Sanskrit is typically said to have 36 sounds, though there is some debate over whether certain sounds are separate phonemes or allophones of one phoneme. The Sanskrit syllabary serves as a model for all Indian language writing systems except Urdu. For the ingenious phonetic classification scheme of these writing systems see Indian language.
The sounds are described here in their traditional order: vowels, stops and nasals (starting in the back if the mouth and moving forward), and finally the liquids[?] and sibilants.
(Note: The long vowels are held about twice as long as their short counterparts. Also, there exists a third, extra-long length for most vowels, which is used in various cases, but particularly when recording a shout, or a greeting.)
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