Chapter 11 Sandhi

Question 1

What are the three general principles of external sandhi

Answer 1

1. The last sound of a word changes, depending on the first sound of the next word.
2. A consonant at the end of a word becomes more similar to the first sound of the next word.
3. A vowel at the end of a word interacts (and usually merges) with a following vowel. (It remains the same when a consonant follows.)

Question 2

If two words meet, and the second word begins with a voiced sound, what happens to a stop at the end the first word?

Answer 2

The stop becomes voiced.

Question 3

If two words meet and the second word begins with a nasal, what happens to a stop at the end of the first word?

Answer 3

The stop turns into the corresponding nasal. (a palatal stop such as ca or ja becomes palatal n which is ñ)

Question 4

What does the term sandhi/sam.dhi literally mean?

Answer 4

“together-putting” or “combination”

Question 5

Think of an example of what English might look like if english put sandhi into writing the way sanskrit does?

Answer 5

inbetween becomes imbetween

Don’t you becomes dontchou

Question 6

What sorts of consonants can stand at the end of a Sanskrit word or said another way: what qualities can consonants not have at the end of a word?

Answer 6

They cannot be voiced, aspirated, or any kind of palatal.

limiting them in number to only seven and eliminating all the -th sounds and no g, j, d., d, b, or ñ

retroflex n. also does not appear in the seven

Question 7

When word final -n is preceded by a short vowel and the next word begins with a vowel, then what happens

in other words -a- + n + any vowel

Answer 7

The n doubles: smayan iva -> smayann iva

Question 8

If there is word final -n that is followed by any intial voiceless sound that is formed using the tongue such as c-/ch- or t.-/t.h,

then what happens?

Answer 8

One of the three -s- sounds is inserted depending on which initial voiceless sound follows

Question 9

word final -n that is followed by inital c-/ch in the following word means what sandhi is applied?

Answer 9

palatal ś is added to between these two sandhi sounds and the word final -n of the first word becomes -m. (anusvara)

For example: narān ca —> narām.śca —> “the men and”

or

kasmin cit —> kasmim.ścit

Question 10

When word final -n is followed by intial voiceless retroflex t./t.h of the following word what sandhi is applied?

word final -n + initial t./th. —> …?

Answer 10

retroflex s.- is inserted between the two sandhi sounds and the word final -n of the first word becomes -m. (anusvara)

(Must be rare i couldn’t find a word beinning in retroflex
t.)

For example: narān t.at.-> narām.s.t.at.-> “the men ….. ”

Question 11

When word final -n is followed by intial voiceless t/th of the following word what is the sandhi that is applied?

Answer 11

dental s- is inserted between the sandhi sounds and the word final -n of the first word becomes -m. (anusvara)

For example: narān tatra -> narām.statra -> “the men then”

Question 12

What final sounds can appear at the end of sanskrit words

Answer 12

Only unvoiced and unaspirated sounds that are velar, dental, labial or nasal stops

k t. t p (velar)ń n m

in sandhi this means with the final -a sound of the syllable. these are all virāma marked sounds as a consonant at the end of a word

Question 13

initial sound -h as in sanskrit “hi” affects the sandhi in what way when it is paired with a word final consonant in the preceding word?

Answer 13

initial sound -h in the second of a word pair causes sandhi to affect both the first and second word.

agacchat hi —> agacchad dhi

also word final t. —> d.(d.h) and word final p —> b(bh)

Question 14

in the combination of word final -n with a following word initial -ś then how is the sandhi affected?

Answer 14

the word final -n —> ñ

and the following word initial -ś has two options

either remains as -ś —> ś

or -ś —> ch

Question 15

when the word final -n is paired with word initial -L the -n gets what sandhi applied to it.

Answer 15

the word final -n —> Ł.

it is the upward facing half circle with a dot inside it above the L

this marks a nasalized consonant … making the -Lsound into a nasalized -L thta sounds like -L as if it were anusvāra m.

Question 16

anunāsika

Answer 16

the nasalised -L that is created by sandhi applied to word final -n combined with next word initial -L

It is mareked by the upwards half circle bowl with a dot inside it. It makes a sound of -L as if it were anusvāra m.