5

wikipedia : Devnagari :- : "The avagraha ऽ (usually transliterated with an apostrophe) is a Sanskrit punctuation mark for the elision of a vowel in sandhi: एकोऽयम् ekoyam (< ekas + ayam) "this one". An original long vowel lost to coalescence is sometimes marked with a double avagraha: सदाऽऽत्मा sadātmā (< sadā + ātmā) "always, the self". Its main function is to show that a vowel is sustained in a cry or a shout:"

Do we have a similar feature in any other languages? How is the 'stretching' of a long vowel denoted in other languages ?

Improve this question
12
  • What's the definition of "sustained" in that quote: original vowel not dropped?
    – kaleissin
    Sep 27 '13 at 12:39
  • No, as per rules of Sanskrit a vowel can not be omitted.
    – ARi
    Sep 27 '13 at 12:41
  • 1
    @ARi: As I understand your question avagraha has two functions: (1) Marking vowel elision in sandhi, and (2) expressing a cry or shout. Also, you say function number two is the main function. Is that correct?
    – robert
    Sep 27 '13 at 13:26
  • 1
    I (and I suspect others as well) don't understand what you mean by a 'shout' here.
    – Gaston Ümlaut
    Sep 28 '13 at 8:44
  • 1
    Yes, all that is fine. What I disagree with is that pluta is the main function of the avagraha symbol. The Wikipedia page you quoted from specifically says "In Hindi" -- you have removed it while quoting. Also, as @TKR said, it's about elongation (which can happen in a cry or shout, but elsewhere too), not shouting in particular.
    – ShreevatsaR
    Oct 29 '13 at 5:24
3

extract from google books

Music and musical thought in early India

The aspect of pluta is brought out here ........
........

Improve this answer
2

Suau (Austronesian, PNG) has a particle indicating a continuing action, which is phonetically a long /e/ which can last for as long as a couple of seconds, and is written simply as eee--.

Abo   i   dalahai,  i   dalahai,  i   lau,  ie  sae,
then  he  take.off  he  take.off  he  go    he  go.up
  ie  sae,   ie  sae,   ie  sae,   ie  sae    eee--,  i   hekau.
  he  go.up  he  go.up  he  go.up  he  go.up  CONT    he  dim
"He was taking off, and going on, going up and up (x5) until he was out of sight."

Source: Russ Cooper (academia.edu)

Improve this answer
1
  • The particle indicates continuing action but does not indicate a continuing sound such as "Aaaaaah" which can be written in sanskrit as AssssH, note a vowel can only be applied to a consonent in sanskrit.
    – ARi
    Oct 21 '13 at 5:43

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.