sTANDARDS FOR rEPRESENT-iNG t-iBETAN pRONUNC-iAT-iON -iN rOMAN lETTERS aS-iAN cLASS-iCS iNST-iTUTE/ nEW yORK fEBRUARY 1998 a. m-iSS-iON STATEMENT 1) iN ESTABL-iSh-iNG STANDARDS FOR TRANSLAT-iON -iT -iS -iMPORTANT F-iRST OF ALL TO DEF-iNE WHY WE ARE ENGAGED -iN A TRANSLAT-iON AT ALL. tHE SOLE PURPOSE OF TRANSLAT-iNG bUDDH-iST TEXTS -iS TO CREATE AN eNGL-iSh VERS-iON WH-iCH/ WHEN READ BY ThE DEF-iNED AUD-iENCE/ W-iLL MOST EAS-iLY AND EFF-iC-iENTLY -iNSP-iRE ThEM TO UNDERTAKE ThE NECESSARY ACT-iON TO ACH-iEVE ThE-iR TEMPORAL AND ULT-iMATE HAPP-iNESS. b. dEF-iN-iNG ThE AUD-iENCE 1) d-iFFERENT STANDARDS MAY BE APPROPR-iATE FOR D-iFFERENT AUD-iENCES. bEFORE UNDERTAK-iNG ThE TRANSLAT-iON OF ANY PART-iCULAR WORK/ -iT -iS NECESSARY TO DEF-iNE ThE -iNTENDED AUD-iENCE. 2) tHREE D-iFFERENT AUD-iENCES MAY BE DEF-iNED FOR TRANSLAT-iONS OF bUDDH-iST TEXTSH A) aUD-iENCE TYPEH PROFESS-iONAL/ eNGL-iSh-SPEAK-iNG UN-iVERS-iTY SCHOLARS aPPROX-iMATE POPULAT-iONaH ABOUT 200 PERSONS -iN eUROPE/ nORTh aMER-iCA/ AND aUSTRAL-iA aPPROPR-iATE TRANSLAT-iON STYLEH FREQUENT USE OF WORDS FROM OR-iG-iNAL LANGUAGES; TECHN-iCAL TRANSCR-iPT-iONS; ANNOTAT-iONS -iNCLUD-iNG COMPAR-iSONS TO wESTERN SCHOLARLY TRAD-iT-iON AND CURRENT wESTERN SCHOLAST-iC OP-iN-iON; EXTENS-iVE B-iBL-iOGRAPH-iES; AVO-iDANCE OF DEVOT-iONAL LANGUAGE/ ORAL TRAD-iT-iON/ AND VOCABULARY OR -iDEAS WH-iCH ARE NOT CURRENTLY "POL-iT-iCALLY CORRECT" aCCOMPL-iShMENT OF DES-iRED AFFECTH CHANCES FOR MAJOR CONVERS-iON OF Th-iS POPULAT-iON ARE UNL-iKELY eXAMPLE OF TRANSLAT-iONSH "HEAV-iER" TRANSLAT-iONS OF a. wAYMAN/ j. hOPK-iNS/ r. tHURMAN B) aUD-iENCE TYPEH "PROFESS-iONAL" DHARMA STUDENTS ASSOC-iATED W-iTh gELUKPA t-iBETAN bUDDH-iST ORGAN-iZAT-iONS -iN eNGL-iSh-SPEAK-iNG COUNTR-iES aPPROX-iMATE POPULAT-iONaH ABOUT 3/000 PERSONS -iN eUROPE/ nORTh aMER-iCA/ AND aUSTRAL-iA; PERHAPS HALF OF ThESE AFF-iL-iATED -iN SOME WAY W-iTh ThE fpmt ORGAN-iZAT-iON OF lAMA yEShE AND zOPA r-iNPOCHE aPPROPR-iATE TRANSLAT-iON STYLEH UT-iL-iZAT-iON OF ABOUT 100 WORDS FROM OR-iG-iNAL LANGUAGES WH-iCH HAVE GA-iNED USAGE AMONG Th-iS POPULAT-iON; TECHN-iCAL TRANSCR-iPT-iON NORMALLY -iN APPEND-iCES/ OThERW-iSE SOME K-iND OF S-iMPL-iF-iED PRONUNC-iAT-iON/ SOMET-iMES W-iTh D-iACR-iT-iCAL MARKS; ANNOTAT-iONS RESTR-iCTED TO EXPLANAT-iONS OF ThE L-iNEAGE LAMAS OR ACCEPTED COMMENTAR-iES; BR-iEF B-iBL-iOGRAPH-iES AND GLOSSAR-iES; DEVOT-iONAL LANGUAGE OR ORAL TRAD-iT-iON ACCEPTABLE aCCOMPL-iShMENT OF DES-iRED AFFECTH POPULAT-iON -iS ALREADY WELL- D-iSPOSED TOWARDS bUDDH-iST PRACT-iCE AND W-iLL L-iKELY TAKE SOME MAJOR PART OF ThE TRANSLAT-iON TO HEART; SOME DANGER OF "SATURAT-iON" -iN G-iVEN SUBJECTS eXAMPLE OF TRANSLAT-iONSH ENT-iRE SER-iES BY gEShE kELSANG gYATSO/ WORKS BY gEShE rABTEN OR gEShE nGAWANG dARGYE C) aUD-iENCE TYPEH PERSONS -iN eNGL-iSh-SPEAK-iNG COUNTR-iES WHO ARE SEEK-iNG A SP-iR-iTUAL PATh BUT HAVE L-iTTLE EXPOSURE TO bUDDH-iSM aPPROX-iMATE POPULAT-iONaH PERHAPS 20 M-iLL-iON PERSONS -iN eUROPE/ nORTh aMER-iCA/ AND aUSTRAL-iA aPPROPR-iATE TRANSLAT-iON STYLEH TRANSLATE FORE-iGN WORDS WHEREVER POSS-iBLE; RELY ON S-iMPL-iF-iED PRONUNC-iAT-iON ThAT W-iLL ALLOW A NORMAL PERSON TO MAKE ThE CLOSEST APPROX-iMAT-iON TO ThE OR-iG-iNAL SOUND POSS-iBLE W-iThOUT ThE USE OF D-iACR-iT-iCAL SYMBOLS NOT OCCURR-iNG -iN NORMAL eNGL-iSh; ANNOTATE ANY UNFAM-iL-iAR WORD OR -iDEA W-iTh A BR-iEF/ S-iMPLE EXPLANAT-iON BASED ON AUThOR-iTAT-iVE SCR-iPTURE OR ORAL TRAD-iT-iON; -iNCLUDE BR-iEF B-iOGRAPH-iES AND GLOSSAR-iES; DEVOT-iONAL LANGUAGE AND ORAL TRAD-iT-iON ACCEPTABLE EXCEPT WHERE ThEY MAY APPEAR D-iRECTLY CR-iT-iCAL OR OFFENS-iVE -iN EX-iST-iNG CULTURAL M-iL-iEU aCCOMPL-iShMENT OF DES-iRED AFFECTH PERHAPS ONE -iN F-iVE OR TEN PERSONS FROM Th-iS AUD-iENCE W-iLL GET ANY LAST-iNG BENEF-iT FROM READ-iNG A TRANSLAT-iON/ BUT Th-iS -iS ST-iLL A POTENT-iAL OF 2 TO 3 M-iLL-iON PEOPLE eXAMPLES OF TRANSLAT-iONSH ThE dHAMMAPADA -iN ThE pENGU-iN ED-iT-iON; APPROX-iMATELY 20 TRANSLAT-iONS AVA-iLABLE OF h-iS hOL-iNESS ThE dALA-i lAMA'S LECTURES AND WR-iT-iNGS 3) tHE SUGGEST-iONS -iN Th-iS DOCUMENT RELATE PR-iMAR-iLY TO ThE "NORMAL/" eNGL-iSh- SPEAK-iNG/ UN-iN-iT-iATED AUD-iENCE OF ThE Th-iRD GROUP ABOVE/ AND SOMEWHAT TO ThE SECOND AUD-iENCE. c. sYSTEM FOR S-iMPL-iF-iED PRONUNC-iAT-iON OF t-iBETAN AND sANSKR-iT 1) tHE GOAL OF S-iMPL-iF-iED PRONUNC-iAT-iON -iS TO ALLOW A NORMAL/ UN-iN-iT-iATED eNGL-iSh SPEAKER TO MAKE ThE SOUND WH-iCH MOST CLOSELY APPROX-iMATES ThE OR-iG-iNAL WORD W-iThOUT ThE USE OF SPEC-iAL MARKS WH-iCH ARE NOT UT-iL-iZED -iN NORMAL WR-iTTEN eNGL-iSh. 2) iT -iS -iMPORTANT TO D-iST-iNGU-iSh PRONUNC-iAT-iON FROM TRANSL-iTERAT-iON. tHE SOLE OBJECT OF A PRONUNC-iAT-iON SYSTEM -iS TO APPROX-iMATE A SOUND MOST CLOSELY. a TRANSL-iTERAT-iON SYSTEM MUST REPRESENT EVERY WR-iTTEN SYMBOL USED -iN ThE OR-iG-iNAL WORD. mANY PRONUNC-iAT-iON SYSTEMS ARE DEFECT-iVE AND FA-iL TO PRODUCE ThE CLOSEST AUD-iBLE APPROX-iMAT-iON DUE TO A FA-iLURE TO D-iST-iNGU-iSh BETWEEN ThESE TWO FUNCT-iONS. tH-iS FA-iLURE -iS RESPONS-iBLE FOR ThE -iNCORRECT SPELL-iNGS FOR EXAMPLE OF ThE NAMES OF zOPA r-iNPOCHE/ kHEN r-iNPOCHE gEShE lOBSANG tHARCH-iN/ AND ThE CAP-iTAL C-iTY OF t-iBET/ lHASA. 3) iN A CASE ThOUGH WHERE A M-iSSPELL-iNG HAS BECOME SUFF-iC-iENTLY STANDARD USAGE/ -iT ShOULD BE RETA-iNED/ AS -iN ThE PREV-iOUS ThREE NAMES. 4) iT -iS -iMPORTANT TO RECOGN-iZE ThAT A LARGE PART OF ThE t-iBETAN ALPHABET HAS NO eNGL-iSh EQU-iVALENT (FOR EXAMPLE/ ThE F-iRST F-iVE LETTERS OF ThE F-iRST COLUMN ThE UNASP-iRATED CONSONANTS/ AND ThE F-iRST F-iVE LETTERS OF ThE Th-iRD COLUMN ThE LOW VO-iCED CONSONANTS EXCEPT -iN CONJUNCT-iON W-iTh A SUPERJO-iNED OR PREF-iX LETTER). tH-iS MEANS ThAT D-iFFERENT eNGL-iSh SPEAKERS W-iLL "HEAR" ThOSE LETTERS ThAT HAVE NO eNGL-iSh EQU-iVALENT AS BE-iNG CLOSE TO D-iFFERENT eNGL-iSh LETTERS/ AND Th-iS -iS PREC-iSELY ThE REASON FOR ThE VAR-iETY OF SYSTEMS -iN CURRENT USAGE (FOR EXAMPLE/ pROF. hOPK-iNS US-iNG "dZONG-KHA-BA" AND pROF. tHURMAN US-iNG "tSONGKHAPA"). bECAUSE -iN MANY CASES ThERE ARE NO EXACT eNGL-iSh EQU-iVALENTS/ ThERE W-iLL NEVER BE A SYSTEM WH-iCH -iS CLEARLY MORE "CORRECT" ThAN ANOThER ONE. nONEThELESS/ -iT -iS -iNCUMBENT UPON ANY TRANSLATOR ALWAYS TO BE CONS-iSTENT -iN ThE METhOD ThEY CHOOSE ULT-iMATELY TO UT-iL-iZE FOR PRONUNC-iAT-iON. 5) tHE SYSTEM OUTL-iNED HERE -iS BASED ON ThE MOST W-iDELY-USED D-iALECT -iN t-iBET/ ThE lHASA D-iALECT. tHE M-iXED USAGE OF D-iFFERENT D-iALECTS -iN ThE PAST -iS RESPONS-iBLE FOR SPELL-iNGS SUCH AS "kANJUR" (FOR kANGYUR)/ "tENJUR" (FOR tENGYUR)/ AND "Z" FOR [za]. 6) tHE FOLLOW-iNG ARE SPEC-iF-iC RULES FOR ThE S-iMPL-iF-iED PRONUNC-iAT-iON OF t-iBETAN. a PRACT-iCAL CHART FOR -iMMED-iATE USAGE -iS FOUND AT ThE END OF ThESE NOTES/ WH-iCH PRESENT RAT-iONAL-iZAT-iONS FOR ThE -iNFORMAT-iON FOUND -iN ThE CHART. t-iBETAN LETTERS APPEAR -iN BRACKETS/ -iN acip TRANSL-iTERAT-iON. 7) tHE USE OF AN ADD-iT-iONAL H TO D-iST-iNGU-iSh BETWEEN ASP-iRATED AND NON-ASP-iRATED CONSONANTS -iS AN ERROR. eNGL-iSh HAS ESSENT-iALLY NO EQU-iVALENTS FOR ThE F-iRST (UNASP-iRATED) COLUMN OF ThE t-iBETAN ALPHABET ([ka]/ [ca]/ [ta]/ [pa]/ AND [tsa]); ALL eNGL-iSh EQU-iVALENTS ARE ThE ASP-iRATED VERS-iONS OF ThE SECOND COLUMN ([kha]/ [cha]/ [tha]/ [pha]/ AND [tsha]). rESPECT-iVE EXAMPLES ARE ThE -iN-iT-iAL SOUNDS -iN ThE WORDS "COP/" "CHOP/" "TOP/" "POP/" AND ThE TSA SOUND -iN "P-iZZA." iT -iS ThEREFORE -iLLOG-iCAL TO ADD AN H TO -iND-iCATE ASP-iRAT-iON W-iTh eNGL-iSh LETTERS WH-iCH ARE BY DEF-iN-iT-iON ALREADY ASP-iRATED; CONVERSELY/ -iT -iS MEAN-iNGLESS TO ATTEMPT TO -iND-iCATE ThAT -iF ThE H -iS ABSENT ThE READER -iS SUPPOSED TO PRONOUNCE ThE CONSONANT AS UNASP-iRATED (WH-iCH NORMAL eNGL-iSh SPEAKERS CANNOT DO). f-iNALLY/ -iT -iS -iNCONS-iSTENT TO ADD Th-iS ADD-iT-iONAL H TO T AND K/ AND ThEN FA-iL TO ADD -iT TO P/ CH/ OR TS. tHEREFORE FOR EXAMPLE WE SUGGEST "jE tSONGKAPA" RAThER ThAN "jE tSONGKHAPA/" AND "TARPA" RAThER ThAN "ThARPA." 8) dESP-iTE ThE FOREGO-iNG/ ThE ADD-iT-iONAL H -iN ThE COLUMN OF sANSKR-iT LETTERS SUCH AS ThE DH -iN "DHARMA" OR ThE GH -iN "SANGHA" HAS BECOME SO PREVALENT ThAT -iT ShOULD BE RETA-iNED/ EVEN ThOUGH -iT HAS NO FUNCT-iONAL VALUE (NO eNGL-iSh SPEAKER PRONOUNCES "DHARMA" ANY D-iFFERENTLY ThAN "DARMA"). 9) tHE COMB-iNAT-iON TZ -iS USED ONLY TO D-iST-iNGU-iSh BETWEEN [tsa] AND [tsha] -iN TRANSL-iTERAT-iON AND HAS NO PLACE -iN PRONUNC-iAT-iON. tHEREFORE "jE tSONGKAPA" RAThER ThAN "jE tZONGKAPA." tHE SAME -iS TRUE OF [z] AND [s]/ AND S ShOULD BE USED FOR BOTh OF ThESE. 10) tHE TREATMENT OF VOWELS -iN t-iBETAN -iS D-iFF-iCULT AND H-iGHLY PRONE TO ThE "TRANSCR-iPT-iON CONFUS-iON" SYNDROME. fOLLOW-iNG ARE ThE CLOSEST EQU-iVALENT SOUNDS -iN eNGL-iShH [a] AS AN OPEN VOWEL OR W-iTh "NEUTRAL" SUFF-iX LETTERS SUCH AS [ga] OR [nga]H USE A AS PRONOUNCED -iN "BALL" [a] W-iTh "UMLAUT-iNG" SUFF-iX LETTERS SUCH AS na OR laH USE E AS PRONOUNCED -iN "GET" (PLEASE NOTE ThAT "UMLAUT-iNG" SUFF-iX LETTERS ARE DEF-iNED -iN ThE CHART BELOW) [i] EXCEPT AS A F-iNAL GEN-iT-iVE ADD-iT-iVEH USE -i AS PRONOUNCED -iN "S-iNG" [i] AS A F-iNAL GEN-iT-iVE ADD-iT-iVEH USE Y AS PRONOUNCED -iN "WAY" [u] USE U AS PRONOUNCED -iN "TUNE" [e] USE E AS PRONOUNCED -iN "GET" [o] AS AN OPEN VOWEL OR W-iTh "NEUTRAL" SUFF-iX LETTERSH USE O AS PRONOUNCED -iN "WOKE" [o] W-iTh "UMLAUT-iNG" SUFF-iX LETTERSH USE U AS PRONOUNCED -iN "TUNE" (EXAMPLE "SUNAM" RAThER ThAN "SONAM" FOR [bsod nams]/ AND "SUPA" RAThER ThAN "SOPA" FOR [bzod pa]) 11) s-iNCE eNGL-iSh VOWELS CAN BE PRONOUNCED -iN A VAR-iETY OF WAYS/ AND ALSO -iN ORDER TO PREVENT ThE M-iSTAKE OF -iNTERPRET-iNG A F-iNAL E AS A S-iLENT eNGL-iSh E CREAT-iNG A LONG VOWEL -iN ThE SYLLABLE BEFORE -iT/ ThE FOLLOW-iNG BR-iEF SUMMARY COULD BE G-iVEN -iN ThE -iNTRODUCT-iON TO TRANSLAT-iONSH A -iS PRONOUNCED AS ThE ONE -iN ThE WORD "BALL" E -iS PRONOUNCED AS -iN "GET" -i -iS PRONOUNCED AS -iN "S-iNG" O -iS PRONOUNCED AS -iN "WOKE" U -iS PRONOUNCED AS -iN "TUNE" Y -iS PRONOUNCED AS -iN "WAY" 12) tHE PRESENCE OF A "PRENASAL" SOUND WH-iCH -iS SUFF-iC-iENTLY NOT-iCEABLE ShOULD BE REFLECTED -iN PRONUNC-iAT-iON. tH-iS -iS NORMALLY WHEN ThEY OCCUR AS SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLES -iN MULT-i-SYLLABLE WORDS PRECEDED BY A SYLLABLE W-iTh AN OPEN VOWEL (EXAMPLE gANDEN FOR [dga' ldan/] OR MENDA ("R-iFLE") FOR [me mda'/]). pRENASALS OCCUR AS SPEC-iF-iED -iN ThE CHART BELOW/ WHENEVER A Th-iRD-COLUMN LETTER OF ThE F-iRST F-iVE ROWS -iS PRECEDED BY ThE PREF-iX LETTER ['a] OR [ma]/ AND ALSO -iN ThE COMB-iNAT-iONS [zl] OR [ld]. 13) tHOSE FEW t-iBETAN WORDS WH-iCH HAVE SPEC-iAL PRONUNC-iAT-iONS OUTS-iDE OF ANY REGULAR RULES ShOULD BE SPELLED AS ThEY ARE NORMALLY PRONOUNCED; FOR EXAMPLE/ DORJE FOR [rdo rje]. 14) s-iLENT SUFF-iX LETTERS SUCH AS [da] OR [sa]/ OR S-iLENT ADD-iT-iVES L-iKE ThE WASUR ARE OBV-iOUSLY NOT REFLECTED -iN PRONUNC-iAT-iON/ EXCEPT -iNSOFAR AS ThEY AFFECT ThE VOWEL (SUCH AS W-iTh ThE "UMLAUT-iNG" SUFF-iX LETTERS -iN ThE WORDS LE [las] OR NE [nad]). 15) hYPHENAT-iON ShOULD BE AVO-iDED AS MUCH AS POSS-iBLE/ AS ShOULD ANYTh-iNG ThAT DOES NOT RESEMBLE A NORMAL eNGL-iSh WORD/ D-iSTRACTS ThE READER/ OR PREVENTS EASY COMMUN-iCAT-iON. cASES WHERE HYPHENAT-iON -iS NECESSARY ARE OUTL-iNED -iN ThE CHART BELOW; ThAT -iS/ WHERE ThE LACK OF HYPHENAT-iON WOULD CAUSE A M-iSREAD-iNG BEFORE SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLES WH-iCH BEG-iN W-iTh t-iBETAN LETTERS REQU-iR-iNG MORE ThAN A S-iNGLE eNGL-iSh CHARACTER. eXAMPLESH PENYUN FOR [phan yon] BUT GE-NYEN FOR [dge gnyen] (WH-iCH WOULD OThERW-iSE BE M-iSREAD AS GEN-YEN); AND KUNGA FOR [kun dga'] BUT TE-NGEN FOR [ltas ngan] (WH-iCH WOULD OThERW-iSE BE M-iSREAD AS TEN-GEN). cASES WH-iCH ARE NOT AMB-iGUOUS DO NOT REQU-iRE HYPHENS; FOR EXAMPLE/ RANGGA FOR [rang dga']/ S-iNCE -iT CAN ONLY BE READ ONE WAY. 16) fOR AUD-iENCES @##2 AND @##3 ABOVE/ ThE USE OF sANSKR-iT TRANSCR-iPT-iON FOR PRONUNC-iAT-iON -iS UNNECESSARY AND OFTEN M-iSLEAD-iNG; -iT CAUSES/ FOR EXAMPLE/ MANY BEG-iNN-iNG DHARMA STUDENTS TO M-iSPRONOUNCE ThE WORDS ShUNYATA (PRONOUNCED AS SUNYATA DUE TO -iGNORANCE OF ThE D-iACR-iT-iC'S FUNCT-iON) AND BODH-iCH-iTTA (PRONOUNCED BODH-iK-iTTA DUE TO M-iSUNDERSTAND-iNG OF ThE S-iNGLE C USED -iN TRANSCR-iPT-iON FOR A NON-ASP-iRATED PALATAL). w-iRTUALLY NO wESTERNER/ SCHOLAR OR NOT/ PRONOUNCES ThE ShORT AND LONG sANSKR-iT VOWELS D-iFFERENTLY FROM EACH OThER/ SO ThE USE OF MACRONS FOR PRONUNC-iAT-iON -iS MEAN-iNGLESS. aS SUCH/ ThE TRANSCR-iPT-iON ShOULD BE CONVERTED TO PRONUNC-iAT-iON FOLLOW-iNG ThE RULES OUTL-iNED -iN ThE CHART BELOW. tRANSCR-iPT-iON -iS APPROPR-iATE -iN GLOSSAR-iES (-iN CONJUNCT-iON W-iTh PRONUNC-iAT-iON)/ AND -iN B-iBL-iOGRAPH-iES/ WH-iCH ARE PR-iMAR-iLY -iNTENDED FOR ThE SCHOLAR. 17) tHE PRONUNC-iAT-iON OF MANTRAS -iN t-iBETAN TEXTS POSES A SPEC-iAL PROBLEM. iN SOME CASES ThE t-iBETAN PRONUNC-iAT-iON -iS CORRECT BUT DOES NOT MATCH ThE CONVENT-iONS OF MODERN sANSKR-iT SCHOLARS (FOR EXAMPLE/ RADZA RAThER ThAN RAJA FOR "K-iNG/" AND WADZRA RAThER ThAN VAJRA FOR "D-iAMOND"). iN OThER CASES ThE t-iBETAN PRONUNC-iAT-iON APPEARS CLEARLY M-iSTAKEN (FOR EXAMPLE/ ThE RETROFLEX DENTAL "T" FOR A WHOLE VAR-iETY OF COMB-iNAT-iONS SUCH AS KR OR GR). wE CANNOT BE COMPLETELY SURE ThOUGH ThAT ThE WAY -iN WH-iCH t-iBETANS PRONOUNCE sANSKR-iT -iS NOT ThE WAY -iN WH-iCH -iT WAS PRONOUNCED -iN iND-iA WHEN ThE TRANSM-iSS-iON WAS BE-iNG MADE TO t-iBET. iT WOULD BE S-iLLY FOR EXAMPLE TO G-iVE t-iBETAN PRONUNC-iAT-iON US-iNG ALL ThE S-iLENT PREF-iX AND SUFF-iX LETTERS (AS -iT WAS MOST L-iKELY ONCE PRONOUNCED)/ RAThER ThAN AS -iT -iS ACTUALLY CURRENTLY PRONOUNCED BY NAT-iVE SPEAKERS. tHE CURRENT PRONUNC-iAT-iON OF SEVERAL iND-iC LANGUAGES -iND-iCATES ThAT MANY OF ThE SEEM-iNGLY PECUL-iAR t-iBETAN PRONUNC-iAT-iONS ARE MORE CORRECT ThAN ThE SYSTEM OF wESTERN SCHOLARS/ WH-iCH S-iMPLY FOLLOWS ThE SPELL-iNG. tHE SOLUT-iON ThEN -iS AS FOLLOWS. fOR TEXTS CLOSELY RELATED TO ThE ORAL TRAD-iT-iON (FOR EXAMPLE/ -iN A WORK BASED ON AN EM-iNENT lAMA'S LECTURES/ OR -iN A R-iTUAL MEANT FOR REC-iTAT-iON -iN A GROUP)/ ThE PRONUNC-iAT-iON OF ThE L-iV-iNG MASTERS OF ThE L-iNEAGE ShOULD BE USED. iF NECESSARY/ A ShORT NOTE AT ThE BEG-iNN-iNG ShOULD EXPLA-iN ThAT Th-iS -iS BE-iNG DONE. oThERW-iSE wESTERN STUDENTS WOULD/ FOR EXAMPLE/ PRONOUNCE PHRASES D-iFFERENTLY ThAN ThE CHANT-iNG MASTER -iN A CEREMONY LED BY A t-iBETAN. iN MORE L-iTERARY TRANSLAT-iONS/ -iNCLUD-iNG MATER-iAL ThAT WAS NOT L-iKELY TO BE REC-iTED -iN A GROUP/ ThE PRONUNC-iAT-iON COULD BE PRESENTED BASED ON ThE CURRENT USAGE OF wESTERN SCHOLARS OF sANSKR-iT; ThAT -iS/ FOLLOW-iNG CLOSELY ThE ThEORET-iCAL PRONUNC-iAT-iON BASED UPON ThE FULL SPELL-iNG. 18) fOR CONS-iSTENCY -iN PHRAS-iNG/ ThE t-iBETAN PHRASE MARKER ShE [shad] ShOULD BE REPRESENTED W-iTh A COMMA/ AND W-iTh A PER-iOD TO REPRESENT TERM-iNAT-iON AT ThE END OF A DEF-iNED VERSE/ MAJOR SECT-iON OF A TEXT/ ETC. 19) nEEDLESS TO MENT-iON/ COMB-iNAT-iONS WHOSE PRONUNC-iAT-iON EQUATES TO OThER LETTERS ARE TREATED AS -iF ThEY WERE ThOSE LETTERS; FOR EXAMPLE/ NY FOR [my]/ J FOR [by]/ DR FOR [br]/ ShOMDRE [zho 'bras]/ YARKA FOR [dbyar kha] summary chart of pronunciation rules [k] = K EXAMPLE KAWA FOR [ka ba] [kh] = K EXAMPLE tSONGKAPA FOR [tsong kha pa] [g] AS MA-iN LETTER/ EXCEPT -iN A PRENASAL/ SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = G EXAMPLE GAWA FOR [dga' ba] [g] AS MA-iN LETTER/ -iN A PRENASAL/ SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = NG EXAMPLE RENGA FOR [re 'ga'] [g] AS SUFF-iX LETTER = K EXAMPLE gELUKPA FOR [dge lugs pa] [g+h] = GH EXAMPLE mAGHADA FOR [ma g+ha da] [ng] EXCEPT AS AMB-iGUOUS BEG-iNN-iNG LETTER OF A SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = NG EXAMPLES NGA FOR [nga] AND LANG FOR [blang] [ng] AS AMB-iGUOUS BEG-iNN-iNG LETTER OF A SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = -NG EXAMPLE KA-NGEL FOR [dka' ngal] [c] = CH EXAMPLE CHUNGSE FOR [cung zad] [ch] = CH EXAMPLE CHU FOR [chos] [j] = EXCEPT -iN A PRENASAL/ SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = J EXAMPLE JAR-iN FOR [ja rin] [j] -iN A PRENASAL/ SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = NJ (TECHN-iCALLY Th-iS ShOULD BE NYJ/ BUT Th-iS WOULD BE TOO D-iFF-iCULT AND D-iSTRACT-iNG FOR wESTERN READERS) EXAMPLE TANJUK FOR [mtha' mjug] [ny] EXCEPT AS AMB-iGUOUS BEG-iNN-iNG LETTER -iN A MULT-iSYLLAB-iC WORD = NY EXAMPLE NYELWA FOR [dmyal ba] [ny] AS AMB-iGUOUS BEG-iNN-iNG LETTER -iN A MULT-iSYLLAB-iC WORD = -NY EXAMPLE CHA-NYAM FOR [cha mnyam] (sANSKR-iT RETROFLEX SER-iESH) [T] = T EXAMPLE T-iKCHEN FOR [TIk chen] [Th] = T EXAMPLE KOTA FOR [ko Tha] [D] AS MA-iN LETTER/ EXCEPT -iN A PRENASAL/ SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = D EXAMPLE DAMARU FOR [Da ma ru] [DH] = DH EXAMPLE UTTARAShADHA FOR [utta ra Sha DHa] [N] = N EXAMPLE PANCHEN FOR [paN chen] [t] = T EXAMPLE TEN FOR [gtan] [th] = T EXAMPLE TARPA FOR [thar pa] [d] AS MA-iN LETTER/ EXCEPT -iN A PRENASAL/ SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = D EXAMPLE DEN FOR [gdan] [d] AS MA-iN LETTER/ -iN A PRENASAL/ SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = ND EXAMPLE gANDEN FOR [dga' ldan] [d+h] = DH EXAMPLE S-iNDHURA FOR [sind+hu ra] [n] = N EXAMPLES NE FOR [gnas] OR LEN FOR [lan] [p] = P EXAMPLE PAWO FOR [dpa' bo] [ph] = P EXAMPLE PENTOK FOR [phan thogs] [b] AS MA-iN LETTER/ EXCEPT -iN A PRENASAL/ SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = B EXAMPLE BARDO FOR [bar do] [b] AS MA-iN LETTER/ -iN A PRENASAL/ SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = MB EXAMPLE CHUMBEP FOR [chu 'bebs] [b] AS SUFF-iX LETTER = P EXAMPLE RAPTU TSAWA FOR [rab tu tsha ba] [b+h] = BH EXAMPLE sAMBHOTA FOR [sam b+ho Ta] [m] = M EXAMPLES MENPA FOR [dman pa] OR R-iMPA FOR [rim pa] [ts] EXCEPT AS AMB-iGUOUS BEG-iNN-iNG LETTER -iN A MULT-iSYLLAB-iC WORD = TS EXAMPLE TSUKPU FOR [gtsug phud] [ts] AS AMB-iGUOUS BEG-iNN-iNG LETTER -iN A MULT-iSYLLAB-iC WORD = -TS (Th-iS -iS SO RARE AS TO BE A NEARLY UNNECESSARY D-iST-iNCT-iON/ S-iNCE ALMOST NO t-iBETAN SYLLABLE EVER ENDS -iN A T SOUND) [tsh] EXCEPT AS AMB-iGUOUS BEG-iNN-iNG LETTER -iN A MULT-iSYLLAB-iC WORD = TS EXAMPLE tSARCHEN FOR [tshar chen] [tsh] AS AMB-iGUOUS BEG-iNN-iNG LETTER -iN A MULT-iSYLLAB-iC WORD = -TS (EQUALLY RARE) [dz] AS MA-iN LETTER/ EXCEPT -iN A PRENASAL/ SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = DZ EXAMPLE DZE FOR [rdzas] [dz] AS MA-iN LETTER/ -iN A PRENASAL/ SUBSEQUENT SYLLABLE = NDZ EXAMPLE SANDZ-iN FOR [gza' 'dzin] [w] = W EXAMPLE WA FOR [wa] [zh] = Sh EXAMPLE ShENPA FOR [zhen pa] [z] = S EXAMPLE SAMPA FOR [zam pa] ['] AS MA-iN LETTER = VOWEL ALONE SEE VOWELS BELOW EXAMPLE OMA FOR ['o ma] ['] AS SUFF-iX LETTER -iN A D-iPThONG = SUBSEQUENT VOWEL ALONE/ EXCEPT WHEN [i] EXAMPLE Y-iN PAO FOR [yin pa'o] ['] AS SUFF-iX LETTER FOLLOWED BY GEN-iT-iVE ADD-iT-iVE = Y EXAMPLE LAMAY TUK FOR [bla ma'i thugs] [y] = Y EXAMPLE YARWA FOR [g.yar ba] [r] = R EXAMPLES R-iMPA FOR [rim pa] AND TSARWA FOR [tshar ba] [l] = L EXAMPLES LELO FOR [le lo] AND SELWA FOR [gsal ba] [sh] = Sh EXAMPLE ShEPA FOR [bshad pa] [s] = S EXAMPLE S-iPA FOR [srid pa] [h] = H EXAMPLE HLA FOR [lha] [a] = VOWEL ALONE SEE NEXT [VOWELSH] [a] EXCEPT BEFORE UMLAUT-iNG SUFF-iX LETTER = A EXAMPLE RANGWANG FOR [rang dbang] [a] BEFORE UMLAUT-iNG SUFF-iX LETTER = E EXAMPLE LENPA FOR [lan pa] [i] = -i EXAMPLE Y-i FOR [yid] [u] = U EXAMPLE LU FOR [lus] [e] = E EXAMPLE LEPPA FOR [sleb pa] [o] EXCEPT BEFORE UMLAUT-iNG SUFF-iX LETTER = O EXAMPLE GONGPA FOR [dgongs pa] [o] BEFORE UMLAUT-iNG SUFF-iX LETTER = U EXAMPLE SUNAM FOR [bsod nams] ("UMLAUT-iNG" SUFF-iX LETTERS ARE DEF-iNED ASH [da] [na] [ra] [la] [sa])