BHUBANESWAR: Rechristening Orissa as “Odisha” has stirred a fierce controversy over its spelling. Linguists and phonetic experts now stand divided on the new name with most proclaiming that it has failed the very objective of “correction made on the basis of pronunciation.”
As the Orissa (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2010 awaits approval by Parliament in the monsoon session to pave way for “Odisha,” the use of “sh” for “talavessa” in Oriya has come in for sharp criticism.
The uniqueness of Oriya language, experts say, is that there is no difference in pronunciation of “sha” and “sa.”
Noted language expert Debabrata Mishra, who earned his specialisation from Central Institute of English and Foreign Language in Hyderabad, offers the reason. “Unlike in Bengali where “talavesaa” is the norm, Oriyas use the “danta sa” (dental one) in spoken language and going by that, it’s Odisa, not Odisha.”
Prof Jatindra Mohan Mohanty agrees. “Why make the name complicated when there is no difference? Orissa should be spelt Odisa, which is simple and straightforward.”
It was MP Bhartruhari Mahatab who raised the issue demanding “Odisha” be renamed “Odissa,” which he argued was phonetically correct.
Noted linguist Natabar Satpathy asserts that history of Oriya language demands that “sha” be replaced either by “ssa” or “sa.” “Given the heavy influence of Prakruta on Oriya, “sa” (danta sa) was more prevalent in Orissa than “talavessa.” Why commit a fresh mistake while correcting a historical mistake?” he wonders.
There exists sound logic and argument to say that “Odisha” will be the wrong spelling of the State’s name in English.
When an Oriental language like Sanskrit (to which Oriya owes its origin) was spelt in English, phonetic experts used the di-critical marks to distinguish among the three pronunciations of “s”.
The Monier Williams Dictionary, which is internationally accepted, has “talavessa” spelt as “sa”, “danta sa” as “sa” and “murdhanya sa” as “sha,” Satpathy points out.
Phonetic expert Kalyani Samantray of Utkal University echoes Mohanty’s views. The phonetics of one language will never match with that of another which is why it is futile to compare them, she says.
While Sanskrit had clear division in the pronunciation of three “sa,” Oriya does not follow any. Samantray feels keeping the name true to the State’s language is the best option and pitches in for “Odisa.”
Jatin Kumar Nayak, Professor of British translation and comparative literature at Utkal University, puts the whole issue in perspective by saying the problem with the name “Orissa” was use of “r” instead of “d”. “When “d” has been restored, the name should have been left alone,” he says.
The use of “sh,” most experts feel, would lead to wrong pronunciation by people alien to “Odia” as they would stress “sa” unnecessarily.
Moreover, the effort is to spell the name correctly in English where the use of “sh” clearly sounds like “talavessa” akin to the ones Bengalis use.
Besides, Oriya lexicon is full of words starting with “talavessa” (sh) such as “sarpa”, “saree”, “satabdi” but they are pronounced with the dental “sa.”