Conjunct consonant

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"Kya" (Ka+Ya) conjunct consonant in the Brahmi script, consisting in the vertical assembly of consonants "Ka" and "Ya" . Used in the spelling of the word "Shakyamuni" to designate the Buddha, Rummindei pillar of Ashoka (c. 250 BCE). Brahmi Kya (Ka-Ya) conjunct consonant.jpg
"Kya" (Ka+Ya) conjunct consonant in the Brahmi script, consisting in the vertical assembly of consonants "Ka" Brahmi k.svg and "Ya" Brahmi y.svg . Used in the spelling of the word "Shakyamuni" to designate the Buddha, Rummindei pillar of Ashoka (c. 250 BCE).
Evolution of the conjunct consonant "Sya" (Sa+Ya) in Brahmic scripts. Conjunct consonant Sya in Brahmic scripts.jpg
Evolution of the conjunct consonant "Sya" (Sa+Ya) in Brahmic scripts.
Some major conjunct consonants in the Brahmi script. braamhi joddaakssre.jpg
Some major conjunct consonants in the Brahmi script.

Conjunct consonants are a type of letters, used for example in Brahmi or Brahmi derived modern scripts such as Balinese, Bengali, Devanagari, Gujarati, Tibetan, Dzongkha etc to write consonant clusters such as /pr/ or /rv/. Although most of the time, letters are formed by using a simple consonant with the inherent value vowel "a" (as with "k" Brahmi k.svg , pronounced "ka" in Brahmi), or by combining a consonant with an vowel in the form of a diacritic (as with "ki" Brahmi letter Ki.svg in Brahmi), the usage of conjunct consonant permits the creation of more sophisticated sounds (as with "kya" Brahmi Kya.jpg , formed with the consonants k Brahmi k.svg and y Brahmi y.svg assembled vertically). [1] Conjuncts are often used with loan words. Native words typically use the basic consonant and native speakers know to suppress the vowel.

In modern Devanagari the components of a conjunct are written left to right when possible (when the first consonant has a vertical stem that can be removed at the right), whereas in Brahmi characters are joined vertically downwards. [1]

Some simple examples of conjunct consonants in Devanagari are: त + व = त्व (tva), ण + ढ = ण्ढ (ṇḍha), स + थ = स्थ (stha), where the vertical stroke of the first letter is simply lost in the combination. Sometimes, conjunct consonants are not clearly derived from the letters making up their components: the conjunct for kṣ is क्ष (क् + ष) and for jñ it is ज्ञ (ज् + ञ).

Some examples of conjunct consonants in Gujarati are: પ + ઝ = પ્ઝ (pjha) (where a stroke of the first letter is lost in the combination), હ + ળ = હ્ળ (hḷa), જ + ભ = જ્ભ (jbha). Sometimes, conjunct consonants are not clearly derived from the letters making up their components: the conjunct for śc is શ્ચ (શ્ + ચ) and for ñj it is ઞ્જ (ઞ્ + જ).

Conjunct consonants are used in many other scripts as well, usually derived from the Brahmi script. [2] In Balinese, conjunct consonants are called Haksara Wrehastra. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

Ka is the first consonant of the Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, ka is derived from the Brāhmī letter , which is derived from the Aramaic ("K").

Ga is the third consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, ga is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter , which is probably derived from the Aramaic letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Gha is the fourth consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, gha is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter , which is probably derived from the Aramaic ("H/X") after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Ca is the sixth consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, ca is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter , which is probably derived from the North Semitic letter tsade, with an inversion seen in several other derivatives, after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Cha is the seventh consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, cha is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter , which is probably derived from the Aramaic letter ("Q") after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Ja is the eighth consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, ja is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Jha is the ninth consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, jha is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Ña or Nya is the tenth consonant of Indic abugidas. It is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter .

Ḍa is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Dda is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . As with the other cerebral consonants, ḍa is not found in most scripts for Tai, Sino-Tibetan, and other non-Indic languages, except for a few scripts, which retain these letters for transcribing Sanskrit religious terms.

Ḍha is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ḍha is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . As with the other cerebral consonants, ḍha is not found in most scripts for Tai, Sino-Tibetan, and other non-Indic languages, except for a few scripts, which retain these letters for transcribing Sanskrit religious terms.

Ṇa is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ṇa is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . As with the other cerebral consonants, ṇa is not found in most scripts for Tai, Sino-Tibetan, and other non-Indic languages, except for a few scripts, which retain these letters for transcribing Sanskrit religious terms.

Tha is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, tha is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Dha is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Dha is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Pa is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Pa is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Pha is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Pha is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Ba is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ba is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Bha is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Bha is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Śa or Sha is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Śa is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Sa is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Sa is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Ha is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ha is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

References

  1. 1 2 Shapiro, Michael C. (1989). A Primer of Modern Standard Hindi. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 23. ISBN   9788120805088.
  2. ↑ Tuṅga, Sudhāṃśu Śekhara (1995). Bengali and Other Related Dialects of South Assam. Mittal Publications. p. 163. ISBN   9788170995883.
  3. ↑ Shadeg, Norbert (2014). Tuttle Balinese-English Dictionary. Tuttle Publishing. p. 11. ISBN   9781462910786.
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