Consonants

LESSON 11

In the class on Feb 25th, 2011, we continued our study of consonants in the "Ka" Varga.

The consonants or Vyanjanani (व्यंजनानी) in Sanskrit are divided into a 5*5 grid, square or varga (वर्ग) structure to systematize the pronunciation of the language. Each Varga specifies the section of the mouth from where the sound is produced.

The words we saw this week ग, घ  and  ङ  also belong to the "ka" varga. The   ग and घ  sounds are pronouned or voiced using the soft palate at the back of the mouth. The ङ  is a nasal sound. You will notice that the ग, घ  and ङ  sounds are all made at the back of the mouth. The घ sound is aspirated (ie a puff of air that is added to the  ग almost as if to stress the  ग ).

 

You may recall from the previous class that the  क and ख sounds also were made from the back of the mouth but they these 2 sounds were not voiced. The sounds kind of emerged or came from the area of the soft palate similar to a vibration. Please refer to the picture in my previous post to identify the part of the mouth from which the Ka Varga sounds are produced. 

Homework:

• Write the letters ग , घ and ड. with the14 maatras at least 5 times each. Please remember to pronounce the words while writing.

• Please revise the numbers from 1 to 19. You should be comfortable saying the numbers as well as writing the numerals in Sanskrit.

We will meet again on March 4th.