# Indic languages: pronunciation of Devanagari script



## albondiga

Hi all,

I was wondering about the pronunciation of the Devanagari script in the different Indic languages that use Devanagari (as opposed to some other script)...  How much do these differ in their pronunciation of the vowel sounds, consonants, etc.?

Foe example, if I have learned to read Hindi, can I expect to be able to read a _Nepali _text out loud with the same pronunciation and be fully understood by a Nepali?  Same for Marathi, etc...  or would I have to learn the pronunciation of Nepali, Marathi, etc. separately?

I have already noticed one difference; where Hindi deviates from strict phonetic pronunciation of the script (for example regarding the dropping of the final "a" sound, or words like रहना and कहना), not all Indic languages would do so.  But do they have their own deviations from phonetic pronunciation of the script?  Does anyone have any examples?

I know it's a long shot, but worth a try...


----------



## panjabigator

Panjabi is sometimes written in the Devanagari script, and so the letters are pronounced slightly differently.  Some letters also carry a tone, and so you'd have to recognize difference too while reading Devanagari.

Marathi pronounces their J as a zha (the French J) and the aspirated Jh as a z.  It can be a bit perplexing for someone who isn't used to those letters with a different sound.  Anyway, my advice is to familiarize yourself each time with the alphabet of every Indic language that uses Devanagari and look out for the exceptions.


----------



## albondiga

Thanks, I guess that's probably good advice... (picking up vowel differences is especially kind of tough when you've only got a book in front of you, but I guess having audio is always necessary to get good pronunciation in any language, regardless of whether you can read the script...)


----------



## Lugubert

Already in Hindi, there can be problems. Some people disregard the difference between some dotted and undotted letters, and so they pronounce z ज़ as j ज, so for example _zero_ beomes _jeero_.


----------



## albondiga

Specific follow-ups on two things mentioned in the original topic of this old thread: 

1) The inherent अ sound associated with each consonant is generally not pronounced with the final consonant of a Hindi sentence... as mentioned, I know it _is _pronounced in some other languages though (including Nepali); can anyone tell me about other specific ones?

2) What about the typical pronunciation of रहना as if it actually started with रेह (and other such words with the inherent अ sound before an ह pronounced as if it had an ऐ)... does this happen in any other languages too?


----------



## francois_auffret

Well, I know this won't be of much help, but I know that languages like Marathi pronounce the Ri (the old 'R' vowel, still written as a vowel in Devanagari), as Ru...

So they would say Rushi (for standard Hindi Rishi)...

That's all I can add on the topic...


----------



## lcfatima

hmmm, I don't know if one reads nepali with Hindi pronunciation cuz of devnagri.

I know that Hindi is supposed to be very phonetic and the pronunciation should prescriptively match the writing but there is a lot of variation as you pointed out with kahna/rahna. also, the final "h" in jagah (place) or salaah (advice) are not pronounced. that doesn't answer your question, but still...


----------



## Illuminatus

_Marathi pronounces their J as a zha (the French J) and the aspirated Jh as a z. It can be a bit perplexing for someone who isn't used to those letters with a different sound. Anyway, my advice is to familiarize yourself each time with the alphabet of every Indic language that uses Devanagari and look out for the exceptions.

_Correction: The french 'J' does not exist in any Indian language, I think, certainly not in Marathi. But Marathi has two different 'Ch' sounds written the same way, and the same goes for two 'z' sounds and also 'jh' sounds.

Hindi spoken in UP and Bihar quite sticks to the correct pronunciation and doesn't drop the final a sound also


----------

