According to traditional histories, the Limbu script was first invented in the late 9th century by Limbu King Sirijunga Hang and then fell out of use, only to be reintroduced in the 18th century by Limbu scholar Te-ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe as during that time the teaching of the Limbu script was outlawed in Limbuwan and Sikkim.
Accounts with Sirijunga
The Limbu language is one of the few Sino-Tibetan languages of the Central Himalayas to possess their own scripts. (Sprigg 1959: 590), (Sprigg 1959: 591-592 & MS: 1-4) tells us that the Limbu or Sirijunga script was devised during the period of Buddhist expansion in Sikkim in the early 18th century when Limbuwan still constituted part of Sikkimese territory. The Limbu script was probably composed at roughly the same time as the Lepcha script which was created by the third King of Sikkim, Chakdor Namgyal (ca. 1700-1717). The Limbu script is ascribed to the Limbu hero, Te-ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe.
Structure
The Limbu script. Gray letters are obsolete.
As an abugida, a basic letter represents both a consonant and an inherent, or default, vowel. In Limbu, the inherent vowel is /ɔ/.
To change the inherent vowel, a diacritic is added:
Dependent vowel signs
Transcription
-a
-i
-u
-ee
-ai
-oo
-au
-e
-o
IPA
/a/
/i/
/u/
/e/
/ai/
/o/
/au/
/ɛ/
/ɔ/
Diacritic
ᤠ
ᤡ
ᤢ
ᤣ
ᤤ
ᤥ
ᤦ
ᤧ
ᤨ
Example usingᤁ
ᤁᤠ /ka/
ᤁᤡ /ki/
ᤁᤢ /ku/
ᤁᤣ /ke/
ᤁᤤ /kai/
ᤁᤥ /ko/
ᤁᤦ /kau/
ᤁᤧ /kɛ/
ᤁᤨ /kɔ/
ᤁᤨ /kɔ/ represents the same syllable as ᤁ /kɔ/. Some writers avoid the ᤨ diacritic, considering it redundant.
Syllable-initial vowels use the vowel-carrier ᤀ with the appropriate dependent vowel sign. Used by itself, ᤀ represents syllable-initial /ɔ/.
Initial consonant clusters are written with small marks following the main consonant:
Subjoined consonants
Transcription
-y-
-r-
-w-
IPA
/j/
/r/
/w/
Diacritic
ᤪ
ᤫ
ᤩ
Example usingᤁ
ᤁᤪ /kjɔ/
ᤁᤫ /krɔ/
ᤁᤩ /kwɔ/
Final consonants after short vowels are written with another set of marks, except for some final consonants occurring only in loanwords. They follow the marks for consonant clusters, if any.
Final consonants
Transcription
-k
-ng
-t
-n
-p
-m
-r
-l
IPA
/k/
/ŋ/
/t/
/n/
/p/
/m/
/r/
/l/
Diacritic
ᤰ
ᤱ
ᤳ
ᤴ
ᤵ
ᤶ
ᤷ
ᤸ
Example usingᤁ
ᤁᤰ /kɔk/
ᤁᤱ /kɔŋ/
ᤁᤳ /kɔt/
ᤁᤴ /kɔn/
ᤁᤵ /kɔp/
ᤁᤶ /kɔm/
ᤁᤷ /kɔr/
ᤁᤸ /kɔl/
Long vowels without a following final consonant are written with a diacritic called kemphreng (᤺). For example, ᤁ᤺ /kɔː/.
There are two methods for writing long vowels with syllable-final consonants:
Use the kemphreng diacritic and the final consonant, such as ᤁ᤺ᤰ /kɔːk/.
Replace the final consonant with the corresponding full consonant and add an underscore-like diacritic mark. This indicates that the consonant is final (vowel-less) and that the preceding vowel is lengthened. For example: ᤁᤁ᤻ /kɔːk/. This same diacritic may be used to mark final consonants in loanwords that do not have final forms in Limbu, regardless of the length of the vowel.
The first method is widely used in Sikkim; the second method is advocated by certain writers in Nepal.[2]
Glottalization is marked by a sign called mukphreng (᤹). For example, ᤁ᤹ /kɔʔ/.
^ abcdeMichailovsky, Boyd; Everson, Michael (2002-02-05). "L2/02-055: Revised proposal to encode the Limbu script in the UCS" (PDF).
^Pandey, Anshuman (2011-01-14). "L2/11-008: Proposal to Encode the Letters GYAN and TRA for Limbu in the UCS" (PDF).
January 28, 2023
limbu, script, also, sirijanga, script, used, write, limbu, language, brahmic, type, abugida, limbuᤕ, script, typeabugidatime, periodc, 1740, presentdirectionleft, right, regionnepal, eastern, indialanguageslimburelated, scriptsparent, systemsproto, sinaitic, . The Limbu script also Sirijanga script 1 is used to write the Limbu language It is a Brahmic type abugida 2 Limbuᤕ ᤌ ᤐ Script typeAbugidaTime periodc 1740 presentDirectionleft to right RegionNepal and Eastern IndiaLanguagesLimbuRelated scriptsParent systemsProto Sinaitic alphabet a Phoenician alphabet a Aramaic alphabet a BrahmiGuptaTibetanLepchaLimbuISO 15924ISO 15924Limb 336 LimbuUnicodeUnicode aliasLimbuUnicode rangeU 1900 U 194F 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 You may need rendering support to display the uncommon Unicode characters in this article correctly Contents 1 History 1 1 Accounts with Sirijunga 2 Structure 3 Sample text from Limbu Wikipedia 4 Obsolete characters 5 Punctuation 6 Digits 7 Unicode 8 ReferencesHistory EditAccording to traditional histories the Limbu script was first invented in the late 9th century by Limbu King Sirijunga Hang and then fell out of use only to be reintroduced in the 18th century by Limbu scholar Te ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe as during that time the teaching of the Limbu script was outlawed in Limbuwan and Sikkim Accounts with Sirijunga Edit The Limbu language is one of the few Sino Tibetan languages of the Central Himalayas to possess their own scripts Sprigg 1959 590 Sprigg 1959 591 592 amp MS 1 4 tells us that the Limbu or Sirijunga script was devised during the period of Buddhist expansion in Sikkim in the early 18th century when Limbuwan still constituted part of Sikkimese territory The Limbu script was probably composed at roughly the same time as the Lepcha script which was created by the third King of Sikkim Chakdor Namgyal ca 1700 1717 The Limbu script is ascribed to the Limbu hero Te ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe Structure Edit The Limbu script Gray letters are obsolete As an abugida a basic letter represents both a consonant and an inherent or default vowel In Limbu the inherent vowel is ɔ Consonants Transcription ko kho go gho ngo co cho jo to tho do dho no po pho bo bho mo yo ro lo wo sho so hoIPA kɔ kʰɔ ɡɔ ɡʱɔ ŋɔ t ɕɔ t ɕʰɔ d ʑɔ tɔ tʰɔ dɔ dʱɔ nɔ pɔ pʰɔ bɔ bʱɔ mɔ jɔ rɔ lɔ wɔ ʃɔ sɔ ɦɔ Letter ᤁ ᤂ ᤃ ᤄ ᤅ ᤆ ᤇ ᤈ ᤋ ᤌ ᤍ ᤎ ᤏ ᤐ ᤑ ᤒ ᤓ ᤔ ᤕ ᤖ ᤗ ᤘ ᤙ ᤛ ᤜTo change the inherent vowel a diacritic is added Dependent vowel signs Transcription a i u ee ai oo au e oIPA a i u e ai o au ɛ ɔ Diacritic Example using ᤁ ᤁ ka ᤁ ki ᤁ ku ᤁ ke ᤁ kai ᤁ ko ᤁ kau ᤁ kɛ ᤁ kɔ ᤁ kɔ represents the same syllable as ᤁ kɔ Some writers avoid the diacritic considering it redundant Syllable initial vowels use the vowel carrier ᤀ with the appropriate dependent vowel sign Used by itself ᤀ represents syllable initial ɔ Initial consonant clusters are written with small marks following the main consonant Subjoined consonants Transcription y r w IPA j r w Diacritic Example using ᤁ ᤁ kjɔ ᤁ krɔ ᤁ kwɔ Final consonants after short vowels are written with another set of marks except for some final consonants occurring only in loanwords They follow the marks for consonant clusters if any Final consonants Transcription k ng t n p m r lIPA k ŋ t n p m r l Diacritic Example using ᤁ ᤁ kɔk ᤁ kɔŋ ᤁ kɔt ᤁ kɔn ᤁ kɔp ᤁ kɔm ᤁ kɔr ᤁ kɔl Long vowels without a following final consonant are written with a diacritic called kemphreng For example ᤁ kɔː There are two methods for writing long vowels with syllable final consonants Use the kemphreng diacritic and the final consonant such as ᤁ kɔːk Replace the final consonant with the corresponding full consonant and add an underscore like diacritic mark This indicates that the consonant is final vowel less and that the preceding vowel is lengthened For example ᤁᤁ kɔːk This same diacritic may be used to mark final consonants in loanwords that do not have final forms in Limbu regardless of the length of the vowel The first method is widely used in Sikkim the second method is advocated by certain writers in Nepal 2 Glottalization is marked by a sign called mukphreng For example ᤁ kɔʔ Sample text from Limbu Wikipedia Editᤛ ᤘ ᤖ ᤀ ᤍ ᤒ ᤜ ᤍ ᤔ ᤛ ᤗ ᤎ ᤃ ᤗ ᤎ ᤕ ᤌ ᤐ ᤖ ᤘ ᤁ ᤐ ᤍ ᤕ ᤀ ᤛ ᤘ ᤖ ᤀ ᤍ ᤏ ᤒ ᤀ ᤍ ᤏ ᤔ ᤀ ᤛ ᤗ ᤎ ᤀ ᤏ ᤃ ᤗ ᤎ ᤁ ᤕ ᤌ ᤐ ᤏ ᤖ ᤘ ᤁ ᤐ ᤍ ᤀ ᤗ ᤒ ᤓ ᤙ ᤁ ᤘ ᤁ ᤐ ᤍ ᤕ ᤔ ᤛ ᤃᤋ ᤇ ᤗ ᤒ ᤓ ᤛ ᤁ ᤘ ᤁ ᤐ ᤍ ᤕ ᤀᤜ ᤗ ᤀ ᤁ ᤒ ᤛ ᤏ ᤐ ᤖ ᤙ ᤏ ᤘ ᤁ ᤀ ᤌ ᤁ ᤁ ᤔ ᤇ ᤕᤛᤗ ᤀ ᤀᤃ ᤍ ᤒᤎ ᤀ ᤏ ᤁ ᤗ ᤃ ᤁ ᤋ ᤔ ᥈ ᤛ ᤕ ᤗ ᤗ ᤒ ᤓ ᤙ ᤔ ᤜ ᤏ ᤈ ᤖ ᤖ ᤇ ᤋ ᤛᤁ ᤖᤏ ᤗ ᤒ ᤓ ᤙ ᤔ ᤗ ᤂ ᤜ ᤖ ᤗ ᤏ ᤛ ᤖ ᤃ ᤏ ᤛ ᤒ ᤗ ᤒ ᤓ ᤙ ᤔ ᤖᤜ ᤖ ᤔ ᤜ ᤍ ᤀ ᤏ ᤖ ᤎ ᤇ Obsolete characters EditThree additional letters were used in early versions of the modern script 2 ᤉ d ʑʱɔ ᤊ ɲɔ ᤚ ʂɔ Two ligatures were used for Nepali consonant conjuncts 3 ᤝ jna for Devanagari ज ञ ᤞ tra for Devanagari त र Nineteenth century texts used a small anusvara to mark nasalization This was used interchangeably with ŋ The sign was used for the exclamatory particle ᤗ lo 2 Punctuation EditThe main punctuation mark used in Limbu is the Devanagari double danda 2 It has its own exclamation mark and question mark Digits EditLimbu has its own set of digits 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9᥆ ᥇ ᥈ ᥉ ᥊ ᥋ ᥌ ᥍ ᥎ ᥏Unicode EditMain article Limbu Unicode block Limbu script was added to the Unicode Standard in April 2003 with the release of version 4 0 The Unicode block for Limbu is U 1900 U 194F Limbu 1 2 Official Unicode Consortium code chart PDF 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E FU 190x ᤀ ᤁ ᤂ ᤃ ᤄ ᤅ ᤆ ᤇ ᤈ ᤉ ᤊ ᤋ ᤌ ᤍ ᤎ ᤏU 191x ᤐ ᤑ ᤒ ᤓ ᤔ ᤕ ᤖ ᤗ ᤘ ᤙ ᤚ ᤛ ᤜ ᤝ ᤞU 192x U 193x U 194x ᥆ ᥇ ᥈ ᥉ ᥊ ᥋ ᥌ ᥍ ᥎ ᥏Notes 1 As of Unicode version 15 0 2 Grey areas indicate non assigned code pointsReferences Edit ScriptSource Limbu Retrieved 20 July 2020 a b c d e Michailovsky Boyd Everson Michael 2002 02 05 L2 02 055 Revised proposal to encode the Limbu script in the UCS PDF Pandey Anshuman 2011 01 14 L2 11 008 Proposal to Encode the Letters GYAN and TRA for Limbu in the UCS PDF Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Limbu script amp oldid 1079724458, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
