Quick Question on Pronunciation

bookdemon

I am wondering what the correct pronunciation of the word "Calonarang" is. In older Balinese accounts from the 30s (Covarrubias, Spies, etc), the word is spelled: "Tjalon Arang." This sort of indicates that the C might be pronounced as "CH", like many words from the Sanskrit language but I don't know. How do the Balinese pronounce the word? And, does anyone know if this is a Balinese word or is it Old Javanese? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Richard

bookdemon

Thanks so much for that info. It really helps. best Richard

BaliLife

well i don't know how to write pronunciation... but... yes, the 'C' is pronounced as 'CH', the 'A' is pronounced as a short "U", the same sound U has in "cut", the rest is as it would be in english.. so it would be pronounced as: "Chulonurung" - again emphasizing A's are pronounced as per a U from the word "cut".. (An actual U (which doesn't appear in the word) would be read as per the U in "put").. I know nothing about the word itself (but when googled you get many things that tell you the same - it's javanese in origin: http://www.windsong2.com/stories/calonarang.html) - but from what i've seen javanese and definitely bahasa indonesia, unlike english do not change the pronunciation of a letter based on the word it's in.. For example, what happens to the 'u' in 'put' and 'cut'? it changes.. why? i don't know. but this doesn't happen in javanese or bahasa indonesia.. my wife always reiterates this when she's explaining the spelling of a word.. so given that, you can look at any word in these languages and if you understand the basic alphabet, you know exactly how it will sound.. btw, 'tj' is the old way of writing 'c' and 'dj' the old way of writing 'j' - but i don't know if it's only applicable to the start of a word.. 'oe' is the old way of writing 'u'.. as per my understanding.. ct

Roy

Hi Richard, You ask, [quote]How do the Balinese pronounce the word?[/quote] Phonetically spelled, it would sound just like this: Cha lawn na ranghe, the r being hard and slightly rolled on the tongue.

BaliLife

Wow - I. Didn't realize it'd be so different in balinese.. I checked with my wife, and she confirmed in javanese and indo it would be as I suggested.. But obviously very different to balinese. Ct

bookdemon

Thanks Roy, also very helpful!!! Richard