Ya (Indic)

Last updated
Ya
Devanagari y.svg
Example glyphs
Bengali–Assamese Bengali Letter Ya.svg
Tibetan Tibetan Ya.svg
Tamil Tamil-alphabet-yy.svg
Thai
Malayalam
Sinhala
Ashoka Brahmi Brahmi y.svg
Devanagari Devanagari y.svg
Cognates
Hebrew י
Greek Ι
Latin I, J
Cyrillic І, Ї, Ы, Ю
Properties
Phonemic representation /j/
IAST transliteration y Y
ISCII code point CD (205)

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

Contents

Āryabhaṭa numeration

Aryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The values of the different forms of य are: [1]

Historic Ya

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Ya as found in standard Brahmi, Brahmi y.svg was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta Gupta allahabad y.svg . The Tocharian Ya Tocharian letter ya.gif did not have an alternate Fremdzeichen form. The third form of ya, in Kharoshthi ( Bukva YA (nezalezhnii znak). Pis'mo kkharoshtkhi. Kharoshthi letter YA.svg ) was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.

Brahmi Ya

The Brahmi letter Brahmi y.svg , Ya, is probably derived from the Aramaic Yodh Yod.svg , and is thus related to the modern Latin I and J and Greek Iota. [2] Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ya can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period. [3] As the earliest and most geometric style of Brahmi, the letters found on the Edicts of Ashoka and other records from around that time are normally the reference form for Brahmi letters, with vowel marks not attested until later forms of Brahmi back-formed to match the geometric writing style.

Brahmi Ya historic forms
Ashoka
(3rd-1st c. BCE)
Girnar
(~150 BCE)
Kushana
(~150-250 CE)
Gujarat
(~250 CE)
Gupta
(~350 CE)
Brahmi y.svg Gupta girnar y.svg Gupta ashoka y.svg Gupta gujarat y.svg Gupta allahabad y.svg

Tocharian Ya

The Tocharian letter Tocharian letter ya.gif is derived from the Brahmi Brahmi y.svg , but does not have an alternate Fremdzeichen form.

Tocharian Ya with vowel marks
YaYiYuYrYr̄YeYaiYoYau
Tocharian letter ya.gif Tocharian letter yaa.gif Tocharian letter yi.gif Tocharian letter yii.gif Tocharian letter yu.gif Tocharian letter yuu.gif Tocharian letter ye.gif Tocharian letter yai.gif Tocharian letter yo.gif Tocharian letter yau.gif Tocharian letter ya.gif

Kharoṣṭhī Ya

The Kharoṣṭhī letter Bukva YA (nezalezhnii znak). Pis'mo kkharoshtkhi. Kharoshthi letter YA.svg is generally accepted as being derived from the Aramaic Yodh Yod.svg , and is thus related to I, J and Iota, in addition to the Brahmi Ya. [2]

Devanagari Ya

Ya () is a consonant of the Devanagari abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter Brahmi y.svg , after having gone through the Gupta letter Gupta allahabad y.svg . Letters that derive from it are the Gujarati letter , and the Modi letter 𑘧.

Old Nepali Ya

In old Nepali langauge texts, a specific nuqta like dot is added to this glyph in order to represent the [j], while the glyph by itself would be used to represent the [dz] sound that the modern Nepali letter ज makes. [4] This style of the letter also continued once the letter ज was reintroducted into Nepali texts as well.

Devanagari-using Languages

In all languages, य is pronounced as [] or [ j ] when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

Devanagari य with vowel marks
YaYiYuYrYr̄YlYl̄YeYaiYoYauY
यायियीयुयूयृयॄयॢयॣयेयैयोयौय्

Conjuncts with य

Half form of Ya. Devanagari Ya half form.svg
Half form of Ya.

Devanagari exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. In modern Devanagari texts, most conjuncts are formed by reducing the letter shape to fit tightly to the following letter, usually by dropping a character's vertical stem, sometimes referred to as a "half form". Some conjunct clusters are always represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters. Vertically stacked conjuncts are ubiquitous in older texts, while only a few are still used routinely in modern Devanagari texts. The use of ligatures and vertical conjuncts may vary across languages using the Devanagari script, with Marathi in particular preferring the use of half forms where texts in other languages would show ligatures and vertical stacks. [5]

Ligature conjuncts of य

True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Devanagari are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra. Nepali and Marathi texts use the "eyelash" Ra half form Devanagari Eyelash Ra.svg for an initial "R" instead of repha.

  • Repha र্ (r) + य (ya) gives the ligature rya: note

Devanagari Conjunct RYa.svg

  • Eyelash र্ (r) + य (ya) gives the ligature rya:

Devanagari Conjunct Eyelash RYa.svg

  • य্ (y) + न (na) gives the ligature yna:

Devanagari Conjunct YNa.svg

  • य্ (y) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature yra:

Devanagari Conjunct YRa.svg

  • छ্ (ch) + य (ya) gives the ligature chya:

Devanagari Conjunct ChYa.svg

  • ढ্ (ḍʱ) + य (ya) gives the ligature ḍʱya:

Devanagari Conjunct DdhYa.svg

  • ड্ (ḍ) + य (ya) gives the ligature ḍya:

Devanagari Conjunct DdYa.svg

  • द্ (d) + द্ (d) + य (ya) gives the ligature ddya:

Devanagari Conjunct DDYa.svg

  • द্ (d) + व্ (v) + य (ya) gives the ligature dvya:

Devanagari Conjunct DVYa.svg

  • द্ (d) + य (ya) gives the ligature dya:

Devanagari Conjunct DYa.svg

  • ङ্ (ŋ) + य (ya) gives the ligature ŋya:

Devanagari Conjunct NgYa.svg

  • ष্ (ṣ) + ठ্ (ṭh) + य (ya) gives the ligature ṣṭhya:

Devanagari Conjunct SsTthYa.svg

  • ठ্ (ṭh) + य (ya) gives the ligature ṭhya:

Devanagari Conjunct TthYa.svg

Stacked conjuncts of य

Vertically stacked ligatures are the most common conjunct forms found in Devanagari text. Although the constituent characters may need to be stretched and moved slightly in order to stack neatly, stacked conjuncts can be broken down into recognizable base letters, or a letter and an otherwise standard ligature.

  • ग্ (g) + न্ (n) + य (ya) gives the ligature gnya:

Devanagari Conjunct GNYa.svg

  • ग্ (g) + र্ (r) + य (ya) gives the ligature grya:

Devanagari Conjunct GRYa.svg

  • ह্ (h) + य (ya) gives the ligature hya:

Devanagari Conjunct HYa.svg

  • ज্ (j) + ज্ (j) + य (ya) gives the ligature jjya:

Devanagari Conjunct JJYa.svg

  • ङ্ (ŋ) + क্ (k) + ष্ (ṣ) + य (ya) gives the ligature ŋkṣya:

Devanagari Conjunct NgKSsYa.svg

  • त্ (t) + र্ (r) + य (ya) gives the ligature trya:

Devanagari Conjunct TRYa.svg

  • ट্ (ṭ) + य (ya) gives the ligature ṭya:

Devanagari Conjunct TtYa.svg

  • य্ (y) + च (ca) gives the ligature yca:

Devanagari Conjunct YCa.svg

  • य্ (y) + ड (ḍa) gives the ligature yḍa:

Devanagari Conjunct YDda.svg

  • य্ (y) + ज (ja) gives the ligature yja:

Devanagari Conjunct YJa.svg

  • य্ (y) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature yjña:

Devanagari Conjunct YJNya.svg

  • य্ (y) + ल (la) gives the ligature yla:

Devanagari Conjunct YLa.svg

  • य্ (y) + ङ (ŋa) gives the ligature yŋa:

Devanagari Conjunct YNga.svg

  • य্ (y) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature yña:

Devanagari Conjunct YNya.svg

Bangla Ya

The Bangla script য is derived from the Siddhaṃ Siddham y.svg , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, य. Unlike most other Indic scripts and like Odia, the Bangla য is pronounced as a voiced postalveolar affricate (similar to the English "j" sound). The "y" sound is represented by the related letter য়. In addition to this, the inherent vowel of Bangla consonant letters is /ɔ/, so the bare letter য will sometimes be transliterated as "jo" instead of "ya". Adding o-kar, the "o" vowel mark, gives a reading of /dʒo/. Like all Indic consonants, য can be modified by marks to indicate another (or no) vowel than its inherent "a".

Bangla য with vowel marks
jajijujrjr̄jejaijojauj
যাযিযীযুযূযৃযৄযেযৈযোযৌয্

য in Bangla-using languages

য is used as a basic consonant character in all of the major Bangla script orthographies, including Bangla and Assamese.

Conjuncts with য

Bangla য exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts, with a tendency towards stacked ligatures. [6]

Bangla Ya-phala

Bangla Ya-phala Bengali Ya-phala.svg
Bangla Ya-phala

The letter য has a special form when used as the last letter of a conjunct called "Ya-phala" (or "Jô-fôla"). This reduced form of য is appended to the right of the preceding letter or conjunct, with vowel signs falling outside of the ya-phala as in most conjuncts. [7] The use of a reduced Ya-phala is similar to the Ra-phala and Va-phala forms, which attach to the bottom of a letter or conjunct. Unlike these other reduced consonant forms, ya-phala can be appended to the independent A vowel character. In representing Bangla text on computer systems, the Zero-width joiner is used to suppress formation of ya-phala in certain contexts, as Hasant + Ya is realized as ya-phala by default.

  • ভ্ (bh) + য (ya) gives the ligature bhya:

Bengali Conjunct BHya.svg

  • ব্ (b) + য (ya) gives the ligature bya:

Bengali Conjunct Bya.svg

  • চ্ (c) + য (ya) gives the ligature cya:

Bengali Conjunct Cya.svg

  • ঢ্ (ḍʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ḍʱya:

Bengali Conjunct DDHya.svg

  • ড্ (ḍ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ḍya:

Bengali Conjunct DDya.svg

  • ধ্ (dʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature dʱya:

Bengali Conjunct DHya.svg

  • দ্ (d) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives the ligature drya, with ra phala in addition to ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Drya.svg

  • দ্ (d) + য (ya) gives the ligature dya:

Bengali Conjunct Dya.svg

  • গ্ (g) + ধ্ (dʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature gdʱya:

Bengali Conjunct Gdhya.svg

  • ঘ্ (ɡʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ɡʱya:

Bengali Conjunct GHya.svg

  • গ্ (g) + ন্ (n) + য (ya) gives the ligature gnya:

Bengali Conjunct Gnya.svg

  • গ্ (g) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives the ligature grya, with ra phala in addition to ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Grya.svg

  • গ্ (g) + য (ya) gives the ligature gya:

Bengali Conjunct Gya.svg

  • জ্ (j) + য (ya) gives the ligature jya:

Bengali Conjunct Jya.svg

  • খ্ (kh) + য (ya) gives the ligature khya:

Bengali Conjunct KHya.svg

  • ক্ (k) + শ্ (ʃ) + ম্ (m) + য (ya) gives the ligature kʃmya:

Bengali Conjunct Kssmya.svg

  • ক্ (k) + ষ্ (ṣ) + য (ya) gives the ligature kṣya:

Bengali Conjunct Kssya.svg

  • ক্ (k) + য (ya) gives the ligature kya:

Bengali Conjunct Kya.svg

  • ল্ (l) + ক্ (k) + য (ya) gives the ligature lkya:

Bengali Conjunct Lkya.svg

  • ল্ (l) + য (ya) gives the ligature lya:

Bengali Conjunct Lya.svg

  • ম্ (m) + য (ya) gives the ligature mya:

Bengali Conjunct Mya.svg

  • ন্ (n) + ধ্ (dʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ndʱya:

Bengali Conjunct Ndhya.svg

  • ন্ (n) + দ্ (d) + য (ya) gives the ligature ndya:

Bengali Conjunct Ndya.svg

  • ঙ্ (ŋ) + ঘ্ (ɡʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ŋɡʱya:

Bengali Conjunct NGghya.svg

  • ঙ্ (ŋ) + গ্ (g) + য (ya) gives the ligature ŋgya:

Bengali Conjunct NGgya.svg

  • ঙ্ (ŋ) + ক্ (k) + য (ya) gives the ligature ŋkya:

Bengali Conjunct NGkya.svg

  • ণ্ (ṇ) + ড্ (ḍ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ṇḍya:

Bengali Conjunct NNddya.svg

  • ণ্ (ṇ) + ঠ্ (ṭh) + য (ya) gives the ligature ṇṭhya:

Bengali Conjunct NNtthya.svg

  • ণ্ (ṇ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ṇya:

Bengali Conjunct NNya.svg

  • ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives the ligature ntrya, with ra phala in addition to ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Ntrya.svg

  • ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives the ligature ntya:

Bengali Conjunct Ntya.svg

  • ন্ (n) + য (ya) gives the ligature nya:

Bengali Conjunct Nya.svg

  • প্ (p) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives the ligature prya, with ra phala in addition to ya phala

Bengali Conjunct Prya.svg

  • প্ (p) + য (ya) gives the ligature pya:

Bengali Conjunct Pya.svg

  • র্ (r) + ব্ (b) + য (ya) gives the ligature rbya, with the repha prefix in addition to ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rbya.svg

  • র্ (r) + চ্ (c) + য (ya) gives the ligature rcya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rcya.svg

  • র্ (r) + ঢ্ (ḍʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature rḍʱya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rddhya.svg

  • র্ (r) + ঘ্ (ɡʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature rɡʱya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rghya.svg

  • র্ (r) + গ্ (g) + য (ya) gives the ligature rɡya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rgya.svg

  • র্ (r) + হ্ (h) + য (ya) gives the ligature rhya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rhya.svg

  • র্ (r) + জ্ (j) + য (ya) gives the ligature rjya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rjya.svg

  • র্ (r) + খ্ (kh) + য (ya) gives the ligature rkhya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rkhya.svg

  • র্ (r) + ক্ (k) + য (ya) gives the ligature rkya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rkya.svg

  • র্ (r) + ম্ (m) + য (ya) gives the ligature rmya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rmya.svg

  • র্ (r) + ণ্ (ṇ) + য (ya) gives the ligature rṇya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rnnya.svg

  • র্ (r) + শ্ (ʃ) + য (ya) gives the ligature rʃya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rshya.svg

  • র্ (r) + ষ্ (ṣ) + য (ya) gives the ligature rṣya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rssya.svg

  • র্ (r) + থ্ (th) + য (ya) gives the ligature rthya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rthya.svg

  • র্ (r) + ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives the ligature rtya, with repha and ya phala:

Bengali Conjunct Rtya.svg

  • শ্ (ʃ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ʃya:

Bengali Conjunct SHya.svg

  • ষ্ (ṣ) + ঠ্ (ṭh) + য (ya) gives the ligature ṣṭhya:

Bengali Conjunct SStthya.svg

  • ষ্ (ṣ) + ট্ (ṭ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ṣṭya:

Bengali Conjunct SSttya.svg

  • ষ্ (ṣ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ṣya:

Bengali Conjunct SSya.svg

  • স্ (s) + থ্ (th) + য (ya) gives the ligature sthya:

Bengali Conjunct Sthya.svg

  • স্ (s) + ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives the ligature stya:

Bengali Conjunct Stya.svg

  • স্ (s) + য (ya) gives the ligature sya:

Bengali Conjunct Sya.svg

  • থ্ (th) + য (ya) gives the ligature thya:

Bengali Conjunct THya.svg

  • ত্ (t) + ম্ (m) + য (ya) gives the ligature tmya:

Bengali Conjunct Tmya.svg

  • ত্ (t) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives the ligature trya, with the ra phala and ya phala suffixes

Bengali Conjunct Trya.svg

  • ট্ (ṭ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ṭya:

Bengali Conjunct TTya.svg

  • ত্ (t) + ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives the ligature ttya:

Bengali Conjunct Ttya.svg

  • ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives the ligature tya:

Bengali Conjunct Tya.svg

  • য্ (y) + য (ya) gives the ligature yya:

Bengali Conjunct Yya.svg

Other conjuncts of য

Ya-phala is almost universal, and its suppression generally only happens in order to express a repha on য instead.

  • র্ (r) + য (ya) gives the ligature rya, with the repha prefix:

Bengali Conjunct Rya.svg

Gujarati Ya

Gujarati Ya. Gujarati letter Ya.svg
Gujarati Ya.

Ya () is the twenty-sixth consonant of the Gujarati abugida. It is derived from the Devanagari Ya Devanagari y.svg with the top bar (shiro rekha) removed, and ultimately the Brahmi letter Brahmi y.svg .

Gujarati-using Languages

The Gujarati script is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. In both languages, ય is pronounced as [] or [ y ] when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Gujarati uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

YaYiYuYrYlYr̄Yl̄YeYaiYoYauY
Gujarati Ya Matras.svg
Gujarati Ya syllables, with vowel marks in red.

Conjuncts with ય

Half form of Ya. Gujarati letter Ya half form.svg
Half form of Ya.

Gujarati ય exhibits conjunct ligatures, much like its parent Devanagari Script. Most Gujarati conjuncts can only be formed by reducing the letter shape to fit tightly to the following letter, usually by dropping a character's vertical stem, sometimes referred to as a "half form". A few conjunct clusters can be represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters, and vertically stacked conjuncts can also be found in Gujarati, although much less commonly than in Devanagari. True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Gujarati are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra.

Gujarati conjunct RYa.svg

Gujarati conjunct YRa.svg

Gujarati conjunct YNa.svg

Javanese Ya

Telugu Ya

Telugu letter Ya.svg
Telugu subjoined Ya.svg
Telugu independent and subjoined Ya.

Ya () is a consonant of the Telugu abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter Brahmi y.svg . It is closely related to the Kannada letter . Most Telugu consonants contain a v-shaped headstroke that is related to the horizontal headline found in other Indic scripts, although headstrokes do not connect adjacent letters in Telugu. The headstroke is normally lost when adding vowel matras. Telugu conjuncts are created by reducing trailing letters to a subjoined form that appears below the initial consonant of the conjunct. Many subjoined forms are created by dropping their headline, with many extending the end of the stroke of the main letter body to form an extended tail reaching up to the right of the preceding consonant. This subjoining of trailing letters to create conjuncts is in contrast to the leading half forms of Devanagari and Bangla letters. Ligature conjuncts are not a feature in Telugu, with the only non-standard construction being an alternate subjoined form of Ṣa (borrowed from Kannada) in the KṢa conjunct.

Malayalam Ya

Malayalam letter Ya Malayalam letter Ya.svg
Malayalam letter Ya

Ya () is a consonant of the Malayalam abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter Brahmi y.svg , via the Grantha letter Grantha letter Ya.svg Ya. Like in other Indic scripts, Malayalam consonants have the inherent vowel "a", and take one of several modifying vowel signs to represent syllables with another vowel or no vowel at all.

Malayalam Ya matras: Ya, Ya, Yi, Yi, Yu, Yu, Yr, Yr, Yl, Yl, Ye, Ye, Yai, Yo, Yo, Yau, and Y. Malayalam Ya matras.svg
Malayalam Ya matras: Ya, Yā, Yi, Yī, Yu, Yū, Yr̥, Yr̥̄, Yl̥, Yl̥̄, Ye, Yē, Yai, Yo, Yō, Yau, and Y.

Conjuncts of യ

Malayalam letter Chillu Y Malayalam letter Chillu Ya.svg
Malayalam letter Chillu Y

As is common in Indic scripts, Malayalam joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. There are several ways in which conjuncts are formed in Malayalam texts: using a post-base form of a trailing consonant placed under the initial consonant of a conjunct, a combined ligature of two or more consonants joined together, a conjoining form that appears as a combining mark on the rest of the conjunct, the use of an explicit candrakkala mark to suppress the inherent "a" vowel, or a special consonant form called a "chillu" letter, representing a bare consonant without the inherent "a" vowel. Texts written with the modern reformed Malayalam orthography, put̪iya lipi, may favor more regular conjunct forms than older texts in paḻaya lipi, due to changes undertaken in the 1970s by the Government of Kerala.

Malayalam conjunct YKa.svg

Malayalam conjunct YTa.svg

Malayalam conjunct YYa.svg

Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics Ye

, , and are the base characters "Ye", "Yi", "Yo" and "Ya" in the Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics. The bare consonant (Y) is a small version of the A-series letter ᔭ, although the Western Cree letter ᕀ, derived from Pitman shorthand was the original bare consonant symbol for Y. The character ᔦ is derived from a handwritten form of the Devanagari letter य, without the headline or vertical stem, and the forms for different vowels are derived by mirroring. [8] Unlike most writing systems without legacy computer encodings, complex Canadian syllabic letters are represented in Unicode with pre-composed characters, rather than with base characters and diacritical marks.

VariantE-seriesI-seriesO-seriesA-seriesOther
Y + vowel-
YeYiYoYa-
Related small-
-Sayasi YiBible-Cree YYWest Cree Y
Y with long vowels---
-CreeCree-
Y + W-vowels-
YweCree YweYwiCree YwiYwoCree YwoYwaCree Ywa-
Y + long W-vowels--
-YwīCree YwīYwōCree YwōYwāNaskapi YwāCree Ywā-
Y with ring diacritic--
-YāiYoyYay-

Odia Jya

Odia letter Ya.svg
Odia independent Jya.

Jya () is a consonant of the Odia abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter Brahmi y.svg , via the Siddhaṃ letter Siddham y.svg Ya. Unlike the cognate letter in many other Indic scripts and similar to the Bangla letter, Odia Jya is pronounced as a voiced postalveolar affricate, same as "J" in English. Like in other Indic scripts, Odia consonants have the inherent vowel "a", and take one of several modifying vowel signs to represent syllables with another vowel or no vowel at all.

Odia Ya with vowel matras
JyaJyāJyiJyīJyuJyūJyr̥Jyr̥̄Jyl̥Jyl̥̄JyeJyaiJyoJyauJy
ଯାଯିଯୀଯୁଯୂଯୃଯୄଯୢଯୣଯେଯୈଯୋଯୌଯ୍

As is common in Indic scripts, Odia joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. The most common conjunct formation is achieved by using a small subjoined form of trailing consonants. Most consonants' subjoined forms are identical to the full form, just reduced in size, although a few drop the curved headline or have a subjoined form not directly related to the full form of the consonant. The second type of conjunct formation is through pure ligatures, where the constituent consonants are written together in a single graphic form. ଯ generates conjuncts only by subjoining and does not form ligatures.

Odia Ya

Odia letter Yva.svg
Odia subjoined Yva.svg
Odia independent and subjoined letter Ya.

Ya () is the second "Y" consonant of the Odia abugida. Unlike its relative, it retains the palatal approximant pronunciation "y". It is descended from the Brahmi Brahmi y.svg and Siddhaṃ letter Siddham y.svg , the same as ଯ. Like other Odia consonants, ୟ has an inherent "a" vowel, and takes one of several modifying vowel signs to represent syllables with another vowel or no vowel at all.

Odia Yva with vowel matras
YaYiYuYr̥Yr̥̄Yl̥Yl̥̄YeYaiYoYauY
ୟାୟିୟୀୟୁୟୂୟୃୟୄୟୢୟୣୟେୟୈୟୋୟୌୟ୍

Conjuncts of ୟ

As is common in Indic scripts, Odia joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. The most common conjunct formation is achieved by using a small subjoined form of trailing consonants. Most consonants' subjoined forms are identical to the full form, just reduced in size, although a few drop the curved headline or have a subjoined form not directly related to the full form of the consonant. The subjoined form of is unique in appearing to the right of the preceding letters, rather than below. This postfixed form of Ya is called "Ya Phala". The second type of conjunct formation is through pure ligatures, where the constituent consonants are written together in a single graphic form. This ligature may be recognizable as being a combination of two characters or it can have a conjunct ligature unrelated to its constituent characters.

  • ଧ୍ (dʱ) + ୟ (ya) gives the ligature dʱya:

Odia conjunct DhYva.svg

Kaithi Ya

Kaithi Ya.svg
Kaithi Ya half form.svg
Kaithi consonant and half-form Ya.

Ya (𑂨) is a consonant of the Kaithi abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter Brahmi y.svg , via the Siddhaṃ letter Siddham y.svg Ya. Like in other Indic scripts, Kaithi consonants have the inherent vowel "a", and take one of several modifying vowel signs to represent syllables with another vowel or no vowel at all.

Kaithi Ya with vowel matras
YaYiYuYeYaiYoYauY
𑂨𑂨𑂰𑂨𑂱𑂨𑂲𑂨𑂳𑂨𑂴𑂨𑂵𑂨𑂶𑂨𑂷𑂨𑂸𑂨𑂹

Conjuncts of 𑂨

As is common in Indic scripts, Kaithi joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. The most common conjunct formation is achieved by using a half form of preceding consonants, although several consonants use an explicit virama. Most half forms are derived from the full form by removing the vertical stem. As is common in most Indic scripts, conjucts of ra are indicated with a repha or rakar mark attached to the rest of the consonant cluster. In addition, there are a few vertical conjuncts that can be found in Kaithi writing, but true ligatures are not used in the modern Kaithi script.

Kaithi conjunct RYa.svg

Comparison of Ya

The various Indic scripts are generally related to each other through adaptation and borrowing, and as such the glyphs for cognate letters, including Ya, are related as well.

Comparison of Ya in different scripts
Aramaic
Yod.svg
Kharoṣṭhī
𐨩
Ashoka Brahmi
Brahmi y.svg
Kushana Brahmi [lower-alpha 1]
Gupta ashoka y.svg
Tocharian [lower-alpha 2]
Tocharian letter ya.gif
Gupta Brahmi
Gupta allahabad y.svg
Pallava
Pallava Ya.svg
Kadamba
-
Bhaiksuki
𑰧
Siddhaṃ
Siddham y.svg
Grantha
𑌯
Cham
Sinhala
Pyu /
Old Mon [lower-alpha 3]
-
Tibetan
Tibetan Ya.svg
Newa
𑐫
Ahom
-
Malayalam
Telugu
Burmese
Lepcha
Ranjana
Ranjana y.svg
Saurashtra
Dives Akuru
𑤥
Kannada
Kayah Li
Limbu
Soyombo [lower-alpha 4]
𑩻
Khmer
Tamil
Tamil-alphabet-yy.svg
Chakma
𑄠
Tai Tham
ᨿ / 
Meitei Mayek
Gaudi
-
Thai
Lao
/ ຽ / ໟ /
Tai Le
Marchen
𑲉
Tirhuta
𑒨
New Tai Lue
 / 
Tai Viet
 / 
Aksara Kawi
Aksara Kawi ya.svg
'Phags-pa
Odia
Sharada
𑆪
Rejang
ꤿ
Batak
Buginese
Zanabazar Square
𑨪
Bengali-Assamese
Bengali Letter Ya.svg
Takri
𑚣
Javanese
Balinese
Makasar
𑻬
Hangul [lower-alpha 5]
-
Northern Nagari
-
Dogri
𑠣
Laṇḍā
-
Sundanese
Baybayin
Modi
𑘧
Gujarati
Khojki
𑈥
Khudabadi
𑋘
Mahajani
-
Tagbanwa
Devanagari
Devanagari y.svg
Nandinagari
𑧇
Kaithi
Kaithi Ya.svg
Gurmukhi
Multani
𑊡
Buhid
Canadian Syllabics [lower-alpha 6]
Soyombo [lower-alpha 7]
𑩻
Sylheti Nagari
-
Gunjala Gondi
𑵬
Masaram Gondi [lower-alpha 8]
𑴥
Hanuno'o
Notes
  1. The middle "Kushana" form of Brahmi is a later style that emerged as Brahmi scripts were beginning to proliferate. Gupta Brahmi was definitely a stylistic descendant from Kushana, but other Brahmi-derived scripts may have descended from earlier forms.
  2. Tocharian is probably derived from the middle period "Kushana" form of Brahmi, although artifacts from that time are not plentiful enough to establish a definite succession.
  3. Pyu and Old Mon are probably the precursors of the Burmese script, and may be derived from either the Pallava or Kadamba script
  4. May also be derived from Devangari (see bottom left of table)
  5. The Origin of Hangul from 'Phags-pa is one of limited influence, inspiring at most a few basic letter shapes. Hangul does not function as an Indic abugida.
  6. Although the basic letter forms of the Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics were derived from handwritten Devanagari letters, this abugida indicates vowel sounds by rotations of the letter form, rather than the use of vowel diacritics as is standard in Indic abugidas.
  7. May also be derived from Ranjana (see above)
  8. Masaram Gondi acts as an Indic abugida, but its letterforms were not derived from any single precursor script.

    Character encodings of Ya

    Most Indic scripts are encoded in the Unicode Standard, and as such the letter Ya in those scripts can be represented in plain text with unique codepoint. Ya from several modern-use scripts can also be found in legacy encodings, such as ISCII.

    Character information
    Preview Devanagari y.svg Bengali Letter Ya.svg Tamil-alphabet-yy.svg
    Unicode nameDEVANAGARI LETTER YABENGALI LETTER YATAMIL LETTER YATELUGU LETTER YAORIYA LETTER YAKANNADA LETTER YAMALAYALAM LETTER YAGUJARATI LETTER YAGURMUKHI LETTER YA
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechexdechexdechexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 2351U+092F2479U+09AF2991U+0BAF3119U+0C2F2863U+0B2F3247U+0CAF3375U+0D2F2735U+0AAF2607U+0A2F
    UTF-8 224 164 175E0 A4 AF224 166 175E0 A6 AF224 174 175E0 AE AF224 176 175E0 B0 AF224 172 175E0 AC AF224 178 175E0 B2 AF224 180 175E0 B4 AF224 170 175E0 AA AF224 168 175E0 A8 AF
    Numeric character reference ययযযயயయయଯଯಯಯയയયયਯਯ
    ISCII205CD205CD205CD205CD205CD205CD205CD205CD205CD


    Character information
    Preview
    Ashoka Brahmi y.svg
    Kushana Gupta ashoka y.svg
    Gupta Gupta allahabad y.svg
    𐨩 Siddham y.svg 𑌯
    Unicode nameBRAHMI LETTER YAKHAROSHTHI LETTER YASIDDHAM LETTER YAGRANTHA LETTER YA
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 69676U+1102C68137U+10A2971079U+115A770447U+1132F
    UTF-8 240 145 128 172F0 91 80 AC240 144 168 169F0 90 A8 A9240 145 150 167F0 91 96 A7240 145 140 175F0 91 8C AF
    UTF-16 55300 56364D804 DC2C55298 56873D802 DE2955301 56743D805 DDA755300 57135D804 DF2F
    Numeric character reference 𑀬𑀬𐨩𐨩𑖧𑖧𑌯𑌯


    Character information
    Preview Tibetan Ya.svg 𑨪𑐫𑰧𑆪
    Unicode nameTIBETAN LETTER YATIBETAN SUBJOINED LETTER YAPHAGS-PA LETTER YAZANABAZAR SQUARE LETTER YANEWA LETTER YABHAIKSUKI LETTER YASHARADA LETTER YA
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 3937U+0F614017U+0FB143095U+A85772234U+11A2A70699U+1142B72743U+11C2770058U+111AA
    UTF-8 224 189 161E0 BD A1224 190 177E0 BE B1234 161 151EA A1 97240 145 168 170F0 91 A8 AA240 145 144 171F0 91 90 AB240 145 176 167F0 91 B0 A7240 145 134 170F0 91 86 AA
    UTF-16 39370F6140170FB143095A85755302 56874D806 DE2A55301 56363D805 DC2B55303 56359D807 DC2755300 56746D804 DDAA
    Numeric character reference ཡཡྱྱꡗꡗ𑨪𑨪𑐫𑐫𑰧𑰧𑆪𑆪


    Character information
    Previewᨿ
    Unicode nameMYANMAR LETTER YATAI THAM LETTER LOW YATAI THAM LETTER HIGH YATAI THAM VOWEL SIGN OYNEW TAI LUE LETTER LOW YANEW TAI LUE LETTER HIGH YA
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 4122U+101A6719U+1A3F6720U+1A406765U+1A6D6541U+198D6538U+198A
    UTF-8 225 128 154E1 80 9A225 168 191E1 A8 BF225 169 128E1 A9 80225 169 173E1 A9 AD225 166 141E1 A6 8D225 166 138E1 A6 8A
    Numeric character reference ယယᨿᨿᩀᩀᩭᩭᦍᦍᦊᦊ


    Character information
    Preview
    Unicode nameKHMER LETTER YOTHAI CHARACTER YO YAKTAI VIET LETTER LOW YOTAI VIET LETTER HIGH YO
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 6041U+17993618U+0E2243684U+AAA443685U+AAA5
    UTF-8 225 158 153E1 9E 99224 184 162E0 B8 A2234 170 164EA AA A4234 170 165EA AA A5
    Numeric character reference យយยยꪤꪤꪥꪥ


    Character information
    Preview𑄠𑄡𑤥
    Unicode nameSINHALA LETTER YAYANNAKAYAH LI LETTER YACHAKMA LETTER YYAACHAKMA LETTER YAATAI LE LETTER YADIVES AKURU LETTER YASAURASHTRA LETTER YACHAM LETTER YA
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechexdechexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 3514U+0DBA43291U+A91B69920U+1112069921U+111216485U+195571973U+1192543179U+A8AB43554U+AA22
    UTF-8 224 182 186E0 B6 BA234 164 155EA A4 9B240 145 132 160F0 91 84 A0240 145 132 161F0 91 84 A1225 165 149E1 A5 95240 145 164 165F0 91 A4 A5234 162 171EA A2 AB234 168 162EA A8 A2
    UTF-16 35140DBA43291A91B55300 56608D804 DD2055300 56609D804 DD216485195555302 56613D806 DD2543179A8AB43554AA22
    Numeric character reference යයꤛꤛ𑄠𑄠𑄡𑄡ᥕᥕ𑤥𑤥ꢫꢫꨢꨢ


    Character information
    Preview𑘧𑧇𑩻𑵬 Kaithi Ya.svg
    Unicode nameMODI LETTER YANANDINAGARI LETTER YASOYOMBO LETTER YAGUNJALA GONDI LETTER YAKAITHI LETTER YA
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 71207U+1162772135U+119C772315U+11A7B73068U+11D6C69800U+110A8
    UTF-8 240 145 152 167F0 91 98 A7240 145 167 135F0 91 A7 87240 145 169 187F0 91 A9 BB240 145 181 172F0 91 B5 AC240 145 130 168F0 91 82 A8
    UTF-16 55301 56871D805 DE2755302 56775D806 DDC755302 56955D806 DE7B55303 56684D807 DD6C55300 56488D804 DCA8
    Numeric character reference 𑘧𑘧𑧇𑧇𑩻𑩻𑵬𑵬𑂨𑂨


    Character information
    Preview𑒨𑲉
    Unicode nameTIRHUTA LETTER YALEPCHA LETTER YALIMBU LETTER YAMEETEI MAYEK LETTER YANGMARCHEN LETTER YA
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 70824U+114A87194U+1C1A6421U+191543980U+ABCC72841U+11C89
    UTF-8 240 145 146 168F0 91 92 A8225 176 154E1 B0 9A225 164 149E1 A4 95234 175 140EA AF 8C240 145 178 137F0 91 B2 89
    UTF-16 55301 56488D805 DCA871941C1A6421191543980ABCC55303 56457D807 DC89
    Numeric character reference 𑒨𑒨ᰚᰚᤕᤕꯌꯌ𑲉𑲉


    Character information
    Preview𑚣𑠣𑈥𑋘𑊡
    Unicode nameTAKRI LETTER YADOGRA LETTER YAKHOJKI LETTER YAKHUDAWADI LETTER YAMULTANI LETTER YA
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 71331U+116A371715U+1182370181U+1122570360U+112D870305U+112A1
    UTF-8 240 145 154 163F0 91 9A A3240 145 160 163F0 91 A0 A3240 145 136 165F0 91 88 A5240 145 139 152F0 91 8B 98240 145 138 161F0 91 8A A1
    UTF-16 55301 56995D805 DEA355302 56355D806 DC2355300 56869D804 DE2555300 57048D804 DED855300 56993D804 DEA1
    Numeric character reference 𑚣𑚣𑠣𑠣𑈥𑈥𑋘𑋘𑊡𑊡


    Character information
    Preview𑻬ꤿ
    Unicode nameBALINESE LETTER YABATAK LETTER YABUGINESE LETTER YAJAVANESE LETTER YAMAKASAR LETTER YAREJANG LETTER YASUNDANESE LETTER YA
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 6956U+1B2C7131U+1BDB6672U+1A1043434U+A9AA73452U+11EEC43327U+A93F7066U+1B9A
    UTF-8 225 172 172E1 AC AC225 175 155E1 AF 9B225 168 144E1 A8 90234 166 170EA A6 AA240 145 187 172F0 91 BB AC234 164 191EA A4 BF225 174 154E1 AE 9A
    UTF-16 69561B2C71311BDB66721A1043434A9AA55303 57068D807 DEEC43327A93F70661B9A
    Numeric character reference ᬬᬬᯛᯛᨐᨐꦪꦪ𑻬𑻬ꤿꤿᮚᮚ


    Character information
    Preview𑴥
    Unicode nameTAGALOG LETTER YATAGBANWA LETTER YABUHID LETTER YAHANUNOO LETTER YAMASARAM GONDI LETTER YA
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 5900U+170C5996U+176C5964U+174C5932U+172C72997U+11D25
    UTF-8 225 156 140E1 9C 8C225 157 172E1 9D AC225 157 140E1 9D 8C225 156 172E1 9C AC240 145 180 165F0 91 B4 A5
    UTF-16 5900170C5996176C5964174C5932172C55303 56613D807 DD25
    Numeric character reference ᜌᜌᝬᝬᝌᝌᜬᜬ𑴥𑴥
    Character information
    Preview
    Unicode nameCANADIAN SYLLABICS YECANADIAN SYLLABICS YICANADIAN SYLLABICS YOCANADIAN SYLLABICS YACANADIAN SYLLABICS Y
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 5414U+15265416U+15285418U+152A5421U+152D5438U+153E
    UTF-8 225 148 166E1 94 A6225 148 168E1 94 A8225 148 170E1 94 AA225 148 173E1 94 AD225 148 190E1 94 BE
    Numeric character reference ᔦᔦᔨᔨᔪᔪᔭᔭᔾᔾ

    Character information
    Preview
    Unicode nameLAO LETTER NYOLAO SEMIVOWEL SIGN NYOLAO LETTER KHMU NYOLAO LETTER YO
    Encodingsdecimalhexdechexdechexdechex
    Unicode 3725U+0E8D3773U+0EBD3807U+0EDF3746U+0EA2
    UTF-8 224 186 141E0 BA 8D224 186 189E0 BA BD224 187 159E0 BB 9F224 186 162E0 BA A2
    Numeric character reference ຍຍຽຽໟໟຢຢ

    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").

    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").

    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 .

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

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

    Ṭa is a consonant of Indic abugidas. It is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . As with the other retroflex consonants, ṭa is absent from most scripts not used for a language of India.

    Ḍa is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ḍa 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.

    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 .

    Da is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Da 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 .

    Na is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Na 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 .

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

    Ra is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ra is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . Most Indic scripts have differing forms of Ra when used in combination with other consonants, including subjoined and repha forms. Some of these are encoded in computer text as separate characters, while others are generated dynamically using conjunct shaping with a virama.

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

    Va or Wa is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Va is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . It is generally romanized as "Va" in scripts for Indic languages, but as "Wa" in many scripts for other language families.

    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 .

    Ṣa is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ssa 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 .

    References

    1. Ifrah, Georges (2000). The Universal History of Numbers. From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer . New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp.  447–450. ISBN   0-471-39340-1.
    2. 1 2 Bühler, Georg (1898). "On the Origin of the Indian Brahmi Alphabet". archive.org. Karl J. Trübner. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
    3. Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838
    4. Michaels, Axel (2024-05-07), "From Gorkha to Nepal", Nepal, Oxford University PressNew York, pp. 136–159, ISBN   0-19-765093-7 , retrieved 2024-09-01
    5. Pall, Peeter. "Microsoft Word - kblhi2" (PDF). Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
    6. "The Bengali Alphabet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-28.
    7. Jain & Cardona, Danesh & George (Jul 26, 2007). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. p. 82. ISBN   9781135797119.
    8. Zui. "Writing in North America — Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics". The Language Closet. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
    ^note Conjuncts are identified by IAST transliteration, except aspirated consonants are indicated with a superscript "h" to distinguish from an unaspirated cononant + Ha, and the use of the IPA "ŋ" and "ʃ" instead of the less dinstinctive "ṅ" and "ś".