Pronunciation of Bangla Words
Pronunciation Obstacles for New Learners
English Letters that are Pronounced Differently
Native English speakers pronounce the English letters 'p', 't', 'k' and 'c' with aspiration. You can notice your own pronunciation by holding a sheet of paper horizontally in front of your mouth as you say "Can you Please Keep Talking?" Aspiration means a puff of air escapes from your mouth as you say each of these letters.Speakers of Indian languages do not aspirate letters 'p', 't', 'k' and 'c'. This is sometimes called speaking English with an "Indian Accent".
Native English speakers will have to relearn the pronunciation of these letters when it comes to pronouncing Bangla letters. Specifically, there are Bangla letters corresponding to
- English Letter p corresponds to Bangla Letter প named Consonant po
- English Letter t corresponds to Bangla Letter ট named Consonant To
- English Letter k,c corresponds to Bangla Letter ক named Consonant ko
Speakers of other Sanskrit-Based Languages
All Sanskrit-based languages have an inherent vowel. In Hindi, for example, the first Vowel अ (a) has a "short a" sound, so all Hindi consonants will be pronounced with an "a" sound at the end, like the first Consonant क (k) will sound like "ka". This should be noted by Hindi speakers who want to pronounce Bangla words authentically. When you pronounce Bangla words, you need to pronounce the inherent vowel in the Bangla way - o as in onVowels অ (o) and ও (O)
Vowel অ Vowel ও/ো অ/
o
on
ও/ো
O
most
Although both অ and ও are represented by the Phonetic English o and O, the pronunciation of - অ o is as in "on"
- ও O is as in "most"
Pronouncing 10 sets of Unaspirated and Aspirated Consonants
Unaspirated Aspirated Unaspirated Aspirated ক
k
skin
খ
kh
khaki
গ
g
go
ঘ
gh
ghetto
Unaspirated Aspirated Unaspirated Aspirated চ
ch
cheat
ছ
chh
watch
জ
j
jingle
ঝ
jh
jhansi
Unaspirated Aspirated Unaspirated Aspirated ট
T
token
ঠ
Th
whittle
ড
D
dive
ঢ
Dh
adhere
Unaspirated Aspirated Unaspirated Aspirated ত
t
Wyeth
থ
th
think
দ
d
hindu
ধ
dh
sadhu
Unaspirated Aspirated Unaspirated Aspirated প
p
pauper
ফ
ph,f
cipher
ব
b,w
boy
ভ
bh,v
abhorrent
Non-native speakers will need some practice to attain proficiency in differentiating between, and pronouncing, the Unaspirated and Aspirated consonants. The sound of aspiration can be simulated by adding a short "h" sound to the letter. This will cause a puff of air at the end of the letter. Each of the first 5 sets of consonants has 2 sets of Unaspirated/Aspirated consonants.
- Gutturals - The ko line
- "k" = 'ক' and "kh" = 'খ'
- "g" = 'গ' and "gh" = 'ঘ'
- Palatals - The cho line
- "ch"= 'চ' and "chh" = 'ছ'
- "j" = 'জ' and "jh" = 'ঝ'
- Celebrals - The To line
- "T" = 'ট' and "Th" = 'ঠ'
- "D" = 'ড' and "Dh" = 'ঢ'
- Dentals - The to line
- "t" = 'ত' and "th" = 'থ'
- "d" = 'দ' and "dh" = 'ধ'
- Labials - The po line
- "p" = 'প' and "ph" = 'ফ'
- "b" = 'ব' and "bh" = 'ভ'
- Gutturals - The ko line
Pronouncing the 5 Nasal Consonants
'ঙ' 'ঞ' 'ণ' 'ন' 'ম' ঙ
Ng
king
ঞ
NG
gnome
ণ
N
noise
ন
n
no
ম
m
mother
These Nasal sounds follow the 2 sets of Unaspirated and Aspirated Consonants shown above. They are: - "Ng" = 'ঙ'
- "NG" = 'ঞ'
- "N" = 'ণ'
- "n" = 'ন'
- "m" = 'ম'
Four Sets of Similar Sounding Letters
'জ' 'য' 'ন' 'ণ' 'ই/ি' 'ঈ/ী' 'উ/ু' 'ঊ/ূ' জ
j
jingle
য
J,Y
joy
ন
n
no
ণ
N
noise
ই/ি
i
hit
ঈ/ী
I
skiing
উ/ু
u
put
ঊ/ূ
U
vacuum
The lower-case English letter is assigned to the more common Bangla letter, and the upper-case English letter is assigned to the other. For example, - "J" = 'য' and "j" = 'জ'
- "N" = 'ণ' and "n" = 'ন'
- "I" = 'ঈ/ী' and "i" = 'ই/ি'
- "U" = 'ঊ/ূ' and "u" = 'উ/ু'
The 3 "s" sounds
'স' 'শ' 'ষ' স
s
wish
শ
sh
show
ষ
Sh
cash
The most common s sound is "s" assigned to 'স'. In Sanskrit, the sound of 'শ' has a "sh" sound and this is assigned to it. Finally, the sound of the letter 'ষ' is a deep "s" sound most often heard in the name of the Hindu diety Krishna, so 'ষ'is assigned the Phonetic "Sh". Although the three "s" sounds are similarly pronounced in contemporary Bangla, the three forms are retained in the alphabet for writing and spelling to be consistent with the pronunciation in the Sankrit root words. The 3 "r" sounds
'র' 'ড়' 'ঢ়' র
r
right
ড়
R
rhythm
ঢ়
Rh
arrhythmia
The most common r sound is "r" assigned to 'র' called boye-sunno ro as it looks like a dot added to 'ব'. The next most common form of "ro" is "R" assigned to 'ড়' called doye-sunno ro as it looks like a dot added to 'ড'. Finally, the hard "ro" sound is "Rh" and assigned to 'ঢ়' and is called dhoye-sunno ro as it is a dot added to 'ঢ'. Although the three "r" sounds are similarly pronounced in contemporary Bangla, the three forms are retained in the alphabet for writing and spelling to be consistent with the pronunciation in the Sankrit root words. The 3 "ng" sounds
'ং' 'ঙ' 'ঞ' ং
ng
Bengali
ঙ
Ng
king
ঞ
NG
gnome
The most common of these is the Consonant Sign Onuswar 'ং' and is assigned "ng". This letter is used in the name of the language Bangla বাংলা(bangla). Since Consonant signs cannot any sound changing vowel signs attached, there has to be a different rendering to refer to people from Bengal who are called Bangali. The letter 'ঙ' is assigned "Ng" and this can have the "a" sound attached making Bangali বাঙালি (baNgali). Finally, the 'ঞ' is assigned "NG", this letter being seen mainly in words with compound consonants like বিজ্ঞ(bijNGo)=>learned and পঞ্চম(poNGchom)=>fifth. The Other 3 Consonant Signs
'ৎ' 'ঃ' 'ঁ' ৎ
t^
nitwit
ঃ
H^
poof
ঁ
n^
sand
The Consonant Sign Khondo-to 'ৎ' is a truncated "to" sound and is assigned "t^". It is used in words like সৎ(sot^)=>honest. The Consonant Sign Bishorgo 'ঃ' is assigned "H^" as it sound like an abrupt "h" like দুঃখ(duH^kho)=>sorrow. The Consonant Sign Chondro-Bindu 'ঁ' is assigned "n^" as it is an "n" sound that is attached to the previous consonant as in আঁকা(an^ka)=>draw.
The Complete Phonetic Scheme
The Phonetic Scheme was designed so that each Bangla Letter is represented as closely as possible with 1 to 3 English letters. Capital and lower-case English letters are used.In some of the older Phonetic Transliteration Tables, "c" was used to represent the 'চ' ('ch') sound as in "Ciao" in Italian and "ch" was used to represent the aspirated 'ছ' ('chh') sound. As there is no word in English (except for some Proper Names) where "c" is pronounced as 'চ' ('ch'), I have decided to let "ch" represent the Bangla 'চ' ('ch') sound and "chh" represent the Bangla 'ছ' ('chh') sound in the Phonetic scheme thoughout this website.
The complete Phonetic Table is shown below.
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You can also look at the Phonetic Table, sorted by the English Letter assignments.
You will notice that some sounds in English do not appear in Bangla. Specifically, in the Phonetic scheme used here, the letters 'c', 'f', 'q', 'x', 'z' do not have a sound corresponding to any letter in contemporary spoken Bangla. |