Indian phonetics in English

[lmjhitman]

I guess there's no one else of Indian origin here or nobody knows what I'm talking about.

Oh well.

i'm of indian descent, but born in germany, raised in canada

sorry, i can't help with the phonetics thing. i'm the biggest coconut around.

 

[Zoots]

So....... Diwali (festival of lights) is actually Divali?

Are you talking about just one Indo language or do all of them not have "w"?

Yes!!! I have always wondered why Diwali is spelt so.. cos it's pronounced as Divali. The actual full form is Deepavali but it's commonly referred to as Diwali.

umm... I know Hindi and... Tamil which is my mother/native tongue. Neither have the equivalent of a 'w', just 'v'. But since most of those languages were derived from Sanskrit anyway, I'm assuming that none of them have a 'w'.

 

[yolland]

I'm not of Indian origin, but have been there (primarily Chennai) several times to do research.

I don't really know for sure the reason for writing "v" as "w," but I've always assumed it's to reflect this sound as British and American listeners hear it. Indians, north and south, seem to form most of their consonants by curling the tongue way back and pressing it against the roof of the mouth, whereas we form most of ours by striking the tip of the tongue against the area just behind the front teeth. (This based on my ultra-scientific method of clutching my tongue while attempting to imitate an Indian accent at the same time ). With some consonants, the resulting sounds are so different that we tend to hear, for example, Indian "v" as an almost "w"/"b" cross, and Indian "t" as a soft, clipped "d."

 

[Zoots]

sorry, i can't help with the phonetics thing. i'm the biggest coconut around.

That's okay.

 

[Zoots]

Yolland, you may be on to something there! You don't study linguistics, do you? Languages really fascinate me but I'm not a linguist. Learning german right now. Too bad it's hard to find people in NJ to practive with.

 

[timothius]

I don't have anything constructive to add to this thread except for...

Lund.

 

[Zoots]

Lund.

 

[timothius]

I worked at an Indian Resteraunt 5 nights a week last year. I got on quite well with the chefs and they'd often teach me a few words. They were quite dirty bastards actually come to think of it. One day I asked him how to say a particular word - mind you he only had a 65% grasp on english. He told me what he thought the translation was. I then went and rattled off a sentance to the boss who spoke perfect english. He looked at me puzzled - asking what on earth I was trying to say - I said I'll get back to you. Went back to the chef and asked him what the word he told me meant... he says "This one brother!" pointing to a jar of PEANUT butter!

Great times.

 

[Zoots]

I don't..... get it.

 

[timothius]

I don't..... get it.

He misinterpreted that I wanted to know what was the Hindi word for Peanut. Instead I was interested in the Hindi word for a word that sounds a lot like it.

In the process I made a fool of myself.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

In the process I made a fool of myself.

 

[Zoots]

Ah... okay, I got what you're trying to say. But I still don't know what swear word that is.

 

[timothius]

Ah... okay, I got what you're trying to say. But I still don't know what swear word that is.

Peh-nut.... Peh-nus.

 

[Zoots]

Okay, I probably look like the idiot now.

 

[timothius]

Okay, I probably look like the idiot now.

No more so than me.

 

[ishkash]

I think its a very subtle thing actually. The uccharan (pronounciation) in Hindi is a bit tricky due to our Sanskrit legacy. Like we have two empashis points on vowels, we call it "Matra". I am no expert in Hindi or Sanskrit, but if you look at the most Sri Lankan names that start with Pronounciation V are actually spelled with W. This is because in sanskrit the emphasis on Vee would be a tad lesser than say in Hindi. I think some people use The half-matra or the "Lakar" as it is called in Sanskrit to make the difference in pronounciation.

For exampls. A name like Vijay in Hindi would be pronounced Ve-J-aye. However, the same name in Sanskrit would be prounced a bit quicker with emphasis on the opening V and extending the ending. Its actually very hard to explain in text but from the limited knowledge I have in Indian Literature this is the most logical reason why some use V instead of W.

For quicker and perhaps more correct pronounciation.

 

[foray]

You guys are so confusing my V's and W's right now.

I've always been told that Diwali is Hindi and Deepavali is Tamil. Wrong?

foray

 

[ishkash]

Deepavali is Hindi, Diwali is Hinglish. Nice to see you again foray