3. A. 2 The Three Sibilants: sa sa sa A sibilant (hissing sound) is called usman ('heated'). They are considered to be Tsadvivrta (slightly open) or ardhasprsta (half-contact), which allows a restricted (hissing) flow of breath through the mouth. The sibilants are aspirated (mahaprana) and unvoiced (aghosa). kanthya guttural talavya palatal murdhanya cerebral dantya dental osthya labial — sa sa sa — The sa sounds like the sibilant in the English words 'seek' and 'kiss', sa like the 'sh' in 'ship' or 'wish', and sa like the sibilant in the German 'ich'. These sound analogies are given as a very rough guide: the description given above, and the mouth position in particular, are to be taken as authoritative. In theory, there are two more sibilants, called the jihvamullya and upadhmanlya, which are described as a 'half-visarga' before ka/kha and pa/pha respectively. These are so very rare that for all practical purposes they can be ignored. In the alphabetical order these follow the semivowels, i.e. : . . . ya ra la va sa sa sa 3. A. 3 The Final Consonant: ha This aspirate (sometimes considered a sibilant) is also called usman ('heated'), with similar qualities. It is generally pronounced as unvoiced (aghosa), however, according to the grammatical tradition it is voiced (ghosa). In the alphabetical order this follows the sibilants and is the last letter of the alphabet: . . . sa sa sa ha.
