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Telugu, and great care should be taken never to pronounce these vowels thus, when speaking Telugu.

5. There are also the semi-vowels ww ru and 2 rú and

lu, which are not in common use.

6. There are also the two diphthongs

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The former is generally written ex ai, and the latter avu, the v, in this case, not being pronounced.

(2.) (a) CONSONANTS.

7. The greater number of the consonants require the medial vowel mark, as they cannot be pronounced without the vowel sound; and, therefore, it is proposed to give them, in the first instance, with the medial sign and the sound of the first vowel, a. The mode of connecting the other vowels will then be explained.

8. ea in its medial form takes the simple shape of a curved line, either attached to the top of the letter or placed closed to it without touching it.

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There are also the signs o, which is pronounced m or n according to the letter that succeeds it, and ah, the final aspirate with which some syllables and words are closed.

9. It will be observed that some of the above consonants have no vowel mark at all, and that the six consonants ≈ gha, ≈ pa, ≈ pha, sha, sa, and ≈ ha have the vowel mark written unattached. In fact, the only difference between and 3 pa and va, and between 3 and 3 sa and na, is in the connection or disconnection of the vowel mark from the body of the letter.

10. The following table of the consonants arranged in order according to their mode of pronunciation, is given, not only for the convenience of those who are acquainted with Sanskrit, but also to show at a glance the consonants which, as will be described hereafter, are mutually interchangeable.

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11. Few of the consonants require any remarks, as most of them are pronounced exactly like their English equivalents; but some explanatory observations are needed regarding those few. It will at once be noticed that there are more t's and d's than in English, and no English sound exactly corresponds to any of them, the soft letters being a little softer, and the hard letters a little harsher than the English. Great pains should be taken to acquire the correct pronunciation of each of these letters, for many words are spelt and pronounced in what is apparently a similar manner, the soft or the hard t or d being the only distinction between them, and the wrong pronunciation may make a vast difference in the meaning. Thus one may intend to ask for guddu, an egg, and he may really

demand guddu, a blow.

12. ta and & da are soft, dental letters, and should be pronounced with the tongue touching the teeth, whereas

Corresponding
Nasals.

Corresponding
Sibilants.

Semi-vowels.

eta andda are hard, cerebral letters, and should be pronounced with the tongue touching the palate, thus imparting a stronger and firmer tone to the sound.

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13. na, la, and 3 sa are comparatively soft; but

na, la, and sa should be pronounced in a harder and harsher manner, like the cerebral t and d. is some

times pronounced wa, especially when in combination with other consonants.

14. and have both the hard sounds cha and ja, and also the soft sounds tsa and za. The latter sounds are peculiar to pure Dravidian words, and the former principally occur in Sanskrit and other foreign and imported words. These two letters, as a rule, take the harder sound before the vowels i, í and e, é and the diphthong ai, and the softer when followed by the other vowels. Thus: S cheyy, the hand, tsóṭu, a place; we jalamu, water,

σ rázu, a king.

చెయ్యి

15. The nasal letter

nya is never used alone. It is

always supported by &j, under which it is written, and the double letter is pronounced gnya. Thus:

command.

16.

ágnya, a

When the letter & ra is used before another consonant, it has sometimes a second form, namely, ←, which is written after the succeeding consonant. Thus: 55 karta, a lord. There is another form of r, which sometimes occurs in books; but it is practically obsolete in the ordi

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