Here are examples on how to pronounce the modified alphabets. This is based on IAST. Each alphabet corresponds to the boldfaced and underlined letters in the sample word.
Vowels:
a | ā | i | ī | u | ū | ṛ |
amuse | car | sit | beet | put | toot | writ |
ḷ | e | ai | o | au | aṃ | aḥ |
baklava | way | pie | mode | vow | dumb | aha |
Consonants, Semi-vowels and Symbols:
k | kh | g | gh | ṅ |
cup | buck | gum | gherkin | sing |
c | ch | j | jh | ñ |
chap | beachhead | jug | hedgehog | canyon |
ṭ | ṭh | ḍ | ḍh | ṇ |
tuck | battalion | dun | adhere | annals |
t | th | d | dh | n |
myth | bathe | thus | dharma | nut |
p | ph | b | bh | m |
pun | uphold | bud | abhor | mud |
kṣ | jñ | śr | ḻ | ō |
action | jnanam | srimati | black |
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There are some other special cases not covered here. These are mentioned in the remarks of the relevant kritis. (Eg)In a Sanskrit kriti, o is always a long o as in g
oal. In a Telugu or Tamil kriti, a long o is indicated by ō, but just an o indicates only a short vowel sound as in p
ort. That is, Sanskrit kritis are in IAST. Other kritis are in ISO 15919. Parts of this guide are revised and adapted from RK Math and MB publications.