Bhante Sujato Pali Course 2023: Warder lesson 1

Yes. (-ish)*

This is discussed briefly in p. 4 of Warder’s Introduction, on the “nasal”, and the first footnote on that page.

Before the gutteral consonants (k, kh, g, gh), the nasal sound is spelled ṅ. In Romanized Pali we typically spell such conjuncts as ṅk, ṅg, and so on.

However the sound is exactly the same as ṁ. It is technically possible to spell the same words ṁk, ṁg. Thus sometimes you might see saṁgha instead of saṅgha.

The specific nasal sounds that correspond to the relevant place of articulation are each spelled differently (ṅk, ñc, ṇṭ, nt, mp), and in theory are pronounced differently, but in reality we just pronounce them that way because they’re a nasal before a consonant: it’s just kind of how the sound comes out, you don’t think about it.

Usually modern editions will specify the correct nasal before the consonant. Manuscripts, however, are inconsistent, so you’ll want to get used to seeing both forms.

* The “-ish” is because you seem to have spelled it incorrectly. It’s not ṇ but ṅ. Is this just a typo, or is it a mistake in the dictionary?

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