Re: suttas 3-6: vowels & consonants
From: jaran jai-nhuknan
Message: 24
Date: 2001-02-25
Thank you Jim. It must be a lot of work for you. Anumodana
--- Jim Anderson <jima@...> wrote:
> Dear group,
>
> Let's take a closer look at the 41 sounds by dividing them into
> two main groups: the 8 vowels (sara-s) and the 33 consonants
> (vya~njana-s).
>
> 3. tattha.t.thaado saraa.
>
> 3. Therein the eight at the beginning (are) the vowels.
>
> The eight vowels are: a aa i ii u uu e o.
>
> tattha 'therein' means: among the 41 akkhara-s beginning with 'a'.
> a..t.tha is 'eight'. 'aado 'at the beginning' is a singular locative
> form of 'aadi' (neuter). saraa 'the vowels' is the masculine word
> 'saro' in the nominative plural.
>
> 4. ekamattaa aaditatiyapa~ncamaa rassaa.
>
> 4. Measuring one the first, third, & fifth are short.
>
> The short vowels are: a i u.
>
> ekamattaa is 'measuring one'. One measure is the time it takes for a
> healthy body to blink the eyes once. aadi 'first' or beginning,
> initial; tatiya 'third'; pa~ncama 'fifth'. rassaa 'short'.
>
> 5. a~n~ne dvimattaa diighaa.
>
> 5. The others, measuring two, are long.
>
> The long vowels are: aa ii uu e o.
>
> a~n~ne 'others' is one of the 27 pronouns and takes the 'e' ending for
> the nom. and acc. plural in the masculine. dvimattaa 'measuring two
> (dvi)'. These vowels are pronounced twice as long as a short vowel.
> diighaa 'long'. It is probable that these suttas are taking rassa and
> diigha as nouns (shorts & longs) and not adjectives as I have
> translated them.
>
> 6. sesaa a.d.dhamattaa vya~njanaa.
>
> 6. The rest, measuring a half, are the consonants.
>
> The (33) consonants are: ka kha ga gha "na, ca cha ja jha ~na, .ta
> .tha .da .dha .na, ta tha da dha na, pa pha ba bha ma; ya ra la va sa
> ha .la a.m
>
> sesaa 'the rest' or remainder. a.d.dhamatta 'measuring a half
> (a.d.dha)'. These take half as long to pronounce as a short vowel. The
> consonant excludes the vowel accompanying it. vya~njanaa 'consonants'.
> It will be noted that the 'by-' form is quite commonly seen in the
> texts as in 'bya~njana' or 'byaapaada'. The 'vy-' is actually the
> prefix 'vi' with the 'i' changed to 'y' before a vowel in accordance
> with a sandhi rule.
>
> Best wishes,
> Jim
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
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