Page:A Grammar of the Telugu language.djvu/35

Rh కౌ ఖౌ గౌ ఘౌ చౌ ఛౌ జౌ ఝౌ టౌ ఠౌ డౌ ఢౌ ణౌ తౌ థౌ దౌ ధౌ నౌ పౌ ఫౌ బౌ భౌ మౌ యౌ రౌ లౌ శౌ షౌ సౌ హౌ క్షౌ.

For the sake of uniformity in the dictionary, the monosyllable forms of AI and AU are used. Thus, for the words పయిట​ pa-yi-ta (a woman's veil) and కవుజు ca-vu-zu (a partridge) we must use the spelling పైట and కౌజు. Sanscrit words invariably use the monosyllabic forms: Telugu words use these or the dissyllabic forms at pleasure. Poets adopt whichever form suits the metre. Thus కౌగిలి cau-gi-li (an embrace) is a dactyl, formed of a long syllable and two shorts. But this may be written కవుగిలి ca-vu-gi-li (four shorts) or by inserting ం that is, N, they write కవుంగిలి ca-vun-gi-li whereby the second syllable becomes long.

The reader now perceives that the vowels may be thus diversified.

ఇ may become య; for ఈ they use యా; for ఉ, and ఊ, వు and వూ; for ఎ and ఏ they use యె యే; for ఐ they always write అయ​; for, ఒ and ఓ they use వెు and వెూ or even యొ yo, యో yō. And ఔ au becomes అవు.

The first 25 consonants, as shewn in the alphabet stand in five lines each of which contains four letters beside a nasal.

The four letters which thus form one line are looked upon as one and the same. This particularly happens as regards initials wherein according to grammatical principles denominated sandhi, (which will be explained elsewhere) the “hard” letters కచటతప​ are softened and respectively become గజడదబ​.