pronouncing double s in pali

[Inoshi]

Hello,

Does anybody know off hand if a double s (ss) is pronounced a certain way in Pali?

E.g., in the word vipassana, does the double get an "sh" sound?

[tiltbillings]

Hello,

Does anybody know off hand if a double s (ss) is pronounced a certain way in Pali?

E.g., in the word vipassana, does the double get an "sh" sound?

No. Double "ss" is "s" as in sign. The Pali word vipassanā: vi pas anaa. The accent is in the first sylable. The "vi" as in victor. the "a" as in hut. the final "ā" as in law.

The Sanskrit version of the word, vipaśyanā, the "s" with a dot over it, is pronounced "sh" and the "ya" is pronounced as the "ya" in yatch.

[cooran]

Hello rishi,

This might be of assistance:

A Guide to the Pronunciation of Pali
Double consonants must be clearly articulated as two sounds, not merged into one, as is the tendency in European languages. When there is a double consonant it may help to imagine a hyphen between the two letters and pronounce accordingly. Therefore sut-taü, not sutaü (or såtaü); bhik-khu, not bhikhu (or bhãkhu) etc.
http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/R ... f-Pali.htm

Pali pronunciation
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=4323

with metta
Chris

[tiltbillings]

Hello rishi,

This might be of assistance:

A Guide to the Pronunciation of Pali
Double consonants must be clearly articulated as two sounds, not merged into one, as is the tendency in European languages. When there is a double consonant it may help to imagine a hyphen between the two letters and pronounce accordingly. Therefore sut-taü, not sutaü (or såtaü); bhik-khu, not bhikhu (or bhãkhu) etc.
http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/R ... f-Pali.htm

At best a double "s" -- ss -- is going to be an "s" sound with a slightly accented, if that.

[cooran]

For pronunciation, these sound-files might be of assistance:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pali/file ... d%20files/

with metta
Chris

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Some common Pali words — Pali Pronunciation

[mikenz66]

My understanding was that when there is a double syllable the first ends a syllable and the second starts another one.

So bhikkhu is bhik - khu, not bhi - khu or bhik - u
And vipassana is vi-pas-sa-na

However, my experience with Pali is in a Thai context. Thai is very definitely a mono-syllabic (i.e. each syllable stands on it's own) Asian language, so Pali chanting by Thai speakers is mono-syllablic. Since Pali is actually an Indo-European language, and European languages are not monosyllabic (syllable is a handy example - a native English speaker would not pronounce it as syl-la-bull), the Thai-Pali pronunciation is likely to be more monosyllabic than the original.

Of course, "correct" is relative: If one is communally chanting with others the correct thing to do is to fit in!


Mike

[Inoshi]

Thanks everybody. I was wondering a bit about the word "upassaya", very helpful all.