Thread by @Sampadananda

Welcome to the 8th session of learning Sanskrit through twitter chats. This session focuses on the fricatives or sibilants of the Sanskrit Alphabet. 8/1

#LearnSamskritam

श śa, ष ṣa, स sa, and ह ha are the four sibilants or fricatives in Sanskrit Alphabet. In Sanskrit these four sounds are called उष्मवर्ण uṣmavarṇa or sounds producing heat. They reflect their connection with the sounds of the breath. 8/2

In the grammatical tradition, these four are also called as अर्धस्पृष्ट ardhaspṛṣṭa or half-touched, and ईषद्विवृत īṣadvivṛta or slightly open. In the articulation of these sounds the contact between the articulatory organs is neither mild nor concrete but half. 8/3

The first three sounds in this group are more of the nature of hissing where friction is maximum. Also the first three are hard consonants and the sound ह ha in this group is soft. But all the four sounds are fricatives. 8/4

The first sound श śa belongs to the palatal group where from the second or च ca group of sounds are articulated. This is produced by holding the upper-middle part of the tongue lightly against hard palate, leaving a narrow passage for the air to squeeze through with friction. 8/5

To articulate the sound श śa like taking the tongue to articulate the sound छ cha and hissing from that point. Try saying शिव शिव शङ्कर शिव शम्भो śiva śiva śaṅkara śiva śambho to practice the pronunciation of the sound श śa. 8/6

The second sound ष ṣa belongs to the cerebral group where from the third or the ट ṭa group of sounds are produced. This is produced by holding the tip of the tongue lightly against the front roof, leaving a narrow passage for the air to squeeze through with friction. 8/7

To articulate the sound ष ṣa is like taking the tongue to articulate the sound ठ ṭha and hissing from that point. Try saying षट् षष्टि षडष्टक ṣaṭ ṣaṣṭi ṣaḍaṣṭaka to practice the pronunciation of ष ṣa. 8/8

The third sound स sa belongs to the dental group where from the the fourth or त ta group of sounds are produced. This is produced by holding the front of tongue lightly against the back of upper teeth leaving a narrow passage for the air to squeeze through with friction. 8/9

This is like taking the tongue to articulate tha and hissing from that point. Try saying सरससंस्कृतम् sarasasaṁskṛtam or संसारसागरसारम् saṁsārasāgarasāram to practice the pronunciation of स sa. 8/10

The last sound ह ha belongs to the guttural group. This is produced by creating glottal friction in the throat. This is the pure aspirate sound in Sanskrit with maximum breath release. 8/11

The Sanskrit word for the personal pronoun ‘अहम् aham’ is formed by combining the first letter ‘अ a’ with the last letter ‘ह ha’ (ādirantyena saṁyogād ahamityeva jāyate). The word ‘अहम् aham’ meaning ‘I’ is an abbreviation representing all the sounds in Sanskrit Alphabet. 8/12