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Assamese alphabet

The Assamese alphabet[2] (Assamese: অসমীয়া বৰ্ণমালা, Oxomiya bornomala) is a writing system of the Assamese language and is a part of the Bengali-Assamese script. This script was also used in Assam and nearby regions for Sanskrit as well as other languages such as Bodo (now Devanagari), Khasi (now Roman), Mising (now Roman), Jaintia (now Roman) 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 alphabets could be identified (baminiya, kaitheli and garhgaya)[3] that converged to the standard script following typesetting required for printing. The present standard is identical to the Bengali alphabet except for two letters, (ro) and (vo); and the letter ক্ষ (khya) has evolved into an individual consonant by itself with its own phonetic quality whereas in the Bengali alphabet it is a conjunct of two letters.

Assamese Alphabet
Script type
Time period
8th century to the present
Directionleft-to-right 
RegionAssam
LanguagesAssamese
Related scripts
Parent systems
Sister systems
Bengali alphabet and Tirhuta
[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

The Buranjis were written during the Ahom dynasty in the Assamese language using the Assamese alphabet. In the 14th century Madhava Kandali used Assamese alphabets to compose the famous Saptakanda Ramayana, which is the Assamese translation of Valmiki's Sanskrit Ramayana. Later, Sankardev used it in the 15th and 16th centuries to compose his oeuvre in Assamese and Brajavali dialect, the literary language of the bhakti poems (borgeets) and dramas.

The Ahom king Supangmung (1663–1670) was the first ruler who started issuing Assamese coins for his kingdom. Some similar scripts with minor differences are used to write Maithili, Bengali, Meithei and Sylheti.

History

 
Kanai-boroxiboa rock inscription, 1207 CE, shows proto-Assamese script

The Umachal rock inscription of the 5th century evidences the first use of a script in the region. The script was very similar to the one used in Samudragupta's Allahabad Pillar inscription. Rock and copper plate inscriptions from then onwards, and Xaansi bark manuscripts right up to the 18th–19th centuries show a steady development of the Assamese alphabet. The script could be said to develop proto-Assamese shapes by the 13th century. In the 18th and 19th century, the Assamese script could be divided into three varieties: Kaitheli (also called Lakhari in Kamrup region, used by non-Brahmins), Bamuniya (used by Brahmins, for Sanskrit) and Garhgaya (used by state officials of the Ahom kingdom)—among which the Kaitheli style was the most popular, with medieval books (like the Hastir-vidyrnava) and sattras using this style.[4] In the early part of the 19th century, Atmaram Sarmah designed the first Assamese script for printing in Serampore, and the Bengali and Assamese lithography converged to the present standard that is used today.

Assamese symbols

Vowels

The script presently has a total of 11 vowel letters, used to represent the eight main vowel sounds of Assamese, along with a number of vowel diphthongs. All of these are used in both Assamese and Bengali, the two main languages using the script. In addition to the vowel system in the Bengali alphabet the Assamese alphabet has an additional "matra" (ʼ) that is used to represent the phonemes অʼ and এʼ. Some of the vowel letters have different sounds depending on the word, and a number of vowel distinctions preserved in the writing system are not pronounced as such in modern spoken Assamese or Bengali. For example, the Assamese script has two symbols for the vowel sound [i] and two symbols for the vowel sound [u]. This redundancy stems from the time when this script was used to write Sanskrit, a language that had a short [i] and a long [iː], and a short [u] and a long [uː]. These letters are preserved in the Assamese script with their traditional names of hôrswô i (lit. 'short i') and dirghô i (lit. 'long i'), etc., despite the fact that they are no longer pronounced differently in ordinary speech.

Vowel signs can be used in conjunction with consonants to modify the pronunciation of the consonant (here exemplified by , kô). When no vowel is written, the vowel (ô or o) is often assumed. To specifically denote the absence of a vowel, () may be written underneath the consonant.

Vowels
Letter Name of letter Vowel sign with [kɔ] () Name of vowel sign Transliteration IPA
o (none) (none) ko
or অʼ ó (none) or কʼ urdho-comma ko
a কা akar ka ka
hroswo i কি hôrswôikar ki ki
dirgho i কী dirghoikar ki ki
hroswo u কু hroswoukar ku ku
dirgho u কূ dirghoukar ku ku
ri কৃ rikar kri kri
e কে ekar kê and ke and ke
oi কৈ ôikar koi kɔɪ
ü কো ükar
ou কৌ oukar kou kɔʊ

Consonants

 
The text says: "Sri Sri Môt Xiwô Xinghô Môharaza". The "" is used as "" in this 18th-century manuscript, just as in modern Mithilakshar.

The names of the consonant letters in Assamese are typically just the consonant's main pronunciation plus the inherent vowel ô. Since the inherent vowel is assumed and not written, most letters' names look identical to the letter itself (e.g. the name of the letter is itself ghô). Some letters that have lost their distinctive pronunciation in Modern Assamese are called by a more elaborate name. For example, since the consonant phoneme /n/ can be written , , or (depending on the spelling of the particular word), these letters are not simply called no; instead, they are called dontiya no ("dental n"), murdhoinno no ("retroflex n"), and nio. Similarly, the phoneme /x/ can be written as taloibbo xo ("palatal x"), murdhoinno xo ("retroflex x"), or dontia xo ("dental x"), the phoneme /s/ can be written using prothom sô ("first s") or ditio so ("second s"), and the phoneme /z/ can be written using borgia zo ("row z" = "the z included in the five rows of stop consonants") or ontostho zo ("z situated between" = "the z that comes between the five rows of stop consonants and the row of sibilants"), depending on the standard spelling of the particular word.

Consonants
Letter Name of Letter Transliteration IPA
ko k k
kho kh
go g ɡ
gho gh ɡʱ
uŋo ng ŋ
prothom so s s
ditio so s s
borgiya zo z z
zho zh z
nio y ̃, n
murdhoinno to t t
murdhoinno tho th
murdhoinno do d d
murdhoinno dho dh
murdhoinnya no n n
dontia to t t
dontia tho th
dontia do d d
dontia dho dh
dontia no n n
po p p
pho ph and f ~ɸ
bo b b
bho bh and vh ~β
mo m m
ontostho zo z z
ro r ɹ
lo l l
wo w w~β
taloibbo xo x and s x~s
murdhoinno xo x and s x~s
dontia xo x and s x~s
ho h ɦ~h
ক্ষ khyo khy, kkh kʰj
ড় dore ro r ɹ
ঢ় dhore ro rh ɹɦ
য় ontostho yô y j
 
A few of Asamiya Consonant Conjuncts.
 
Asamiya vowel diacritics.

Assamese or Asamiya consonants include thirty three pure consonant letters in Assamese alphabet and each letter represents a single sound with an inherent vowel, the short vowel /a /.

The first twenty-five consonants letters are called sporxo borno. These sporxo bornos are again divided into five borgos. Therefore, these twenty-five letters are also called borgio borno.

The Assamese consonants are typically just the consonant's main pronunciation plus the inherent vowel o. The inherent vowel is assumed and not written, thus, names of most letters look identical to the letter itself (e.g. the name of the letter ঘ is itself ঘ gho).

Some letters have lost their distinctive pronunciation in modern Assamese are called by a more elaborate name. For example, since the consonant phoneme /n/ can be written ন, ণ, or ঞ (depending on the spelling of the particular word), these letters are not simply called no; instead, they are called ন dointo no ("dental n"), ণ murdhoinno no ("cerebral n"), and ঞ nio.

Similarly, the phoneme /x/ can be written as শ taloibbo xo ("palatal x"), ষ murdh9inno xo ("cerebral x"), or স dointo xo ("dental x"), the phoneme /s/ can be written using চ prothom so ("first s") or ছ ditio so ("second s"), and the phoneme /z/ can be written using জ borgio zo ("row z" = "the z included in the five rows of stop consonants") or য ontostho zo ("z situated between" = "the z that comes between the five rows of stop consonants and the row of sibilants"), depending on the standard spelling of the particular word.

The consonants can be arranged in following groups:

Group: 1 – Gutturals

Consonants Phonetics
khô
ghô
ṅgô

Group: 2 – Palatals

Consonants Phonetics
prôthôm sô
ditiyô sô
bôrgiya ja
jhô
ñiô

Group: 3 – Cerebrals or Retroflex

Consonants Phonetics
murdhôinnya ṭa
murdhôinnya ṭha
murdhôinnya ḍa
ড় daré ṛa
murdhôinnya ḍha
ঢ় dharé ṛha
murdhôinnya ṇa

Group: 4 – Dentals

Consonants Phonetics
dôntiya ta
khanda ṯ
dôntiya tha
dôntiya da
dôntiya dha
dôntiya na

Group: 5 – Labials

Consonants Phonetics
pa
pha
ba
bha
ma

Group: 6 – Semivowels

Consonants Phonetics
ôntôsthô zô
য় ôntôsthô ẏô
ra
la
wa

Group: 7 – Sibilants

Consonants Phonetics
talôibbya xô
mudhôinnya xô
dôntiya xô

Group: 8 – Aspirate

Consonants Phonetics
ha
ক্ষ khyô

Group: 9 – Anuxāra

Consonants Phonetics
ṃ anuxar

Group: 9 – Bixarga

Consonants Phonetics
ḥ bixarga

Group: 10 – Candrabindu (anunāsika)

Consonants Phonetics
n̐, m̐ candrabindu
  • The letters (talôibbya xô), (murdhôinnya xô), (dôntiya xô) and (hô) are called usma barna
  • The letters (za), ৰ (ra), ল (la) and (wa) are called ôntôsthô barna
  • The letters ড় (daré ṛa) and ঢ় (dharé ṛha) are phonetically similar to /ra/
  • The letter (ôntôsthô zô) is articulated like 'ôntôsthô yô' in the word medial and final position. To denote the ôntôsthô ẏô, the letter য় (ôntôsthô ẏô) is used in Assamese
  • (khanda ṯ) means the consonant letter Tö (dôntiya ta) without the inherent vowel

Halant

To write a consonant without the inherent vowel the halant sign is used below the base glyph. In Assamese this sign is called haxanta. (্)

Consonant Conjuncts

In Assamese, the combination of three consonants is possible without their intervening vowels. There are about 122 conjunct letters. A few conjunct letters are given below:

Anuxôr

Anuxôr ( ং ) indicates a nasal consonant sound (velar). When an anuxar comes before a consonant belonging to any of the 5 bargas, it represents the nasal consonant belonging to that barga.

Candrabindu

Chandrabindu ( ঁ ) denotes nasalization of the vowel that is attached to it .

Bixargô

Bixargô ( ঃ ) represents a sound similar to /h /.

Consonant clusters according to Goswami

According to Dr. G. C. Goswami the number of two-phoneme clusters is 143 symbolised by 174 conjunct letters. Three phoneme clusters are 21 in number, which are written by 27 conjunct clusters. A few of them are given hereafter as examples:

Conjunct letters Transliteration [Phoneme clusters (with phonetics)
ক + ক (kô + kô) ক্ক kkô
ঙ + ক (ŋô + kô) ঙ্ক ŋkô
ল + ক (lô + kô) ল্ক lkô
স + ক (xô + kô) স্ক skô
স + ফ (xô + phô) স্ফ sphô
ঙ + খ (ŋô + khô) ঙ্খ ŋkhô
স + খ (xô + khô) স্খ skhô
ঙ + গ (ŋô + gô) ঙ্গ ŋgô
ঙ + ঘ (ŋô + ghô) ঙ্ঘ ŋghô
দ + ঘ (dô + ghô) দ্ঘ dghô
শ + চ (xô + sô) শ্চ ssô
চ + ছ (sô + shô) চ্ছ sshô
ঞ + ছ (ñô + shô) ঞ্ছ ñshô
ঞ + জ (ñô + zô) ঞ্জ ñzô
জ + ঞ (zô + ñô) জ্ঞ zñô
ল + ট (lô + ṭô) ল্ট lṭô
ণ + ঠ (ṇô + ṭhô) ণ্ঠ ṇṭhô
ষ + ঠ (xô + ṭhô) ষ্ঠ ṣṭhô
ণ + ড (ṇô + ḍô) ণ্ড ṇḍô
ষ + ণ (xô + ṇô) ষ্ণ ṣṇô
হ + ন (hô + nô) hnô
ক + ষ (kô + xô) ক্ষ ksô
প + ত (pô + tô) প্ত ptô
স + ত (xô + tô) স্ত stô
ক + ত (kô + tô) ক্ত ktô
গ + ন (gô + nô) গ্ন gnô
ম + ন (mô + nô) ম্ন mnô
শ + ন (xô + nô) শ্ন snô
স + ন (xô + nô) স্ন snô
হ + ন (hô + nô) হ্ন hnô
ত + থ (tô + thô) ত্থ tthô
ন + থ (nô + thô) ন্থ nthô
ষ + থ (xô + thô) ষ্থ sthô
ন + দ (nô + dô) ন্দ ndô
ব + দ (bô + dô) ব্দ bdô
ম + প (mô + pô) ম্প mpô
ল + প (lô + pô) ল্প lpô
ষ + প (xô + pô) ষ্প spô
স + প (xô + pô) স্প spô
ম + ফ (mô + phô) ম্ফ mphô
ষ + ফ (xô + phô) স্ফ sphô
দ + ব (dô + bô) দ্ব dbô
ম + ব (mô + bô) ম্ব mbô
হ + ব (hô + bô) হ্ব hbô
দ + ভ (dô + bhô) দ্ভ dbhô
ম + ভ (mô + bhô) ম্ভ mbhô
ক + ম (kô + mô) ক্ম kmô
দ + ম (dô + mô) দ্ম dmô
হ + ম (hô + mô) হ্ম hmô
ম + ম (mô + mô) ম্ম mmô

Digits

Digits
Hindu-Arabic numerals 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Assamese numerals ১০
Assamese names xuinno ek dui tini sari pas soy xat ath no (no') doh
শূণ্য এক দুই তিনি চাৰি পাচ ছয় সাত আঠ ন, ন' দহ

Three distinct variations of Assamese script from the Bengali

Assamese unique characters
Letter Name of letter Transliteration IPA Bengali
r ɹ – bôesunnô rô
w w – (antasthya a)
ক্ষ khyô khy kʰj – juktokkhyô

Though ক্ষ is used in Bengali as a conjunct letter. Cha or Chha too has different pronunciation.

Assamese keyboard layout

  • Inscript keyboard layout:

 

  • Phonetic keyboard layout:

 

  • The unique letter identifiers:

The keyboard locations of three characters unique to the Assamese script are depicted below:

 

  • ITRANS characterisation:

The "Indian languages TRANSliteration" (ITRANS) the ASCII transliteration scheme for Indic scripts here, Assamese; the characterisations are given below:

Keyboard sequence Character
k ক্
kh খ্
g গ্
gh ঘ্
~N ঙ্
N^ ঙ্
ch চ্
Ch ছ্
chh ছ্
j জ্
jh ঝ্
~n ঞ্
JN ঞ্
T ট্
Th ঠ্
D ড্
Dh ঢ্
N ণ্
t ত্
th থ্
d দ্
Keyboard sequence Character
dh ধ্
n ন্
p প্
ph ফ্
b ব্
bh ভ্
m ম্
y য্
r ৰ্
l ল্
v ৱ্
w ৱ্
sh শ্
Sh ষ্
shh ষ্
s স্
h হ্
.D ড়্
.Dh ঢ়্
Y য়্
yh য়্
Keyboard sequence Character
GY জ্ঞ্
dny জ্ঞ্
x ক্ষ্
a
aa
A
i
ii
I
u
uu
U
RRi
R^i
LLi
Keyboard sequence Character
L^i
e
ai
o
au
RRI
R^I
LLI
L^I
.N
.n
M
H
.h
Keyboard sequence Character
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
# ্ৰ
$ ৰ্
^ ত্ৰ
* শ্ৰ

Sample text

The following is a sample text in Assamese of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Assamese in Assamese alphabet

১ম অনুচ্ছেদ: জন্মগতভাৱে সকলো মানুহ মৰ্য্যদা আৰু অধিকাৰত সমান আৰু স্বতন্ত্ৰ। তেওঁলোকৰ বিবেক আছে, বুদ্ধি আছে। তেওঁলোকে প্ৰত্যেকে প্ৰেত্যেকক ভ্ৰাতৃভাৱে ব্যৱহাৰ কৰা উচিত।[5]

Assamese in Romanisation 1

Prôthôm ônussêd: Zônmôgôtôbhawê xôkôlû manuh moirjyôda aru odhikarôt xôman aru sôtôntrô. Têû̃lûkôr bibêk asê, buddhi asê. Têû̃lûkê proittêkê proittêkôk bhratribhawê byôwôhar kôra usit.

Assamese in Romanisation 2

Prothom onussed: Jonmogotobhabe xokolü manuh moirjjoda aru odhikarot xoman aru sotontro. Teü̃lükor bibek ase, buddhi ase. Teü̃lüke proitteke proittekok bhratribhawe bebohar kora usit.

Assamese in Romanisation 3

Prothom onussed: Jonmogotovawe xokolu' manuh morjjoda aru odhikarot xoman aru sotontro. Teulu’kor bibek ase, buddhi ase. Teulu’ke proitteke proittekok vratrivawe bewohar kora usit.

Assamese in common chatting romanisation

Prothom onussed: Jonmogotobhawe xokolu manuh morjyoda aru odhikarot xoman aru sotontro. Teulukor bibek ase, buddhi ase. Teuluke proitteke proittekok bhratribhawe byowohar kora usit.

Assamese in IAST Romanisation

Prathama anucchēda: Janmagatabhāve sakalo mānuha maryadā āru adhikārata samāna āru svatantra. Tēõlokara bibēka āchē, buddhi āchē. Tēõlokē pratyēkē pratyēkaka bhrātribhāvē byavahāra karā ucita.

Assamese in the International Phonetic Alphabet

/pɹɔtʰɔm ɔnusːɛd | zɔnmɔɡɔtɔbʰawɛ xɔkɔlʊ manuʱ moizːɔda aɹu odʰikaɹɔt xɔman aɹu s(w)ɔtɔntɹɔ || tɛʊ̃lʊkɔɹ bibɛk asɛ budːʰi asɛ || tɛʊ̃lʊkɛ pɹoitːɛkɛ pɹoitːɛkɔk bʰɹatɹibʰabɛ bɛβɔɦaɹ kɔɹa usit/

Gloss

1st Article: Congenitally all human dignity and right-in equal and free. their conscience exists, intellect exists. They everyone everyone-to brotherly behaviour to-do should.

Translation

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience. Therefore, they should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Unicode

The Bengali–Assamese script was added to the Unicode Standard in October 1991 with the release of version 1.0.

The Unicode block for Assamese and Bengali is U+0980–U+09FF:

Bengali[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+098x
U+099x
U+09Ax
U+09Bx ি
U+09Cx
U+09Dx
U+09Ex
U+09Fx
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.0
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "In fact, the term 'Eastern Nagari' seems to be the only designation which does not favour one or the other language. However, it is only applied in academic discourses, whereas the name 'Bengali script' dominates the global public sphere." (Brandt 2014:25)
  2. ^ The name ăcãmăkṣara first appears in Ahom coins and copperplates where the name denoted the Ahom script (Bora 1981:11–12)
  3. ^ (Bora 1981:53)
  4. ^ (Neog 1980, p. 308)
  5. ^ "Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Assamese" (PDF). United Nations. (PDF) from the original on 10 July 2021.

References

  • Bora, Mahendra (1981). The Evolution of Assamese Script. Jorhat, Assam: Assam Sahitya Sabha.
  • Brandt, Carmen (2014). (PDF). Depart. Vol. 17. pp. 24–31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2017.
  • Neog, Maheshwar (1980). Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Assam. Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass.

Further reading

  • . Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  • "Assamese writing System". from the original on 11 December 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  • "Antiques reveal script link – Inscriptions on 3 copper plates open new line of research". The Telegraph. Kolkata. 25 January 2006. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2007.

External links

  • Assamese alphabet
  • Madhava Kandali Ramayana

assamese, alphabet, ancestral, script, kamarupi, script, assamese, অসম, বৰ, ণম, oxomiya, bornomala, writing, system, assamese, language, part, bengali, assamese, script, this, script, also, used, assam, nearby, regions, sanskrit, well, other, languages, such, . For its ancestral script see Kamarupi script The Assamese alphabet 2 Assamese অসম য বৰ ণম ল Oxomiya bornomala is a writing system of the Assamese language and is a part of the Bengali Assamese script This script was also used in Assam and nearby regions for Sanskrit as well as other languages such as Bodo now Devanagari Khasi now Roman Mising now Roman Jaintia now Roman 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 alphabets could be identified baminiya kaitheli and garhgaya 3 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 and the letter ক ষ khya has evolved into an individual consonant by itself with its own phonetic quality whereas in the Bengali alphabet it is a conjunct of two letters Assamese AlphabetScript typeAbugidaTime period8th century to the presentDirectionleft to right RegionAssamLanguagesAssameseRelated scriptsParent systemsProto Sinaitic script a Phoenician alphabet a Aramaic alphabet a Brahmi scriptGupta scriptSiddhaṃ scriptGaudi scriptBengali Assamese script 1 Assamese AlphabetSister systemsBengali alphabet and Tirhuta a The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet IPA For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA For the distinction between and see IPA Brackets and transcription delimiters Part of a series onOfficially used writing systems in IndiaCategoryIndic scriptsBengali Assamese script Devanagari script Gujarati script Gurmukhi script Kannada script Malayalam script Meitei script Odia script Tamil script Telugu scriptArabic derived scriptsPerso Arabic script Urdu scriptAlphabetical scriptsOl Chiki Latin scriptRelatedOfficial script Writing systems of India Languages of India Asia portal India portal Language portal Writing portalThis article contains the Assamese alphabet Without proper rendering support you may see errors in display This article contains Indic text Without proper rendering support you may see question marks or boxes misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text The Buranjis were written during the Ahom dynasty in the Assamese language using the Assamese alphabet In the 14th century Madhava Kandali used Assamese alphabets to compose the famous Saptakanda Ramayana which is the Assamese translation of Valmiki s Sanskrit Ramayana Later Sankardev used it in the 15th and 16th centuries to compose his oeuvre in Assamese and Brajavali dialect the literary language of the bhakti poems borgeets and dramas The Ahom king Supangmung 1663 1670 was the first ruler who started issuing Assamese coins for his kingdom Some similar scripts with minor differences are used to write Maithili Bengali Meithei and Sylheti Contents 1 History 2 Assamese symbols 2 1 Vowels 2 2 Consonants 2 2 1 Halant 2 2 2 Consonant Conjuncts 2 2 3 Anuxor 2 2 4 Candrabindu 2 2 5 Bixargo 2 3 Consonant clusters according to Goswami 2 4 Digits 3 Three distinct variations of Assamese script from the Bengali 4 Assamese keyboard layout 5 Sample text 6 Unicode 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External linksHistory Edit Kanai boroxiboa rock inscription 1207 CE shows proto Assamese script The Umachal rock inscription of the 5th century evidences the first use of a script in the region The script was very similar to the one used in Samudragupta s Allahabad Pillar inscription Rock and copper plate inscriptions from then onwards and Xaansi bark manuscripts right up to the 18th 19th centuries show a steady development of the Assamese alphabet The script could be said to develop proto Assamese shapes by the 13th century In the 18th and 19th century the Assamese script could be divided into three varieties Kaitheli also called Lakhari in Kamrup region used by non Brahmins Bamuniya used by Brahmins for Sanskrit and Garhgaya used by state officials of the Ahom kingdom among which the Kaitheli style was the most popular with medieval books like the Hastir vidyrnava and sattras using this style 4 In the early part of the 19th century Atmaram Sarmah designed the first Assamese script for printing in Serampore and the Bengali and Assamese lithography converged to the present standard that is used today Assamese symbols EditVowels Edit The script presently has a total of 11 vowel letters used to represent the eight main vowel sounds of Assamese along with a number of vowel diphthongs All of these are used in both Assamese and Bengali the two main languages using the script In addition to the vowel system in the Bengali alphabet the Assamese alphabet has an additional matra ʼ that is used to represent the phonemes অʼ and এʼ Some of the vowel letters have different sounds depending on the word and a number of vowel distinctions preserved in the writing system are not pronounced as such in modern spoken Assamese or Bengali For example the Assamese script has two symbols for the vowel sound i and two symbols for the vowel sound u This redundancy stems from the time when this script was used to write Sanskrit a language that had a short i and a long iː and a short u and a long uː These letters are preserved in the Assamese script with their traditional names of horswo i lit short i and dirgho i lit long i etc despite the fact that they are no longer pronounced differently in ordinary speech Vowel signs can be used in conjunction with consonants to modify the pronunciation of the consonant here exemplified by ক ko When no vowel is written the vowel অ o or o is often assumed To specifically denote the absence of a vowel may be written underneath the consonant Vowels Letter Name of letter Vowel sign with kɔ ক Name of vowel sign Transliteration IPAঅ o ক none none ko kɔঅ or অʼ o ক none or কʼ urdho comma ko koআ a ক akar ka kaই hroswo i ক horswoikar ki kiঈ dirgho i ক dirghoikar ki kiউ hroswo u ক hroswoukar ku kuঊ dirgho u ক dirghoukar ku kuঋ ri ক rikar kri kriএ e ক ekar ke and ke kɛ and keঐ oi ক oikar koi kɔɪও u ক ukar ku kʊঔ ou ক oukar kou kɔʊConsonants Edit The text says Sri Sri Mot Xiwo Xingho Moharaza The র is used as ৱ in this 18th century manuscript just as in modern Mithilakshar The names of the consonant letters in Assamese are typically just the consonant s main pronunciation plus the inherent vowel o Since the inherent vowel is assumed and not written most letters names look identical to the letter itself e g the name of the letter ঘ is itself ঘ gho Some letters that have lost their distinctive pronunciation in Modern Assamese are called by a more elaborate name For example since the consonant phoneme n can be written ন ণ or ঞ depending on the spelling of the particular word these letters are not simply called no instead they are called ন dontiya no dental n ণ murdhoinno no retroflex n and ঞ nio Similarly the phoneme x can be written as শ taloibbo xo palatal x ষ murdhoinno xo retroflex x or স dontia xo dental x the phoneme s can be written using চ prothom so first s or ছ ditio so second s and the phoneme z can be written using জ borgia zo row z the z included in the five rows of stop consonants or য ontostho zo z situated between the z that comes between the five rows of stop consonants and the row of sibilants depending on the standard spelling of the particular word Consonants Letter Name of Letter Transliteration IPAক ko k kখ kho kh kʰগ go g ɡঘ gho gh ɡʱঙ uŋo ng ŋচ prothom so s sছ ditio so s sজ borgiya zo z zঝ zho zh zঞ nio y nট murdhoinno to t tঠ murdhoinno tho th tʰড murdhoinno do d dঢ murdhoinno dho dh dʱণ murdhoinnya no n nত dontia to t tথ dontia tho th tʰদ dontia do d dধ dontia dho dh dʱন dontia no n nপ po p pফ pho ph and f pʰ ɸব bo b bভ bho bh and vh bʱ bম mo m mয ontostho zo z zৰ ro r ɹল lo l lৱ wo w w bশ taloibbo xo x and s x sষ murdhoinno xo x and s x sস dontia xo x and s x sহ ho h ɦ hক ষ khyo khy kkh kʰjড dore ro r ɹঢ dhore ro rh ɹɦয ontostho yo y j A few of Asamiya Consonant Conjuncts Asamiya vowel diacritics Assamese or Asamiya consonants include thirty three pure consonant letters in Assamese alphabet and each letter represents a single sound with an inherent vowel the short vowel a The first twenty five consonants letters are called sporxo borno These sporxo bornos are again divided into five borgos Therefore these twenty five letters are also called borgio borno The Assamese consonants are typically just the consonant s main pronunciation plus the inherent vowel o The inherent vowel is assumed and not written thus names of most letters look identical to the letter itself e g the name of the letter ঘ is itself ঘ gho Some letters have lost their distinctive pronunciation in modern Assamese are called by a more elaborate name For example since the consonant phoneme n can be written ন ণ or ঞ depending on the spelling of the particular word these letters are not simply called no instead they are called ন dointo no dental n ণ murdhoinno no cerebral n and ঞ nio Similarly the phoneme x can be written as শ taloibbo xo palatal x ষ murdh9inno xo cerebral x or স dointo xo dental x the phoneme s can be written using চ prothom so first s or ছ ditio so second s and the phoneme z can be written using জ borgio zo row z the z included in the five rows of stop consonants or য ontostho zo z situated between the z that comes between the five rows of stop consonants and the row of sibilants depending on the standard spelling of the particular word The consonants can be arranged in following groups Group 1 Gutturals Consonants Phoneticsক koখ khoগ goঘ ghoঙ ṅgoGroup 2 Palatals Consonants Phoneticsচ prothom soছ ditiyo soজ borgiya jaঝ jhoঞ nioGroup 3 Cerebrals or Retroflex Consonants Phoneticsট murdhoinnya ṭaঠ murdhoinnya ṭhaড murdhoinnya ḍaড dare ṛaঢ murdhoinnya ḍhaঢ dhare ṛhaণ murdhoinnya ṇaGroup 4 Dentals Consonants Phoneticsত dontiya taৎ khanda ṯথ dontiya thaদ dontiya daধ dontiya dhaন dontiya naGroup 5 Labials Consonants Phoneticsপ paফ phaব baভ bhaম maGroup 6 Semivowels Consonants Phoneticsয ontostho zoয ontostho ẏoৰ raল laৱ waGroup 7 Sibilants Consonants Phoneticsশ taloibbya xoষ mudhoinnya xoস dontiya xoGroup 8 Aspirate Consonants Phoneticsহ haক ষ khyoGroup 9 Anuxara Consonants Phonetics ṃ anuxarGroup 9 Bixarga Consonants Phonetics ḥ bixargaGroup 10 Candrabindu anunasika Consonants Phonetics n m candrabinduThe letters শ taloibbya xo ষ murdhoinnya xo স dontiya xo and হ ho are called usma barna The letters য za ৰ ra ল la and ৱ wa are called ontostho barna The letters ড dare ṛa and ঢ dhare ṛha are phonetically similar to ra The letter য ontostho zo is articulated like ontostho yo in the word medial and final position To denote the ontostho ẏo the letter য ontostho ẏo is used in Assamese ৎ khanda ṯ means the consonant letter To dontiya ta without the inherent vowelHalant Edit To write a consonant without the inherent vowel the halant sign is used below the base glyph In Assamese this sign is called haxanta Consonant Conjuncts Edit In Assamese the combination of three consonants is possible without their intervening vowels There are about 122 conjunct letters A few conjunct letters are given below Anuxor Edit Anuxor indicates a nasal consonant sound velar When an anuxar comes before a consonant belonging to any of the 5 bargas it represents the nasal consonant belonging to that barga Candrabindu Edit Chandrabindu denotes nasalization of the vowel that is attached to it Bixargo Edit Bixargo represents a sound similar to h Consonant clusters according to Goswami Edit According to Dr G C Goswami the number of two phoneme clusters is 143 symbolised by 174 conjunct letters Three phoneme clusters are 21 in number which are written by 27 conjunct clusters A few of them are given hereafter as examples Conjunct letters Transliteration Phoneme clusters with phonetics ক ক ko ko ক ক kkoঙ ক ŋo ko ঙ ক ŋkoল ক lo ko ল ক lkoস ক xo ko স ক skoস ফ xo pho স ফ sphoঙ খ ŋo kho ঙ খ ŋkhoস খ xo kho স খ skhoঙ গ ŋo go ঙ গ ŋgoঙ ঘ ŋo gho ঙ ঘ ŋghoদ ঘ do gho দ ঘ dghoশ চ xo so শ চ ssoচ ছ so sho চ ছ sshoঞ ছ no sho ঞ ছ nshoঞ জ no zo ঞ জ nzoজ ঞ zo no জ ঞ znoল ট lo ṭo ল ট lṭoণ ঠ ṇo ṭho ণ ঠ ṇṭhoষ ঠ xo ṭho ষ ঠ ṣṭhoণ ড ṇo ḍo ণ ড ṇḍoষ ণ xo ṇo ষ ণ ṣṇoহ ন ho no হ hnoক ষ ko xo ক ষ ksoপ ত po to প ত ptoস ত xo to স ত stoক ত ko to ক ত ktoগ ন go no গ ন gnoম ন mo no ম ন mnoশ ন xo no শ ন snoস ন xo no স ন snoহ ন ho no হ ন hnoত থ to tho ত থ tthoন থ no tho ন থ nthoষ থ xo tho ষ থ sthoন দ no do ন দ ndoব দ bo do ব দ bdoম প mo po ম প mpoল প lo po ল প lpoষ প xo po ষ প spoস প xo po স প spoম ফ mo pho ম ফ mphoষ ফ xo pho স ফ sphoদ ব do bo দ ব dboম ব mo bo ম ব mboহ ব ho bo হ ব hboদ ভ do bho দ ভ dbhoম ভ mo bho ম ভ mbhoক ম ko mo ক ম kmoদ ম do mo দ ম dmoহ ম ho mo হ ম hmoম ম mo mo ম ম mmoDigits Edit Digits Hindu Arabic numerals 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Assamese numerals ০ ১ ২ ৩ ৪ ৫ ৬ ৭ ৮ ৯ ১০Assamese names xuinno ek dui tini sari pas soy xat ath no no dohশ ণ য এক দ ই ত ন চ ৰ প চ ছয স ত আঠ ন ন দহThree distinct variations of Assamese script from the Bengali EditAssamese unique characters Letter Name of letter Transliteration IPA Bengaliৰ ro r ɹ boesunno roৱ wo w w antasthya a ক ষ khyo khy kʰj juktokkhyoThough ক ষ is used in Bengali as a conjunct letter Cha or Chha too has different pronunciation Assamese keyboard layout EditInscript keyboard layout Phonetic keyboard layout The unique letter identifiers The keyboard locations of three characters unique to the Assamese script are depicted below ITRANS characterisation The Indian languages TRANSliteration ITRANS the ASCII transliteration scheme for Indic scripts here Assamese the characterisations are given below Keyboard sequence Characterk ক kh খ g গ gh ঘ N ঙ N ঙ ch চ Ch ছ chh ছ j জ jh ঝ n ঞ JN ঞ T ট Th ঠ D ড Dh ঢ N ণ t ত th থ d দ Keyboard sequence Characterdh ধ n ন p প ph ফ b ব bh ভ m ম y য r ৰ l ল v ৱ w ৱ sh শ Sh ষ shh ষ s স h হ D ড Dh ঢ Y য yh য Keyboard sequence CharacterGY জ ঞ dny জ ঞ x ক ষ a অaa আA আi ইii ঈI ঈu উuu ঊU ঊRRi ঋR i ঋLLi ঌ Keyboard sequence CharacterL i ঌe এai ঐo ওau ঔRRI ৠR I ৠLLI ৡL I ৡ N n M H h Keyboard sequence Character0 ০1 ১2 ২3 ৩4 ৪5 ৫6 ৬7 ৭8 ৮9 ৯ ৰ ৰ ত ৰ শ ৰ Sample text EditThe following is a sample text in Assamese of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Assamese in Assamese alphabet ১ম অন চ ছ দ জন মগতভ ৱ সকল ম ন হ মৰ য যদ আৰ অধ ক ৰত সম ন আৰ স বতন ত ৰ ত ও ল কৰ ব ব ক আছ ব দ ধ আছ ত ও ল ক প ৰত য ক প ৰ ত য কক ভ ৰ ত ভ ৱ ব যৱহ ৰ কৰ উচ ত 5 Assamese in Romanisation 1 Prothom onussed Zonmogotobhawe xokolu manuh moirjyoda aru odhikarot xoman aru sotontro Teu lukor bibek ase buddhi ase Teu luke proitteke proittekok bhratribhawe byowohar kora usit Assamese in Romanisation 2 Prothom onussed Jonmogotobhabe xokolu manuh moirjjoda aru odhikarot xoman aru sotontro Teu lukor bibek ase buddhi ase Teu luke proitteke proittekok bhratribhawe bebohar kora usit Assamese in Romanisation 3 Prothom onussed Jonmogotovawe xokolu manuh morjjoda aru odhikarot xoman aru sotontro Teulu kor bibek ase buddhi ase Teulu ke proitteke proittekok vratrivawe bewohar kora usit Assamese in common chatting romanisation Prothom onussed Jonmogotobhawe xokolu manuh morjyoda aru odhikarot xoman aru sotontro Teulukor bibek ase buddhi ase Teuluke proitteke proittekok bhratribhawe byowohar kora usit Assamese in IAST Romanisation Prathama anuccheda Janmagatabhave sakalo manuha maryada aru adhikarata samana aru svatantra Teolokara bibeka ache buddhi ache Teoloke pratyeke pratyekaka bhratribhave byavahara kara ucita Assamese in the International Phonetic Alphabet pɹɔtʰɔm ɔnusːɛd zɔnmɔɡɔtɔbʰawɛ xɔkɔlʊ manuʱ moizːɔda aɹu odʰikaɹɔt xɔman aɹu s w ɔtɔntɹɔ tɛʊ lʊkɔɹ bibɛk asɛ budːʰi asɛ tɛʊ lʊkɛ pɹoitːɛkɛ pɹoitːɛkɔk bʰɹatɹibʰabɛ bɛbɔɦaɹ kɔɹa usit Gloss 1st Article Congenitally all human dignity and right in equal and free their conscience exists intellect exists They everyone everyone to brotherly behaviour to do should Translation Article 1 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights They are endowed with reason and conscience Therefore they should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood Unicode EditMain article Bengali Unicode block The Bengali Assamese script was added to the Unicode Standard in October 1991 with the release of version 1 0 The Unicode block for Assamese and Bengali is U 0980 U 09FF Bengali 1 2 Official Unicode Consortium code chart PDF 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E FU 098x ঀ অ আ ই ঈ উ ঊ ঋ ঌ এU 099x ঐ ও ঔ ক খ গ ঘ ঙ চ ছ জ ঝ ঞ টU 09Ax ঠ ড ঢ ণ ত থ দ ধ ন প ফ ব ভ ম যU 09Bx র ল শ ষ স হ ঽ U 09Cx ৎU 09Dx ড় ঢ় য়U 09Ex ৠ ৡ ০ ১ ২ ৩ ৪ ৫ ৬ ৭ ৮ ৯U 09Fx ৰ ৱ ৼ Notes 1 As of Unicode version 15 0 2 Grey areas indicate non assigned code pointsSee also EditAssamese Braille Help IPA for Assamese Romanisation of AssameseNotes Edit In fact the term Eastern Nagari seems to be the only designation which does not favour one or the other language However it is only applied in academic discourses whereas the name Bengali script dominates the global public sphere Brandt 2014 25 The name ăcamăkṣara first appears in Ahom coins and copperplates where the name denoted the Ahom script Bora 1981 11 12 Bora 1981 53 Neog 1980 p 308 Universal Declaration of Human Rights Assamese PDF United Nations Archived PDF from the original on 10 July 2021 References EditBora Mahendra 1981 The Evolution of Assamese Script Jorhat Assam Assam Sahitya Sabha Brandt Carmen 2014 The identity politics of language and script in South Asia PDF Depart Vol 17 pp 24 31 Archived from the original PDF on 16 May 2017 Neog Maheshwar 1980 Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Assam Delhi Motilal Banarasidass Further reading Edit Assamese literature An overview and historical perspective Linking into broader Indian canvas Archived from the original on 4 February 2012 Retrieved 4 January 2012 Assamese writing System Archived from the original on 11 December 2007 Retrieved 17 December 2007 Antiques reveal script link Inscriptions on 3 copper plates open new line of research The Telegraph Kolkata 25 January 2006 Archived from the original on 4 July 2011 Retrieved 17 December 2007 External links EditAssamese alphabet Madhava Kandali Ramayana Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Assamese alphabet amp oldid 1129977931, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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