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W. S. Karunatilleke
ficance as it does not contrast with its absence. Thus
paa 'foot' is phonetically (paya] saroa lotus
saroya), hiaa 'heart 1 [htyaya),
vioa 'separation on [viyoya) and so on. 12 Consonants
Of tlie consonant segments the following need comment. 1.21 Nasals
There are three orthographic symbols used in Kch. to represent nasals. Their transliterations are as follows: m 'bilabial nasal'
'retroflex nasal' N 'velar nasal' Their distribution is ascertained as follows m, occurs word-initially, intervocally, in gemination, before
a labial stop and before /h/, , occurs word-initially, intervocally, in gemination, and
before /b/, N, occurs word-finally and before /v/, /s/ and /b/; it is
also used as a cover symbol to represent the homor
ganic nasal occurring before the corresponding stop; Examples for their distribution are given below
word-initial position. maa
'rut naa
'new' intervocal position ja ma
until' ja na
know geminate position : dummana
"sad'
"two' before homorganic stop: thambha
pillar'
donni
