ion system for bengali - google documents

8/2/2019 ion System for Bengali - Google Documents

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ROMANISATION / ROMANIZATION OF

ROUMOK OKXORE BANGWLAR LIPY

Romanisation and, unless otherwise stated, all sentence translations by

Please email comments and corrections to the author at roman[at]raaid[dot]com.

The author permits purely non-commercial use of these his works, provided he is at allauthor otherwise asserts and requires respect of all the rights afforded to him under thArtistic Works and under the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTIONA BASIC TABLE OF THE BENGALI SCRIPT

CLASSIFICATION OF SVOR LETTERS

PRONUNCIATION OF CONSONANTS

BENGALI ORTHOGRAPHY

A ROMANISATION SYSTEM FOR BENGALI

ROMANISATION RULES

1/ SILENT O, ELISION AND HYPHEN

2/ READING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

3/ PRONUNCIATION OF O AS / / OR AS / O /4/ VOWELS OCCURRING TOGETHER

5/ WHICH APOSTROPHE?

6/ ONTOHWSTHO VO (V) ORVORGIIYO BO (B)?

7/ EFFECT OF SILENT CONSONANTS AND SILENT HW

8/ WHEN IS NJ SILENT?

9/ WHEN IS B SILENT?

10/ HOW IS M PRONOUNCED?

11/ WHAT DOES JZ/Y/W REPRESENT?

12/ HOW IS V PRONOUNCED?

manisation System for Bengali - Google Documents https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WsK3j0u-OioxKo-ube0ZRRPiEa...

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13/ PRONUNCIATION OF SIBILANTS SH, X and S

14/ HOW IS H PRONOUNCED?

AN EXAMPLE

SYSTEM TABLE

SVOR (SONORANT) LETTERSSYLLABIC MODIFIERS

CONSONANT LETTERS: VELAR

CONSONANT LETTERS: PALATAL

CONSONANT LETTERS: RETROFLEX

CONSONANT LETTERS: DENTAL

CONSONANT LETTERS: LABIAL

CONSONANT LETTERS: FORMER AND ACTUAL SEMI-VOWELS

CONSONANT LETTERS: FRICATIVE

INTRODUCTION

Bengali is spoken as the language of the majority of the population in the north-east of the SouthBangladesh (the country of Bengal, location of the majority of Bengali speakers), in the Indianparts of the Indian constituent states of Assam and Jharkhand. It is also the single most spoken lfederal territory in the Bay of Bengal. Bengali is now in terms of numbers of speakers the sixth oliterary and artistic culture.

The oldest territorial term nowadays used for Bengal was recorded in the 2nd century BCE, in a S

transcribed in English from Sanskrit as Vanga, has been in continuous common use thereafter, mconsiderable antiquity. Indeed, use of the term may date back to around the beginning of the firsethnic group to whom the term was applied.

What is recognisable as the Bengali language, however, is of relatively recent origin, evolving froSanskrit. The development of vernacular literature received a significant boost from the patronag1519. Modern Bengali can be regarded as starting with the 19th century CE, during which the dia(now within the Indian state of West Bengal) became the basis of standard Bengali and in the secprimarily by the poet Michael Madhusudhan Dutt (1824-1873) and the novelist Bankim Chandrasignificant cultural figure was the poet and composer Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976). However, tpolymath Rabindranath Tagore (18611941), who in 1913 became the first non-European to be a


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Map of Bengali-speaking regions

Autograph of poetry in Rabindranath Tag

Pride in the Bengali language is the most important characteristic of Bengali nationhood, a pride

Bengal during the partition of British India on 15 August 1947. On largely religious lines, India tothe far east of historic Bengal) Tripura. Pakistan took most of the eastern parts of historic Bengal,political power in Pakistan was centred in the non-contiguous west of the South Asian subcontineculture led to the rise of a Bengali language movement in East Bengal, to resist the policy of thethe northern regions of the subcontinent, as the sole state language despite the fact that the Benmajority of the all-Pakistan population. On 21 February 1952, several student protesters from Dh


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police gunfire. The anniversary has been marked by UNESCO since 2000 as International Mothermonument in the Dhaka University area to that event figures prominently in Bengali popular con

East Bengal was given the non-ethnic name of East Pakistan on 14 October 1955, but on 29 Febrlanguage of Pakistan. The Bengali language movement meanwhile had changed into a more geneinterests, a movement eventually led by the Awami League. By sweeping up the seats reserved fAwami League under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-1975) won an overall parliend of 1970. The Pakistani military regime launched a crackdown on the movement on the nightmurders of Bengali civilians by the regimes armed personnel. The atrocities ended with Pakistanindependent statehood for Bangladesh throughout the former East Pakistan.

A BASIC TABLE OF THE BENGALI SCRIPT

A basic tabulation of letters in the Bengali script follows, for ease of exposition, together with a bappears later.

SONORANT (SVOR) LETTERS: PURE VOWELS

o (eo) a (ea) i ii

SONORANT (SVOR) LETTERS: FORMER SEMI-VOWELS

rwi rwii lwi lwii

SONORANT (SVOR) LETTERS: VOWEL COMPOUNDS

e (ee) aoi ou aou

SYLLABIC MODIFIERS

ngw hw nw

CONSONANT LETTERS: VELAR


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Early modern Bengali orthography:illustrative plate in NathanielBrassey Halhed's A Code of Gentoo Laws (1776)

Central Shaheed


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CLASSIFICATION OF SVOR LETTERS

The first 14 letters (of which the last three are not in modern use) of the Bengali alphabet are cal

and for ease of exposition will be referred to as svor (sonorant) letters. Among these, the lconvey pure vowel sounds or their prolongation (although not always the same vowel sounds). H

letters o, a,i, ii, 0u and 1uu are regarded grammatically as representing pure vow

aou are regarded grammatically as representing combinations of vowel elements (in each of w

a). The letters aoi and aou convey diphthongs. The letter rwi and the archaic letterin Sanskrit the sound of r in English jeRk and the sound of l in English huLk, but without the pre

respectively in modern Bengali the sound of ri in English bRIm and the sound of li in English sLI

Sanskrit semi-vowels that were prolongations of the sounds respectively ofrwi and lwi.

Up until the table containing a full exposition of the Romanisation system, in the discussion that f

ignored as being archaic. However, their existence is still significant for word formation, and disti

semi-vowels: e.g. between rwi in 2 3 (2 4) krwit- ([archaic stem of verb] to cut) and rwito communicate).

PRONUNCIATION OF CONSONANTS

As can be seen from the basic table above, Bengali consonant letters are classified as primarily b

velar (56konhtdhyo - literally: "guttural"), palatal (!7+'6talovyo), retroflex (89$:;6muurdhoouxtdhyo), semi-vowel (uuxmo - literally: "thermal").

To achieve a velar pronunciation, the back of the upper surface of the tongue during articulation ithe mouth).

To achieve a palatal pronunciation, the upper surface of the tongue during articulation is bunchedmouth.

To achieve a retroflex pronunciation, the tip of the tongue during articulation is moved upwards athe roof of the mouth).

To achieve a dental pronunciation, the tip of the tongue during articulation is pressed against the

To achieve a labial (or, rather, bilabial) pronunciation, the lips during articulation are compressed


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The pronunciations of the four consonants primarily classified as being semi-vowel in nature will

The four consonants primarily classified as being fricative are produced by forcing air between a pmouth.

BENGALI ORTHOGRAPHY

The Brahmi script used for classical Sanskrit originated in the eighth to seventh centuries BCE. Tand was largely complete by the 12th century CE. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891) standcontinued to the present day.

The Bengali script resembles the Devanagari script used for medieval Sanskrit and modern Hindi,less blocky and more sinuous. The sequence of alphabetic letters used in the Brahmi and Devanathe Bengali script: except that Bengali contains a few additional letters. Letters in Bengali are seq

diphthongs and (what originally were) semi-vowels; (ii) a special trio of?)7'7/ojzougvaho (modifiers (these beingngw, hw andnw); and (iii) consonant letters or '6@;'A:vyWords are written in the Bengali script from left to right, with consonant letters and some svor le

87B7matra (literally: limit), although elements may appear above that horizontal line. A consoform or joined in a conjunct form with (an)other consonant(s) or, in a few cases in older orthogracontrast, conjuncts of letters in the Roman script are rare and involve only vowels: a+e written aSvor letters in Bengali orthography have each an independent form, written (i) at the beginning

syllabic modifiernw (neitherngw nor hw can be followed by a vowel). Except in thein independent form), a svor letter also and more commonly will appear in greatly mutated conju

sounded immediately before it and in the same syllable. The special trio of syllabic modifiers eachletters.

The vowel o is not written, and in the absence of contrary indication is assumed to exist even iconsonant-conjunct. Conversely, a consonant is assumed immediately to be followed by an inhere

unless the consonant: (i) has an elision sign, the C sign known as /.


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conjunct is written immediately after such consonant or consonant-conjunct. Each of the svor let

immediately before such consonant or consonant-conjunct. Each of the svor letters ou and such consonant or consonant-conjunct.

Each of the svor letters 0u , 1uu and rwi will be fused to a part of any consonant or consonthe same syllable. As part of a conjunct, each of these svor letters has a usual conjunct form, wha part of such consonant-conjunct. As part of a conjunct, each of these svor letters also has at leimmediately below such consonant or consonant-conjunct.

When two or more consonants occur next to each other, they usually are represented in consonathe upper left to the upper right, then down and to the left, and then finally to the right) in the oletter that is written as part of a conjunct may greatly change from the form it has when writtenmay have only an element (such as a stroke or a curve) of it appearing in a consonant-conjunct.

of the elements of a consonant-conjunct and any of the elements of one of the constituent conso

A partial list of letter-combinations can be consulted for examples.

A ROMANISATION SYSTEM FOR BENGALI

The Roman script is overwhelmingly the dominant script in international use, used not only for suEnglish, Italian and Polish, but for non-European languages from Azerbaijani to Zulu. It is virtualladdition, English is overwhelmingly the dominant language of international communication, andbasic alphabetical characters (alphabetical characters without diacritical marks or special forms) ureproduction in Roman script of words from a language not written in Roman script is therefore

that uses a non-Roman script, however numerous its speakers may be.

The dominant influence on Romanisation systems hitherto in use for Bengali has been the Internby the International Congress of Orientalists. The IAST uses diacritical marks, which may not reaSanskrit, in which virtually each Devanagari letter (or, if used to write Sanskrit, equivalent Brahdoes not work so well with Bengali.

The same Bengali letter may have more than one pronunciation. For example, e is usually propronounced as the vowel sound in English rat. Furthermore, the same sound may be represented

English rat may occur in Bengali as (*y +) o, as (*y +) a, as e or, treating each as a s

Against this background, Romanisation systems hitherto in use for Bengali tend either to reprodutransliteration, in which the concentration is on indicating the spelling in the original language known as transcription, in which the concentration is on indicating the pronunciation in the originthe true pronunciation or the Bengali spelling or both, even if diacritical marks which may not r


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In the system here used, the aim is to indicate unambiguously both the pronunciation and the spalphabetical characters in use in English (the letters A to Z) and (sparingly) apostrophes. This all

the same (homonyms) but have different spellings in Bengali, such as .7Dsari ([a] row, seriegarment]) and ,7Dshari (the female) - all pronounced as IPA / ari /. This also allows for distinspelling (homographs) but different pronunciations in Bengali, such as 8!mot (opinion) (IPA /mo /). In addition, the system distinguishes between different etymologies of some of the Beng

7Ekajii (worker) (from Bengali 7):karjzo [work]) and of the same consonants transcribeofficial, registrar) (from Arabic / qadi / [(a) judge]) - words that are homographs in Ben

/.

With only 26 alphabetical characters available for the Romanisation, there will be instances when

phonemes will be Romanised using many characters. E.g. the word /67hyeanw (yes) is pronounphonemes, but in the Romanisation it is six characters long.

There will be exceptions to pronunciations, with which their memorising or the learning of some rinevitable without the awkward-looking use of additional characters such as brackets and number

ROMANISATION RULES

Before considering a detailed table of the Romanisation, for ease of exposition the reader first shorthography and with differences of pronunciation not reflected in Bengali orthography. Other e

table.

1/ SILENT O, ELISION AND HYPHEN

1A/ The /.


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1F). Consequently, it in most cases need not make a difference to the Romanisation whether withconsonants or a combination takes place of the two consonants into a consonant-conjunct. E.g. a

a direction" may be written in Bengali orthography as D#F,:;(d+ig+d+or+sh+on[+o]) (joini(d+ig+hosontod+or+sh+on[+o]) (using hosonto with g rather than joining g in a digrcan apply in both cases, although Romanisation as dig-dorshon can apply only in the latter case.

When a hyphen does occur within a Romanised word, it will not represent a hosonto in the Bengsvor letter does not take a hosonto) or (see rule 1F) an apostrophe or (see rule 1F) another hy

Within and at the end of a Romanised word the combination t- (the letter T followed by a hyphen

!khonhdto to ( separated T), which in turn represents !t followed by C hosonto.

1B/ Where a consonant is the last letter in a word and is followed by the /.


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Similarly, 8m (see rule 10 below) usually is silent next after !t, #d, ,sh, -x or .s. But 8

word meaning raisin. Instead of having ,sh and 8m combining in Bengali orthography to forDDLM(k+ish+m+ish+hosonto) kishmish-, and in order to indicate that 8m is fully pronountheir independent forms together as M8(sh+hosontom) with ,sh taking a hosonto: so that tsh+hosontom+ish+hosonto) kish-mish-.

Again, )/ */ jz (y) usually is silent next after a consonant other than r (see rule 11 below)pronounced when the combining word '7H(v+ag+hosonto) vag- (speech) is prefixed to themeaning verbal battle. Instead of having g and )jz combining in Bengali orthography to forindicate that )jz is fully pronounced, g and )jz in this instance are written in their independa hosonto: so that the word becomes written in Bengali as '7H)JN(v+ag+hosontojz+ud+dd+dh+[o]) vagyuddho.

Consequently and to avoid ambiguity, a hyphen (without preceding or following space) must alwaconsonants, to represent a hosonto, if both of the following conditions obtain: (a) the first conso

a hosonto; and (b) the second consonant is either a fully-pronounced 8m or a fully-pronouncedBengali words for verbal battle, cardinal point and raisin would be written in Bengali (and th

as '7H)JN(v+ag+hosontojz+ud+dh[+o]) vag-jzuddho, D#HD'IJ(d+ig+hosontov+in+dand DMD8M(k+ish+hosontom+ish+hosonto) kish-mish- respectively.

1F/ Occasionally a hyphen may be used in Bengali to separate the two parts (constituent words)be reproduced as a hyphen in the Romanisation or be dropped in the Romanisation. But if a hyph

the first part (the constituent word before the hyphen) in Bengali ends in a consonant followed b

must be used at the end of the first part and immediately before the hyphen to represent that sil

the hyphen) in Bengali ends in a consonant followed by a hosonto then, in the Romanisation, aof the first part to represent that hosonto and immediately before the (second) hyphen represenRomanisation will only represent a hyphen in the Bengali if it is preceded by a vowel, apostrophe

As a result, the words '7G(v+ak+hosonto) vak- (speech) and ,DO(sh+ok+t+i) shokti (pcompound word as '7G-,DO(v+ak+hosonto hyphen sh+ok+t+i) (faculty of speech) and thvak--shokti, with a hyphen in the Romanisation assumed to represent a hyphen in Bengali only if

+(j+ol[+o])jol (water) and D;:8(n+ir+g+om[+o]) nirgom (exit) would be combined i


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Romanised as +-D;:8(j+ol[+o] hyphen n+ir+g+om[+o])jol-nirgom ([an] outflow): thea standalone word would have to be specified in the Romanisation once it occurs before a hyphenwould represent a hyphen in Bengali.

The hyphen in the Romanisation would disappear should the hyphen be removed in the Bengali,

become written as '7G,DO(v+ak+hosontosh+ok+t+i) vak-shokti (optionally, vakshokti) ork+sh+ok+t+i) vakshokti instead of'7G-,DO(v+ak+hosonto hyphen sh+ok+t+i) vak--shoinstead of+-D;:8(j+ol[+o] hyphen n+ir+g+om[+o])jol-nirgom.

1G/ There will be instances of non-subcontinental words and names being transliterated or adoptsubcontinental) words, in which a juxtaposition of consonants will occur which is apt to be misrea

special indication. E.g. #d and /h will occur together in a particular Bengali word derived fromcontrary indication - will be apt to be misread in the Romanisation as

$dh

. In each such instanc

be used in the Romanisation within the word between the two consonants concerned, it being ass

o following the first consonant. So the particular Bengali word for indigestion may be writtencommonly as 'P /8(b+od+hosontoh+oz+om[+o]) and thence would be Romanised in eit

Similarly, .s and /h will occur together in the Bengali transliteration of the Arabic name /indication - will be apt to be misread in the Romanisation as ,sh. Again, a hyphen (without precwithin the word between the two consonants concerned, it being assumed that a hosonto follows

consonant. So the Arabic name for Isaac may be written in Bengali asR/7(is+h+aq[+o]) othence would be Romanised in either case as Is-haq.

Similarly again, r is immediately followed by another r in a particular Bengali word for (the)contrary indication - will be apt to be misread in the Romanisation as rr. A hyphen (without prRomanisation within the word between the two consonants concerned, it being assumed that a h

inherent o following) the first r. The particular Bengali word is written in Bengali as :7(galways be Romanised as gor-ra. This word in the Romanisation therefore becomes distinguished f

cattle-barrier), which is Romanised as gorra.

In practice, in the case of such unusual juxtapositions, the two unusually juxtaposed consonants iattached to the first consonant) rather than in a consonant-conjunct: so that, in practice in suchthe Romanisation could occur where there was a hosonto in the Bengali.


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2/ READING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

Because of the relatively small number of Roman letters, many Bengali letters are represented inletters. In reading from left to right the Romanised form of any word, and in the absence of any sRomanised word towards the right for such a combination to appear of two or more consecutive Rletter. At the point that the first of the letters being subject to the search can no longer be read

particular combination process stops and the Bengali letter represented is conclusively identified.combination, a fresh search then starts.

Let us look at the word #2Romanised as drwirrho (firm, strict, taut).

The first Roman letter is d. That could represent the Bengali letter #d. The second Roman letterletter(s), does not represent a single Bengali letter. So we have established that the first Roman l

Given that the first Roman letter represents the Bengali letter #d, the second Roman letter coulRoman letter is w. The combination r+w does not represent a single Bengali letter. But then we s

represents the Bengali letter rwi. The fifth Roman letter is r. The combination r+w+i+r does nBengali letter. So we have established that the second, third and fourth Roman letters together r

As mentioned, the fifth Roman letter is r. That could represent the Bengali letter r. Then we secould represent the Bengali letter rr. But then we see that the seventh Roman letter is h. Theconclusion would not be altered by the subsequent presence of any other Roman letters. So we h

letters together represent the Bengali letter rrh.

The eighth Roman letter is o. This could represent the Bengali inherent o. There are no subseeighth and last Roman letter represents the Bengali inherent o.

The end result is that the Romanised word drwirrho represents in sequence Bengali #d, rwi,rrh+o.

Once in the absence of special indication it is concluded that a particular sequence of Roman letteconclusion is not altered if the final Roman letter or letters of that sequence could be used in the

leaving the earlier Roman letter or letters of that sequence to represent some other (third) Beng

Let us look at the word -S.Romanised as xorrros (the six tastes[sweet, sour, salty, pungen


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The first Roman letter is x and the second Roman letter is o, and these respectively stand for Ben

Roman letters each are r. By itself, any one of these three could represent Bengali r. By themsthe Bengali letter rr. But, reading from left to right, we establish that the third, fourth and fiftletter, and that the third and fourth Roman letters together represent Bengali rr: meaning thaconclusion is not altered by the proposition that the third letter could represent r and the fourt

The sixth Roman letter is o and the seventh Roman letter is s, and these respectively stand for B

apostrophe indicating a hosonto (vowel elision) after.s, a silent (inherent) o is assumed aftxorrros represents in sequence Bengali -x, (an inherent) o, rr, r, (an inherent) o, .-S.x+orr+hosontor+os[+o] (or, in the theoretical possibility that rr is written in Bengs[+o]).

If, however, it is desired to prevent two or more Roman letters from being read together so as toin the Romanisation to separate the Roman letters concerned: see rule 1G.

3/ PRONUNCIATION OF O AS / / OR AS / O /

The pronunciation ofo as o in British English hOt (IPA / /) or as o in English Obey (IPA / o /)emphasis, the addition or subtraction of prefixes and suffixes, and the presence or absence of copronunciations is being used, moreover, is often not readily distinguishable. Therefore no distinctipronunciations.

4/ VOWELS OCCURRING TOGETHER

4A/ Where two pronounced vowels occur next to each other in Bengali, a reverse apostrophe ( e.g. T'D;beaini (unlawful, illegal), !'otoev (therefore"), ;?7*7;nooujouw(you propel[a boat]). This will allow for distinctions to be made between e.g. 80mourr (di

intersection[of roads]). The use of the reverse apostrophe does not apply next to a vowel that i

in '7*7vawa (to propel[a boat]), in which ou is silent between a and *w and is repr("everyone"), in which an inherent o is silent between +l andi and is represented by an ap


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4B/ Where a vowel nasalised bynw is followed immediately by a second pronounced vowel, asecond pronounced vowel in the Romanisation: e.g. in '7vanwou ([a] fathom). The use of this silent and represented by an apostrophe: e.g in '7*7vanwwa (left-handed, drum beatenby an apostrophe (with the result in the Romanisation that no vowel letter appears immediately a

5/ WHICH APOSTROPHE?

It will often be impossible to distinguish between an apostrophe and a reverse apostrophe in thediscern from the Romanisation what is intended to be conveyed.

Between vowel letters (see rule 4A), or between the syllabic modifiernw and a following vowreverse and intended as a separator. Before the consonant w in the Romanisation, an apostrophevowel ou in Bengali orthography (see the entry for ou in the table below). Otherwise: betweconsonant letter and a vowel letter (see rule 1D) or between a consonant letter and a hyphen (se

reverse and is intended to represent a silent inherent o in Bengali orthography.

Consequently, in '7*7vanwwa (left-handed, drum beaten by the left hand) and in '7*7vRomanisation immediately before w, and so represents a silent ou and is not a reverse apostroin '7vaou (you propel[a boat]) the apostrophe occurs in the Romanisation respectively betand so represents a separator and is a reverse apostrophe.

6/ ONTOHWSTHO VO (V) ORVORGIIYO BO (B)?

6A/ In Sanskrit, the letter v (IPA / /) in the Devanagari script, a letter known in Bengali as

letter b (IPA / b /) in the Devanagari script, a letter known in Bengali as 'U*'vorgiiyo boofvorgiiyo bo and no real distinction is made in their pronunciation. However, a distinction betw

bo (b) is important for the purposes of word formation, and a distinction is made in the Romanisa

As a general rule in the Romanisation of the Bengali for any word derived from Sanskrit, a 'b/vvo (v) in the original Sanskrit will be regarded as


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vorgiiyo bo (b) in the original Sanskrit will be regarded as 'U*'vorgiiyo bo (b).

Example: '$:;vordhon (growth) '7'varrbo ((I) will grow)

6B/ Similarly as a general rule in the Romanisation of the Bengali for any word not derived from

w in the original (parent) word concerned will be regarded as


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pronunciation of the other consonant letter.) However, the aspirated consonant letters kh, gbh are doubled in pronunciation by sounding their un-aspirated equivalents immediately before t

written) as Ykkh, Zggh, [cch, \jjh, ]tdtdh, ^dtdth, _&pph and `(bbh.

Exceptionally, the letter 'v is doubled in pronunciation to 0'uv (or IPA / ub /) and not to avbefore 'v) in those few words - see rule 12 - which derive from the archaic verbal stem Tbhve (

8/ WHEN IS NJ SILENT?

In the Romanisation, X nj is silent immediately after and (other than at the start of a word) douoccurs (only) in the numerous words derived from the archaic verbal stemc7gjnjea (to know, / gn / to know).

Examples: D'c!7vigjnjota (expertise),c7;Egjnjeanii (experienced, knowledgeable).

9/ WHEN IS B SILENT?

In the Romanisation,

'b is silent and doubles the pronunciation of the preceding

8m in the wor

proposal) and in those few words made by the addition to .desombondho of suffixes.

10/ HOW IS M PRONOUNCED?

In the Romanisation, 8m is silent immediately after and (other than at the start of a word) douOtherwise, m should be pronounced as IPA / m / or as m in English Market.

11/ WHAT DOES JZ/Y/W REPRESENT?

The Bengali graphemes )ontohwstho jzo (marginal JZ), *ontohwstho o (marginal Y) a


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three forms of the one letter )jz/y/w, with *ontohwstho o grammatically representing a vajzo-phola grammatically representing a conjunct form of either of)ontohwstho jzo and *o(approximately as j in English maJor), the letter is Romanised asjz. When pronounced as y in Ey. When silent, the letter again is Romanised as y. When pronounced as w in English tWig or in

Here are the rules for going from the Bengali to the Romanisation.

An )ontohwstho jzo will be Romanised asjz (and pronounced approximately as j in English m

An *ontohwstho o will be Romanised as y (and pronounced as y in English maYor or e in Engli(the ou may be silent): in which case *ontohwstho o will be Romanised as w (and pronounc

A jzo-phola will be Romanised as y (whether or not it is silent), unless it occurs next after /hjzo-phola will be Romanised asjz (and pronounced approximately as j in English maJor).

Here are the rules for going from the Romanisation to the Bengali.

W invariably represents an *ontohwstho o (although *ontohwstho o will usually be Romani

Jz will represent a jzo-phola whenjz occurs next after h (the h will be preceded by a vowel)represent an )ontohwstho jzo.

Y will represent a jzo-phola when y occurs next after a consonant. In every other instance, y

Here are the rules for pronouncing the Romanisation.

Jz invariably is pronounced approximately as j in English maJor.

When y occurs next after a consonant, y will be silent and will double in pronunciation the precedcase in which y occurs next after r (the r will occur next after another consonant): in which case

When y does not occur next after a consonant, y will be pronounced as y in English maYor.

W invariably is pronounced as w in English tWig or in English aWay.

12/ HOW IS V PRONOUNCED?


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In the Romanisation, v should be pronounced as IPA / b / or as b in English Bit: (i) ifv commencmodifier, a prefix or prefixed word (on the principle that the addition or subtraction of a prefix or

hyphen, rr, (in theory) rrh, or another


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14/ HOW IS H PRONOUNCED?

In the Romanisation, h should be pronounced as IPA / / or as h in English Hotel: (i) ifh commenot a true vowel or diphthong) or before y; or (ii) ifh does not commence a word, before a (true)and (other than at the start of a word) doubles the pronunciation of any following Bengali consonExceptionally, v is doubled in pronunciation after h to uv (IPA / ub /) and not to vv (IPA / bb /): s

AN EXAMPLE

A reader can go to examples of the works of Tagore in the Romanisation and see at some lengthrandom vocabulary using the Romanisation. Here, however, is a short example with a non-officialUniversal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations on 10 December 1948.

87;'7D$7?.7':;E;T7-;7%B

MANOVADHIKARER SARVOJONIIN GHOUXONHAPOTRO

$77f: .8g87;J-7$E;(7?', '.87;8):7#7'D$7D;?*, hi/A?!7?, '.?+?%?jD!k7!2 l.J+(8?;7(7'D;?*A70D3Dhara 1: Somosto manux svadhiinbhave, eevongw soman morjzada eevongw odhikar niye,jonvivek eevongw buddhi ache, eevongw sokoleri eeke oporer proti bhratrwitvosulobh monoubhav

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed withand should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.


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SYSTEM TABLE

There now follows a detailed table containing an exposition of the Romanisation system.

SVOR (SONORANT) LETTERSSYLLABIC MODIFIERSCONSONANT LETTERS: VELARCONSONANT LETTERS: PALATAL

CONSONANT LETTERS: RETROFLEXCONSONANT LETTERS: DENTALCONSONANT LETTERS: LABIALCONSONANT LETTERS: FORMER AND ACTUAL SEMI-VOWELSCONSONANT LETTERS: FRICATIVE

SVOR(SONORANT)LETTERS

Bengali letter Transliteration Pronunciation/ Comments

o IPA / /. As o in British English hOt. The letter is ca-svoro-o in Bengali.

In Bengali orthography, in the absence ofcontra-indication and whether or not svoro-o isactually pronounced, every consonant sign by defaucomprises a consonant sound followed by an inheresvoro-o. Consequently, in Bengaliorthography svoro-o is never actually writtenimmediately after a consonant.

Where the difference in pronunciation between o inBritish English hOt and (see the next item) o in EngObey is to be shown, svoro-o with the pronunciatio

of IPA / / can be written as .

In Portuguese, the letter is pronounced as o in Bri

English hOt - e.g. av / av / (grandmother), prx/ primu / (next, close by, neighbour).


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o IPA / o /. As o in English Obey.

Where the difference in pronunciation between o inBritish English hOt and (see the preceding item) o iEnglish Obey is significant, svoro-o with thepronunciation of IPA / o / can be written as .

In Portuguese, the letter is pronounced as o inEnglish Obey - e.g. av / avo / (grandfather), met

/ mero / (urban underground railway).

Silent: svoro-o when it is silent after a consonant tis not the last letter in a word.

(not written) Silent: svoro-o when it is silent after a consonant tis the last letter in a word.

A silent o is by default to be implied in the

Romanisation after a consonant that is the final lettin a word. Consequently, a silent o is not

represented in the Romanisation after a word-finalconsonant.

eo IPA / /. As a in English rAt, occurring with thispronunciation only after a silent y in the first syllabla word: but, for the purposes of pronouncing svoroas occurring after a silent y in the first syllable of aword, prefixes and compounding are ignored.

6 IPA / / or IPA / /. Respectively as either the voin French dEUx / / (two) or the vowel in FrencOEUvre / v / (work) - approximately as u inEnglish hUrt. When treated as a non-traditional singrapheme, it is used in transliteratingnon-subcontinental words into Bengali orthography.Strictly speaking this is not an independent letter, b

the combination of jzo-phola used as a merediacritical mark with o, in order to represent thesound at the beginning of a non-subcontinental worIPA / / or IPA / /. No non-subcontinental wordshave been adopted into Bengali in which IPA / / o


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IPA / / occurs.

a IPA / /. As a in English fAther. The letter iscalled -svoro-a in Bengali.

When sounded immediately after a consonant in thesame syllable, the letter in Bengali orthography is

written as a conjunct immediately after that conson(or any consonant-conjunct ending with that

consonant), and is known as -7a-kar(A-maker). There is only one form 7ofa-kar.

ea IPA / /. This is -svoro-a pronounced as a iEnglish rAt. This pronunciation of-svoro-aoccurs only and invariably:

(i) after a silent y in the first syllable of a word. For

the purposes of pronouncing svoro-o as occurringafter a silent y in the first syllable of a word, prefixeand compounding are ignored.

(ii) (in any syllable) after gjnj.

67 IPA / /. As a in English rAt. When treated as a

non-traditional single grapheme, it is used intransliterating non-subcontinental words into Bengaorthography. Strictly speaking this is not an

independent letter, but the combination ofjzo-phola and 7a-kar (conjunct a) to form a merdiacritical mark used with o, in order to representhe sound at the beginning of a non-subcontinentalword of IPA / /.

i IPA / i /. As i in English bIt. The letter is called m-hrosvo-i (short I) in Bengali.When sounded immediately after a consonant in thesame syllable, the letter in Bengali orthography is


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written as a conjunct immediately before thatconsonant (or any consonant-conjunct ending with

that consonant), and is known as m--7hrosvo-i-kar (short-I-maker) There is only one f

D ofhrosvo-i-kar.

ii IPA / i / in careful pronunciation: as i in English

machIne. Colloquially the letter is pronounced as i i

English bIt (IPA / i /). The letter is called #E:-diirgho-ii (long II) in Bengali.

When sounded immediately after a consonant in thesame syllable, the letter in Bengali orthography iswritten as a conjunct immediately after that conson(or any consonant-conjunct ending with that

consonant), and is known as #E:--7diirgho-ii-kar (long-II-maker). There is only one

form Eofdiirgho-ii-kar.In Finnish, ii is pronounced as i in English machIne:in the word viisi / isi / (five). In the relatedlanguage Estonian, ii also is pronounced as i in Engli

machIne: e.g. in the word viis / vi s / (five).

0 u IPA / u /. As u in English fUll. The letter is called mhrosvo-u (short U) in Bengali.


known as m-0-7hrosvo-u-kar(short-U-maker) and is fused to that consonant (oany consonant-conjunct ending with that consonant

below which the usual formJofhrosvo-u-kar iswritten. There are several variant forms ofhrosvo-u-kar.


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06 IPA / y /. As the vowel in French rUE / y / (streetWhen treated as a non-traditional single character, iused in transliterating non-subcontinental words intBengali orthography. Strictly speaking this is not an

independent letter but the combination of zo-phused as a mere diacritical mark with m-0hrosvoin order to represent the sound at the beginning of

non-subcontinental word of IPA / y /. Nonon-subcontinental words have been adopted intoBengali in which IPA / y / occurs.

1 uu IPA / u /. In careful pronunciation, as u in EnglishrUde. Colloquially the letter is pronounced as u inEnglish fUll (IPA / u /). The letter is called #E:-1diirgho-uu (long UU) in Bengali.


known as #E:-1-7diirgho-uu-kar(long-UU-maker) and is fused to that consonant (any consonant-conjunct ending with that consonant

below which the usual form9ofdiirgho-uu-kar iwritten. There are some variant forms ofdiirgho-uu-kar.

In Finnish, uu is pronounced as u in English rUde: ein the word kuuma / kum / (hot). In the relatedlanguage Estonian, uu also is pronounced as u inEnglish rUde: e.g. in the word kuum / kum / (hot

rwi IPA / ri /. As ri in English gRIn. The letter is simplycalled rwi in Bengali.

Grammatically this is treated as a semi-vowel, and

never occurs before a vowel. For the purposes ofimplying an inherent o in the Romanisation, thisnot a consonant (no inherent o is implied after a


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final rwi).


known as -7rwi-kar (RWI-maker) and is futo that consonant (or any consonant-conjunct endinwith that consonant), below which the usual form 2

rwi-kar is written. There is one variant form ofrwi-kar.

rwi Exceptionally, rwi is pronounced as IPA / rri / (as r

in English caRE-RIdden) immediately after /h wheh occurs immediately after a vowel (the /h will besilent).

rwii IPA / ri /. As ri in English marINe and ree in EnglisgREEn - but the letter is non-existent in modernBengali. The letter is simply called rwii in Bengali

Grammatically this was treated as a semi-vowel, annever occurred before a vowel. For the purposes of

implying an inherent o in the Romanisation, thiswould not be a consonant (no inherent o would bimplied after a final rwii).

When sounded immediately after a consonant in the

same syllable, the letter in Bengali orthography was

known as -7rwii-kar (RWII-maker) and wafused to that consonant (or any consonant-conjunctending with that consonant), below which the soleform n ofrwii-kar was written.

lwi IPA / li /. As li in English gLIb - but the letter is

non-existent in modern Bengali. The letter is simplycalled lwi in Bengali.

Grammatically this was treated as a semi-vowel, annever occurred before a vowel. For the purposes of


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implying an inherent o in the Romanisation, thiswould not be a consonant (no inherent o would bimplied after a final lwi).

When sounded immediately after a consonant in thesame syllable, the letter in Bengali orthography was

known as

-7lwi-kar (LWI-maker) and was

fused to that consonant (or any consonant-conjunctending with that consonant), below which the soleform ooflwi-kar was written.

lwii IPA / li /. As lee in English gLEE - but the letter isnon-existent in modern Bengali, and was absent evfrom any Sanskrit word. The letter is simply called

lwii in Bengali.

Grammatically this was treated as a semi-vowel, an

would never have occurred before a vowel. For thepurposes of implying an inherent o in theRomanisation, this would not have been a consonan

(no inherent o would have been implied after a filwii).

When in theory it was to be sounded immediately afa consonant in the same syllable, the letter in Beng

orthography was known as -7lwii-kar(LWII-maker) and was to be fused to that conson(or any consonant-conjunct ending with thatconsonant), below which the sole form p oflwii-karwas to be written.

e IPA / e /. As e in English rEd. The letter is simplycalled e in Bengali.

When sounded immediately after a consonant in the


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same syllable, the letter in Bengali orthography iswritten as a conjunct immediately before thatconsonant (or any consonant-conjunct ending with

that consonant), and is known as -7e-kar(E-maker). There is only one form T ofe-kar.

ee IPA / /. As a in English rAt.

6 (Most commonly as) IPA / /. As (most commonly) t

vowel in French trEIze / z / (thirteen) -approximately as ea in English bEAr. When treatednon-traditional single grapheme, it is used intransliterating non-subcontinental words into Bengaorthography. Strictly speaking this is not an

independent letter, but the combination ofjzo-phola used as a mere diacritical mark with e,order (most commonly) to represent the sound at th

beginning of a non-subcontinental word of IPA / /.

non-subcontinental words have been adopted intoBengali in which IPA / / occurs.

67 IPA / /. As a in English rAt. When treated as anon-traditional single grapheme, it is used intransliterating non-subcontinental words into Bengaorthography. Strictly speaking this is not an

independent letter, but the combination ofjzo-phola and 7a-kar (conjunct a) to form a merdiacritical mark used with e, in order to representthe sound at the beginning of a non-subcontinental

word of IPA / /.

aoi IPA / oj /. Approximately as oi in English cOIn. Theletter is simply called aoi in Bengali.

Note that a + o +i = aoi under thegrammatical rules concerning .Desondhi (joiningsounds).


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When sounded immediately after a consonant in thesame syllable, the letter in Bengali orthography iswritten as a conjunct immediately before thatconsonant (or any consonant-conjunct ending with

that consonant), and is known as -7aoi-kar(AOI-maker), There is only one form q ofaoi-k

ou IPA / o /. As o in Italian cellO, approximately as ouEnglish fOUr. The letter is simply called ou inBengali.

Note that o + 0u = ou under the grammaticarules concerning .Desondhi (joining of sounds).


written as a conjunct in two parts so as to enclosethat consonant (or any consonant-conjunct ending

with that consonant), and is known as -7ou-k(OU-maker). There is only one form T7ofou-ka

Silent ou: occurring only (but not necessarily)immediately before w.

aou IPA / ow /. As ow in English bOWler or ou in EnglishsOUl or oa in English rOAd. The letter is simplycalled aou in Bengali.

Note that a + o + 0u = aou under thegrammatical rules concerning .Desondhi (joiningsounds).


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When sounded immediately after a consonant in thesame syllable, the letter in Bengali orthography iswritten as a conjunct in two parts so as to enclosethat consonant (or any consonant-conjunct ending

with that consonant), and is known as-7aou-kar (AOU-maker). There is only one form Taou-kar.

Return to System Table

SYLLABICMODIFIERS


ngw IPA / /. As ng in English siNG, but never occurringbefore a vowel or diphthong. The letter is called;Jonusvor or ;J7onusvar (after-sound

post-sonorant) in Bengali.

For the purposes of implying an inherent o in theRomanisation, this is not a consonant (no

inherent o would be implied after a final;Jonusvor). The letter invariably is soundedimmediately after a vowel or diphthong in the samesyllable, to which onusvor in Bengali orthography itreated as a conjunct.

hw IPA / h /. As (when sounded) h in English aHoy. The

letter is sounded only at the end of a word. The lettnever occurs before, and invariably occurs after, a

vowel or diphthong. The letter is called D'.:

visorgo (aspirant: literally out-producing) inBengali.

For the purposes of implying an inherent o in theRomanisation, this is not a consonant (no

inherent o would be implied after a


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final D'.:visorgo).hw Silent, immediately before and doubling the

pronunciation of a consonant letter.

nw IPA / ~ /. Nasalisation of vowel or diphthong, as n in

French viN / v / (wine). The letter is called

sDcondrovindu (moon [and] dot) in Bengali.(Condrovindu did not exist in classical Sanskrit, in

which the Devanagari onusvar(which has theshape of Bengali condrovindu) would stand for bot

Bengali onusvor / onusvar andBengali condrovindu).

For the purposes of implying an inherent o in the

Romanisation, condrovindu is not a consonant (noinherent o would be implied after afinal condrovindu).


CONSONANTLETTERS: VELAR


k IPA / k /. As k in English Kid. The letter is simplycalled ko in Bengali.

q IPA / k /. As k in English Kid but representing an ori

sound of uvular / q / in Arabic word / Qadi(a judge).

kh IPA / k /. Approximately as kh in English sinKHoleckh in English duCKHouse. The letter is simply calle

kho in Bengali.


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g IPA / g /. As g in English Gas. The letter is simplycalled go in Bengali.

gh IPA / /. Approximately as gh in English doGHouse

The letter is simply called gho in Bengali.

W ng IPA / /. As ng in English fiNGer. The letter iscalled 0Wungo or 08umo in Bengali.


CONSONANTLETTERS: PALATAL


c IPA / t /. Approximately as c in Italian Cello or ch iEnglish beaCH. The letter is simply called co inBengali.

ch IPA / t /. Approximately as "tch h" in English "maHead" or "chh" in English beaCHHead. The letter i

simply called cho in Bengali.

j IPA / /. Approximately as gi in Italian adaGIo (aease) or j in English aJar. The letter is called 'U*vorgiiyo jo (generic J) in Bengali.

z IPA / z / (as z in English Zebra) or IPA / /

(approximately as gi in Italian adaGIo or j in EnglisaJar), but representing an original sound of, or closto, z in English Zebra or th in English THe.


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gj IPA / g /. As g in English Gap, occurring only and

invariably before Xnj: a juxtaposition which occursonly in the numerous words derived from the archai

verbal stemc7gjnjea (to know, to be aware of)

In standard and Tosk dialects of Albanian the

compound letter gj is pronounced as IPA / / (apalatalised g), not far from the sound of IPA / gj /

given to g in English leGume (IPA / ljum /): e.g.gjuh / uh / (language, [anatomical] tongue).Gheg dialects of Albanian, gj may be pronounced as

in Italian adaGIo - e.g. gjndje / dndje / (situatiocondition).

jh IPA / /. Approximately as dgeh in EnglishbriDGEHead. The letter is simply called jho inBengali.

X nj IPA / /. As the first consonant element in nh inPortuguese seNHor / snyr / (Mr, sir, lord) or in Castilian Spanish seor / snyr /(Mr, sir, lord): approximately as n in English

seNiority or in English steNch. The letter is called

njiiyo orWingo in Bengali.

In the versions of Serbo-Croat written in the Romanscript (Bosnian, Croatian and Montenegrin), thecompound letter nj is pronounced as IPA / / - e.g.

konj / k / (horse). Likewise in Albanian - e.g. nj


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/ (one, a, an).

nj Silent, immediately after and (other than at the sta

of a word) doubling the pronunciation ofgj.Return to System Table

CONSONANTLETTERS:

RETROFLEX


td IPA / /. As t in English Trick but retroflexed. The leis called 89$:;6muurdhonyo tdo (coronal TD) iBengali.

The Romanisation of this letter follows that for the

letter dt.

In Basque, a distinction is made between dental t,written as t, and palatal t, written as tt: e.g betweein the word tanta / tanta / (drop), for which the

Bengali transliteration would be !7


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In Irish Gaelic, dt is pronounced as a post-alveolar de.g. in the word dtr / di / (country), for which t

closest Bengali transliteration would be Ddtir.

In Basque, a distinction is made between dental d,written as d, and palatal d, written as dd: e.g betwed in the word idi / idi / (ox), for which the Bengali

transliteration would be

D#idi, and dd in the word

onddo / ono / (mushroom), for which an approxi

Bengali transliteration would be uonhdto.

rr The grapheme is called ,9;6dto shuunyo rBengali, and is grammatically a variant of the letter

muurdhonyo dto and not a separate letter: thecombination ofmuurdhonyo dto with a dot useda mere diacritical mark.

Here: IPA / r / (as r in English aRid or rr in English

huRRy). In earlier (and still in careful) pronunciatioretroflexed as IPA / /.

dth IPA / /. Approximately as dh in English maDHousbut retroflexed. The letter is called 89$:;6muurdhonyo dtho (coronal DTH) in Bengali.

The Romanisation of this letter follows that for the

letter dt.

rrh

The grapheme is called ,9;6dtho shuunyoin Bengali, and is grammatically a variant of the lettmuurdhonyo dtho and not a separate letter: thecombination ofmuurdhonyo dtho with a dot useas a mere diacritical mark.

Here: IPA / r / (as r in English aRid or rrh in EnglishcataRRH). In earlier (and still in careful) pronunciatretroflexed as IPA / /. Originally both retroflexed aaspirated as IPA / / (approximately as rh in EnglisbrotheRHood or rrh in English buRRHead).


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A nh IPA / /. As a retroflexed version of n in English bawhen next to the retroflex consonants td, tdh,dt, and (in theory) dth. This is the originalpronunciation. The letter is called 89$:;6Amuurdhonyo nho (coronal NH) in Bengali.

In careful pronunciation, the letter is always sounde

as retroflexed / /.

In central Welsh, nh at the start of a word ispronounced as an aspirated alveolar voiceless nasal(approximately like nh in English iNHerit): e.g. in tword nhad / nhd / ([my] father), for which the

nearest Bengali transliteration would be A7nhadtnh IPA / n /. As alveolar n in English Net - the usual

pronunciation in modern Bengali.


CONSONANTLETTERS: DENTAL


! t IPA / /. As the dentalised t in French mTier / me (profession) or Italian andanTe (ambling). The lis called #


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subsequento.Khonhdto to does not in Bengali orthography folloconsonant or precede a vowel, and it exists either a

the end of a word or before a consonant orconsonant-conjunct with which !t does not have acombining form.

" th IPA / /. Approximately as th in English hoTHead bdentalised, and similar to th in English THin. The let

is called #


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In practice, the difference between dentalised / /and alveolar / n / is so small that it may be ignored.


CONSONANTLETTERS: LABIAL


% p IPA / p /. As p in English raP. The letter is simplycalled %po in Bengali.

&ph IPA / p

/. Approximately as ph in English u

PHold. T

letter is simply called &pho in Bengali.

In ancient Greek, the letter Romanised as ph

originally had the pronunciation / p /. The letter &pho in Bengali words derived from Greek orGreek-based words consequently will be Romanisedph and not (see next) as f.

f IPA / f / (as f in English Fat) or IPA / p /(approximately as ph in English uPHold), butrepresenting an original sound in a word of

non-subcontinental origin of f in English Fat.

In personal names of non-subcontinental origin, the

pronunciation of&fas f in English Fat is the preferpronunciation. Otherwise, pronunciation as IPA / pusual.

' b IPA / b /. As b in English Bid. The letter is called 'or, sometimes, 'U*'(':6') vorgiiyo bo (vorbo) (generic B) in Bengali.


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b Silent. Exceptionally, 'b is silent (and doubles thepronunciation of the preceding m) in the word .dsombondho (relationship, connection; marriage

proposal) and in words made by the addition to .dsombondho of suffixes.

( bh IPA / b /. Approximately as bh in English aBHor. Thletter is simply called (bho in Bengali.

8 m IPA / m /. As m in English Market. The letter is simcalled 8mo in Bengali.

m Silent, immediately after and (other than at the staof a word) doubling the pronunciation of!t, #d,l, ,sh, -x or .s.

At the start of the suffix 87w/ 8!Eman- / motii(possessing), 8m is not silent even when the suffis added to a word ending in

!t, #d, ,sh, -x or .s. For example, 8m is fullpronounced in the word *J>7wayuxman- /ayux-man- (long-living) formed by adding

87wman- (possessing) to *Jxayux- (lifetimeReturn to System Table

CONSONANTLETTERS: FORMER


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AND ACTUALSEMI-VOWELS


) jz IPA / /. As gi in Italian adaGIo (at ease) or j inEnglish aJar, but more palatalised. The letter in this

form )is called


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after a consonant, other than r when r occurs nextafter a vowel. Jzo-phola is silent except next after:(i) h when h occurs next after a vowel and(ii) r when r occurs next after a consonant.

After some consonants in some fonts,jzo-phola isfused to the preceding consonant.

y Here: IPA / / (as e in English nEar). Jzo-phola isso pronounced next after r when r occurs next afterconsonant.

jz Here: IPA / /. As gi in Italian adaGIo (at ease)in English aJar, but more palatalised. Jzo-phola isso pronounced next after h when h occurs next aftevowel.

r IPA / r /. As r in English aRid. The letter is called


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Bengali.

When occurring immediately after another consonathe letter in Bengali orthography can be written as

conjunct l or +-&+7lo-phola (L-producer),immediately below that other consonant.

' v IPA / b /. As b in English Bit. The letter is called 'ontohwstho vo in Bengali. Representing an origiletter v in Sanskrit (IPA / /, pronounced midwabetween v in English aVoid and w in English aWakean original sound in other languages of v in English

Victory or w in English Win. In modern Bengali, 'ontohwstho vo has disappeared into 'U*'vorgiiyo bo (b).

When occurring immediately after


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occurs only in those few words that derive from the

archaic verbal stem Tbhve (to summon).v Silent. The letter in Bengali orthography is not silen

when it occurs immediately after a prefix or prefixeword ending in a consonant (without an inherent

subsequent o), after any


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sh IPA / /. As sh in English waSH - the usualpronunciation in modern Bengali.

- x IPA / /. As sh in English harSHer but retroflexed,next to the retroflex consonants td, tdh, dt, andth. This is the original pronunciation. The letter icalled 89$:;6-muurdhonyo xo (coronal X) in Bengal

x IPA / k /. Approximately as kh in English sinKHole.Occurring only and invariably immediately after kthe conjunct |kx.

In ancient Greek, the letter Romanised as khoriginally had the pronunciation / k /.

x IPA / /. As sh in English caSH - the usualpronunciation in modern Bengali.

In medieval precursors to Iberian Romance languagthe letter x generally had the pronunciation / /. Thletter in Portuguese most commonly still has thepronunciation / / - e.g. in caixa / kj / (box,

cashier). Likewise in Catalan - e.g. in xarop / ro(syrup) - and in Galician (Gallego) - e.g. in viaxe /bje / (journey).

The non-Indo-European Basque language employs tpronunciation / / for the letter x - e.g. in xuri / ur(white). The Semitic Maltese language also assignthe pronunciation / / to the letter x - e.g. in xemx

/ mt / (sunstroke).

. s IPA / s /. As s in English Star: (i) when next beforeof the dental consonants !t, "th, #d, $dh, and ;n

(ii) when next before rwi or 82 mrwi [8m is silentimmediately after .s] or r or +l; (iii) whenrepresenting an original / s / in a word taken fromEnglish; or (iv) when occurring at the start of a wor


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