deriv LSK ETT STT aSTA ALPH OLDHOMEPAGE NEWHOMEPAGE

@hiss

To make the hiss sound, open everything, mouth and throat and all, inhale deep, and raise you elbows some. Then relax suddenly. Some air will go out, hissing a bit. That sound you hear is a Sanskrit /H. You can also make it easily without so much gymnastics.

/pANini calls this sound visargaH विसर्गः or visarjanIyaH विसर्जनीयः, "outletting". I call it the hiss.

It is NOT the same sound as the Sanskrit h ह्, which is a voiced sound.

The H ः sounds sort of like the English H, while the h ह् does not.

Many people nowadays invariably add an echo vowel after the hiss. This is likely to be not PC, but you may do that if you like.