[Footnote 5: The admirable Essay by Professor H.H. Wilson, prefixed to his Hindú Theatre, is the principal source of the information which I have here given.]
[Footnote 6: Wilson's Hindú Theatre, p. xii.]
RULES FOR THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE PROPER NAMES.
Observe, that in order to secure the correct pronunciation of the title of this Drama, 'Sakuntalá' has been spelt '[S']akoontalá,' the u of [S']akuntalá being pronounced like the u in the English word rule.
The vowel a must invariably be pronounced with a dull sound, like the a in organ, or the u in gun, sun. Dushyanta must therefore be pronounced as if written Dooshyunta. The long vowel á is pronounced like the a in last, cart; i like the i in pin, sin; í like the i in marine; e like the e in prey; o like the o in so; ai like the ai in aisle; au like au in the German word haus, or like the ou in our.
The consonants are generally pronounced as in English, but g has always the sound of g in gun, give, never of g in gin. S with the accent over it (s), has the sound of s in sure, or of the last s in session.
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PERSONS REPRESENTED.
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DUSHYANTA, King of India.