INDOLOGY FAQ

[FRITS STAAL]

I spent one year in the city and visited it countless times and never
heard one native pronounce its name as VaranAAsi but always as (in
emailese and without any stress accent): VarANasi.

cheers,

> Yield to temptation, please Gary :-)
>
> I think the VaranAAsi pronouncers are just influenced by norms of English
> word rhythm, and copying each other.
>
> Dominik
>
> On 15 February 2010 06:42, Gary Tubb <tubb at uchicago.edu> wrote:
>
>> I am tempted to add, in the section on mispronunciations, an entry on
>> "vaaraaNasii" (as the name of the city), with a note to the effect that,
>> for
>> the same reasons as given for "mahaabhaarata" and "raamaayaNa," the
>> third
>> syllable in this name is the least appropriate place to apply a stress
>> accent.  But I have been struck over the years by the frequency with
>> which
>> many people I respect as experts on Banaras habitually lengthen and
>> stress
>> the vowel in the third syllable---so much so that I wonder whether they
>> might be following some local tradition unknown to me, despite the
>> official
>> spelling of the name.  Are they?  Is there any good reason to make the
>> third
>> "a" vowel in "Varanasi" long?
>>
>> ---
>> Gary Tubb, Professor and Chair
>> Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations
>> The University of Chicago
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Dominik Wujastyk wrote:
>>
>>> "Common misconceptions and misnomers"
>>>
>>> After a chat with my colleague Thomas Kintaert yesterday, I've added a
>>> section to the FAQ with the above title.  The current subsections are:
>>>
>>>
>>>   - 1 Wrong translations<
>>> http://faq.indology.info/index.php/Common_misconceptions_and_misnomers#Wrong_translations
>>> >
>>>      - 1.1 ārtava<
>>> http://faq.indology.info/index.php/Common_misconceptions_and_misnomers#.C4.81rtava
>>> >
>>>   - 2 False friends<
>>> http://faq.indology.info/index.php/Common_misconceptions_and_misnomers#False_friends
>>> >
>>>   - 3 Common errors<
>>> http://faq.indology.info/index.php/Common_misconceptions_and_misnomers#Common_errors
>>> >
>>>
>>>      - 3.1 How to pronounce Mahābhārata and
>>> Rāmāyana<
>>> http://faq.indology.info/index.php/Common_misconceptions_and_misnomers#How_to_pronounce_Mah.C4.81bh.C4.81rata_and_R.C4.81m.C4.81yana
>>> >
>>>   - 4 Common confusions<
>>> http://faq.indology.info/index.php/Common_misconceptions_and_misnomers#Common_confusions
>>> >
>>>      - 4.1 Kālī and
>>> Kali<
>>> http://faq.indology.info/index.php/Common_misconceptions_and_misnomers#K.C4.81l.C4.AB_and_Kali
>>> >
>>>      - 4.2 Karma and
>>> Kāma<
>>> http://faq.indology.info/index.php/Common_misconceptions_and_misnomers#Karma_and_K.C4.81ma
>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> But you can put what text or headings you like there.
>>>
>>> I thought this might encourage us to share our pet annoyances :-)
>>>
>>> Dominik
>>>
>>>
>>
>


Frits Staal

http://philosophy.berkeley.edu/staal