ch04-6.htm
by U Kyaw Tun (UKT), Tun Institute of Learning,
http://www.tuninst.net
From Burmese Grammar and Grammatical Analysis
by A. W. Lonsdale, Education Department, Burma, British Burma Press, Rangoon,
1899. Copied by UKT and staff of TIL . Start: 2008 Aug.
Contents of this page
Formation of words (syllables)
Changing the peak vowel -- ch04-1.htm
Medials --
ch04-2.htm
Coda consonants -- ch04-3.htm
Syllables with coda consonants -- ch04-4.htm
Conjunct Consonants -- ch04-5.htm
mostly
{paaT hsing.} from MLC Myanmar Orthography 1986 (still to be completed 081020)
Conjuncts of row 1
Conjuncts of row 2
Conjuncts of row 3 (mostly in Pali)
Conjuncts of row 4
Conjuncts of row 5
Conjuncts of row 6
Non-onsets
Kinsi
{kn~si:} pronounced as /{king:si:}/
Non-kinsi sign
UKT: From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talipot_palm 081028
Corypha umbraculifera (Talipot palm)is a species of palm, native to southern India (Malabar coast) and Sri Lanka.
The Talipot palm is cultivated throughout southeast Asia, north to southern China. Historically, the leaves were written upon in various Southeast Asian cultures using an iron stylus to create palm leaf manuscripts. The leaves are also used for thatching, and the sap is tapped to make palm wine.
'Talipot' -- Etymology: Beng tālipāt, palm leaf < Sans tālī, fan palm + pattra, leaf> - http://www.yourdictionary.com/talipot 081028
Contents of this page
Contd from p026
42. Conjunct Consonants. -- Many words that are to be found
in the Burmese language are pure Pli words in which two letters
of the same class are written one above the other,
{thic~sa}. UKT
UKT: Lonsdale recognizes only one type of conjuncts and the
{kn~si:}-sign (literally meaning 'mounted by a centipede'):
It came as a surprise to me to find that most Myanmar grammarians (those I have talked to) do not know them as conjuncts. They know the vertical conjunct only as a 'Pali-conjunct' or{tha.kri:}, they seem to know very little. Long before I got myself into Burmese Phonetics, I sought the advice of a learned Burmese-Myanmar monk in Canada as to the pronunciation of this grapheme, and he told me that it had the pronunciation of the ordinary
{tha.} but only a little "heavier". He did not know that being a conjunct it is mute, and that another regular akshara must come before it for a word formed from
{pai~tha}/{paith~tha}.
[Note that I am using <> the Old English "thorn" as killed-{tha.} in the coda to avoid the problem of pronunciation of digraphs in the coda found in English <finger>/<singer>. See DJPD16-365 for pronunciations of these two English words: <sing> /sɪŋ/ (<g> is silent) and <finger> /ˈfɪŋ.gəʳ/ (US) /-gɚ/ (<g> is pronounced).]
Ordinary Burmese-Myanmar speakers are intrigued by the pronunciation of the Myanmar word for 'education':pyin-nya. Why is this word not pronounced pa-nya instead of pyin-nya? They do not realized that this word is Pali-derived or
{pa-Li.thak wau:ha-ra.}, and that this grapheme nya-gyi is really a horizontal conjunct of two nya-le. And therefore
{pi~a}. This is confusing because in Burmese-Myanmar akshara table, the position r2c5 is occupied by nya-gyi and so the pronunciation of this grapheme
{a.} one of "pure" Burmese origin (e.g.
{aung ping} 'banyan tree' Ficus benghalensis ) and the other of Pli origin (e.g. {pi~a}
The conjunct in
UKT: Except for words involving {kn~si:} and the conjuncts of akshara-row 1, vertical conjuncts are rare in Burmese-Myanmar. However, they are found mostly in Pali-Myanmar because of which the vertical conjuncts are commonly known as
The letters so written form a double consonant, commonly called {thn-yoat}
than-yk (fn026-01), Conjunct
Consonant. The top letter is a final consonant [UKT: i.e. the coda], and
affects the preceding vowel in the manner of the that letters already
described; the lower forms the initial of the next syllable in the word; thus,
.
UKT: In the following tables, I am giving examples of words (including Pali-derived words accepted by MLC in its MOrtho - page numbers given) in which a particular conjunct or its derivative appears.
| Conjunct | Combined with (UKT: You can also use {a.}-syllables I have given instead of the vowel-letters. Examples from MOrtho page numbers given.) |
||||
| final |  {a.} or  {a} |
 {I.}/  {i.} |
 {U.}/  (u.} |
 {}/  {} |
 {AU:}/  {au} |
 {k~ka.} |
{ak~ka.} ek-ka 103  {tak~ka.thol} |
{aik~ka.} eik-ka 285  {AU:za taik~ka.ma.} |
{oak~ka.} k-ka 287  {oak~kaT~Hta.} |
--- | {auk~ka.} ouk-ka |
 {k~hka.} |
{ak~hka.} ek-kha 287  {ak~hka.ra} |
{aik~hka.} eik-kha 262  {thaik~hka-kya.} |
{oak~hka.} k-kha 225  {roak~hka.so:nat} |
{k~hka.} ik-hka | {auk~hka.} ouk-kha |
 {g~ga.} |
{ag~ga.} eg-ga 287  {ag~gi.rp} |
{aig~ga.} eig-ga | {oag~ga.} g-ga | {g~ga.} ig-ga | {aug~ga.} oug-ga |
 {n~ka.} |
{n~ka.} in-ka 287
~kyi |
{an~ka.} ein-ka | n-ka | --- | --- |
 {n~hka.} |
{n~hka.} in-hka 263  {thn~hkya} (UKT01) |
{an~hka.} ein-hka | n-hka | --- | --- |
 {n~ga.} |
{n~ga.} in-ga
MEDict622
{n-ga.laip} |
{an~ga.} ein-ga 263  {than~ga.naik-rhw} |
n-ga |
--- | --- |
 {n~Ga.} |
{n~Ga.} in-ga | {an~Ga.} ein-g | --- | --- | --- |
UKT01: Lonsdale is not consistent in transcription of
 {hka.}. He uses both kha and hka. [{p026end}] |
|||||
| Conjunct | Combined with (UKT: You can also use {a.}-syllables I have given instead of the vowel-letters. Examples from MOrtho page numbers given.) |
||||
| final | {a.} or {a} |
{I.} / {i.} |
{U.} / (u.} |
{} / {} |
{AU:} / {au} |
 {c~sa.} |
{ic~sa.} is-sa 264 {thic~sa} |
{aic~sa.} eis-sa 009
 {kaic~sa.} |
{oac~sa.} s-sa MEDict625
 {OAc~sa} |
--- | --- |
 {c~hsa.} |
{ic~hsa.} is-hsa 195  {mic~hsa.ri.ya.} |
{aic~hsa.} eis-hsa 195  {maic~hsa} |
{oac~hsa.} s-hsa 148  {poac~hsa} |
--- | s-hsa |
 {z~za.} |
{mic~za.} iz-za | {aiz~za.} eiz-za 252  {wa-naiz~za.b-da.} |
--- | --- | ouz-za |
 {z~Za.} |
{iz~za.} iz-za 195
 {miz~zi.ma.} |
{aiz~Za.} eiz-za | z-za | --- | ouz-za |
| {~a.} |
{i~a.} in-nya 140 {pi~a.} |
{ai~a.} ein-nya | n-nya | --- | --- |
 {~sa.} (UKT01) |
{i~sa.} in-sa 148
 {pi~sa.ma.} |
ein-sa | n-sa | --- | n-sa |
 {~hsa.} (UKT01) |
{i~hsa.} in-hsa | --- | n-hsa | --- | -- |
 {~za.} (UKT01) |
{i~za.} in-sa 264  {thi~za-li} |
{ai~za.} ein-za 264  {thai~zo:nga.r:} |
n-za |
--- | -- |
UKT01 - Note the closeness in shapes of consonant
 {a.} and vowel-letter
{U.}: in the conjuncts one can be easily taken as the other. |
|||||
| Conjunct | Combined with (UKT: You can also use {a.}-syllables I have given instead of the vowel-letters. Examples from MOrtho page numbers given.) |
||||
| final | {a.} or {a} |
{I.} / {i.} |
{U.} / (u.} |
{} / {} |
{AU:} / {au} |
 {T~Ta.} |
at-ta | --- | --- | --- | t-ta |
 {T~Hta.} (UKT01) |
{aT~Hta.}
at-hta 288  {aT~Hta.ma.} |
eit-hta | t-hta | {T~Hta.} it-hta 265  {thT~Ht:} |
ut-hta |
 {~a.} (UKT02) |
ad-da, or d-da with O | --- | d-da | --- | --- |
 {N~Ta.} |
{aN~Ta.} --- 009
{kaN~Ta.kau:sa.loap} |
--- | --- | --- | --- |
 {N~Hta.} |
{aN~Hta.} an-hta
009
 {kaN~Hta.Htaan} |
--- | --- | --- | --- |
 {N~a.} |
{aN~a.} an-da 009
{a.hkan: kaN~a.} |
{aiN~a.} ein-da
149
{paiN~a.paat-hswam:} |
n-da | in-da | n-da |
 {N~Na.} |
{aN~Na.} an-na, or n-na with O, 009
 {kaN~Na.thu.hka.} |
ein-na | {oaN~Na.} n-na 149  {poaN~Na:} |
--- | --- |
UKT01 - This is the horizontal conjunct of  {Ta.} and
 {Hta.}UKT02 - This is the conjunct of  {a.} and
 {a.}.
This conjunct is very rare. It cannot be described either vertical or horizontal, because {a.} has been enlarged, and {a.} is half-inside and half outside {a.}. |
|||||
| Conjunct | Combined with (UKT: You can also use {a.}-syllables I have given instead of the vowel-letters. Examples from MOrtho page numbers given.) |
||||
| final | {a.} or {a} |
{I.} / {i.} |
{U.} / (u.} |
{} / {} |
{AU:} / {au} |
 {t~ta.} |
{t~ta.} at-ta 288  {t~ta.}
(UKT: {at~ta.} is more
familiar.} |
{ait~ta.} eit-ta 273  {a.kying. sa-rait~ta.} |
{OAt~ta.} t-ta 289  {OAt~ta.ra.} |
{t~ta.} it-ta 196
 {mt~ta-sa} |
t-ta |
 {t~hta.} |
t-hta | {ait~hta.} eit-hta | t-hta | it-hta | t-hta |
 {d~da.} |
{d~da.} ad-da 265 
{thd~da} |
eid-da | d-da | --- | --- |
 {d~Da.} |
ad-da | {aid~Da.} eid-da 266  {thaid~Di.} |
{oad~Da.} d-da 266  {thoad~Da.kri.ya} |
--- | --- |
 {n~ta.} |
{tan~ta.} an-ta 010
{kan~ta.ra.} |
ein-ta | n-ta | in-ta | n-ta |
 {n~hta.} |
{an~hta.} --- 055
 {gan~hta.wing} |
--- | n-hta | --- | --- |
 {n~da.} |
an-da | ein-da | n-da | in-da | --- |
 {n~Da.} |
{an~Da.} an-da 055  {gan~Da.ma-pan:} |
{ain~Da.} ein-da 266  {thain~Dau: hsa:} |
n-da | --- | --- |
 {n~na.} |
an-na | ein-na | n-na | --- | --- |
| Conjunct | Combined with (UKT: You can also use {a.}-syllables I have given instead of the vowel-letters. Examples from MOrtho page numbers given.) |
||||
| final | {a.} or {a} |
{I.} / {i.} |
{U.} / (u.} |
{} / {} |
{AU:} / {au} |
 {p~pa.} |
{p~pa.} ap-pa 267  {thp~pa-ra.} |
{aip~pa.} eip-pa 267  {thaip~pn} |
p-pa | --- | p-pa |
 {p~ba.} |
|||||
 {b~ba.} |
ab-ba | eib-ba | b-ba | --- | b-ba |
 {b~Ba.} |
ab-ba | eib-ba | --- | ||
 {m~pa.} |
am-pa | eim-pa | m-pa | --- | --- |
 {m~hpa.} |
am-hpa | --- | --- | --- | --- |
 {m~ba.} |
am-ba | eim-ba | --- | --- | --- |
 {m~Ba.} |
{am~Ba.} am-ba 012
 {kam~Ba} |
eim-ba | m-ba | --- | --- |
 {m~ma.} |
am-ma | eim-ma | m-ma | --- | --- |
UKT: The above table straddles [{p027 and p028}]
| Conjunct | Combined with (UKT: You can also use {a.}-syllables I have given instead of the vowel-letters. Examples from MOrtho page numbers given.) |
||||
| final | {a.} or {a} |
{I.} / {i.} |
{U.} / (u.} |
{} / {} |
{AU:} / {au} |
 {l~la.} |
{al~la.} an-la 189  {mal~li.ka tan-hsa} |
{ail~la} --- 189  {mail~la} |
n-la |
--- | --- |
 {~a.}/{th~tha.} |
{a~tha.} at-tha
292  {a~tha.tor mring:} |
{ai~tha} eit-tha
153  {pai~tha} |
{oa~tha} t-tha
292  {oa~tha-ha.} |
it-tha |
--- |
43. The nasal
{a.}
is a single letter [UKT: grapheme] in Burmese, but in Pli it is invariably a
double or conjunct consonant. The corresponding single letter in Pli is
{a.}. UKT
UKT: I have two comments to make with regards to the above paragraph.
The Burmese-Myanmar{hkyi} (MLC /chin/ 'sour' - MEDict072) and
{hky} (MLC /chi/ 'cotton' - MEDict072).
The improper representation of
[It is] called nya-ga-le 'small nya', so that the [grapheme]
{a.}
(called nya-gy: 'big nya'), when it occurs in Pli words, is equivalent to
two nya-ga-les, one final [UKT: coda] and the other initial [UKT: onset] as in
{wai~a-Na.} wein-ny-na. In such words, as
{aaN} nyan
'knowledge, intellect', pinsa-ma 'fifth', etc., the letter [grapheme] occurs
as a single consonant, and the double form
should
not, therefore, be used as is sometimes done ; for, the letter being Pli, the
words would read {~aaN} nya-nyan, and {pi~a.sa.ma.} pin-nya-sa-ma
respectively.
The conjunct consonant
[UKT:
grapheme - "consonant" is not appropriate because it is mute, whereas
{Hta.}
is not -- retroflex [ʈʰ].] is formed by uniting the upper part of
{Ta.}
with the lower part of
{Hta.} .
{~a.}/{th~tha.}
is a double
{a.}/{tha.}.
UKT:
44. There are a few Pli words in use in the Burmese language, in which the
consonant 
{ya.}
is doubled. In such cases, the
{ya.} is
written with its symbol appended; thus,
{w-n-yya.}
we-neyya}. [{p028end}]
UKT: The caption is mine. A conjunct should never be used as an onset of a syllable because it is mute -- only the medials formed with the approximants
{ya. , ra. , wa. , ha.} which are not mute can become onsets. It should be noted that in the formed medials, these medial formers appear with their shapes changed:
. In par 45, Lonsdale fails to notice that his "double letters" are erroneously written: I have presented them in red.
45. Sometimes a word of purely Burmese origin is found written with double letters, as
,
.
These double letters, however, are not conjunct consonants [UKT: non-medials],
but are merely placed over each other to save space in writing; thus,
stands for
{tha.ma:} tha-m: , and
for
{tha.mi:} tha-m:.
UKT: This is my caption. The sign
46. The final consonant
{nga.tht}
[UKT: coda] is occasionally removed from its natural position and placed over
the initial consonant of the next syllable; thus
{n~kyi} for
{ing:kyi} 'a jacket';
{thn~Bau:} for
{thing-Bau:} 'a ship'. It will be seen that the two round dots are omitted, but
this does not affect the pronunciation. The words thus written as Burmese,
though they look as if they were of Pli origin. The
{nga.tht} used in this way is called
{king:si:}
[UKT: which literally means "ridden by a centipede".]. [{p029end}]
by UKT. See also abbreviations in ch06.htm .
There is a sign that looks like a
{kn~si:},
but which is not. It is found in some words such as
and
.
There were more words like these such as
but they have been abandoned by MLC. The words are abbreviations:
for
{kywan-noap} [a form personal pronoun "I"] (MEDict049);
for 
{yauk-kya:}
[meaning: 'man'] (MEDict384);
for 
{lak-ya}
[meaning: 'right' as in direction right-hand -- not listed by MLC]. The sign
being referred to is actually the
{a.tht}-sign,
but used in such a irregular way such that it no longer merits to be called {a.tht}.
It is used similar to a
{kn~si:}
which actually a small
{nga.tht} placed over a regular akshara or a conjunct. Here the non-kinsi stands for
{na.tht} but the
{na.} is not
shown in the first case, and for
{ka.tht} but the
{ka.} is
not shown in the second. That is why I have called it the non-kinsi.
UKT: End of Chapter IV .
fn026-01 From the Pli
{thn-yau:ga.} 'union', 'bond'
fn026-01b
End of TIL file