deriv LSK ETT STT aSTA ALPH OLDHOMEPAGE NEWHOMEPAGE

@openness

When we say a letter, either the passage of air is wide open, or two things get near each other, like lips close to each other, or tongue close to teeth. The things are closed if they touch each other obstructing the pass of air, and otherwise they can be more or less open.

The opennesses are:

• p प् t त् k क् ... closed (no air passes),
• s स् z श् K ⩆ F ⩆ ... bit open (air forced thru a narrow passage),
• y य् v व् i इ u उ ... half open, and
• a अ A आ h ह् wide open.

position and openness are important for rule sthAnentarat....

Why is a अ classified as fully open? Everywhere, say in auGa::ApaH for instance, you can hear that a अ is half open, like English "u" in "cup", while A आ makes the jaw drop.

Because rule aa says so. Even though in actual pronunciation a अ is half-open, for grammar purposes it is considered to be fully open, so that a अ and A आ are /savarNa. Therefore when any rule replaces open A आ with a short, we get half-open a अ.