This all begins by noticing that in Sanskrit Kamala, when it is a feminine noun, is Kamalā (कमला, thus “Lotus”).
Here is my email reply to this query as to why the name is pronounced KAH-ma-la (say, “comma-la”) where the stress is on the first syllable and the final long syllable while having duration does not receive the stress.
So let's talk about Kamala's name.
Of course, as a feminine noun it must end in a long vowel. But the pronunciation is not wholly determined by vowel length. Vowel length is an essential feature. Sanskrit follows a pronunciation pattern comparable to older Indo-European languages. (We will leave that matter aside, that’d be historical digression.) Lemme get all technical 'cause that's the only way to explain it. When a word has three syllables (or more) the emphasis or stress falls on the ante-penultimate (the next to next to the last) syllable unless both final vowels are long. This is what we say saRASvatI (like this: saRasvatee) and NOT SarasVAtI. This is why we say in Sanskrit himAlaya, not as we say it in English HimaLAYa. (The English pronunciation isn’t “wrong,” it’s English not Sanskrit!)
Thus, we would say in Sanskrit KA-malA (where the final vowel being long does not receive the stress nor does the penultimate syllable (-ma). Rather, because the word has three syllables (ka-ma-la) the stress falls on the syllable two from the end (antepenultimate), so KA-ma-la and the final long vowel -a (A) receives length but not stress.
Okay, so why don't Americans in particular find her name difficult to pronounce? This has been covered before but let me make it clear again.
The answer is basically twofold. First, we don't generally follow the stress rule that I outlined above. (What the Nerd Brigade of Comparative Indo-Europeanists call the Rule of the Antepenultimate.) Why do we not follow this rule?
Grammars have rules but languages actually do not have to follow their own grammatical rules. You can't make language without grammar but you don't have to follow grammar to make language. This means that language follows usage and often disregards or breaks the rules of grammar. Usage is tied to speech patterns, dialect, all sorts of further complications born of practice. So chalk up the kaMAla crowd to usage. But what usage since the Sanskrit word “kamala” itself does not frequent English usage? Second, our usage with respect to similar sounding words places the stress on the second syllable. Think of koala or impala. So when we hear kamala our brains as American English speakers are likely to make this same connection even if it is unconscious. Thus we're likely to say kaMAla like impala or koala because that is sound familiarity. Humans use language the same way they use most things: aiming for the easy, resorting to the familiar, unlikely to think that they need to consider what their subconscious thinks they already know. So we say it the way we do primarily because we are creatures of habit.
Thanks, Douglas!!! A bonus teaching of hope, colored by realism in the midst of your final days before the university opens up for the fall semester. How auspicious that Kamala Harris was named "lotus!" As you point out, it will take our effort, so fellow Rajanaka folks: donate, volunteer, and communicate where you stand. See you all in September and can't wait for what DB just advertised as the fall offerings!
Lovely message. More dancing and laughter. How else have humans made it this long, so far. Resilience is not without heart break, it includes all that we have lost and learned to embrace.
Query about Pronouncing Kamala
This all begins by noticing that in Sanskrit Kamala, when it is a feminine noun, is Kamalā (कमला, thus “Lotus”).
Here is my email reply to this query as to why the name is pronounced KAH-ma-la (say, “comma-la”) where the stress is on the first syllable and the final long syllable while having duration does not receive the stress.
So let's talk about Kamala's name.
Of course, as a feminine noun it must end in a long vowel. But the pronunciation is not wholly determined by vowel length. Vowel length is an essential feature. Sanskrit follows a pronunciation pattern comparable to older Indo-European languages. (We will leave that matter aside, that’d be historical digression.) Lemme get all technical 'cause that's the only way to explain it. When a word has three syllables (or more) the emphasis or stress falls on the ante-penultimate (the next to next to the last) syllable unless both final vowels are long. This is what we say saRASvatI (like this: saRasvatee) and NOT SarasVAtI. This is why we say in Sanskrit himAlaya, not as we say it in English HimaLAYa. (The English pronunciation isn’t “wrong,” it’s English not Sanskrit!)
Thus, we would say in Sanskrit KA-malA (where the final vowel being long does not receive the stress nor does the penultimate syllable (-ma). Rather, because the word has three syllables (ka-ma-la) the stress falls on the syllable two from the end (antepenultimate), so KA-ma-la and the final long vowel -a (A) receives length but not stress.
Okay, so why don't Americans in particular find her name difficult to pronounce? This has been covered before but let me make it clear again.
The answer is basically twofold. First, we don't generally follow the stress rule that I outlined above. (What the Nerd Brigade of Comparative Indo-Europeanists call the Rule of the Antepenultimate.) Why do we not follow this rule?
Grammars have rules but languages actually do not have to follow their own grammatical rules. You can't make language without grammar but you don't have to follow grammar to make language. This means that language follows usage and often disregards or breaks the rules of grammar. Usage is tied to speech patterns, dialect, all sorts of further complications born of practice. So chalk up the kaMAla crowd to usage. But what usage since the Sanskrit word “kamala” itself does not frequent English usage? Second, our usage with respect to similar sounding words places the stress on the second syllable. Think of koala or impala. So when we hear kamala our brains as American English speakers are likely to make this same connection even if it is unconscious. Thus we're likely to say kaMAla like impala or koala because that is sound familiarity. Humans use language the same way they use most things: aiming for the easy, resorting to the familiar, unlikely to think that they need to consider what their subconscious thinks they already know. So we say it the way we do primarily because we are creatures of habit.
So excited for the Lotus Goddesses!
Out of the mud rises Kamala !
Thanks, Douglas!!! A bonus teaching of hope, colored by realism in the midst of your final days before the university opens up for the fall semester. How auspicious that Kamala Harris was named "lotus!" As you point out, it will take our effort, so fellow Rajanaka folks: donate, volunteer, and communicate where you stand. See you all in September and can't wait for what DB just advertised as the fall offerings!
Thank you, Douglas! I am very much looking forward to the upcoming classes! Thanks for the update!
I’m so excited for the weekly gatherings.
Lovely message. More dancing and laughter. How else have humans made it this long, so far. Resilience is not without heart break, it includes all that we have lost and learned to embrace.