NO. 6 PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF INDIAN LANGUAGES 



Labialized and palatalized palatals and velars may be indicated 

 respectively by adding y and w to the consonantal characters. Thus 

 gy represents palatalized g, ky' glottalized palatalized k, and qw 

 labialized velar k. 



2. Nasals. — Sounds having closures at the same points and involv- 

 ing the same mouth parts may be uttered with the passage through 

 the nose unimpeded. They may be continuously sounded through the 

 nose or only released through the nose by a lowering of the velum. 

 The following characters will ordinarily be found to be adequate : 

 bilabial, m; dental, n; palatal, n; velar, ij. 



3. Spirants. — Consonants of another sort derive their chief dis- 

 tinctive qualities from the agitation of the mouth parts which by their 

 approximation at certain points form definite strictures in the mouth 

 passage. They are called spirants or fricatives. They fall generally 

 into the same classes and series obtaining for stop consonants. When 

 considered as to the organs involved in their production they are 

 bilabial, labio-dentals (lower lip against the upper teeth), interdentals 

 (tip of the tongue on the points of the upper teeth), dental sibilants 

 (the tip of the tongue just back of the upper teeth), palatal sibilants 

 (the fore part of the tongue with its tip turned down approaching the 

 fore part of the palate), palatals (the back of the tongue approaching 

 the palate), velar (the back of the tongue approaching the velum). 



These spirant sounds may be and usually are both surd and sonant 

 for each position. Less frequently they are glottally affected. The 

 following characters are recommended : 



4. Affricatives. — A series of sounds closely related to the spirants 

 are generally called affricatives. Initially they are like stops, except 



^ Both forms are not likely to occur in the same language and z' and / may 

 be used for either. Proper definition should be given. 



