The Prātiśākhya and modern phonetics

Authors

  • Ma. Elena Sierra Reguera Universitat de Barcelona

Keywords:

Prātiśākhya, sthāna, sūtra, breathy voice, Vedic tones

Abstract

This paper explains the importance of some recent linguistic studies for a full understanding of the phonetic descriptions provided in the ancient Sanskrit treatises known as Prātiśākhya. Many of the recent results of several phonetic experimental studies do not differ much from the conclusions and descriptions we find in these works, which corroborate the accuracy of the ancient Indian grammarians. This fact has generated a new attitude towards the analysis and commentary of these treatises, requiring a review of the first western translations of the Prātiśākhya, whose rules were not always properly understood. The main issues addressed in this study are the following: the classification of the plosive consonants according to their place and manner of articulation, the description of the voiceless, voiced and aspirated phonation, as well as the description of Vedic tones, and the classification of the six fricatives in Sanskrit. Finally, it is emphasized that some of the rules discussed here can be applied to Sanskrit as well as to many languages derived from it, such as Bengali, Hindi and Gujarati.

References

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SIERRA REGUERA, M. E. (2008): Traducción y comentario del tratado de fonética del Kṛṣṇa-Yajur Veda: Taittirīya Prātiśākhya, Barcelona.

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Published

2011-05-23

How to Cite

Sierra Reguera, M. E. (2011). The Prātiśākhya and modern phonetics. Journal of Experimental Phonetics, 20, 259–271. Retrieved from https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/experimentalphonetics/article/view/44325

Issue

Vol. 20 (2011)

Section

Miscellaneous

License

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