3. matraaENn (Vowel-Signs)
As we have discussed, for every svar we have a mark or sign called maatraa (मात्रा; matra). Plural of maatraa is maatraaEN (मात्राएँ; matra/s). These maatraaEN are applied over consonants to form syllables. To distinguish these maatraaEN from vowel modifiers we will call these as mukhya maatraaEN. mukhya (मुख्य) means 'main' or 'prime'.
Some of these marks are applied above consonants, some are applied below consonants, some are applied before consonants, while rest are applied after the consonants. The maatraaEN which are applied after the consonants are the easiest as they follow normal pronunciation naturally.
A maatraa which is applied before the consonants require care while writing manually. Fortunately computers now-a-days can re-order characters in a syllable automatically hence we are required to type naturally, irrespective of where the matra is to be applied. Also there is only one such matra in DevaNagari - ि (chhoTee EE kee maatraa).
In the following figure you can see svar/s (vowels and diphthongs) and their respective maatraaEN (matras). The dotted circles are just placeholders for base-letters (consonants). They are drawn by computers, so we can understand the relative position of these maatraaEN.
For every vowel (except 'a' ) or diphthong we have a matra in DevaNagari.
To pronounce two consonants (of a word) separately we need at least one vowel between them!
Every consonant of DevaNagari has inherent vowel 'a'. So when we simply write consecutive consonants in a word, we pronounce 'a' in-between these consonants.
Eg. 'कम' (AkShar-ka AkShar-ma) is pronounced as 'kam' (similar in pronunciation to English word 'come'). In DevaNagari the last 'a' is not pronounced, so we don't pronounce 'कम' as 'kama'!
When we apply a maatraa to a consonant, the inherent svar 'a' is dropped and the vowel related to the maatraa is pronounced. So if we apply a maatraa 'ु' (maatraa-u) on 'क' (AkShar-ka) and write a word 'कुम' (AkShar-ka maatraa-u AkShar-ma) then we pronounce this word as as 'kum'.
We generally remember which maatraa is applicable in a spelling! But even if we don't remember we can apply a proper maatraa, after a bit of practice! We need to be a bit careful while using either ि or ी and while using either ु or ू .
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