Pronunciation of Sanskrit Words

Sanskrit words and names in Back to Godhead are spelled according to a system accepted by scholars throughout the world which indicates the exact pronunciation of each word. Vowels in Sanskrit are pronounced almost as in Italian. The sound of the short a is like the u in but, the long a is like the a in far and held twice as long as the short a, and e is like the a in evade. Long i is like the i in pique. The vowel r is pronounced like the re in the English word fibre. The c is pronounced as in the English word chair, and the aspirated consonants (ch, jh, dh, etc.) are pronounced as in staunch-heart, hedge-hog, red-hot, etc. The two spirants s and s are pronounced like the English sh; s is pronounced as in sun. Thus Krsna is pronounced KRISHNA, Caitanya is pronounced CHAITANYA, etc.