Chapter:  [ Contents | 1. Alphabet | 2. Sandhi | 3. Assimilation | 4. Strengthening | 5. Declension | 6. Feminine | 7. Adjectives | 8. Numerals | 9. Pronouns | 10.1 Verbs | 10.2 Verbs | 10.3 Verbs | 11. Indeclinables | 12. Compounds | 13. Derivation | 14. Syntax | 15. Prosody ]

A Practical Grammar of the Paali Language
Chapter 1

THE ALPHABET
1.

6vowels,
2diphthongs*, (HL: *combinations of 2 vowels.)
32consonants, and
1accessory nasal sound called Niggahiita.

2. The vowels are divided into short and long;

a, i, uthe short vowels
aa, ii, uuthe long vowels

3. The value of a long vowel is about twice that of a short one, so that it takes twice as much time to pronounce a long vowel as to pronounce a short one.

4. The sign of a long vowel is a dash placed over it. Besides the above three long vowels, all short vowels are prosodically* long that come before a conjunct or double consonant: for instance, in bhikkhu, ra.t.tha and puppha, the -i before kkh, the -a before .t.th and the -u before pph are said to be long. 
(HL: *prosodic - of or relating to the rhythmic aspect of language or to the suprasegmental phonemes of pitch and stress and juncture and nasalization and voicing.)

Long also are a, i, u when followed by .m (niggahiita), as in: puppha.m, a flower; cakkhu.m, eye; kapi.m, monkey.

5. The two diphthongs are e and o, which are always long. They are diphthongs only grammatically, because they are supposed to be the product of the meeting and contraction of two vowels (a + i = e; and a + u = o). In reality and practically they are simple vowels.

6. The consonants are divided into: 25 mutes, 5 semi-vowels, one sibilant and one aspirate (spirant). The 25 mutes are divided, according to the place of their formation and utterance, into 5 groups of 5 letters each.

The following table shows at a glance the classification of all the letters:
(HL: Special font is needed to read it.)

 

Consonants 
Mutes 
Surd Sonants
UnaspirateAspirateUnaspirateAspirateNasalsSemi-
vowels
Liquids
SpirantSibilant Vowels
gutteralskkhgghº  h a, Œ e o
palatalscchjjh y-- i, ´
lingualsÊÊh¶hö r, Â--- 
dentalstthddhn l- s
(surd)
-
labialspphbbhm v-- u, è
µ (niggah´ta) - sonant

The following table shows corresponding letters under Velthuis Scheme:

  Consonants 
Mutes 
SurdSonants
UnaspirateAspirateUnaspirateAspirateNasals Semi-
vowels
Liquids
SpirantSibilantVowels
gutteralskkhggh"n h a, aaeo
palatalscchjjh~ny--i, ii
linguals.t.th.d.dh.nr, .l--- 
dentalstthddhnl-s
(surd)
-
labialspphbbhmv--u, uu
.m (niggahiita) - sonant

7. .l is now generally considered to be a semi-vowel and it is a liquid, a modification of l; in palm-leaf MSS l and .l are constantly interchanged. .l is not seldom the substitute of .d; it is a lingual because it is pronounced as the letters of that class ( .t, .th, etc. ).

8. .m or niggahiita comports, properly speaking, no classification; it is merely a nasal breathing found only after the short vowels: a.m, i.m, u.m.

9. The Gutterals are so called from their being pronounced in the throat;

The Aspiratesare pronounced with a strong breathing or h sound added to them;
The Dentalsare so called from their being pronounced with the aid of the teeth;
The Labialsare formed by means of the lips;
The Lingualsare formed by bringing the up-turned tip of the tongue in contact with the back of the palate;
The Liquidsreadily combine with other consonants: (except, perhaps, .l);
The Mutesare so called on account of their not being readily pronounced without the aid of a vowel;
The Nasalsare sounded through the nose;
The Palatalsfrom being uttered by pressing the tongue on the front-palate;
The Sibilanthas a hissing sound; and,
The Sonantsare soft and uttered with a checked tone;
The Spiranta strong aspirated breathing.
Surdsare hard, flat, and toneless;
The Unaspiratesare pronounced naturally, without effort and without the h sound.


The Pronunciation

The Vowels

10.

ais pronounced like a in art.
aais pronounced like a in father
iis pronounced like i in sin, pin
iiis pronounced like ee in been, sheen.
uis pronounced like u in put, bull
uuis pronounced like oo in fool, boon.
eis pronounced like a in table, fate.
ois pronounced like o in bone, stone.

The Consonants

11. Remark. In all cases, the aspirates are pronounced like the unaspirates, but with the addition of a strong h sound; hence the pronunciation of the unaspirates only is given.

.m(niggahiita), found always at the end of words is,
    in Burma, pronounced like m in, jam, ram;
     in Ceylon, it is given the sound of ng in, bring, king.
"nis pronounced like ng in king , bring.
~nis pronounced like ny in banyan.
bis pronounced like b in book.
cis pronounced like ch in church, chip.
dis pronounced like d in deed.
gis pronounced like garden, go.
jis pronounced like jail, jar.
kis pronounced like k in king.
m, y, r, l, s, hare pronounced like the corresponding English letters.
nis pronounced like n in nag.
pis pronounced like p in part.
phit must be remarked, is simply the aspirate of p, and ought not to be pronounced like f (as in: philosophy).
tis pronounced like table, tack.
thit must be borne in mind, is never pronounced like the English -th, in such words as: the, thin, etc.
It is merely -t, uttered with an effort.
vnot preceded by a consonant has the sound of v, in vine, vile. But preceded by a consonant, it is sounded like w in wind, win; tvaa, therefore, is pronounced twaa.

Conjunct Consonants

12. Two consonants coming together form what is called a conjunct or double consonant. For instance, in: vassa, kattha and pandaapeti, the ss, tth, and nd, are conjunct consonants.

13. Only the letters of a same vagga or group (viz., the five divisions of the mutes: gutterals, palatals, etc.), can be brought together to form a conjunct consonant: the first and second, and the third and fourth only: the fifth letter of each group, that is the nasal, can be coupled with any of the other four consonants in its group.


(Original file downloaded from www.tipitaka.net/pali/grammar/. Tabulation follows the pdf file located at www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/paligram.pdf .)