Chapter 1: SOUNDS/ GREETINGS AND INTRODUCTIONS
Other sounds (Addak, Nasal, Half Sounds)
III:i Addak (ੱ)
- looks like a little u
- appears at the top (m`m) and before the letter that it modifies
- only used with three matras: sihari, aunkar, and mukta
- it doubles or exaggerates the sound of the consonant that it precedes
- In English, to represent a sound being stressed we write the letter twice
i.e. letter, butter, summer
- In Punjabi the letter is written only once but an addak is inserted before it to show that the sound is being stressed
- i.e. butter would not be ਬਟਟਰ it would be ਬੱਟਰ
- It is important to know which words use addak because it can change the meaning of a word
Example
| ਬਚਾ vs ਬੱਚਾ | ਕਦ vs ਕੱਦ |
| bu-cha vs. buch-cha | kud vs kuddu |
| save vs child | when vs length |
Other words in which the use or disuse of addak has two separate meanings:
| 1 | ਦਸ | Ten | ਦੱਸ | Tell |
| 2 | ਪਕਾ | Cook/Bake | ਪੱਕਾ | Firm/Ripe |
| 3 | ਬਚਾ | Save | ਬੱਚਾ | Child |
| 4 | ਕਦ | When | ਕੱਦ | Length/Height |