INTRODUCTION TO EXTERNAL SANDHI
Say the following two sentences aloud:
Do you want some more chocolate?
Don't you want some more chocolate?
For many English speakers, there is a difference in how the first sound of the word you in these two sentences is pronounced: combining the -t of don't with the y- of you, the result is something like dontchou. Or listen to how you say in between – many pronounce this as imbetween. In English spelling, each word is written separately and always spelled in the same way, no matter what word follows. This helps readers recognise the words they see on the page. Sanskrit does this differently: rather than writing words so that they are individually recognisable straight away, Sanskrit writing marks how the pronunciation of words changes when they stand next to other words. This has the advantage that, when we see any Sanskrit written, we know how it is to be pronounced with a much greater degree of accuracy. The rules describing how words change when they are put together in a sentence are those of external sandhi (saṃ-dhi- (lit.) ‘putting (–› √dhā, Chapter 19) together (sam-)’). It can be summed up as follows:
Sanskrit words regularly change their pronunciation when they stand together with other words. Sanskrit spelling marks all these changes. This process is called external sandhi, and its general principles are quite simple:
1) The last sound of a word changes, depending on the first sound of the next word. Sometimes, that first sound also changes.
2) A consonant at the end of a word becomes more similar to the first sound of the next word.
3) A vowel at the end of a word interacts (and usually merges) with a following vowel. It remains the same when a consonant follows.
The box above outlines everything you need to know about sandhi right now. This chapter explains the various manifestations that Rule 2 can take, with the exception of final -ḥ (which will be explained in Chapter 13); Rule 3 (on vowel sandhi) will be discussed in Chapter 16. All three discussions of sandhi will include a daunting number of small details. Don't worry too much about these right now, but instead focus on the principles outlined above.
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