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Help[Facts] Re: Indian, Sanskrit, and Hinduism names.
in reply to a message by JDill
It is actually just a general sound change that occurred as Hindi evolved from Sanskrit. Names as well as nouns in general (and some other words) frequently lost their final vowels (regardless of gender). Some of the final vowels were naturally retained, while others with final vowels are learned borrowings from Sanskrit or re-borrowed from nearby languages.
There is more detailed information available here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_Hindustani
There is more detailed information available here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_Hindustani
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I believe this sound loss mainly affected names/words that ended with short vowels, notably the short A (the inherent or default vowel that is generally unwritten). In Hindi and other modern descendants it is now often realized as a schwa when in the middle of words, but as far as I understand, it is also often dropped mid-word. Transcriptions into Latin text might still show it medially as an "a" even when it is not pronounced.
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That explains a lot about the last A in Hinduism and Sanskrit names. Sorry that I did not reply sooner. I did not know that you and Sehentsin messaged me until now.
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Mainly correct, but many long vowels were also lost (such as आशा 'āśā' > आस 'ās' or अवरा 'avarā' > आँवल 'āmval') as well as entire final syllables (अन्त्र 'antra' > आँत 'ānt' or अग्नि 'agni' > आग 'āg'). Some words also underwent radical transformation (ऊनविंशति 'ūnaviṃśati' > उन्नीस 'unnīs' or अक्षयतृतीया 'akṣayatṛtīyā' > आखातीज 'ākhātīj').
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Awesome, I am so grateful for your answer.
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