File:Jap Ji Sahib Phonetic Script.pdf

The inspiration to transliterate the exact pronunciation of the Jap Ji Sahib came after

attending the European Yoga Festival in France, where I was very fortunate to have sat with

groups of individuals from the festival and supported them with the correct reading of the

Jap Ji Sahib. Despite using the roman transliteration to guide them, many of the individuals

were struggling to articulate and pronounce the various sounds accurately or could not

distinguish between how certain consonant and vowel sounds were physically produced.

It was at this point I identified there was a great need for those who were illiterate in

Gurmukhi and required more than just the roman transliteration. Having studied Linguistics

at university, I was able to analyse the distinctive sounds, phonemes and the separation of

words and syllables of various international languages. I decided to put these skills to use

and phonetically create the sounds of Gurmukhi through the IPA to allow the reader to

recognise and articulate the various consonant and vowel sounds of Gurmukhi as accurately

as possible.

A phonetic chart has been created below, which provides examples of each symbol with its

correct pronunciation and tips on how to articulate the sound according to its place and

manner when reciting the phonetic transliteration of the Jap Ji Sahib.

Harjinder Singh ~ <a href="mailto:">[email protected]</a>