UNDERSTANDING IAST FONTS

NOTES ON TRANSLITERATION

IAST – INTERNATIONAL ALPHABET OF SANSKRIT TRANSLITERATION

Pronouncing the first 25 Sanskrit consonants
Consonants
First Group
Guttural
Original characters	Transliteration	Information
क	ka	It is a unaspirate hard letter. In short, this letter does not reverberate (hard), and it does not need any exhalation (unaspirate) to be pronounced. It is just as "k" in "kick".
ख	kha	It is an aspirate hard letter. In short, this letter does not reverberate (hard), but it does need an exhalation (aspirate) to be pronounced. Just as "k" but with an exhalation of air.
ग	ga	It is a unaspirate soft letter. In short, this letter does reverberate (soft), but it does not need any exhalation (unaspirate) to be pronounced. It is just as "g" in "game".
घ	gha	It is an aspirate soft letter. In short, this letter reverberates (soft), and it needs an exhalation (aspirate) to be pronounced. Just as "g" but with an exhalation of air.
ङ	ṅa	It is a nasal soft letter. It sounds just as "n" in "bang". All nasal letters are soft.
Palatal
च	ca	It is a unaspirate hard letter. In short, this letter does not reverberate (hard), and it does not need any exhalation (unaspirate) to be pronounced. It is just as "ch" in "champion", but it is written "c" not "ch". Careful!
छ	cha	It is an aspirate hard letter. In short, this letter does not reverberate (hard), but it does need an exhalation (aspirate) to be pronounced. Just as "c" but with an exhalation of air. It does not sound like English "ch". Careful!
ज	ja	It is a unaspirate soft letter. In short, this letter does reverberate (soft), but it does not need any exhalation (unaspirate) to be pronounced. It is just as "j" in "Jane".
झ	jha	It is an aspirate soft letter. In short, this letter reverberates (soft), and it needs an exhalation (aspirate) to be pronounced. Just as "j" but with an exhalation of air.
ञ	ña	It is a nasal soft letter. It sounds like "nya". All nasal letters are soft.
Cerebral (Cacuminal)
ट	ṭa	It is a unaspirate hard letter. In short, this letter does not reverberate (hard), and it does not need any exhalation (unaspirate) to be pronounced. It is just as "t" but with the tongue rolled slightly backward (pressing against the roof).
ठ	ṭha	It is an aspirate hard letter. In short, this letter does not reverberate (hard), but it does need an exhalation (aspirate) to be pronounced. Just as "ṭ" but with an exhalation of air.
ड	ḍa	It is a unaspirate soft letter. In short, this letter does reverberate (soft), but it does not need any exhalation (unaspirate) to be pronounced. It is just as "d" but with a slight rolling back of the tongue.
ढ	ḍha	It is an aspirate soft letter. In short, this letter reverberates (soft), and it needs an exhalation (aspirate) to be pronounced. Just as "ḍ" but with an exhalation of air.
ण	ṇa	It is a nasal soft letter. It sounds like a "n" but with a slight rolling back of the tongue (as in "turn"). All nasal letters are soft.
Dental
त	ta	It is a unaspirate hard letter. In short, this letter does not reverberate (hard), and it does not need any exhalation (unaspirate) to be pronounced. It is just as "t" in "time", with the tongue pressing the back of the teeth.
थ	tha	It is an aspirate hard letter. In short, this letter does not reverberate (hard), but it does need an exhalation (aspirate) to be pronounced. Just as "t" but with an exhalation of air.
द	da	It is a unaspirate soft letter. In short, this letter does reverberate (soft), but it does not need any exhalation (unaspirate) to be pronounced. It is just as "d" in "doubt".
ध	dha	It is an aspirate soft letter. In short, this letter reverberates (soft), and it needs an exhalation (aspirate) to be pronounced. Just as "d" but with an exhalation of air.
न	na	It is a nasal soft letter. It sounds like "n" in "name". All nasal letters are soft.
Labial
प	pa	It is a unaspirate hard letter. In short, this letter does not reverberate (hard), and it does not need any exhalation (unaspirate) to be pronounced. It is just as "p" in "pink".
फ	pha	It is an aspirate hard letter. In short, this letter does not reverberate (hard), but it does need an exhalation (aspirate) to be pronounced. Just as "p" but with an exhalation of air.
ब	ba	It is a unaspirate soft letter. In short, this letter does reverberate (soft), but it does not need any exhalation (unaspirate) to be pronounced. It is just as "b" in "boat".
भ	bha	It is an aspirate soft letter. In short, this letter reverberates (soft), and it needs an exhalation (aspirate) to be pronounced. Just as "b" but with an exhalation of air.
म	ma	It is a nasal soft letter. It sounds like "m" in "make". All nasal letters are soft.

More consonants
Second Group
The 4 Semivowels
Original characters	Transliteration	Information
य	ya	It is a palatal soft letter. The sound is just as "y" in "yet". All Semivowels are soft, that is to say, they reverberate.
र	ra	It is a cerebral soft letter. "r" is not just as English "r" at all. The tongue rolls slightly backward till it presses against the roof, but not the soft palate. And the sound is slightly stronger than the English "r" sound.
ल	la	It is a dental soft letter. The sound is just as "l" in "land", but with the tongue fully pressing the back of the teeth.
व	va	It is a labial soft letter. The sound is just as "v" in "vain", but sometimes, when it comes after a consonant it is usually pronounced as "u" (Sanskrit "u", not English "u"... in English it would be "w"). For example: "svāmī" (master) is generally articulated as "swāmī". However, you can also pronounce "svāmī", and it is correct too.
Third Group
The 3 Sibilants
श	śa	It is a palatal hard letter. The sound is just as "sh" in "show". All Sibilants are hard, that is to say, they do not reverberate.
ष	ṣa	It is a cerebral hard letter. The sound is just as "ś", but with a slight rolling back of the tongue.
स	sa	It is a dental hard letter. The sound is just as "s" in "surf".
Fourth Group
Sonant Aspirate
ह	ha	It is a guttural soft letter. The sound is just as "h" in "hello".

(Information courtesy http://www.sanskrit-sanscrito.com.ar)

Further guide to pronunciation:

Sanskrit plural is difficult to understand. Let us take the example of nāma, the origin of which is nāman.  Nāma means name.  The correct plural of nāma is nāmāni. In order to avoid confusion plural of nāma is used in this book as nāma-s.  All the words in hyphenated form mean plural. 

Let us take another word sahasrāra.  It is generally pronounced as sahasrārā.  The actual Sanskrit word is sahasrāra (सहस्रार).  Only actual Sanskrit words in transliterated forms are used in this site.