From AN ELEMENTARY PAA.LI COURSE by Ven.Narada
(expanded by Max Sandor and Ven.Mettavihari)
The Paa.li Alphabet consists of 41 letters, 8 vowels and 33 consonants:
(* are semi-vowels)
8 Vowels (Sara): a, aa, i, ii, u, uu, e, o.
33 Consonants (Vya~njana)
Gutturals [ka.n.thaja]: k, kh, g, gh, 'n
(ka group [ka vagga])
Palatals [taaluja]: c, ch, j, jh, ~n
(ca group [ca vagga])
Cerebrals [mu.dhaja]: .t, .th, .d, .dh, .n
(.ta group [.t vagga])
Dentals [dantaja]: t, th, d, dh, n
(ta group [ta vagga])
Labials [o.t.thaja]: p, ph, b, bh, m
(pa group [pa vagga])
*Palatal [taaluja]: y
*Cerebral [mu.dhaja]: r
*Dental [dantaja]: l
*Dental and Labial [danta o.t.thaja]: v
Dental (sibilant) [dantaja]: s
Aspirate [kan.thaja]: h
Cerebral [mu.dhaja]: .l
Niggahita: .m
PRONUNCIATION OF LETTERS
Paa.li is a phonetic language. As such each letter has its own characteristic sound.
a is pronounced like u in but aa is pronounced like a in art
i is pronounced like i in pin
ii is pronounced like i in machine
u is pronounced like u in put
uu is pronounced like u in rule
e is pronounced like e in ten
ee is pronounced like a in fate
o is pronounced like o in hot
oo is pronounced like o in note
k is pronounced like k in key
g is pronounced like g in get
'n is pronounced like ng in ring
c is pronounced like ch in rich
j is pronounced like j in jug
~n is pronounced like gn in signor
.t is pronounced like t in not
.d is pronounced like d in hid
.n is pronounced like n in hint
p is pronounced like p in lip
b is pronounced like b in rib
m is pronounced like m in him
y is pronounced like y in yard
r is pronounced like r in rat
l is pronounced like l in sell
v is pronounced like v in vile
s is pronounced like s in sit
h is pronounced like h in hut
.l is pronounced like l in felt
.m is pronounced like ng in sing
The vowels " e " and " o " are always long, except when followed by a double consonant; e.g., ettha, o.t.tha.
The fifth consonant of each group is called a "nasal".
There is no difference between the pronunciation of " 'n " and ".m". The former never stands at the end, but is always followed by a consonant of its group.
The dentals " t " and " d " are pronounced with the tip of the tongue placed against the front upper teeth.
The aspirates " kh ", " gh ", ".th ", ".dh ", " th ", " dh ", " ph ", " bh ", are pronounced with " h " sound immediately following; e.g., in blockhead, pighead, cat-head, log-head, etc., where the " h " in each is combined with the preceding consonant in pronunciation.
Fonts for the source texts
The source texts are encoded in accordance with the diacritic font for Pali which was designed by Professor K.R. Norman. You will need to install this font to view and print the source texts.
Mac: NORM.SEA.HQX 240KB
Windows: WIN-FONT.ZIP 50 KB
Ven.Narada's grammar uses the Leeds transliterated Pali font which is part of the ZIP file.
