2 Orthography and the Lepsius Transliteration System
A standardized transliteration system was a strategic necessity for 19th-century European scholars to facilitate the comparative study of Dravidian languages. Gundert utilized Dr. Lepsius’s Standard Alphabet, a system that prioritizes phonetic reality over mere orthographic transliteration. This system allows for the capture of allophonic variations and specific Dravidian articulations that are often obscured by the Malayalam script itself.
Vowels
The following rules define the phonetic values for Malayalam vowels in the Lepsius system:
|
Malayalam Script
|
Transliteration
|
English Phonetic Equivalent / Example
|
|---|---|---|
|
അ
|
a
|
as a in about
|
|
ആ
|
ấ
|
as a in far
|
|
ഇ
|
i
|
as i in pin
|
|
ൟ
|
ī
|
as i in police
|
|
ഉ
|
u
|
as u in full
|
|
ഊ
|
ū
|
as u in rule
|
|
എ
|
e
|
as ea in head
|
|
ഏ
|
ē
|
as ea in swear
|
|
ഐ
|
ei, ai
|
as ei in height (M.); as ai in kaiser (S.)
|
|
ഒ
|
o
|
as o in collect
|
|
ഓ
|
ō
|
as o in vote
|
|
ഔ
|
au
|
as ou in house
|
|
ഋ
|
ṛ
|
vocalized r
|
|
ൠ
|
ṝ
|
vocalized r (lengthened)
|
|
ഌ
|
ḷi
|
vocalized l
|
|
ൡ
|
ḷī
|
vocalized l (lengthened)
|
Consonants
Consonants are organized by their “Varga” (class). For aspirated forms, the student must note the distinct breathy release (aspirated explosive) compared to the surd explosive.
Initial Consonants:
- ക — ka — as ka in kalendar
- ഖ — kha — as in k-hot (aspirated explosive)
- ഗ — ga — as ga in gallon
- ഘ — gha — as in log-house (aspirated explosive)
- ങ — ṅa — as ñg in singing
- ച — ča — as cha in chapter
- ഛ — čha — as in batch-house (aspirated explosive)
- ജ — ĵa — as ja in Japan
- ഝ — ĵh — as in bridge-house (aspirated explosive)
- ഞ — ṅa — as nya in banyan
- ട — ṭa — the cerebral ta
- ഠ — ṭha — the cerebral ta (aspirated)
- ഡ — ḍa — the cerebral da
- ഢ — ḍha — the cerebral da (aspirated)
- ണ — ṇa — the cerebral na
- ത — ta — the true dental ta
- ഥ — tha — the true dental ta (aspirated)
- ദ — da — the true dental da
- ധ — dha — the true dental da (aspirated)
- ന — na — the true dental na
- പ — pa — as pa in parental
- ഫ — pha — as in up-hill (aspirated explosive)
- ബ — ba — as ba in balloon
- ഭ — bha — as in abhor (aspirated explosive)
- മ — ma — as ma in maternal
- യ — ya — as ya in yahoo (German j)
- ര — ra — a palatal r
- റ — ŕa — a cerebral r (German r)
- ല — la — as la in laborious
- വ — va — as va in variety (soft English v)
- ശ — ša — a palatal sh
- ഷ — ša — a cerebral sh (English sh)
- സ — sa — as sa in salute
- ഹ — ha — as ha in harangue
- ള — ḷa — a cerebral l
- ഴ — ḻa — a cerebro–palatal l
Final Consonants (Section 1.b): The following characters express consonants without the inherent vowel: ൿ (k), ൺ (ṇ), ൻ (ń), മ് (m), ൕ (y), ർ (r), ൽ (l), ൾ (ḷ), ഴ് (ḻ).
§4. Peculiarities (Literal Extraction)
“a. ൽ, besides expressing final l, serves also for Sanscrit ത് t, which in Malayā-ḷam is pronounced l, f.i. in ഉൽ, തൽ, മൽ etc.; അത്ഭുതം, ഉത്സാഹം, താൽപർയ്യം, ചൽക്കാരം, ഗൽഗദം, etc. (These are in Sanscrit čamat-kära, gadgaďa, etc.).
b. ന & ൻ. The Malayāḷam has two different n, viz: the true dental ന (4th Varga) and the Dravidian (dento-gingival) ൻ (6th Varga, page 523). The distinct pronunciation of both is still in use, but not nowadays, (as is the case with the Tamil), the consistent writing of the characters representing it.
c. റ (6th Varga) has three different pronunciations. 1. റ doubled (റ്റ) is marked ťťa (resembling tt in utter), 2. combined with ൻ (ന്റ) is marked ńďa (resembling nd in binder), 3. initial and medial റ is marked ŕ.”
The Function of the Virāma (˘) The virāma (or chandrakkala) is a critical marker in Gundert’s orthography. For the modern student, it signifies the absence of a vowel following a consonant (e.g., kīḻ, šubh). Significantly, Gundert utilizes it to show the “real and accurate pronunciation of the half u as ụ.” Furthermore, it is used for the “convenience of the reader” to indicate an arbitrary division of words in sentences that would otherwise be written as a single, continuous string. Example:
parabrahmattōḍ' onničč' (instead of the continuous parabrahmattōḍonničč’).The mechanical precision of the script provides the necessary foundation for exploring the etymological origins of the Malayalam lexicon.
