Question 10 - THE PRONUNCIATION OF SANSKRIT / PREFIXES, RADICALS AND SUFFIXES Flashcards
1 – What is Sanskrit?
It is a dead language, a classical language of ancient India that influenced practically all of the Western languages.
2 – Provide some examples of Sanskrit influences over Western languages:
Tri from the Sanskrit resulted in tri in Greek, tri in Latin, three in English; nama resulted in name in English, nome in Portuguese; ma, gave mãe, mama, maman in several languages; matrika, resulted in mater, matriz (matrix), matriarcal (matriarchal); chai, originated chá in Portuguese; janu, genou in French; pada, pata (paw); virya, gave origin to the term viril (virile); etc..
3 – In what alphabet is Sanskrit written? And what does it mean?
The original Sanskrit alphabet is the dêvanágarí, “the writing of the gods”.
4 – Shouldn’t the technical terms in Sanskrit be translated?
The technical terms of judo, in Japanese, are not translated; nor the musical ones from Italian; nor the ballet ones from French; nor the kung-fu ones from Chinese. Has anyone thought of translating wind surf, savoir faire, ômbudsman, habeas corpus or allegro ma non troppo? Therefore, regarding Yôga terms such questioning is inadmissible.
5 – Why is it important for a student to know the terms in Sanskrit?
Many Sanskrit terms do not have an exact modern language translation. For example, the term samádhi is not translated.
6 – What is transliteration?
Transliteration consists in writing the words in another alphabet, signalising it in such a way that, from the latter, it is possible to revert the transliteration and correctly write the word back again in the original alphabet.
7 - Is there only one system of transliteration or several?
There are several, and each language usually prefers its own system. As a result, translated books on Yôga may contribute towards confusion surrounding the subject.
8 – Is the academic transliteration from Portuguese correct? Should it be adopted?
No. The academic system adopted in Brazil, approved at the tenth Oriental Congress of Geneve in 1984, leads the reader into errors of pronunciation, such as the case of the ç used to represent a sound that does not correspond to that letter. For instance, in the word Shiva the hissing sound of the first phoneme becomes unrecognisable with the graph “Çiva”, as proposed by the academic transliteration.
9 – Are all transliterations that originate from India correct?
Not always. Some Indian authors are not concerned with the correct transliteration from Sanskrit to “English”. However, those who are, usually produce editions more reliable than the books published in the West.
10 – Where can a good transliteration and translation be found?
These are listed in the glossary of the Tratado de Yôga (Treatise of Yôga). For broader and more detailed information, use the Sanskrit-English Dictionary, by Monier-Williams.
