Talk:Siksa:A Language that has all Phonemes
By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami
Sanskrit is presented as encompassing the full range of human speech sounds. The sound represented by fa, for example, is held to exist within Sanskrit phonetics, while the Tamil sound ḻa, often regarded as unique to Tamil, is identified with Vedic pronunciation. In corresponding passages of the Sāmaveda, the da of the Yajurveda is pronounced as ḻa, and certain passages of the Ṛgveda likewise preserve a similar sound. Thus, the opening word of the first hymn of the Ṛgveda, Agnimīḷe, is stated to be pronounced with a sound approximating ḻa rather than a simple la.
A sound closely resembling ḻa is also noted in French, although neither French nor Sanskrit possesses a distinct letter for it. In French, the sounds represented by ja and ga serve this function, whereas in Sanskrit the corresponding sound is represented through la. The existence of a similar sound in Chinese is also mentioned.
The Tamil character āytam is likewise identified with a corresponding phonetic principle in Sanskrit. A rule of Pāṇini, expressed in the sūtra haḥ kapau ca, is cited to explain that when a visarga precedes a word beginning with ka, it is not pronounced as the ordinary ha but assumes the value of āytam. Before pa, the same visarga acquires the sound represented by fa, known in Sanskrit phonetics as upadhmānīya. Thus, a compound such as Rāmaḥ paṇḍitaḥ is pronounced with the upadhmānīya sound preceding pa. This sound is compared to the breath produced while blowing through a pipe to kindle a fire.
The pronunciation of foreign words beginning with fa is also discussed. Although such words are commonly adapted with pa, the Sanskrit word kapiśa, denoting a dark brown colour, is noted as bearing resemblance to the colour of coffee, suggesting a phonetic correspondence rather than a simple substitution.
The Tamil kuṟṟiyalukaram is also identified with the Sanskrit vocalic ṛ and ḷ. The initial vowel of words such as Ṛgveda is described as representing neither ri nor ru but an intermediate sound corresponding to kuṟṟiyalukaram. Similarly, words such as Kṛṣṇa are sometimes written as Kruṣṇa in northern usage, while pronunciations such as hṛdayam becoming hṛdayam are noted in Telugu. Sanskrit also preserves vocalic forms of both ra and la, although the vocalic ḷ occurs only in conjunction with another consonant. These vocalic forms are treated as vowels rather than consonants within the Sanskrit phonetic system.
Although Sanskrit is commonly regarded as lacking short e and short o, this absence is reconsidered through the testimony of Patañjali's Mahābhāṣya. According to Patañjali, the Satyamugrī and Rāṇāyanīya recensions of the Sāmaveda employ both short e and short o in their recitation. On this basis, Sanskrit is presented as embracing the complete range of human speech sounds and as possessing a writing system in which every phoneme is represented with exceptional precision.