International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration
Okay kiddo, today we will learn about the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration. Do you know what Sanskrit is? It's an ancient language from India that is used for things like chanting, prayers, and yoga. Now, when people want to write Sanskrit using the English alphabet, they use the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, or IAST for short.
IAST helps people write Sanskrit words using English letters, so that people who don't know the Sanskrit alphabet can still read and understand it. IAST has a special set of rules for writing each Sanskrit sound. For example, the sound "a" in Sanskrit is written as "a" in IAST. The sound "sh" in Sanskrit is written as "ś" in IAST.
When writing long vowels in IAST, we use a special symbol called a macron. A macron is a long, straight line that goes above the vowel. This tells us to pronounce the vowel for longer than usual. For example, the Sanskrit word "yoga" is written in IAST as "yoga", but when we want to write "yogā", we add a macron above the "a" to show that it's a long "a" sound.
So, in short, the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a set of rules for writing Sanskrit words using English letters, and it helps people who don't know the Sanskrit alphabet to read and understand Sanskrit.
IAST helps people write Sanskrit words using English letters, so that people who don't know the Sanskrit alphabet can still read and understand it. IAST has a special set of rules for writing each Sanskrit sound. For example, the sound "a" in Sanskrit is written as "a" in IAST. The sound "sh" in Sanskrit is written as "ś" in IAST.
When writing long vowels in IAST, we use a special symbol called a macron. A macron is a long, straight line that goes above the vowel. This tells us to pronounce the vowel for longer than usual. For example, the Sanskrit word "yoga" is written in IAST as "yoga", but when we want to write "yogā", we add a macron above the "a" to show that it's a long "a" sound.
So, in short, the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a set of rules for writing Sanskrit words using English letters, and it helps people who don't know the Sanskrit alphabet to read and understand Sanskrit.