2/2/2023
Schwa deletion in languages like Hindi is something I do not like
Because the script does not account for that.
For a script that is written in a phonetic script, Hindi sure is not phonetic.
There are legitimate cases where this leads to ambiguous readings like
धड़कने
which can be read as धड़कने (दिल की) or धड़कने (दिल को) depending on where it appears in a sentence. This is absolutely un-acceptable for a language that uses a phonetic script.
Surely there must be a better way of doing this? I understand why this isn't a part of the script, Sanskrit did not have this problem and then we just went along with it but there is a standard Hindi spec and an organization that does the standardization. Why didn't they like add DLC symbols to denote this discrepancy.
Ok fine, marking every deleted schwa will be very un-ergonomic but then maybe perhaps pull a diaeresis and mark all the ones that are to be not syncoped? Like consider this:
दिल को धड़कने दो
दिल की धड़ःकने
A few more words
- सःमझना
- समःझौता
- श्रमदक्षता शास्त्र
How do you even explain schwa deletion to someone who is new to the language? Like do you say: "Hello this script is enunciated exactly how it is written, and each letter has an implicit ə in it unless when marked by a ( ्) then it doesn't. But then most of the symbols without a ' ्' will have thier əs dropped because that is just how the language works. Oh and there is no way to know which əs are dropped."
Why I find this infuriating I do not know but I do.
Also, obviously other languages are guilty of this too, Marathi and Gujarati are the ones I know of. Wikipedia has a good article on this with many examples.