Pronunciation
Early vedic pronunciation (and consequently euphonic combinations) were different from that of classical Sanskrit.
Major deviations (details elsewhere):-
- ai=ए, Ai=ऐ, au=ओ, Au=औ.
- emphasis on the udAtta accent instead of svarita.
Letter drifts
k-g transformation
The word for ankle in the R^igveda is kulpha. In the atharvaveda, a subset of the ‘k’ presents as ‘g’. Thus, the AV word for ankle is gulpha, as in classical Sanskrit. It appears this k->g transformation is a shared derived character of the atharvan dialect and the later register of Old Indo-Aryan. - MT
kart/कर्त meaning hole/cavity in vedic texts seize to exist later, which was already early form of gart/गर्त with same meaning .
Demonstrations
- उज्ज्वल-निर्मितिः᳓, ऋग्वेदभाषा᳓याम् - YT Flight instructions । RV ।