Posted:
The larki vs ladki debate reminded me of how I discovered the different sounds of J.
A couple of Spanish members on an online forum used to type "Jajaja". It baffled the crap out of me. One day I decided to just ask. Turns out Spanish people pronounce "J" with an "h" sound so it was pretty much the Spanish equivalent of "hahaha". Jesus is pronounced closer to Hey Zeus in Latin.
I also learned that in Slavic and Scandinavian languages "j" is pronounced "y". The Swedish name "Maarja" is pronounced closer to "Maria". There are no Julias in Russia. Only Yulias.
Then "ll" also gives a Y sound in Spanish/Latin. That's why its pronounced Tort-iya not tort-illa. Guajillo peppers are gua-hi-yo peppers.
Also "X" in Latin transliteration is closer to "h", but in Mandarin is closer to "hsh". Mexico is pronounced "Mehico" by locals. And Xiao long bao (soup dumpling) is pronounced "shao lang bao"
From what I understand Urdu uses the retroflex r which sounds closer to a d. Hence Urdu speakers use an 'r' when transliterating into English.
Ultimately, English with only 26 alphabets is an extremely limited language. It simply is a very crude medium to capture the variety of sounds used in other languages. Which is why transliterating into English is a messy affair with many variances.
Itti Si Khushi Sab TV
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