[INDOLOGY] Visualisation of Sanskrit Phonetics

Sat Sep 25 14:15:30 UTC 2021

On the idea of Indian villages where Sanskrit supposedly is spoken, I
recommend Patrick McCartney’s excellent work, accessible e.g. here:

https://patrickmccartney.academia.edu/research#recentlypublishedarticles

All best,
     Antonia

On Sat 25. Sep 2021 at 16:11, Joanna Jurewicz <j.jurewicz at uw.edu.pl> wrote:

> An eminent scholar and my colleague, Artur Karp, has just
> rightly questioned in a personal letter if there are Sanskrit native
> speakers. Well, there are villages in India where Sanskrit is spoken as the
> first language, but  Artur is right, the expression "Sanskrit native
> speakers" was unfortunate.
>
>
> ---
>
> Prof. dr hab. Joanna Jurewicz
>
> Katedra Azji Południowej /Chair of South Asia Studies
>
> Wydział Orientalistyczny / Faculty of Oriental Studies
>
> Uniwersytet Warszawski /University of Warsaw
>
> ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Krakowskie+Przedmie%C5%9Bcie+26%2F28+%0D%0A+00-927+Warszawa+,+Poland?entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Krakowskie+Przedmie%C5%9Bcie+26%2F28+%0D%0A+00-927+Warszawa+,+Poland?entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> 00-927 Warszawa
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Krakowskie+Przedmie%C5%9Bcie+26%2F28+%0D%0A+00-927+Warszawa+,+Poland?entry=gmail&source=g> ,
> Poland
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Krakowskie+Przedmie%C5%9Bcie+26%2F28+%0D%0A+00-927+Warszawa+,+Poland?entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages
>
> College of Human Sciences
>
> UNISA
>
> Pretoria, RSA
>
> Member of Academia Europaea
>
> https://uw.academia.edu/JoannaJurewicz
>
>
> sob., 25 wrz 2021 o 15:07 Joanna Jurewicz <j.jurewicz at uw.edu.pl>
> napisał(a):
>
>> What a wonderful website!
>>
>> I wish I could use ultrasonography when I teach my students to explain
>> the Sandhi phenomena, e.g. cerebralisation of consonants (cerebral
>> consonants are the most difficult consonants for Polish speakers).
>>
>> For example, it takes me much time to explain them how to pronounce the
>> noun  *kṛṣṇa. *I tell them that if they want to properly  express it,  they
>> have to realise:
>>
>> 1) that they have to open their mouth slightly more than when they speak
>> Polish  and release the muscles of their chicks and other muscles of the
>> lower part of their face,
>>
>> 1)  that when they open the mouth slightly more and pronounce the
>> guttural "k", they will have a lot of place between the tip of the tongue
>> and the palate,
>>
>> 2)  that, having pronounced "k", they have to push the tip of the tongue
>> slightly back (which is now not difficult thanks to creation of space in
>> the mouth), and quickly move it in order to pronounce the vocalical "ṛ"
>> (which is the same movement as in Polish "r"),
>>
>> 3) that, having pronounced "ṛ", they still  have to keep their tongue
>> back (to "yoke" it) in order to pronounce the sibilant "ṣ" (which is
>> contrary to Polish habit to move the tongue a bit forward to pronounce the
>> Polish consonant "sz", the same is for English "sh"),
>>
>> 4) that, having pronounced "ṣ", they still have to "yoke" their tongue
>> in the same position to pronounce the cerebral "ṇ".
>>
>> I make funny faces when I try to "show" them this process, they laugh at
>> me, and I ask them why they don't laugh at people at the gym who train
>> various muscles of their body (which might look very funny too) and that
>> the tongue is a muscle too, moreover its structure is unique to human
>> species, because it allows us to speak. Then  we come back to the exercises
>> until they say "wow, if we push our tongue back and keep it there, there is
>> no problems with "ṇ" !".  Then they have to exercise until they are able
>> to pronounce the word quickly.
>>
>> The fact that the larynx is placed slightly more below in Sanskrit
>> pronunciation than in Polish  is the upaniṣad and I teach it to them
>> later on. I have some devices to explain how to lower one's larynx. But the
>> video would be of much help.
>>
>> The movements of lips  (generally speaking the whole vocal apparatus) are
>> also different, but this is easier to be shown. And the role of breathing
>> is crucial, of course (which I teach my students from the very beginning).
>>
>> If I had such a device, it would be easier for me to explain to them "the
>> art of yoking of the tongue".
>>
>> It would be great if we could create such videos with Sanskrit native
>> speakers which would take into account the invisible aspects of Sanskrit
>> phonetics. I'd gladly take part in such an enterprise!
>>
>> Thank you very much, Adheesh. I will certainly use the page during my
>> phonetics classes to show the movements of the tongue in general
>> perspective.
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Joanna
>>
>>
>> ---
>>
>> Prof. dr hab. Joanna Jurewicz
>>
>> Katedra Azji Południowej /Chair of South Asia Studies
>>
>> Wydział Orientalistyczny / Faculty of Oriental Studies
>>
>> Uniwersytet Warszawski /University of Warsaw
>>
>> ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Krakowskie+Przedmie%C5%9Bcie+26%2F28+%0D%0A+00-927+Warszawa+,+Poland?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Krakowskie+Przedmie%C5%9Bcie+26%2F28+%0D%0A+00-927+Warszawa+,+Poland?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>
>> 00-927 Warszawa
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Krakowskie+Przedmie%C5%9Bcie+26%2F28+%0D%0A+00-927+Warszawa+,+Poland?entry=gmail&source=g> ,
>> Poland
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Krakowskie+Przedmie%C5%9Bcie+26%2F28+%0D%0A+00-927+Warszawa+,+Poland?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>
>> Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages
>>
>> College of Human Sciences
>>
>> UNISA
>>
>> Pretoria, RSA
>>
>> Member of Academia Europaea
>>
>> https://uw.academia.edu/JoannaJurewicz
>>
>>
>> pt., 24 wrz 2021 o 02:47 adheesh sathaye via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info> napisał(a):
>>
>>> Dear Marcis et al,
>>>
>>> I don’t know if this will be useful for your purposes, but the
>>> Linguistics department here at UBC has designed a website called
>>> “eNunciate!” with various linguistics learning tools, including “Sounds of
>>> the World’s Languages”, which provides videos illustrating the
>>> pronunciation of a broad range of IPA consonants and vowels, including,
>>> presumably, all sounds within the Sanskrit syllabary.
>>> They feature both graphical representations like you are looking for, as
>>> well as actual ultrasound captures of a live speaker.
>>>
>>> The site can be accessed here:
>>> https://enunciate.arts.ubc.ca/linguistics/world-sounds/
>>> Similar animated videos are found on the ArticulatoryIPA YouTube site:
>>> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuOKJqD00W2EiC3DHmOuu0g
>>>
>>> For a list of correspondences between IPA and the Sanskrit syllabary,
>>> you may consult Andrew Ollett’s excellent Sanskrit reference grammar
>>> (vṛddhiḥ) at the Univ. of Chicago, here:
>>> http://prakrit.info/vrddhi/grammar/
>>>
>>> I am also currently making youtube videos that you can find if search
>>> for UBC Sanskrit on Youtube. These may or may not be useful.
>>>
>>> With all best wishes,
>>> Adheesh
>>>
>>> —
>>> Adheesh Sathaye
>>> University of British Columbia
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sep 22, 2021, at 04:56, Mārcis Gasūns via INDOLOGY <
>>> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>>>
>>> Greetings,
>>>
>>>   Is there something like this for Sanskrit (taken from
>>> https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.503070/page/99/mode/2up)? The
>>> closes I've seen is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindustani_phonology but
>>> it has not pictures, only a vowel chart.
>>>   Does
>>> https://archive.org/details/ACriticalStudyOfSanskritPhonetics_Mishra/img167_2R.jpg remains
>>> the only book on Sanskrit phonetics?
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> Marcis
>>>
>>>
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>>
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