கம் | vuh-NUK-kum | hello, welcome | Tamil | 6 |
| Pongal | பொங்கல் | PONG-gul | harvest festival; "boiling over" | Tamil | 7 |
| dosai | தோசை | THOH-sai | dosa, a thin fermented crepe | Tamil | 8 |
| Sangam | சங்கம் | SUNG-gum | assembly; early Tamil poetry | Tamil | 14 |
| Telugu | తెలుగు | TEL-oo-goo | the Telugu language | Telugu | 6 |
| Ugadi | ఉగాది | oo-GAH-dee | New Year in the Telugu calendar | Telugu | 7 |
| Sankranti | సంక్రాంతి | sun-KRAHN-tee | winter harvest festival | Telugu | 7 |
| Kuchipudi | కూచిపూడి | koo-chee-POO-dee | classical dance named for a village in Andhra Pradesh | Telugu | 10 |
| Sinhala | සිංහල | SING-huh-luh | the Sinhala language | Sinhala | 6 |
| ayubowan | ආයුබෝවන් | ah-yoo-BOH-wun | greeting, "may you live long" | Sinhala | 19 |
| Vesak | වෙසක් | WAY-suk | Buddhist full-moon festival (and month) | Sinhala | 7 |
| avurudda | අවුරුද්ද | uh-voo-RUD-duh | year (as in the Sinhala New Year) | Sinhala | 19 |
| Pashto | پښتو | PUSH-toh | the Pashto language | Pashto | 18 |
| manana | مننه | muh-NUH-nuh | thank you | Pashto | 18 |
| Kabul | کابل | KAH-bul | capital of Afghanistan | Pashto | 18 |
| Dari | دری | duh-REE | Persian as spoken in Afghanistan | Dari | 18 |
| Nowruz | نوروز | noh-ROOZ | Persian New Year, "new day" | Dari | 7 |
| Dzongkha | རྫོང་ཁ | DZONG-kha | Bhutan's national language | Dzongkha | 6 |
| dzong | རྫོང | DZONG | fortress-monastery | Dzongkha | 20 |
| gho | བགོ | GOH | men's national dress in Bhutan | Dzongkha | 12 |
| Dhivehi | ދިވެހި | DHI-veh-hi | the Maldivian language | Dhivehi | 6 |
| raajje | ރާއްޖެ | RAHJ-jay | country, realm | Dhivehi | 20 |
| shukuriyya | ޝުކުރިއްޔާ | shoo-koo-RIY-yah | thank you | Dhivehi | 20 |
A few notes on the table:
- Same word, different scripts. Eid appears three times, in Devanagari, Nastaliq and Bangla script, because Muslims across the region say it in many languages. Hindi and Urdu share most everyday words but write them differently (Chapter 6).
- Dari is listed on Wiktionary under Persian, because Dari is the name used in Afghanistan for its form of Persian.
- Urdu, Pashto and Dari run right to left, and so does Dhivehi in its Thaana script. Every other script in the table runs left to right.
A.5 Where to Hear Words Said Aloud¶
Reading a respelling is a good start, but hearing a word is better. Try these, in this order:
- Someone you know. A parent, grandparent, classmate or club member who speaks the language.
- A community place. Volunteers at a temple, mosque, gurdwara, vihara or cultural center often teach greetings and festival words.
- Online dictionaries with audio. Many Wiktionary entries include recordings by native speakers. Check that the recording is labeled with the language you want, since the same spelling can belong to several languages.
If two speakers say a word differently, both may be right. Accents and dialects are part of what makes these languages alive.