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I am sorry for maybe so basic question, but I do not have alive teacher to consult. My question is if this reads as "ra", then this रा, reads as "rā", and if this reads as "ma", then this one राम reads as "rāma", right? NOT as "ram"? I believe that "ram" would be written as रम्, right?

For instance ॐ राम रामाय स्वाहा reads as "Om rāma rāmaya svāhā", NOT like "Om ram ramaya svaha", right? Thank you!

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  • 1
    You are correct.
    – Surya
    Mar 20, 2021 at 15:48
  • 2
    Yes, you're correct. Hindi is pronounced the other way.
    – Ikshvaku
    Mar 20, 2021 at 15:58
  • 1
    Here & Here , these two will help you!
    – Vivikta
    Mar 20, 2021 at 16:08

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English vowel alphabets don't even match one-to-one with ENGLISH sounds and obviously they won't match Sanskrit vowel sounds either. You have to use your judgement whether to use artificial spelling like "aa" for the "father" vowel and/or diacritics.

I personally find just writing "Ramayana","mahabharata" etc. are sufficient and aesthetic.

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  • Thank you! Yes, I understand, we have in Latvian special characters in alphabet, like ā, ū, ī. It is easy for me to write Sanskrit..
    – wotesi
    Mar 25, 2021 at 12:43

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