Wilson Philological Lectures on Sanskrit and the Derived Languages c8.49

c8.49

The surds are softened into sonants. The pronunciation of these requires, as you will remember, less exertion than that of the former. For sonants such as ग्, घ्, द्, ध्, &c., are pronounced by means of nāda, or vocal sound which is produced when the glottis is in its natural condition and the chords vibrate, and the surds क्, ख्, त्, थ्, &c. are uttered by sending forth simple breath or śvāsa, to produce which it is necessary to stretch the glottis. This effort is saved by changing the surds to sonants. Thus क् is changed to ग् as in मरगअ for मरकत and गेन्दुअ for कन्दुक; द् to द् as in नड, भड, and घड, for नट, भट, and घट, and in पडि for प्रति and the other instances given above; द् to द् as in मढ, सढ, कमढ, कुढार, and पढ, for मठ, शठ, कमठ, कुठार, and पठ; and त and थ to द and ध as in एद for एत, नाथ for नाथ &c. (in Śaur.). The cerebral, and द् resulting from the original dentals त and थ are also similarly softened to ड् and द् as in पडि for प्रति (पटि in Pâli), पहुडि for प्रभृति, बहेडअ for बिभीतक, हरडई for हरीतकी, मडअ for मृतक, &c., and सिदिल for शिथिल, पुढवी for पृथिवी. पढम for प्रथम, &c. The sonant answering to प् is व् but this is further softened to व्, as in कूव, कवाल, कुणव, तवइ, &c., for कूप कपाल, कुणप, तपति, &c.