Brahmic scripts
Definition
The Brahmic scripts are a family of abugida or alphabet writing systems. They are used throughout the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia, including Japan in the form of Siddhaṃ. They are descended from the Brahmi script of ancient India, and are used by languages of several language families: Indo-European, Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman, Mongolic, Austroasiatic, Austronesian, and Tai. They were also the source of the dictionary order of Japanese kana.
History
Brahmic scripts descended from the Brahmi script. Brahmi is clearly attested from the 3rd century BC during the reign of Ashoka, who used the script for imperial edicts, but there are some claims of earlier epigraphy found on pottery in South India and Sri Lanka. The most reliable of these were short Brahmi inscriptions dated to the 4th century BC and published by Coninghamet al., but scattered press reports have claimed both dates as early as the 6th century BC and that the characters are identifiably Tamil Brahmi, though these latter claims do not appear to have been published academically. Northern Brahmi gave rise to the Gupta script during the Gupta period, which in turn diversified into a number of cursives during the Middle Ages, including Siddham, Sharada and Nagari.
The Siddhaṃ script was especially important in Buddhism, as many sutras were written in it. The art of Siddham calligraphy survives today in Japan. The syllabic nature and dictionary orderof the modern kana system of Japanese writing is believed to be descended from the Indic scripts, most likely through the spread of Buddhism.
Southern Brahmi evolved into Old-Kannada, Pallava and Vatteluttu scripts, which in turn diversified into other scripts of South India and Southeast Asia.
Bhattiprolu was a great centre of Buddhism during 3rd century BCE and from where Buddhism spread to east Asia. The present Telugu script is derived from Bhattiprolu Script or "Kannada-Telugu script" or Kadamba script, also known as "Old Telugu script", owing to its similarity to the same.
Initially, minor changes were made which is now called Tamil Brahmi, which has far fewer letters than some of the other Indic scripts as it has no separate aspirated or voiced consonants.
Spread of Brahmic family of scripts from India.
Characteristics
Some characteristics, which are present in most but not all the scripts, are:
- Each consonant has an inherent vowel which is usually a short 'a' (in Bengali, Assamese and Oriya it is a short 'ô' due to sound shifts). Other vowels are written by adding to the character. A mark, known in Sanskrit as a virama/halant, can be used to indicate the absence of an inherent vowel.
- Each vowel has two forms, an independent form when not part of a consonant, and a dependent form, when attached to a consonant. Depending on the script, the dependent forms can be either placed to the left of, to the right of, above, below, or on both the left and the right sides of the base consonant.
- Consonants (up to 4 in Devanagari) can be combined in ligatures. Special marks are added to denote the combination of 'r' with another consonant.
- Nasalization and aspiration of a consonant's dependent vowel is also noted by separate signs.
- The alphabetical order is: vowels, velar consonants, palatal consonants, retroflex consonants, dental consonants, bilabial consonants, approximants, sibilants, and other consonants. Each consonant grouping had four stops (with all four possible values of voicing and aspiration), and a nasal consonant.
Comparison
Below are comparison charts of several of the major Indic scripts, organised on the principle that glyphs in the same column all derive from the same Brahmi glyph. Accordingly:
- The charts are not comprehensive. Glyphs may be unrepresented if they don't derive from any Brahmi character, but are later inventions.
- The pronunciations of glyphs in the same column may not be identical. The pronunciation row is only representative; the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) pronunciation is given for Sanskrit where possible, or another language if necessary.
Historical
The Brahmi script was already divided into regional variants at the time of the earliest surviving epigraphy around the 3rd century BC. Cursives of the Brahmi script began to diversify further from around the 5th century AD and continued to give rise to new scripts throughout the Middle Ages. The main division in antiquity was between northern and southern Brahmi. In the northern group, the Gupta script was very influential, and in the southern group the Vatteluttu and Old-Kannada/Pallava scripts with the spread of Buddhism sent Brahmic scripts throughout Southeast Asia.
Northern Brahmic
- Gupta script, 5th century
- Sharada, 8th century
- Gurmukhi, 14th century
- Landa, 10th century
- Khojki, 16th century
- Khudabadi, 1550s
- Mahajani
- Multani
- Takri
- Siddham, 7th century
- Eastern Nagari script
- Assamese script, 13th century
- Bengali script, 11th century
- Tibetan script, 7th century
- Lepcha alphabet
- Limbu alphabet
- 'Phags-pa, 13th century
- Lepcha alphabet
- Anga Lipi, 720
- Tirhuta/Mithilakshar, 15th century
- Eastern Nagari script
- Nagari, 8th century
- Devanagari, 13th century
- Gujarati, 16th century
- Modi, 17th century
- Canadian Aboriginal syllabics, 19th century
- Kaithi, 16th century
- Nandinagari, 8th century
- Sylheti Nagari, 16th century
- Devanagari, 13th century
- Bhaiksuki
- Sharada, 8th century
- Nepal script
- Bhujimol, 6th century
- Ranjana, 12th century
- Soyombo, 17th century
- Prachalit
- Tocharian script ("Slanting Brahmi"), 7th century
- Meeitei Mayek
Southern Brahmic
- Kalinga
- Odia alphabet, 10th century
- Tamil-Brahmi
- Tamil script
- Vatteluttu
- Saurashtra alphabet
- Kolezhuthu
- Malayanma
- Pallava script
- Grantha alphabet
- Goykanadi
- Cham alphabet
- Tigalari alphabet
- Malayalam script
- Sinhala alphabet
- Dhives akuru
- Thaana
- Kawi script
- Balinese script
- Batak script
- Baybayin
- Kulitan
- Buhid
- Hanunó'o
- Javanese script
- Lontara
- Old Sundanese
- Rencong script
- Rejang script
- Tagbanwa alphabet
- Khmer alphabet
- Thai alphabet
- Lao alphabet
- Old Mon script
- Ahom alphabet
- Burmese alphabet
- Tai Tham alphabet
- New Tai Lue alphabet
- Tai Le alphabet
- Grantha alphabet
- Kadamba, 5th century
- Halegannada
- Kannada alphabet, 5th century
- Pyu script
- Burmese script
- S'gaw Karen alphabet
- Shan alphabet
- Burmese script
- Halegannada
- Bhattiprolu
- Telugu script, 9th century
Unicode
As of Unicode version 11.0, the following Brahmic scripts have been encoded:
| script | derivation | period of derivation | usage notes | ISO 15924 | Unicode range(s) | sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahom | Pallava grantha | 13th century | Extinct Ahom language | Ahom | U+11700–U1173F | 𑜒𑜠𑜑𑜨𑜉 |
| Balinese | Old Kawi | 11th century | Balinese language | Bali | U+1B00–U1B7F | ᬅᬓ᭄ᬲᬭᬩᬮᬶ |
| Batak | Pallava grantha | 14th century | Batak languages | Batk | U+1BC0–U1BFF | ᯘᯮᯒᯖ᯲ ᯅᯖᯂ᯲ |
| Baybayin | Old Kawi | 14th century | Tagalog, other Philippine languages | Tglg | U+1700–U171F | ᜊᜌ᜔ᜊᜌᜒᜈ᜔ |
| Eastern Nagari | Siddham | 11th century | Assamese language (Assamese script variant), Bengali language (Bengali script variant), Bishnupriya Manipuri, Maithili, Angika | Beng | U+0980–U09FF |
|
| Bhaiksuki | Gupta | Was used around the turn of the first millennium for writing Sanskrit | Bhks | U+11C00–U11C6F | ||
| Buhid | Old Kawi | 14th century | Buhid language | Buhd | U+1740–U175F | ᝊᝓᝑᝒᝇ |
| Burmese | Pallava grantha | 11th century | Burmese language, numerous modifications for other languages including Chakma, Eastern and Western Pwo Karen, Geba Karen, Kayah, Mon, Rumai Palaung, S'gaw Karen, Shan | Mymr | U+1000–U109F, U+A9E0–UA9FF, U+AA60–UAA7F | မြန်မာအက္ခရာ |
| Chakma | Pallava grantha | 8th century | Chakma language | Cakm | U+11100–U1114F | |
| Cham | Pallava grantha | 8th century | Cham language | Cham | U+AA00–UAA5F | ꨌꨠ |
| Devanagari | Nagari | 13th century | Numerous Indo-Aryan languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Bhili, Konkani, Bhojpuri, Nepal Bhasa and sometimes Sindhi and Kashmiri. Formerly used to write Gujarati. Sometimes used to write or transliterate Sherpa | Deva | U+0900–U097F, U+A8E0–UA8FF | देवनागरी |
| Dogra | Was used to write Dogri. Dogra script is closely related to Takri. | Dogr | U+11800–U1184F | |||
| Grantha | Brahmi | 6th century | Restricted use in traditional Vedic schools to write Sanskrit. Was widely used by Tamil speakers for Sanskrit and the classical language Manipravalam. | Gran | U+11300–U1137F | |
| Gujarati | Nagari | 17th century | Gujarati language, Kutchi language | Gujr | U+0A80–U0AFF | ગુજરાતી લિપિ |
| Gunjala Gondi | Used for writing the Adilabad dialect of the Gondi language. | Gong | U+11D60–U11DAF | |||
| Gurmukhi | Sharada | 16th century | Punjabi language | Guru | U+0A00–U0A7F | ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ |
| Hanunó'o | Old Kawi | 14th century | Hanuno'o language | Hano | U+1720–U173F | ᜱᜨᜳᜨᜳᜢ |
| Javanese | Old Kawi | 16th century | Javanese language, Sundanese language, Madurese language | Java | U+A980–UA9DF | ꦄꦏ꧀ꦱꦫꦗꦮ |
| Kaithi | Nagari | 16th century | Historically used for writing legal, administrative, and private records. | Kthi | U+11080–U110CF | 𑂍𑂶𑂟𑂲 |
| Kannada | Kadamba/Old Kannada | 9th century | Kannada language, Konkani language Tulu, Badaga, Kodava, Beary others | Knda | U+0C80–U0CFF | ಕನ್ನಡ ಅಕ್ಷರಮಾಲೆ |
| Khmer | Pallava grantha | 11th century | Khmer language | Khmr | U+1780–U17FF, U+19E0–U19FF | អក្សរខ្មែរ |
| Khojki | Landa | 16th century | Some use by Ismaili communities. Was used by the Khoja community for Muslim religious literature. | Khoj | U+11200–U1124F | |
| Khudawadi | Landa | 1550s | Was used by Sindhi communities for correspondence and business records. | Sind | U+112B0–U112FF | |
| Lao | Khmer | 14th century | Lao language, others | Laoo | U+0E80–U0EFF | ອັກສອນລາວ |
| Lepcha | Tibetan | 8th century | Lepcha language | Lepc | U+1C00–U1C4F | |
| Limbu | Lepcha | 9th century | Limbu language | Limb | U+1900–U194F | ᤛᤡᤖᤡᤈᤨᤅ |
| Lontara | Old Kawi | 17th century | Buginese language, others | Bugi | U+1A00–U1A1F | ᨒᨚᨈᨑ |
| Mahajani | Landa | Historically used in northern India for writing accounts and financial records. | Mahj | U+11150–U1117F | ||
| Makasar | Was used in South Sulawesi, Indonesia for writing the Makassarese language. Makasar script is also known as "Old Makassarese" or "Makassarese bird script" in English-language scholarly works. | Maka | U+11EE0–U11EFF | |||
| Malayalam | Grantha | 12th century | Malayalam language | Mlym | U+0D00–U0D7F | മലയാളലിപി |
| Marchen | Was used in the Tibetan Bön tradition to write the extinct Zhang-Zhung language | Marc | U+11C70–U11CBF | 𑱳𑲁𑱽𑱾𑲌𑱵𑲋𑲱𑱴𑱶𑲱𑲅𑲊𑱱 | ||
| Meetei Mayek | Historically used for the Meitei language. Some modern usage. | Mtei | U+AAE0–UAAFF, U+ABC0–UABFF | ꯃꯤꯇꯩ ꯃꯌꯦꯛ | ||
| Modi | Devanagari | 17th century | Was used to write the Marathi language | Modi | U+11600–U1165F | |
| Multani | Landa | Was used to write Saraiki | Mult | U+11280–U112AF | ||
| New Tai Lue | Tai Tham | 1950s | Tai Lü language | Talu | U+1980–U19DF | ᦟᦲᧅᦎᦷᦺᦑ |
| Odia | Kalinga | 10th century | Odia language | Orya | U+0B00–U0B7F | ଉତ୍କଳାକ୍ଷର |
| 'Phags-Pa | Tibetan | 13th century | Historically used during the Mongol Yuan dynasty. | Phag | U+A840–UA87F | ꡖꡍꡂꡛ ꡌ |
| Prachalit(Newa) | Nepal | Has been used for writing the Sanskrit, Nepali, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili languages | Newa | U+11400–U1147F | ||
| Rejang | Old Kawi | 18th century | Rejang language, mostly obsolete | Rjng | U+A930–UA95F | ꥆꤰ꥓ꤼꤽ ꤽꥍꤺꥏ |
| Saurashtra | Grantha | 20th century | Saurashtra language, mostly obsolete | Saur | U+A880–UA8DF | ꢱꣃꢬꢵꢰ꣄ꢜ꣄ꢬꢵ |
| Sharada | Gupta | 8th century | Was used for writing Sanskrit and Kashmiri | Shrd | U+11180–U111DF | |
| Siddham | Gupta | 7th century | Was used for writing Sanskrit | Sidd | U+11580–U115FF | |
| Sinhala | Grantha | 12th century | Sinhala language | Sinh | U+0D80–U0DFF, U+111E0–U111FF | ශුද්ධ සිංහල |
| Sundanese | Old Kawi | 14th century | Sundanese language | Sund | U+1B80–U1BBF, U+1CC0–U1CCF | ᮃᮊ᮪ᮞᮛ ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ |
| Sylheti Nagari | Nagari | 16th century | Historically used for writing the Sylheti language | Sylo | U+A800–UA82F | ꠍꠤꠟꠐꠤ ꠘꠣꠉꠞꠤ |
| Tagbanwa | Old Kawi | 14th century | various languages of Palawan, nearly extinct | Tagb | U+1760–U177F | ᝦᝪᝨᝯ |
| Tai Le | Pallava grantha? | Tai Nüa language | Tale | U+1950–U197F | ᥖᥭᥰᥖᥬᥳᥑᥨᥒᥰ | |
| Tai Tham | Mon Script | 13th Century | Northern Thai language, Tai Lü language, Khün language | Lana | U+1A20–U1AAF | ᨲᩫ᩠ᩅᨾᩮᩬᩥᨦ |
| Tai Viet | Thai? | 16th century | Tai Dam language | Tavt | U+AA80–UAADF | ꪼꪕꪒꪾ |
| Takri | Sharada | Was used for writing Chambeali, and other languages | Takr | U+11680–U116CF | ||
| Tamil | Chola-Pallava alphabet | 3rd Century BCE | Tamil language | Taml | U+0B80–U0BFF | தமிழ் அரிச்சுவடி |
| Telugu | Bhattiprolu script/Old Kannada | 5th century | Telugu language | Telu | U+0C00–U0C7F | తెలుగు లిపి |
| Thai | Khmer | 13th century | Thai language | Thai | U+0E00–U0E7F | อักษรไทย |
| Tibetan | Siddham | 8th century | Tibetan language, Dzongkha language, Ladakhi language | Tibt | U+0F00–U0FFF | བོད་ཡིག་ |
| Tirhuta | Gupta | Historically used for the Maithili language | Tirh | U+11480–U114DF | 𑒞𑒱𑒩𑒯𑒳𑒞𑒰 |
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