by Carole Losee © 2005-2020
ELIZABETH SEEGER'S
EASTERN RELIGIONS
PRONUNCIATION OF FOREIGN WORDS
As a general rule:
a = ah, as in father
e = e, as in set
ei = ay, as in rein
i = ee, as in police
o = o, as in hole
u = u, as in rule
ai = y, as in cry
ao or au = ow, as in now
In Chinese words the consonants are usually softened: Tao = dow; chou = jo; tse = dze. The final e is hardly pronounced at all; the only approximate sound in English is the e in the.
In Indian words there is no th, as in tooth. The t and the h are separate, as in foothold. The Buddha's given name is pronounced Sidd-hart-ha. The unaccented a's are pronounced as they are in English; the two a's in Gótama are like the two final a's in Canada.
Seeger, Eastern Religions, Print edition, op. cit., p. vii.