Alphabet - ਪਹਿਲਾ

- ਐੜਾ - aerdaa - Second letter of the Gurmukhi alphabet.


Name: aerdaa
Shape:
Spelling: ਐੜਾ
Sound: 'a' as the 'a' in 'pentagon' - see note*.
Type: Vowel
*Note: Being a vowel, it can take on a number of sounds:
  • ਅ - (very) short 'a' like the 'a' in 'pentagon';
  • ਆ - long 'a' like the 'a' in 'car';
  • ਐ - cross-between: 'a' like the 'a' in 'cat' and the 'e' in 'pet' - a bit like the 'ae' in 'aeroplane';
  • ਔ - long 'au' like the 'au' in 'Paul';

For more information on vowels, click on the Vowels link in the main menu on the left of the page.

Note that the ਅ sound is the default sound that occurs after each of the consonant sounds of the alphabet when it appears in a word, (except the last consonant of the word which doesn't have the 'a' sound), therefore, each consonant is effectively a syllable.


Mouth: For the basic 'a' sound, just relax your mouth and say the 'a' sound as in 'pentagon'.
Tongue: flat along bottom of mouth - varies according to sound
Soft Palette: not blocking nose
Lips: apart - varies according to sound
Vocal Chords: Used
Aspirated: no

Confusion: ਅ ਘ ਪ ਮ
Reading: When you first start, there is a slight chance that you might confuse ਅ with ਘ, ਪ or ਮ. Practice will sort this out fairly easily.
Also, remember that ਅ is an 'a' and not a Roman 'm' - you'll find this one out when you start reading Gurmukhi just after reading Roman text each time although this gets better as tie goes on.
Writing: n/a

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