Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, London Institution, Vol-2, Part no.-1-4

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.tJNGALI PHONETICS
. ;
1 > S '/iti Kumar Chatterji, ,M.A.
> THE SOUNDS OP BENGALI
fij -<>. !-in by over 48 millions of people, and naturally it
i\j\ ■ 'll// ' > ■ ^keSfi^dialects range themselves into four main
id. \ ...^•'Uentfal, Northern, and Eastern (with a -South-
-;>• ./die' morphological differences between the four
)• > ■ • i • alighti1 except in the case of the. South-Eastern
'■<• . iilhrable divergences exist in sounds and phonology.
0
.iU’cv.v i. ywever, are not so great as to create mutual
k 'fe • ' *
i) ; speakers of Bengali in different parts of the
' Ips, in the extreme east and south-east. The
• >■ namonlyused in literature is a “ high ” dialect,
■i. us inflections, although it is based mainly on West
" tries ago. The~^/ammar.of this “ high ” Bengali—
■ ; is called—is archaic,; and explains most of the
'< - dialects as presenting the prototypes of these
i <i i, u delation and intonation vary with the different
<-•' :4ngali. phonetics, in order to be complete, must
•2 ' -, n ■!
• : ;))!•> f mr ■ nr',< i the sounds of all the dialects. Such a task is
' «i r>" , i j . hort sketch like the following. Moreover, I cannot
y-
• I )>i>ssn •-iio .gh knowledge of all the forms of spoken Bengali.
.si/’^L1 ll c’f she phonetics of a language, some dialect or other
-J. t ‘ 1 ‘<5 basis or norm, even when the aim is to investigate
i. -it < ip phonology. I shall, therefore, take up one dialect
’':vr' 't. I ’ I
\ !i
/
2 SUNITI KUMAR CHATTERj!
* # I
- . |
only—my own, which'is that habitually spoken bj>»
Calcutta and of West Bengal generally. Li]}
Britain, this dialect is at present the dominam
v i
literature. It is understood all over the country
the speech of the educated people everywhere, inn ■; I
pronunciation and intonation in varying degrees;i
been profoundly influenced by it, so much so t >
Bengali is often nothing but the Calcutta colli-ij.
archaic inflections for the verb ; it is freely used| i u rJV t It
in poetry, drama, and fiction, and there is a strc. ■ 1 V t J ‘ '> »U,
advocate the supersession of the old literary lan i ( , •
vigorous form of spoken Bengali Grammatically
most other dialects. Besides, it is the profluncii >.i
which is the recognized standard for the litela \ 1 '
reasons, the standard colloquial of Calcutta is pc .'lirb
basis for the study of Bengali phonetics as well a
§ 3. In phonetic studies, whether general or
letters of the alphabet of the International PFjJ,i I
should bo used as symbols for speech-sounds. 'Eh
Script is the only phonetic system of writing tin
up-to-date scientific treatment of the subject; it 1
years the one recognized system to be employed'i i
already become truly international by being usei
Asia, and Africa. Like the symbols for the-ol
symbols for speech-sounds, the elements in spol
v
represented by the same letters, no matter what *
’
I.P.A. script alone of all existing phonetic scripts ^
1
symbols, under the present oircumstances. As
the employment of these symbols (p, t, J, o, wi
phonetics wjjtten in languages such as Bengali, Tai
which do not use the roman script, upon the b'p "
alphabet is built; just as every student of chemi
employment of the symbols H, S, NajJK, etc., in a j
or Japanese book on that science. |
§ 4. The principles as well as methods and.ter'.i
science of phonetics need not be recapitulated. II
applied, so far, to three Indian languages—Panjj •
Bailey’s Panjabi Phonetic Reader, University a
Sinhalese (in Messrs. H. S. Perera & Daniel Jon-
Reader, Manchester University Press, 1919), an i
alphabet has also been applied to some extern
nunciation of Tamil and Telugu, and of some of»L-
The late Dr. J. D. Anderson’s paper on Bengali phi
the Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies for !
elsewhere (in the Calcutta Modem Review for Jan ■
2
( ?)
• : •
BENGALI PHONETICS*'^___ 'i--= 4 3
views on Bengali phonetics and phonology. The present sketch is an attempt
to record as accurately as possible the speech-sounds of the Bengali
language as spoken by the educated classes, with a view to help foreigners
ta acquire a correct pronunciation of these speech-sounds by visualizing
them, as well as to provide additional material in the study of general
phonetics.
§ 6. The Bengali language has thirty-five essential “phonemes”,1
although the number of actual “speech-sounds” is greater. These are
represented in the International Phonetic Script by the letters p, b, t, d,
I, d, k, g, cf, g (or c, J with a conventionalized value), m, n, g, 1, r, p, s,
J, h, 6, 8, i, I, e, e, bb, &, a, Q, o, 5, o, 5, u, u. To. these may be added
f, is, f, v, z, a : but these are non-essential sounds, although quite
common; the first four occur as common substitutes for ph, bfi, but
they are not used by all speakers ; z occurs mostly in foreign words, and
occasionally as a variant of g; and a is sometimes found in borrowed
words ; but the use of g for z, and of jp, a, or o for a is quite normal.
§ 6. Several of these phonemes include mdl'e than one sound,
e.g. the n phoneme, the J phoneme, the 1 phoneme, the h phoneme.
§ 7. It would appear that the analysis of sounds as presented by the
arrangement of the Indian alphabetic system (which referred to Indo-
Aryan phonetics of several centuries B.c.) does not fully apply to Bengali,
since Bengali sounds have developed a great deal, and the old Indian
sound analysis, in spite of its wonderful scientific accuracy, is itself
capable of restatement in the light of modem phonetics.
1 1' A plwne or speech-sound is a sound of definite aeonstio quality produced by
the organs of speech. A^glvou speeoh-sound is incapable of variation.”
” A phoneme is a group of sounds whioh are related in character, and are such
that no one-of them ever ocours in the same position as any other in oonneoted
speech in a particular language.”
# Thus, 1 (front or “ clear ”) and t (baok or “ dark ”) are different speeoh-sounds,
and to represent properly the South English words let and well in phonetic script we
should write let, wEt. So Zifffe = litt. But, since in English 1 is not heard in
positions where t 6cours, they are regarded as different forms of one \-phonetne.
So, too, in Bengali, the 1 sounds in the words (sv®| lac-dye and upside
down are different—in the first instanoe the sound is dental, beoause it preoedes
a dental 'S—alto, in the second, it is rather retroflex, occurring between the back
vowel u and the retroflex T?—ufta. 1 is not a sound which ocours in any other
position in Bengali, and it and the more common ‘‘dear” 1 are members of one
phoneme in Bengali. Eor practical purposes it is not neoessary to represent in
phonetio transoription all individual speech-sounds in a language, except where
a very minute or comparative study is required, or where the different values of the
same phoneme are based on complicated phonological laws which cannot be easily
tackled by a foreigner. Otherwise quite a large number of symbols would be
necessary for one single language. The most common and typical sound only of
--a phonemic group is generally adopted for visual symbolization by means of a letter :
ihus one 1 would do for both 1 and l in English, and 1 and 1 in Bengali. Ignoring
1 and 1 pronunciation will not affeot the meaning of the word, although a foreign
speaker should try to pronounoe them at the proper place.
t 8BNITI KUMAR CHATTERJI----
§ 8. The sounds of standard colloquial Bengali can be arranged in
tabular form as follows:—
Consonants
i Palato- ! | ■ .
Dento-
Bilabial labial Dental Alveolar alveolar Palatal Retroflex! Velar Glottal
1 I
Plosive p b t d | j j t cl , k g 1
j Affricate ■ : c7 s • • ■
Nasal m 1 n i , ' 5 1
Lateral 11 1 1
Flapped r ' V 'i
Fricative (f v>) (f v>) s (z) J Ha (h)
Semivowel 6 : : S |
Rowels
Bilabial | Front Central Back
Close . . [ul i i u u
Half close . Loj e e o 5 (6)
Half open . lo] ffl & (a) o 5
Open . . a a
0 -cjSigK Consonants
§ 9. The voiceless i^Bsivos p't tk are, unlike the ordinary English
Voiceless jplosives, unaspirated—there is not the accompaniment of
slighiesSTbreath in their pronunciation.
§ 10. Initial and final b d <1 g are only slightly voiced, but full#
voicing occurs in intervocalic position.
§ 11. There is complete explosion of the first element of a plosive
group like pt pt kt tk, etc. But where the same plosive occurs doubly,
the first one is unexploded. In English, in a consonant nexus like
kt pt tk gd, etc., the first element is not fully exploded, e.g. compare
Bengali bhokti faith, lipto fspQ smeared, efitkar shout,
bagdi a caste, with English fact ftek,t, apt eepit, begged beg|d *
(the | indicating the absence of plosion in the k p g). ■
§ 12. p, b : pa: 9fl foot, opor other, pa:p sin; baba ?t7l.
father, Jl:b f’T? Siva. ^
§ 18. t d are true dentals, made by striking the point of the tongue^-
against the back or the edge of the upper tee|h. The tongue is full#
spread out, as in pronouncing the English th = Q, 6. Examples—ta:^
'3f*f heat, pa:t ,fTT5 leaf, toto ^35 so much ; dada tffwl elder brother,
■pff moon.
BENGALI PHONETICS
§ 14. t <1 are slightly higher than the S. English alveolfe
point of articulation being just behind the teeth-ridge. They
not the true retroflex sounds which are heard in Tamil,
and perhaps Panjabi; they might be called “supra-alveol,
or pre-retroflex The tip of the tongue, howevi
curled up. taka kt<Fl rupee, bote is indeed,
'iSM green coconut, aflfla rendezvous, club, a*
d final or intervoe^, unless doubled in the latter ca^^^^^^s y in
Bengali
The English alveolar sounds are ordinarily regarde^^^HHlongal;
speakers as equivalent to their t fl, e.g. tebil (T^fer depuji
= deputy. The difference between the 'den^^^^^Betroflex
sounds is of very great signific importance, e.g. pa:t and
pa:t *fft5 leaf; ka:t awry, and ^Tl> ka:t out; danj^^^^^pn, oats,.
n
and dana wing.
§ 16. k g. Articulation as in English. vowels
articulation more forward, but not sufficiently to J. ki:
fvp what ?, bo:k heron; ga:cfh $tTl£ tree, ra:g <Ttj
§16. The spread-
out blade commences
fror iesiwe
itb
mrrvmm „ m — j
by the tip of the tongue, cf _
’’to tjr cg^d other/similar <alveolar affricates, but
^difference iff *lSieir production. There is no accompanying lip rouni
which is present in the English sounds, except when the sound is
* ^emphasized. The Spanish ch is said to be a palato-alveolar sound like
the Bengali cf.
A Bengali speaker is accustomed to regard ^ Iff cf g as simple
plosive sounds, since the palatal plosives c and J do not occur in the
language by themselves, and the old Indian system of phonetics and the
graphic system based on it recognize only palatal plosives. In fact,
in Old Indo-Aryan (Vedie and Sanskrit) the sounds were plosives—c}, or
even kj gj; in Middle and New Indo-Aryan they became corresponding
affricates. The theory of affricates is a recent one ; but that the,sounds
of the Bengali letters F Ig are not simple “ stops ” can be shown' by
continuing the J (or 5) glide, e.g. ma:cfJJJ . . . fish, a:gj5 . . .
j61 to-day. Old Indo-Aryan possessed the palatal plosives c J when
the sounds of “Vedie (Sanskrit) were first studied by the ancient Indian
^grammarians; but thes» sounds later became affricates, and it is the
affricate values that have mainly come down to the New Indo-Aryan
languages, cfa: Ft tea, aejol ^TFSf skirt, hem, k3:cf <?TF, 3ffF glass;
ga: TTl go, raga -iTtefl king, ka:g Ff, ^T*r work.
BENGALI PHONETICS
§ 14. \ d are slightly higher than the S. English alveol&r
point of articulation being j ust behind the teeth-ridge. They ar
not the true retroflex sounds which are heard in Tamil, Telu,
and perhaps Panjabi; they might be called “supra-alveolgj
or pre-retroflex". The tip of the tongue, howevi
curled up. taka rupee, bote is indeed, Ja:
\ST<r green coconut, aijija 'STf'JRTl rendezvous, club,
d final or intervocal, unless doubled in the latter
Bengali.
The English alveolar sounds are ordinarily regard' engali
speakers as equivalent to their t (l, e.g. tebil (vfVof deputi
= deputy. The difference between the "den fetroflex
sounds is of very great signifie importance, e.g. pa:t Id, and
pa:t *TP5 leaf; ka:t awry, and ^Tl> ka:t cut; dan ■n, oats,.
«
and rlana 'STt»T| wing. •
§ 16. k g. Articulation as in English, feel vowejs
articulation more forward, but not sufficiently to (1. ki:
what ?, bo:k heron ; ga:cjh tree, ra:g jTf9 *
'-er*
§ '16. The affnj spread-
out blade oi |f commences
fro: 1 jffosi.ve
%
Sncje by the tip of the tongue, cj.
"to tjr d^a^id otherysimilar -alveolar affricates, ,Jrat
^difference iff ^beir production. There is no accompanying lip rounc!
which is present in the English sounds, except when the sound is
’ #emphasized. The Spanish ch is said to be a palato-alveolar sound like
the Bengali cf.
A Bengali speaker is accustomed to regard V 'Of c} J§ as simple
plosive sounds, since the palatal plosives c and J do not occur in the
.language by themselves, and the old Indian system of phonetics and the
graphic system based on it recognize only palatal plosives. In fact,
in Old Indo-Aryan (Vedie and Sanskrit) the sounds were plosives—e }, or
even kj gj ; in Middle and New Indo-Aryan they became corresponding
affricates. The theory of affricates is a recent one ; but that the,sounds
of the Bengali letters T> ^ are not simple “stops” can be shown'by
continuing the J (or 5) glide, e.g. maicffjj. . . JfTV fish, a:g55 . . .
to-day. Old Indo-Aryan possessed the palatal plosives c J when
the sounds of Vedie (Sanskrit) were first studied by the ancient Indian
.grammarians; but thes# sounds later became affricates, and it is the
affricate values that have mainly come down to the New Indo-Aryan
languages, cfa: ^1 tea, flcfol '■od&si skirt, hem, kchc} 3rtV glass;
43 a: Vi go, rag a <TfWl king, ka:g ^TOt, work.
SUNITI KUMAR CHATTERJI—
i do not occur as phonemes in Bengali; as a matter of con-
ten only the phonetics of Bengali, without any reference to
jcrit or Yeclic (i.e. Old Indo-Aryan), is studied, c J might be
^ represent the affricate sounds of cf g, as it has been
Irahame Bailey in his Panjabi Phonetic Reader.1 In this
j>f these cumbrous ligatures, which may not he' found in
t be avoided.
Fully voiced nasal, 'met: 5f1 mother, mama *TW
ia:m •TfJf name. Intervooal m tends to pass into a
even to a mere nasalization of the contiguous vowels
jof. § 81. An unvoiced ip occurs in the exclamatory
jkmounced ipm, as in English.
|inarily it is an alveolar sound. Before t d it is
before | d it is cerebralized, but acoustically that is
•T| no, not, kanna <p| <11 weeping, ka:n *3FT?r ear,
jo neck. * ‘
English sing. Can occur intervocally, but does
^ro:g colour, genitive rorj^r 3Z-8?,
; clear 1, as in English long. The dark variety, as
,ieard in Bengali. Before retrSHex sounds t <J, 1
has ^ flower, but this
need' a special symbol, as it is fouad-4p^no other •
posit! J<1 is unknown, lekha writing, kola
plant At the speech of women and children and of.'ffij
unedui 'ere is a tendency (noticed from early times, ahd
now mb' ecT by education) to pronounce an n for an 1, in initial
•positions. The remyse (change of n to 1) is also to be noticed in the
speech of the lower’masses. .
§ 21. r. It has two, or rather three, values. Initially it is an
alveolar rolled r (with two or three taps of the tongue against the teeth­
ridge) ; medially and finally it is just an alveolar flap. Before t it has
a slightly higher articulation. The genuine fricative i is unknown, but.
a slightly fricative yet rolled r, not a flap, is sometimes the only ‘'dm'
with some speakers. There is no unvoicing of r in Bengali, rim t|«l|
debt, kora ^<rl to do, ma:r strike.
§ 22. r is a sound which cannot be called strictly a retroflex one!
The tip of the tongue is curled up, and is brought near the point of
articulation for \ <1, but is quickly made to move forward^nd strikp
against the teeth-ridge with the underneath side, and .then- he flat; 05
in other words, it is raised _to the retroflex position and then made
fall flat, hitting the teeth-ridge with the underneath side on the way.
1 Dr. Bailey, however, calls the Panjabi sounds plosives, They appeared to mS
aoonstioally to be identical with my Bengali sounds.
BENGALI PHONETICS 7
r and y are distinct sounds in Bengali, and the distinction is retained
in educated speech everywhere : e.g. pa:r *Tf? a going across and pa:y
sTT® border, bank ; kci:r <?1? whose 1 and ka:y snatch aieay ! But
in certain class dialects in Calcutta and elsewhere, r and y aro confused ;
with the spread of education this is disappearing. In East Bengal, y,
except in a few localities, always becomes r.
y never occurs initially in Bengali, or doubly. ha:r ^T'Si bone, gayi,
shifts carriage, patay *1 i s> t>S hill.
§ 28. s. This is a rare phoneme in Bengali; it occurs in native
words only before t d n 1 and r: osto setting, stha:n place,
mesda, alsomezda c^entl second elder brother, sna:n bath, slid
decorous, genteel, sri: prosperity, beauty, s may occur piso before p
initially : spordha qa'T¥l presumption, splmrti hilarity. But Jt Jd
(beside zd, and, with some, jd, but this is rare) Jn J1 and Jr also occur ;
also Jp. s may he regarded as a subsidiary member of the. J phoneme,
and as such may he omitted from the*list of essential phonemes. But
s and J servo to distinguish some words from each offier, at least in the
speech of some: although the feeling of the native speaker does not
distinguish between s and J ordinarily, in the standard colloquial form
of Bengali. Thus: ajto he used to come and asto entire,
afte ajte while coming and aste aste
' slowly ; the verbal forms, however, may be prpnouneed with st, and the
adjectival and adverbial words with Jt. But since J and s alone would
distinguish words like abovo, tho adoption of it as a distinct phoneme
jfcjjgaftSSbe 'justified. In East Bengali s, corresponding to cjh ^ of West
I^^Balhf^forms a distinct phoneme.
as an interjection sis a variant of J: in educated speech.
English becomes sf in the si>eech of those who know some
and Jt in that of ordinary' people: majtar master
(sometimes inajfor 3Tf^), 'ijtijon, 'ejtejon, 'stejxn station.
rams.
'; . Befo§ re2 4t,. J Jm aiys hwei tshaoiudt toli ph arvoeu nad irnegtr;o fleitx ivs almueo,r eJ , fhourwt airtd i s thoannly the
^aE snugblissihd iJar;y JofobrimJe J of tho phoinn edmeet,a iwl;h iJcuhn dhoars no nohtiacneadbsloym ed;i fbfeorerjnat
'acoustic quality. J is the characteristic sound of Bengali when con­
trasted with other Indo-Aryan languages. Certain classes (Musalman
working classes mainly) in Calcutta, through Upper Indian influence, use
. s for J; this is avoided by the true Bengali speaker, and is as much a sign
J ' of vulgar 8j)eech as the dropping of h in words like hall, hat, head in
^English. ’ «
1 § 25. fi (— pj). It, is the voiced variety of the ordinary English h,
which occurs in English in an intervocalic position, as in the words
"■■'behind, perhaps, h occurs in all positions, except finally after a vowel,
8 SUN1TI KUMAR CHATTKRJI—r
in Bengali, e.g. bad hand, alia ah, bba:r Wt? burden, la:bb
STf^ gain. An unvoiced variety, a subsidiary form of this phoneme, h,
also occurs, after the voiceless stops to form the unvoiced aspirates ph
th th kh and cjh. In some interjections, in a final position, unvoiced
h is also found, but the quality of the preceding vowel changes it to a
fricative of the corresponding class, e.g. a:h *®T|8, also a:x ; ih ^"8, also
iq, occurring also as ij:, J: eh > eq: ot)8; uh, oh ^>8, 'et, also up
op, uf, of.
In English loan-words h becomes Ii: 'Iiaiko(r)t High
Court, etc.
, In very quick speech intervocalic ii is unvoiced, or even dropped:
batabati yTstytfs a hand-to-hand fight, also liatahati, hataati.
Medial b, prevocal, and after m n 1, is very unstable and is commonly
dropped, except in careful speech, the preceding consonant being doubled
by way of compensation: e.g, bijpmbon, brammon Wfaf*! a brahman,
cjinbo, cfinno fF35 stgn, alb ad allad
This phoneme may be represented by h, with the necessary con­
vention that it is a voiced sound, occurring unvoiced in interjections and
in unvoiced aspirates.
§ 26-. The aspirates ph th th kh cjh, bb .db (lb gb gb are
characteristic Indian sounds, and, as they have separate letters, to the
average Indian they are simple sounds. The aspirated rb has hardly
a place in modem Bengali phonetics, it being pronounced f, except by
some careful speakers in Sanskrit words like mu}-bo 5C7 fool, gapbo Stf?
deep. This aspiration has great semantic value, e.g. pa:t «TfT> fold, jute
■ ' 11 i ■ in~ 1 ~if ii if- -
and pha:t crack-, ka:t ^f'5 awry and kha:t pit, trench; tad
!55f3T palm-fruit, time beat, and tha:l «TfW plate; ba:r Tf? day
week, mdside and bba:r burden; dad ^*f5T branch and dball TTf^T
shield; cjad Ffct rice, cjhad skin; gama coat, gbama 3TW
charred brick, etc.
§ 26a. There is, however, a strong tendency to deaspiration of
aspirated consonants, especially in a medial or final position, in Bengali,
and attempts to emphasize the aspiration in a final position would be
looked upon as an affectation ; e.g. ba:t hand, cf. Hindostani ba:th ;
bfl:db dyke, also bifid; ma:g(b) middle; la:b(b), also la:v>,
la:v gain-, dfe:k(h) see; ba:g(b) tiger; koccf(h)e
is doing.
An aspirate when it occurs before another, or before the corre­
sponding stop, loses its b or h, as the case may be: e.g. rottola for
roth-tola place where the car-festival is held; so kat.(h){,hokra
woodpecker.
§27. 6. The sound of w (=consonantal u) does not occur in Bengali,
and groups like wu we wi wo can only be prononnped with difficulty
BENGALI PHONETICS < 9 .
by Bengali speakers : .attempt to pronounce wu will bring in the glottal
stop, '?u. we, wi, wo will give 6e, ui, o: or uo. The language has a con­
sonantal 6 which occurs only intervocally, mainly before a, in native
words, e.g. fioba to be, khaCa to eat, relbe fpT'er? railway.
This 6 may be called the second element in a number of diphthongs
(see § 48).
6 initially occurs in a few foreign words: Ocikoph, OakoF, 6akof
Moslem religious trust property, " waqf.” -6- was originally a
glide; it can be dropped: too ^sfl to be, khaa OT^r! to eat, etc.
(see § 49).
§ 28. 6. This is the Bengali equivalent of j (=consonantal I of
English and other languages). The real fricative or semivowel j is
unknown to Bengali, i being substituted for it. ji would become ,?i,
je, ja, jo, ju would become 'ie, 'ia, 'io, 'in. . e.g. Persian ja:r friend >
Beng. 'iar bomi companion-, ,'iorop, 'iurop
Europe. Medially 8 is found between two a’s, e.g*. maea STf^fl illusion,
love (not maja or mala), and between o and a: dnea WUl pity.
Finally, it occurs after o a e se o, forming the second part of diphthongs
(see § 49).
Except in words borrowed newly from the Sanskrit, e in native
words is more of a glide origin than anything else.
In modem Bengali 8 very frequently occurs between two vowels to
avoid a hiatus in a breath-group Jebelo fJT ciifsrf he came, par koroSa-
mare *Tt? 3T? If? make me cross over, etc. Cf. the intrusion of r
in English 8r aidiorovit the idea of it, mdiorofis India Office, etc.
29. z. As in English, with medium voice. Not a native sound j
in BengaliTTe- it cannot be found as an original or essential sound in j
• a single native word. Yet it has developed in a few words from g or 1
gh, e.g. Jezda fJTWfl third elder brother, from Jeg(bo)dada; buzte
(also bujte buste) to understand, from bugli(i)te. In a number
of foreign names and words z occurs, but one can employ g, or in '
certain cases s, in pronouncing them; but it would be regarded old-
fashioned • or uneduoated to do so, especially in English and other
European words not naturalized; e.g. nizam, nig am pTSltV the Nizam,
. brezil, bregil Brazil; gebidar, zebkiar, zewiar, zeviar C®f*5?T?
Xavier,' etc.
z strictly should be regarded as a subsidiary value of the g phoneme; S
but because it is a sound which is quite different in acoustic quality
from the latter, and is quite common in educated speech, it is better to
—give it a place in the Hst of essential sounds in Bengali, although not
a phoneme.
§ 80. f r, v The aspirate ph is pronounced very commonly as
a dento-labial f, of as a bilabial f, but all speakers recognize ph to be