Jump to content
IndiaDivine.org

Spelling - Balaram or Balarama ?

Rate this topic


Vrindavan

Recommended Posts

  • 6 months later...

The problem is that English is not a phonetic language. In other words, the same symbol can be pronouned in various ways. So, we have to decide what symbols we should use if we want to show Sanskrit words in Roman script.

 

Different transliteration schemes are used. I will mention here the two most common ones.

 

1. Put a line above a letter to show long pronunciation and no such line to show short pronuniciation.

 

So, the letter 'a' is pronouned the way 'u' is pronouned in 'cup'.

 

But if you put a small horizontal line above 'a', then it is pronouned the way 'a' is pronouned in 'fast'.

 

According to this scheme, the answer to your question is that the correct spelling is

'Balarama'

 

But there is one modification to be made in the above. The third 'a' should have a small horizontal line above it. (Sorry, I do not know how to do that using my keyboard).

In Balarama, there are four a's. First, second and fourth have short sound. The third has long sound.

 

2. Combination of lowercase and uppercase letters.

'A' is used for long 'a' sound as 'a' in 'fast'.

'a' is used for short 'a' sound as 'u' in 'cup'.

 

So, you should write

'balarAma'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...