Page:The Southlands Of Siva.pdf/9



the Indian words (except those which have passed into current speech) pronounce the unaccented “a” like the “u” in “but” and the unaccented “u” like the “oo” in “ foot.” It has not been thought necessary to distinguish between the various forms of consonants, although, in the Dravidian languages, the hard and soft “d” and “t” differ considerably in sound.