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that is really interesting. what happens as the language that the script represents changes? redesign?

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what happens as the language that the script represents changes? redesign?

I suppose that as words change in pronunciation, their "spelling" will change. (Something which did not happen in English after Chaucer's time basically.) If the phonology of the language changes, i suppose new characters could be designed. Not sure how the folks at the Unicode consortium will feel about that.

And, by the way, how do you pronounce ताज महल? I've always said /taʤ məhəl/. Do you say it with a /z/ instead of a /ʤ/? (And, now that I think about it, my त is more alveolar than purely dental.)


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Quote:
And, by the way, how do you pronounce ताज महल? I've always said /taʤ məhəl/. Do you say it with a /z/ instead of a /ʤ/? (And, now that I think about it, my त is more alveolar than purely dental.)


my comment was not so much about the 'consonants' as the vowels. although hindi in devnagri is closer to that 1 sound per syllable thing than say english written in roman is, a stricter representation of the sound of the महल would be महेल or possibly महैल. Firangi tend to overcorrect and say it as if it were ताज माहाल. I was watching an old movie the other day and a native speaker used that pronunciation when speaking Hindi which REALLY surprised me because normally even when speaking English native speakers say it as described above.

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that should be 1 sound per symbol not per syllable. tried editing but it was going to mangle the devnagri

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ot so much about the 'consonants' as the vowels

Hmm. So are you talking about the pronunciation in Persian (Farsi), Urdu, or Hindi? The Wikipedia article on Mumtaz Mahal (née Arjumand Banu Begum) gives /mumtɑːz mɛhɛl/ (link) as a pronunciation. (I really must learn the Perso-Arabic alphabet someday, so I can look things up in Persian or Urdu.) I actually hear most anglophones say it as ताज महाल. (By the way, I have always liked the term Firang for European, via Perisan and Arabic from Latin Francus 'Frank'.)


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Originally Posted By: zmjezhd
(By the way, I have always liked the term Firang for European, via Persian and Arabic from Latin Francus 'Frank'.)


its not very politically correct to admit this in today's India but I love the Persian influence on Hindi. When I listen to spoken Persian I enjoy being teased by the fragments that I recognise.

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the term Firang for European Firang meaning foreigner?
Thanks for the response to my OP. smile

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Firang meaning foreigner?

In Arabic, I think the meaning was 'European' as in the crusaders. In Persian, it seems to have been extended to mean non-Persians. You may be familiar with another spelling ferengi.

And, in re OP, yw.


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