3 ms·

there are no recordings from panini's times and panini's texts pertain to grammar. they don't prescribe pronunciation - like precise position of tongue lips etc

• ummonk 5y ago
  What are you talking about? Panini did detail the pronunciation of each character. And the actual pronunciation (i.e. accounting for things like assimilation) is then encoded in the writing via Sandhi. Likewise, we have older information on pronunciation as well in the Pratishakhyas. Ancient Indians cared a lot about accurate pronunciation, especially for mantras where the thinking was that without correct pronunciation, the mantra would not work. Picture the Harry Potter "wingardium leviosa" scene. Modern don’t actually hew to the prescribed pronunciation for certain letters, but it’s certainly specified by Panini.
• prox 5y ago
  That’s actually the first thing you learn and it’s quite rigorous where to vocalize and how.
  • fooker 5y ago
    Yeah, and it differs based on where you're from!