Kannada alphabet

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Kannada script
ಕನ್ನಡ ಲಿಪಿ
Type
Languages Kannada
Tulu
Kodava
Badaga
Beary
Sanketi
Konkani
Sanskrit
Time period
5th century–present [1]
Parent systems
Sister systems
 Telugu
Sinhala
Mon
DirectionLeft-to-right
ISO 15924 Knda, 345
Unicode alias
Kannada
U+0C80–U+0CFF
[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

The Kannada script (IAST: Kannaḍa lipi) is an abugida of the Brahmic family, [2] used primarily to write the Kannada language, one of the Dravidian languages of South India especially in the state of Karnataka, Kannada script is widely used for writing Sanskrit texts in Karnataka. Several minor languages, such as Tulu, Konkani, Kodava, Sanketi and Beary, also use alphabets based on the Kannada script. [3] The Kannada and Telugu scripts share high mutual intellegibility with each other, and are often considered to be regional variants of single script. Other scripts similar to Kannada script are Sinhala script [4] (which included some elements from the Kadamba script [5] ), and Old Peguan script (used in Burma). [6]

Abugida writing system

An abugida, or alphasyllabary, is a segmental writing system in which consonant–vowel sequences are written as a unit: each unit is based on a consonant letter, and vowel notation is secondary. This contrasts with a full alphabet, in which vowels have status equal to consonants, and with an abjad, in which vowel marking is absent, partial, or optional. The terms also contrast them with a syllabary, in which the symbols cannot be split into separate consonants and vowels. Abugidas include the extensive Brahmic family of scripts of South and Southeast Asia, Semitic Ethiopic scripts, and Canadian Aboriginal syllabics.

The Brahmic scripts are a family of abugida or alphasyllabary 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.

Kannada Dravidian language of India

Kannada is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Kannada people in India, mainly in the state of Karnataka, and by significant linguistic minorities in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala and abroad. The language has roughly 43.7 million native speakers, who are called Kannadigas. Kannada is also spoken as a second and third language by over 12.9 million non-Kannada speakers living in Karnataka, which adds up to 56.6 million speakers. It is one of the scheduled languages of India and the official and administrative language of the state of Karnataka.

Contents

The Kannada script (ಅಕ್ಷರಮಾಲೆakṣaramāle or ವರ್ಣಮಾಲೆvarṇamāle) is a phonemic abugida of forty-nine letters, and is written from left to right. The character set is almost identical to that of other Brahmic scripts. Consonantal letters imply an inherent vowel. Letters representing consonants are combined to form digraphs (ಒತ್ತಕ್ಷರottakṣara) when there is no intervening vowel. Otherwise, each letter corresponds to a syllable.

An inherent vowel is part of an abugida script. It is a vowel sound which is used with each unmarked or basic consonant symbol. For example, if the Latin alphabet used 'i' as an inherent vowel, we might write "Wikipedia" as "Wkpedia".

A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. It is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins. Syllables are often considered the phonological "building blocks" of words. They can influence the rhythm of a language, its prosody, its poetic metre and its stress patterns. Speech can usually be divided up into a whole number of syllables: for example, the word ignite is composed of two syllables: ig and nite.

The letters are classified into three categories: ಸ್ವರsvara (vowels), ವ್ಯಂಜನvyañjana (consonants), and ಯೋಗವಾಹಕyōgavāhaka (semiconsonants).

A vowel is one of the two principal classes of speech sound, the other being a consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (length). They are usually voiced, and are closely involved in prosodic variation such as tone, intonation and stress. Vowel sounds are produced with an open vocal tract. The word vowel comes from the Latin word vocalis, meaning "vocal". In English, the word vowel is commonly used to refer both to vowel sounds and to the written symbols that represent them.

Consonant sound in spoken language, articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract

In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are, pronounced with the lips;, pronounced with the front of the tongue;, pronounced with the back of the tongue;, pronounced in the throat; and, pronounced by forcing air through a narrow channel (fricatives); and and, which have air flowing through the nose (nasals). Contrasting with consonants are vowels.

The Kannada words for a letter of the script are ಅಕ್ಷರakshara, ಅಕ್ಕರakkara, and ವರ್ಣvarṇa. Each letter has its own form (ಆಕಾರākāra) and sound (ಶಬ್ದśabda), providing the visible and audible representations, respectively. Kannada is written from left to right. [7]

History

The Kannada script derives from the Old Kannada script, [8] which evolved around 10th century as the continuation of the Kadamba alphabet of the fourth century. [9] This evolved from the ancient Brahmi script of the third century BCE.

Brahmi script ancient script of Central and South Asia

Brahmi, developed in the mid-1st millennium BCE, is the oldest known writing system of Ancient India, with the possible exception of the undeciphered Indus script. Brahmi is an abugida that thrived in the Indian subcontinent and uses a system of diacritical marks to associate vowels with consonant symbols. It evolved into a host of other scripts, called the Brahmic scripts, that continue to be in use today in South and Central Asia.

Halmidi Inscription Replica Halmidi inscription translation.JPG
Halmidi Inscription Replica

This is debated as recent excavation has led to Talagunda inscription of 370 AD [10] to be the oldest available. Over the centuries some changes have been made to the Kannada script. These changes consist of:

  1. Modification of existing glyphs: In the early Kannada script, no orthographic distinction was made between the short mid [e, o]ಎ, ಒ and long mid [eː, oː]ಏ, ಓ. However, distinct signs were employed to denote the special consonants viz. the trill [r]ಱ the retroflex lateral [ɭ]ಳ and the retroflex rhotic [ɺ]ೞ found only in South Indian languages, by 5th century.[ dubious – discuss ][ the transcriptions contradict themselves ]
  2. Introduction of new characters: Kannada script includes characters like [ç]ಶ, [ʂ]ಷ, [rɨː]ೠ, [lɨ]ఌ, [lɨː]ౡ, [eʲ]ಐ, [oʷ]ಔ, [am]ಅಂ, [ah]ಅಃ, and mahāprāṇa characters like [kʰ]ಖ, [ɡʱ]ಘ, [tʃʰ]ಛ, [dʒʱ]ಝ, [t̪ʰ]ಥ, [d̪ʱ]ಧ, [ʈʰ]ಠ, [ɖʱ]ಢ, [pʰ]ಫ, [bʱ]ಭ. The introduction was done so that Sanskrit (and loanwords into the Kannada language from the donor language Sanskrit) could be written using the Kannada script.

These changes have facilitated the use of the Kannada script for writing many of the literary Indic languages, including Sanskrit.

Obsolete Kannada letters

Historical form of representing n in Kannada script. Kannada-archaic-n.png
Historical form of representing ನ್ in Kannada script.

Kannada literary works employed the letters ಱ (transliterated 'ṟ' or 'rh') and ೞ (transliterated 'ḻ', 'lh' or 'zh'), whose manner of articulation most plausibly could be akin to those in present-day Malayalam and Tamil. The letters dropped out of use in the 12th and 18th centuries, respectively. Later Kannada works replaced 'rh' and 'lh' with ರ (ra) and ಳ (la) respectively. [11]

Another letter (or unclassified vyanjana (consonant)) that has become extinct is 'nh' or 'inn'. Kannada-archaic-n.png Likewise, this has its equivalent in Telugu, where it is called Nakaara pollu. The usage of this consonant was observed until the 1980s in Kannada works from the mostly coastal areas of Karnataka (especially the Dakshina Kannada district). Now, hardly any mainstream works use this consonant. This letter has been replaced by ನ್ (consonant n).[ citation needed ]

Kannada script evolution

The image below shows the evolution of Kannada script [12] from prehistoric times to the modern period. The Kannada script evolved in stages:

Proto-Kannada → Pre–Old Kannada → Old Kannada → Modern Kannada.

The Proto-Kannada script has its root in ancient Brahmi and appeared around the 3rd century BC. The Pre-Old-Kannada script appeared around the 4th century AD. Old-Kannada script can be traced to around the 10th century AD, whereas Modern-Kannada script appeared around the 17th century AD.

Vowel letters

There are thirteen vowel letters (ಸ್ವರsvara) (14, if we consider obsolete vowel ೠ).

Brahmi script, Kanheri Caves Kanheri-brahmi.jpg
Brahmi script, Kanheri Caves
LetterDiacritic ISO notationLetterDiacritic ISO notation
ಅN/Aaಆಾā
ಇಿiಈೀī
ಉುuಊೂū
ಋೃṛ/r̥ೠ (obsolete)ೄṝ/r̥̄
ಎೆeಏೇē
ಐೈai
ಒೊoಓೋō
ಔೌau

When a vowel follows a consonant, it is written with a diacritic rather than as a separate letter.

Yōgavāha

The Yōgavāha (part-vowel, part consonant) include two letters:

  1. The anusvara: ಅಂ (aṁ)
  2. The visarga: ಅಃ (aḥ)

Another two Yōgavāha used in Sanskrit, but present in Kannada script, are known as Ardhavisarga:

  1. The Jihvamuliya: ೱ
  2. The Upadhmaniya: ೲ

Consonant letters

Two categories of consonant letters (ವ್ಯಂಜನvyan̄jana) are defined in Kannada: the structured consonants and the unstructured consonants.

Structured consonants

The structured consonants are classified according to where the tongue touches the palate of the mouth and are classified accordingly into five structured groups. These consonants are shown here with their IAST transcriptions.

voiceless voiceless aspirate voiced voiced aspirate nasal
Velars ಕ (ka)ಖ (kha)ಗ (ga)ಘ (gha)ಙ (ṅa)
Palatals ಚ (ca)ಛ (cha)ಜ (ja)ಝ (jha)ಞ (ña)
Retroflex ಟ (ṭa)ಠ (ṭha)ಡ (ḍa)ಢ (ḍha)ಣ (ṇa)
Dentals ತ (ta)ಥ (tha)ದ (da)ಧ (dha)ನ (na)
Labials ಪ (pa)ಫ (pha)ಬ (ba)ಭ (bha)ಮ (ma)

See place of articulation for more information on tongue positions.

Unstructured consonants

The unstructured consonants are consonants that do not fall into any of the above structures:

ಯ (ya), ರ (ra), ಱ (ṟa) (obsolete), ಲ (la), ವ (va), ಶ (śa), ಷ (ṣa), ಸ (sa), ಹ (ha), ಳ (ḷa), ೞ (ḻ) (obsolete).

Consonant conjuncts

The Kannada script is rich in conjunct consonant clusters, with most consonants having a standard subjoined form and few true ligature clusters. A table of consonant conjuncts follows, although the forms of individual conjuncts may differ according to font.

Pronunciation of letters

Writing order

Akshara

Written Kannada is composed of akshara or kagunita, corresponding to syllables. The letters for consonants combine with diacritics for vowels. The consonant letter without any diacritic, such as ಕka, has the inherent vowel aಅ. This is called ದೀರ್ಘdīrgha. A consonant without a vowel is marked with a 'killer' stroke, such as ಕ್k. This is known as ಹ್ರಸ್ವhrasva.

DiacriticVowel letterd with vowel diacriticPronunciation
–(ಅ, a)ದ/da/
್–ದ್/d/
ಾ(ಆ, ā)ದಾ/daː/
ಿ(ಇ, i)ದಿ [note 1] /di/
ೀ(ಈ, ī)ದೀ/diː/
ು(ಉ, u)ದು/du/
ೂ(ಊ, ū)ದೂ/duː/
ೃ(ಋ, r̥)ದೃ/dr̥ː/
ೄ(ೠ, r̥̄)ದೄ/dr̥ː/
ೆ(ಎ, e)ದೆ/de/
ೇ(ಏ, ē)ದೇ/deː/
ೈ(ಐ, ai)ದೈ/dai/
ೊ(ಒ, o)ದೊ/do/
ೋ(ಓ, ō)ದೋ/doː/
ೌ(ಔ, au)ದೌ/dau/
ಂ(ಅಂ, aṃ)ದಂ/dã/
ಃ(ಅಃ, aḥ)ದಃ/dah/
  1. ↑ This diacritic has the form ಿ when combined with other consonant letters.
ಅಆಇಈಉಊಋೠಎಏಐಒಓಔಅಂಅಃ—
ಕಕಾಕಿಕೀಕುಕೂಕೃಕೄಕೆಕೇಕೈಕೊಕೋಕೌಕಂಕಃಕ್
ಖಖಾಖಿಖೀಖುಖೂಖೃಖೄಖೆಖೇಖೈಖೊಖೋಖೌಖಂಖಃಖ್
ಗಗಾಗಿಗೀಗುಗೂಗೃಗೄಗೆಗೇಗೈಗೊಗೋಗೌಗಂಗಃಗ್
ಘಘಾಘಿಘೀಘುಘೂಘೃಘೄಘೆಘೇಘೈಘೊಘೋಘೌಘಂಘಃಘ್
ಙಙಾಙಿಙೀಙುಙೂಙೃಙೄಙೆಙೇಙೈಙೊಙೋಙೌಙಂಙಃಙ್
ಚಚಾಚಿಚೀಚುಚೂಚೃಚೄಚೆಚೇಚೈಚೊಚೋಚೌಚಂಚಃಚ್
ಛಛಾಛಿಛೀಛುಛೂಛೃಛೄಛೆಛೇಛೈಛೊಛೋಛೌಛಂಛಃಛ್
ಜಜಾಜಿಜೀಜುಜೂಜೃಜೄಜೆಜೇಜೈಜೊಜೋಜೌಜಂಜಃಜ್
ಝಝಾಝಿಝೀಝುಝೂಝೃಝೄಝೆಝೇಝೈಝೊಝೋಝೌಝಂಝಃಝ್
ಞಞಾಞಿಞೀಞುಞೂಞೃಞೄಞೆಞೇಞೈಞೊಞೋಞೌಞಂಞಃಞ್
ಟಟಾಟಿಟೀಟುಟೂಟೃಟೄಟೆಟೇಟೈಟೊಟೋಟೌಟಂಟಃಟ್
ಠಠಾಠಿಠೀಠುಠೂಠೃಠೄಠೆಠೇಠೈಠೊಠೋಠೌಠಂಠಃಠ್
ಡಡಾಡಿಡೀಡುಡೂಡೃಡೄಡೆಡೇಡೈಡೊಡೋಡೌಡಂಡಃಡ್
ಢಢಾಢಿಢೀಢುಢೂಢೃಢೄಢೆಢೇಢೈಢೊಢೋಢೌಢಂಢಃಢ್
ಣಣಾಣಿಣೀಣುಣೂಣೃಣೄಣೆಣೇಣೈಣೊಣೋಣೌಣಂಣಃಣ್
ತತಾತಿತೀತುತೂತೃತೄತೆತೇತೈತೊತೋತೌತಂತಃತ್
ಥಥಾಥಿಥೀಥುಥೂಥೃಥೄಥೆಥೇಥೈಥೊಥೋಥೌಥಂಥಃಥ್
ದದಾದಿದೀದುದೂದೃದೄದೆದೇದೈದೊದೋದೌದಂದಃದ್
ಧಧಾಧಿಧೀಧುಧೂಧೃಧೄಧೆಧೇಧೈಧೊಧೋಧೌಧಂಧಃಧ್
ನನಾನಿನೀನುನೂನೃನೄನೆನೇನೈನೊನೋನೌನಂನಃನ್
ಪಪಾಪಿಪೀಪುಪೂಪೃಪೄಪೆಪೇಪೈಪೊಪೋಪೌಪಂಪಃಪ್
ಫಫಾಫಿಫೀಫುಫೂಫೃಫೄಫೆಫೇಫೈಫೊಫೋಫೌಫಂಫಃಫ್
ಬಬಾಬಿಬೀಬುಬೂಬೃಬೄಬೆಬೇಬೈಬೊಬೋಬೌಬಂಬಃಬ್
ಭಭಾಭಿಭೀಭುಭೂಭೃಭೄಭೆಭೇಭೈಭೊಭೋಭೌಭಂಭಃಭ್
ಮಮಾಮಿಮೀಮುಮೂಮೃಮೄಮೆಮೇಮೈಮೊಮೋಮೌಮಂಮಃಮ್
ಯಯಾಯಿಯೀಯುಯೂಯೃಯೄಯೆಯೇಯೈಯೊಯೋಯೌಯಂಯಃಯ್
ರರಾರಿರೀರುರೂರೃರೄರೆರೇರೈರೊರೋರೌರಂರಃರ್
ಱಱಾಱಿಱೀಱುಱೂಱೃಱೄಱೆಱೇಱೈಱೊಱೋಱೌಱಂಱಃಱ್
ಲಲಾಲಿಲೀಲುಲೂಲೃಲೄಲೆಲೇಲೈಲೊಲೋಲೌಲಂಲಃಲ್
ವವಾವಿವೀವುವೂವೃವೄವೆವೇವೈವೊವೋವೌವಂವಃವ್
ಶಶಾಶಿಶೀಶುಶೂಶೃಶೄಶೆಶೇಶೈಶೊಶೋಶೌಶಂಶಃಶ್
ಷಷಾಷಿಷೀಷುಷೂಷೃಷೄಷೆಷೇಷೈಷೊಷೋಷೌಷಂಷಃಷ್
ಸಸಾಸಿಸೀಸುಸೂಸೃಸೄಸೆಸೇಸೈಸೊಸೋಸೌಸಂಸಃಸ್
ಹಹಾಹಿಹೀಹುಹೂಹೃಹೄಹೆಹೇಹೈಹೊಹೋಹೌಹಂಹಃಹ್
ಳಳಾಳಿಳೀಳುಳೂಳೃಳೄಳೆಳೇಳೈಳೊಳೋಳೌಳಂಳಃಳ್
ೞೞಾೞಿೞೀೞುೞೂೞೃೞೄೞೆೞೇೞೈೞೊೞೋೞೌೞಂೞಃೞ್

The formations shown boldface above are seldom used in the normal course of the language.

Numerals

The decimal numerals in the script are:

Kannada numerals English numerals
numeralnamenumeralname
೦sonne (ಸೊನ್ನೆ)0zero
೧ondu (ಒಂದು)1one
೨eraḍu (ಎರಡು)2two
೩mūru (ಮೂರು)3three
೪nālku (ನಾಲ್ಕು)4four
೫aidu (ಐದು)5five
೬āru (ಆರು)6six
೭ēḷu (ಏಳು)7seven
೮enṭu (ಎಂಟು)8eight
೯oṃbattu (ಒಂಬತ್ತು)9nine

Transliteration

Several transliteration schemes/tools are used to type Kannada characters using a standard keyboard. These include Baraha [13] (based on ITRANS), Pada Software [14] and several internet tools like Google transliteration, Quillpad [15] (predictive transliterator). Nudi, the Government of Karnataka's standard for Kannada Input, is a phonetic layout loosely based on transliteration.

Due to its resemblance to an eye and an eyebrow, the Kannada letter ಠṭha is used in a popular emoticon called the "look of disapproval" (displayed as "ಠ_ಠ") used to convey disapproval or contempt. [16] Similarly, the akshara ರೃrr̥a has been used in emoticons to represent a monocle, while ಥ tha has been used to represent a tearing eye.

Unicode

Kannada script was added to the Unicode Standard in October, 1991 with the release of version 1.0.

The Unicode block for Kannada is U+0C80–U+0CFF:

Kannada [1] [2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
 0123456789ABCDEF
U+0C8xಀಁಂಃ಄ಅಆಇಈಉಊಋಌಎಏ
U+0C9xಐಒಓಔಕಖಗಘಙಚಛಜಝಞಟ
U+0CAxಠಡಢಣತಥದಧನಪಫಬಭಮಯ
U+0CBxರಱಲಳವಶಷಸಹ಼ಽಾಿ
U+0CCxೀುೂೃೄೆೇೈೊೋೌ್
U+0CDxೕೖೞ
U+0CExೠೡೢೣ೦೧೨೩೪೫೬೭೮೯
U+0CFx ೱ  ೲ 
Notes
1. ^ As of Unicode version 11.0
2. ^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

See also

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There are several methods of transliteration from Devanāgarī to the Roman script which share similarities, although no single system of transliteration has emerged as the standard. This process has been termed Romanagari, a portmanteau of the words Roman and Devanagari.. The term may also be used for other languages that use Devanagari as the standard writing script, such as Marathi, Nepali or Sanskrit.

The Balinese script, natively known as Aksara Bali and Hanacaraka, is an alphabet used in the island of Bali, Indonesia, commonly for writing the Austronesian Balinese language, Old Javanese, and the liturgical language Sanskrit. With some modifications, the script is also used to write the Sasak language, used in the neighboring island of Lombok. The script is a descendant of the Brahmi script, and so has many similarities with the modern scripts of South and Southeast Asia. The Balinese script, along with the Javanese script, is considered the most elaborate and ornate among Brahmic scripts of Southeast Asia.

Telugu script, an abugida from the Brahmic family of scripts, is used to write the Telugu language, a Dravidian language spoken in the South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well as several other neighbouring states. The Telugu script is also widely used for writing Sanskrit texts and to some extent the Gondi language. It gained prominence during the Eastern Chalukyas also known as Vengi Chalukya era. It shares extensive similarities with the Kannada script, as it has evolved from Kadamba and Bhattiprolu scripts of the Brahmi family. Both Adikavi Pampa of Kannada and Adikavi Nannayya of Telugu hail from families native to the Vengi region.

Odia script Historic Brahmic script

The Odia script is a Brahmic script used to write the Odia language.

The Javanese script, natively known as Aksara Jawa and Hanacaraka, formally known as Déntawyanjana and Carakan, is an abugida developed by the Javanese people to write several Austronesian languages spoken in Indonesia, primarily the Javanese language and an early form of Javanese called Kawi, as well as Sanskrit, an Indo-Aryan language used as a sacred language throughout Asia. The Javanese script is a descendant of the Brahmi script and therefore has many similarities with the modern scripts of South India and Southeast Asia. The Javanese script, along with the Balinese script, is considered the most elaborate and ornate among Brahmic scripts of Southeast Asia.

The Harvard-Kyoto Convention is a system for transliterating Sanskrit and other languages that use the Devanāgarī script into ASCII. It is predominantly used informally in e-mail, and for electronic texts.

Saurashtra language Indo-Aryan language spoken in Tamil Nadu, India

Saurashtra (ꢱꣃꢬꢵꢰ꣄ꢜ꣄ꢬ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily by the Saurashtrians of South India who migrated from the Lata region of present-day Gujarat over a millennium ago.

The Assamese alphabet or Assamese script is a writing system of the Assamese language. It used to be the script of choice in the Brahmaputra valley for Sanskrit as well as other languages such as Bodo, Khasi, Mising etc. It evolved from Kamarupi script. The current form of the script has seen continuous development from the 5th-century Umachal/Nagajari-Khanikargaon rock inscriptions written in an eastern variety of the Gupta script, adopting significant traits from the Siddhaṃ script in the 7th century. By the 17th century three styles of Assamese script could be identified that converged to the standard script following typesetting required for printing. The present standard is identical to the Bengali alphabet except for two letters, ৰ (ro) and ৱ (vo).

Lepcha script

The Lepcha script, or Róng script, is an abugida used by the Lepcha people to write the Lepcha language. Unusually for an abugida, syllable-final consonants are written as diacritics.

Bengali alphabet abugida used in writing Bengali and Assamese

The Bengali or Bangla alphabet is the alphabet used to write the Bengali language and has historically been used to write Sanskrit within Bengal. It is quite similar to the Assamese alphabet and other alphabets based on the Bengali–Assamese script.

Bengali–Assamese script A type of South Asian writing system

The Bengali–Assamese script is the fifth most widely used writing system in the world. It is the basis of the Bengali, Assamese alphabet and Tirhuta as well as the alphabets for Bishnupriya Manipuri, Kokborok (Tripuri) and Meithei (Manipuri). Other languages, such as Angika, Bodo, Karbi, Maithili and Mising were once written in Bengali–Assamese script. Modern Sylheti is often written using this script as well. It was originally used to write Sanskrit, and the use of this script for Sanskrit continues in Eastern India.

Bharati Braille alphabet

Bharati braille, or Bharatiya Braille, is a largely unified braille script for writing the languages of India. When India gained independence, eleven braille scripts were in use, in different parts of the country and for different languages. By 1951 a single national standard had been settled on, Bharati braille, which has since been adopted by Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh. There are slight differences in the orthographies for Nepali in India and Nepal, and for Tamil in India and Sri Lanka. There are significant differences in Bengali Braille between India and Bangladesh, with several letters differing. Pakistan has not adopted Bharati braille, so the Urdu Braille of Pakistan is an entirely different alphabet than the Urdu Braille of India, with their commonalities largely due to their common inheritance from English or International Braille. Sinhalese Braille largely conforms to other Bharati, but differs significantly toward the end of the alphabet, and is covered in its own article.

Kha is the second consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, kha is derived from the Brahmi letter , which is probably derived from the Aramaic ("Q").

The Velthuis system of transliteration is an ASCII transliteration scheme for the Sanskrit language from and to the Devanagari script. It was developed by Frans Velthuis, a scholar living in Groningen, Netherlands, who created a popular, high-quality software package in Latex for typesetting Devanāgarī. It is based on using the ISO 646 repertoire to represent mnemonically the accents used in standard scholarly transliteration. It does not use diacritics as compared to IAST. It does not use capital letters as compared to Harvard-Kyoto or ITRANS schemes.

References

  1. ↑ "Kannada, Stone inscriptions". Archived from the original on 25 June 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  2. ↑ Campbell, George L. (1997-11-06). Handbook of scripts and alphabets (1st ed.). Routledge, New York. pp. 84–5. ISBN   978-0-415-13715-7. OCLC   34473667.
  3. ↑ Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh (2007). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. pp. 804, 805. ISBN   978-0-415-77294-5.
  4. ↑ "Romanization, Sinhala (Sinhalese) Script" (PDF). KAMALAKAR. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  5. ↑ "Ancient scripts, hala" . Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  6. ↑ "Telugu & Sinhalese script similarities" . Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  7. ↑ A Grammar of the Kannada Language. F. Kittel (1993), p. 5
  8. ↑ "Old Kannada" . Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  9. ↑ "Kadamba" . Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  10. ↑ "Kannada inscription at Talagunda may replace Halmidi as oldest". Deccan Herald. 12 January 2017.
  11. ↑ Rice, Edward. P (1921), "A History of Kannada Literature", Oxford University Press, 1921: 14–15
  12. ↑ "Kannada script Evolution". Official website of the Central Institute of Indian Languages, India. Classicalkannada.org. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  13. ↑ "Baraha – Free Indian Language Software". baraha.com.
  14. ↑ "Pada Software – For Indic Scripts". pada.pro.
  15. ↑ "QuillPad – Typing in Kannada has never been easier". Quillpad.in. Archived from the original on 4 November 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
  16. ↑ "Browser Extension of the Week: Look of Disapproval". Maximum PC. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
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