Pronunciation of Anusvar अनुस्वार

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Exaplanation for “अनुस्वार”  (anusvAr) :-

In table for vowels there is row :-
अं
aM
As sound of "um" in number, sound of "um" as in jum

This will need more attention to understand its pronunciation.
The dot given on the character is called “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr)

The anusvaar (अनुस्वार ) is a nasal sound. The अनुस्वार  itself does not determine the pronunciation of a word. Rather, it is the character that follows the  अनुस्वारthat determines the pronunciation. There are seven possibilities that affect the pronunciation of an अनुस्वार.

So though we will use capital ‘M’ to indicate अनुस्वार, you may need to pronounce it differently depending on case.

Listen the rules for pronunciation of anusvaar (अनुस्वार ) at
or


Rule 1) If the nasal dot is followed by the क (k) , ख (kh) , ग (g) , घ (gh) the nasal dot will be pronounced as ङ ( G)
e.g. ‘n’ in “sing” 

Examples :-

English word
Synonym in Marathi
Transliteration in roman scipt.  “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr) marked as ‘M’
Simpler transliteration to explain  pronunciation of “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr)
Digit
अंक  
aMk
ank
Fan
पंखा
paMkhA
pankhA
Comb
कंगवा
kaMgava
kangava
Bath
आंघोळ
AMghoL
Anghol


Rule 2) If the nasal dot is followed by characters च (ch) , छ (Ch), ज (j) , झ (jh) the dot is pronounced as ञ (nY)
e.g ‘n’ in English word “munch”

English word
Synonym in Marathi
Transliteration in roman scipt.  “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr) marked as ‘M’
Simpler transliteration to explain  pronunciation of “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr)
Set
संच
saMch
sanch

कंछ
kaMCh
kanCh
Thread for kite
मांजा

mAMjA
mAnjA

सांझ
sAMjh
sanjh


Rule 3) If the nasal dot is followed by characters ट (T), ठ (Th), ड (D) ढ (Dh) ण ( N)  the dot is pronounced as ण ( N)

English word
Synonym in Marathi
Transliteration in roman scipt.  “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr) marked as ‘M’
Simpler transliteration to explain  pronunciation of “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr)
Bore
कंटाळा
kaMTALA
kaNtala
Dry ginger
सुंठ
suMTh
suNTh
pot
भांडे
bhAMDe
bhANDe
Eunuch
षंढ
ShaMDh
ShaNDh

Rule 4) If the nasal dot is followed by characters  (t) n   (th )  (d)  (dh)  (n)
the dot is pronounced as  (n)
English word
Synonym in Marathi
Transliteration in roman scipt.  “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr) marked as ‘M’
Simpler transliteration to explain  pronunciation of “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr)
saint
संत
saMt
sant
gradual
संथ
saMth
santh
close
बंद
baMd
band
joint
सांधा
sAMdhA
sAndhA
To them 
त्यांना
tyAMnA
tyAnnA

Rule 5) If the nasal dot is followed by characters प (p),फ (ph ),ब (b ),भ (bh ),म (m)
the dot is pronounced as म (m)

English word
Synonym in Marathi
Transliteration in roman scipt.  “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr) marked as ‘M’
Simpler transliteration to explain  pronunciation of “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr)
pump
पंप
paMp
pamp

अंफ
aMph
amph
mango
आंबा
AMbA
AmbA
start
आरंभ
AraMbh
Arambh
Approval
संमती
saMmatI
sammatI


Rule 6) If the nasal dot is followed by characters  (y) (r) (l) (v) (sh) (Sh) (s) (h) (L) क्ष(kSh) ज्ञ (dny) the dot is pronounced as   अं (aM)
English word
Synonym in Marathi
Transliteration in roman scipt.  “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr) marked as ‘M’
Simpler transliteration to explain  pronunciation of “अनुस्वार” (anusvAr)
Part  
अंश
aMsh
amsh
Bracket
कंस
kaMs
kans
Term
संज्ञा
saMdnyA
saMdnyA
patience
संयम
saMyam
sanyam
Dialogue  
संवाद
saMvAd
samvAd

 Rule 7) If the nasal dot is followed by the space character the dot is pronounced as half म i.e. म्‌
 Example: एवं = एवम्‌ (evam)

Rule 8) Use of अनुस्वार to indicate change in pronunciation in colloquial language.

In day-to-day communication, words ending with vowel (e) are said in little differently.  Instead of pronouncing (e), the consonant is pronounced elongated.
And this change is pronunciation is indicated by अनुस्वार; though there is no nasal sound.

e.g. “Trees” is English is झाडे (jhADe) in Marathi. But in day-to-day communication it can be said as  झाडं (jhADM). Where ending (d) is pronounce elongated.
Similarly “Leaves” in English is पाने(pAne). It can also be said as  पानं (pAnM).

It may sound contrary to rule 7 discussed above.  But note that, rule 7 is present in Marathi because of influence of Sanskrit language. There is hardly any Marathi word having अनुस्वार (anusvaar) on ending vowel. 
So unless you know that you are quoting something from Sanskrit,you need not apply rule 7. Apply rule 8 i.e. say the ending vowel elongated.

Rule 8 is also applicable when pair of word is present.
e.g.  words कसे(kase) and तरी (tarI) are used together to make combined word कसेतरी (kasetarI) . Now कसे(kase) can be said as कसं (kasa). So combined word can also be said as कसंतरी (kasaMtarI)
So you will NOT apply rule 4 to say it कसन्तरी (kasantarI)

Similarly झाडेबिडे(jhADebiDe) can be pronounced as झाडंबिडं  (jhADMbiDM ).
So you will NOT apply rule 3 & 7 to say it झाडम्बिडम्‌ (jhADambiDam)

So you should know if it is a combined word or a single word to pronounce it correctly.

Rule of thumb is,
if word ends with  तर (tar), तरी (tarI), ही (hI) then it is a combined word. e.g. कसंतरी (kasaMtarI ) कुठंही (kuThMhI )खरंतर (kharaMtar)
If word is pair of two rhyming words then it is combined word.
झाडं-बिडं (jhADMbiDM),हलकं-फुलकं (halakaMphulakaM), साधं-बिधं (sAdhaMbidhaM)
If word is pair of opposite words then it is combined word
खरं-खोटं(kharaM-khoTM, भलं-बुरं(kharaM-khoTM, bhalM-buraM)

Listen Rule number 8 at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6Ee9D2_d6s


Rule 9) अनुस्वार  in सामान्यरूप form of plural of noun. 
In Marathi, form of noun changes before adding any preposition to it. This concept is thoroughly discussed in lesson
http://kaushiklele-learnmarathi.blogspot.com/2012/05/working-with-nouns-prepositions.html

In सामान्यरूप form of plural of noun whenever there is अनुस्वार at end it is  pronounced as light half "न(n)" irrespective of following consonant.
e.g

Word :- संप(saMp)
सामान्यरूप form of plural of word :- संपां(saMpAM)
Full word examples संपांपासून (saMpAMpAsUn ).
This word is actually pronounced as सम्पान्पासून (sampAnpaasUn)
So here first anusvar (in सं) is pronounced as half "म"(m) because next consonant is "प(p)" as in Rule 5. 
But second anusvar (in पां )is pronounced as half "न(n)" even if next consonant is again "प(p)" as in Rule 9.

Word :- माठ(mATh
सामान्यरूप form of plural of word :- माठां(mAThAM)
So words like माठांकरिता(mAThAMkaritA), माठांपासून(mAThAMpAsUn)
are actually pronounced as माठान्करिता (mAThAnkaritA), माठान्पासून (mAThAnpAsUn)

Other example;

word :- पान(pAn) 
सामान्यरूप form of plural of word :- पानां(pAnAM)
So words like पानांकरिता (pAnAMkaritA ), पानांपासून(pAnAMpAsUn)
are pronounced as पानान्करिता  (pAnAnkaritA ), पानान्पासून(pAnAnpAsUn)

Listen Rule 9 at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-6IGs3yHLQ


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Note :-  Right hand side of the blog shows "Blog Archive". Expand it fully to see whole list of posts to Learn Marathi. Learn Marathi grammar and many aspects Marathi language online.
***************************************************************

Comments

  1. kaNtala equates to 'bore' as in 'I am bored today'. Boar equates to dukkar, innit?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. Fixed spelling mistake.
      I would like to know more of your feedback and more about your Marathi leaning. Can you please mail me at learnmarathifast@gmail.com.

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Thanks. Are you learning Marathi using my blog ?
      I would like to know more of your feedback and more about your Marathi leaning. Can you please mail me at learnmarathifast@gmail.com.

      Delete
  3. Very useful. I was having a long time confusion with the usage of 'Anusvara' in Marathi. Thank you for an elaborate explanation via Rule 8 and 9. The accompanying video clips were also very helpful. Thank you once again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Russel, You are welcome !! I am happy that you found it useful.

      I would like to discuss more about your Marathi learning and your feedback.Can you please mail me at learnmarathifast@gmail.com ?

      Delete
  4. Hi Kaushik,
    I am very thankful to you for the great effort. I am just starting to learn Marathi and after this lesson I begin to wonder do I need to learn so many technical details in the beginning. I find everything very interesting but since I do not know any words of Marathi I can't apply any of it. And there is no much more space for pure technical details in my head :) I would like to learn some simple words and sentences from everyday life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,
      Thanks for your appreciation.

      I can understand that it is overwhelming for a beginner to see so many rules.

      But blog also has many lessons related to simple words and daily sentences. But please refer the list of lessons so you can find required topics.
      http://kaushiklele-learnmarathi.blogspot.in/2015/04/list-of-all-lessons-contents-index.html

      May I know your name please ?
      I would like to discuss more about your Marathi learning and your feedback. Can you please mail me at learnmarathifast@gmail.com ?

      Thanks,
      Kaushik

      Delete
  5. The audios are really helpful for a learner. Anuswar usage is like that of Sanskrit and certain pronounciations that are different from Hindi are similar to Gujarati. I know Hindi snd Gujarati both so easy to understand. Studied basic level Sanskrit at school so can understand the Anuswar pronounciations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for comment. I am happy to know that you liked it.
      Are you learning Marathi using my blog?


      Thanks,
      Kaushik

      Delete
    2. Yes I'm learning Marathi from your blog. In Hindi we have tu, tum and aap, in Gujarati tu and tame. What is used for aap in Marathi?

      Delete
    3. Refer
      http://kaushiklele-learnmarathi.blogspot.in/2012/05/using-plurals-to-indicate-respect.html
      And
      http://learn-marathi-from-hindi-kaushiklele.blogspot.in/2013/03/saying-tum-aap-in-marathi.html

      Delete
    4. May I know your name please ?
      I would like to discuss more about your Marathi learning and your feedback. Can you please mail me at learnmarathifast@gmail.com ?

      Thanks,
      Kaushik

      Delete
  6. Kupach changla blog ahe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. May I know your name please ? Are you a Marathi person or learning Marathi using my blog ?
      - Kaushik

      Delete
  7. Can you please provide few examples of how to pronounce satyam dyanmanantam (Govindashtakam).. Here, letter dya comes after anuswar. Does rule 7 apples here?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. Rule 7. Half म.
      There are videos of online recitation of this stotra.

      Delete

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