How do you pronounce the "ਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨ"?

Did you say "Krishan"? You probably did, and it is the correct pronunciation. But why do other sources state: "Krishana"?

Where did this extra "a" come from?!

This Extra "a" is Everywhere. Let's Look at The Following Words:

• ਰਾਮ

• ਗਿਆਨ

• ਕਲਜੁਗ

• ਰਾਗ

You've probably seen them written (on the internet) with an extra, "a" at the end.

It's Because The Words Have Sanksrit Origins. We Don't Pronounce The "a" Due of "Schwa Deletion"

Schwa is an "uh" sound.

It has its own symbol: ə. The sound is similar to an "ਅ". In Sanskrit, there are a various linguistic tools that denote the schwa sound.

We asked a friend about this.

This is what they said:

"Many languages - particularly in North India have adopted to contextually drop the last "a" sound.

People tended to favour pronouncing [the "a"] less for more, faster speaking.

To summarize, let's look at our first example, "ਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨ".

This term comes from Sanksir origins. कृष्ण, ends with "ण" which makes a "ṇa" sound, so it's pronounced Krishana (not Krishanaaaa). But, in many languages, including Panjabi and Hindi, we have removed the schwa.

Thus, it's pronounced Krishan in our language.

The "a" remains in transliterations to pay homage to the root word!