Chakma Changmha Ajhapat ๐๐๐ด๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ด | |
---|---|
Script type | |
Direction | left-to-right |
Languages | Chakma language, Pali[1] |
Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
ISO 15924 | |
ISO 15924 | Cakm (349), โChakma |
Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Chakma |
U+11100โU+1114F[6] | |
[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon. | |
Brahmic scripts |
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The Brahmi script and its descendants |
The Chakma Script (Ajhฤ pฤแนญh), also called Ajhฤ pฤแนญh, Ojhapath, Ojhopath, Aaojhapath, is an abugida used for the Chakma language, and recently for the Pali language.[1]
History
The Chakma script is an abugida that belongs to the Brahmic family of scripts. Chakma evolved from the Burmese script, which was ultimately derived from Pallava.[3][4][5]
The script, along with the Chakma language, has been introduced to non-government schools in Bangladesh, and as well as schools in Mizoram.[7]
Structure
Chakma is of the Brahmic type: the consonant letters contain an inherent vowel. Unusually for Brahmic scripts, the inherent vowel in Chakma is a long 'ฤ' (aห) as opposed to short 'a' (ษ) which is standard in most other languages of India such as Hindi, Marathi or Tamil. Consonant clusters are written with conjunct characters, and a visible vowel killer shows the deletion of the inherent vowel when there is no conjunct.
Vowels
Four independent vowels exist: ๐ a, ๐ i, ๐ u, and ๐ e.
๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ |
---|---|---|---|
ฤ (aa) | i | u | e |
Other vowels in initial position are formed by adding the vowel sign to ๐ a, as in ๐๐ฉ ฤซ, ๐๐ซ ลซ, ๐๐ญ ai, ๐๐ฐ oi. Some modern writers are generalizing this spelling in ๐๐จ i, ๐๐ช u, and ๐๐ฌ e.
Chakma vowel signs with the letter ๐ ka are given below:
๐ | ๐๐ง | ๐๐จ | ๐๐ฉ | ๐๐ช | ๐๐ซ | ๐๐ฌ | ๐๐ฎ | ๐๐ญ | ๐๐ฏ | ๐๐ฐ | ๐๐ | ๐๐ | ๐๐ | ๐๐ด |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
kฤ | ka | ki | kฤซ | ku | kลซ | ke | ko | kฤi | kau | koi | kaแน | kaแน | kaแธฅ | k |
One of the interesting features of Chakma writing is that candrabindu ๐ (cฤnaphudฤ) can be used together with anusvara ๐ (ekaphudฤ) and visarga ๐ (dviphudฤ):
๐๐๐ aแธฅแน = ๐ ฤ + ๐ h + ๐แน
๐๐๐ aแนแน = ๐ ฤ + ๐ แน + ๐แน
๐ ๐๐ uแนแน = ๐ u + ๐ แน + ๐แน
๐๐ช๐ muแน = ๐ mฤ + ๐ช u + ๐แน
Consonants
๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
kฤ | khฤ | gฤ | ghฤ | แน ฤ | cฤ | chฤ | jฤ | jhฤ | รฑฤ | แนญฤ |
๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ |
แนญhฤ | dฤ | dhฤ | แนฤ | tฤ | thฤ | dฤ | dhฤ | nฤ | pฤ | phฤ |
๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ก | ๐ข | ๐ฃ | ๐ค | ๐ฅ | ๐ฆ | |
bฤ | bhฤ | mฤ | yyฤ | yฤ | rฤ | lฤ | wฤ | sฤ | hฤ |
Vowel-killer
Like other Brahmic scripts, Chakma makes use of the maayyaa (killer) to invoke conjoined consonants. In the past, practice was much more common than it is today. Like the Myanmar script, Chakma is encoded with two vowel-killing characters in order to conform to modern user expectations. As shown above, most letters have their vowels killed with the use of the explicit maayyaa:
๐๐ด k = ๐ kฤ + ๐ด MAAYYAA
Conjucts
In 2001 an orthographic reform was recommended in the book Cฤแน mฤ pattham pฤt which would limit the standard repertoire of conjuncts to those composed with the five letters ๐ yฤ, ๐ข rฤ, ๐ฃ lฤ, ๐ค wฤ, and ๐ nฤ. The four here are the most widely accepted repertoire of conjuncts.
ya: X + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ yฤ
๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐
๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ ๐ ๐ณ๐ ๐ก๐ณ๐ ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ค๐ณ๐ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐
ra: X + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ข rฤ
๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข - ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข - ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข
๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข - ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ข - ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข ๐ ๐ณ๐ข ๐ก๐ณ๐ข ๐ข๐ณ๐ข ๐ค๐ณ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ข
la: X + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ฃ lฤ
๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ - ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ - ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ
๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ - ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ - ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฃ ๐ ๐ณ๐ฃ ๐ก๐ณ๐ฃ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฃ
wa: X + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ค wฤ
๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค - ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค - ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค
๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค - ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค ๐๐ณ๐ค - ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ค ๐ ๐ณ๐ค ๐ก๐ณ๐ค ๐ข๐ณ๐ค ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ค
No separate conjunct forms of subjoined full-form -yฤ or -rฤ appear to exist. The fifth of these conjuncts, the -na conjunct, is exemplary of the orthographic shift which has taken place in the Chakma language.
na: X + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ nฤ
๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐
๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ ๐ ๐ณ๐ ๐ก๐ณ๐ ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐
While some writers would indeed write kakna (in ligating style) as ๐๐๐ณ๐ or (in subjoining style) as ๐๐๐ณ๐, most now would probably expect it to be written as ๐๐๐ด๐. The ligating style of glyphs is now considered old-fashioned. Thus, taking the letter ๐ mฤ as the second element, while the glyph shapes ๐๐ณ๐ kmฤ, ๐๐ณ๐ tmฤ, ๐๐ณ๐ nmฤ, ๐๐ณ๐ bbฤ, ๐๐ณ๐ mmฤ, ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฃ llฤ, ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ smฤ, and ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ hmฤ are attested, most users now prefer the glyph shapes ๐๐ณ๐ kmฤ, ๐๐ณ๐ tmฤ, ๐๐ณ๐ nmฤ, ๐๐ณ๐ bbฤ, ๐๐ณ๐ mmฤ, ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฃ llฤ, ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ smฤ, and ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ hmฤ. Again, this distinction is stylistic and not orthographic.
The 2004 book Phadagaแน shows examples of the five conjuncts above together alongside conjuncts formed with ๐ bฤ, ๐ mฤ, and ๐ฆ hฤ. These are all formed by simple subjoining.
ba: X + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ nฤ
๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐
๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐ ๐ณ๐ ๐ก๐ณ๐ ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ ๐ค๐ณ๐ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐
ma: X + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ nฤ
๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐
๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ - ๐ ๐ณ๐ ๐ก๐ณ๐ ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ ๐ค๐ณ๐ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐
ha: X + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ฆ nฤ
๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ - ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ - ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ
๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ - ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ - ๐ ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ก๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ
In the 1982 book Cฤแน mฤr ฤg pudhi a much wider range of conjunct pairs is shown, some of them with fairly complicated glyphs:
๐๐ณ๐ kkฤ = ๐ kฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ kฤ
๐๐ณ๐ kแนญฤ = ๐ kฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ แนญฤ
๐๐ณ๐ ktฤ = ๐ kฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ tฤ
๐๐ณ๐ kmฤ = ๐ kฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ mฤ
๐๐ณ๐ kcฤ = ๐ kฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ cฤ
๐๐ณ๐ แน kฤ = ๐ แน ฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ kฤ
๐๐ณ๐ แน kฤ = ๐ แน ฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ gฤ
๐๐ณ๐ ccฤ = ๐ cฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ cฤ
๐๐ณ๐ cchฤ = ๐ cฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ chฤ
๐๐ณ๐ รฑcฤ = ๐ รฑฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ cฤ
๐๐ณ๐ รฑjฤ = ๐ รฑฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ jฤ
๐๐ณ๐ รฑjhฤ = ๐ รฑฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ jhฤ
๐๐ณ๐ แนญแนญฤ = ๐ แนญฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ แนญฤ
๐๐ณ๐ ttฤ = ๐ tฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ tฤ
๐๐ณ๐ tmฤ = ๐ tฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ mฤ
๐๐ณ๐ tthฤ = ๐ tฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ thฤ
๐๐ณ๐ ddฤ = ๐ dฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ dฤ
๐๐ณ๐ ddhฤ = ๐ dฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ dhฤ
๐๐ณ๐ ntฤ = ๐ nฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ tฤ
๐๐ณ๐ nthฤ = ๐ nฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ thฤ
๐๐ณ๐ nmฤ = ๐ nฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ mฤ
๐๐ณ๐ ppฤ = ๐ pฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ pฤ
๐๐ณ๐ bbฤ = ๐ bฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ bฤ
๐๐ณ๐ mmฤ = ๐ mฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ mฤ
๐๐ณ๐ jjฤ = ๐ jฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ jฤ
๐ฃ๐ณ๐ lkฤ = ๐ฃ lฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ kฤ
๐ฃ๐ณ๐ lgฤ = ๐ฃ lฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ gฤ
๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฃ llฤ = ๐ฃ lฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ฃ lฤ
๐ฃ๐ณ๐ lแนญฤ = ๐ฃ lฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ แนญฤ
๐ฃ๐ณ๐ lpฤ = ๐ฃ lฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ pฤ
๐ฃ๐ณ๐ lchฤ = ๐ฃ lฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ chฤ
๐ฅ๐ณ๐ sแนญฤ = ๐ฅ sฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ แนญฤ
๐ฅ๐ณ๐ skฤ = ๐ฅ sฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ kฤ
๐ฅ๐ณ๐ spฤ = ๐ฅ sฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ pฤ
๐ฅ๐ณ๐ smฤ = ๐ฅ sฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ mฤ
๐ฆ๐ณ๐ hmฤ = ๐ฆ hฤ + ๐ณ VIRAMA + ๐ hmฤ
Letter names and punctuation
Chakma letters have a descriptive name followed by a traditional Brahmic consonant. These are given in annotations to the character names. Alongside a single (๐ ) and double (๐ ) danda punctuation, Chakma has a unique question mark (๐ ), and a section sign, Phulacihna. There is some variation in the glyphs for the Phulacihna (๐ ), some looking like flowers or leaves.
Numerals
The Chakma script contains its own set of numerals, although Bengali numerals are also used.
๐ถ | ๐ท | ๐ธ | ๐น | ๐บ | ๐ป | ๐ผ | ๐ฝ | ๐พ | ๐ฟ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Unicode
Chakma script was added to the Unicode Standard in January 2012 with the release of version 6.1.[8]
The Unicode block for Chakma script is U+11100โU+1114F. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points:
Chakma[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+1110x | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ |
U+1111x | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ |
U+1112x | ๐ | ๐ก | ๐ข | ๐ฃ | ๐ค | ๐ฅ | ๐ฆ | ๐ง | ๐จ | ๐ฉ | ๐ช | ๐ซ | ๐ฌ | ๐ญ | ๐ฎ | ๐ฏ |
U+1113x | ๐ฐ | ๐ฑ | ๐ฒ | ๐ณ | ๐ด | ๐ถ | ๐ท | ๐ธ | ๐น | ๐บ | ๐ป | ๐ผ | ๐ฝ | ๐พ | ๐ฟ | |
U+1114x | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ||||||||
Notes |
Educational Institutions
The Chakma language is being taught in many Government and private schools in India (Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh) and Bangladesh. The Chakma language was officially introduced in primary schools by the Govt. of Tripura under The Directorate of Kokborok & Other Minority Languages in 2004 through Bengali Script and since 2013 through Chakma script (also known as Ajhฤ Pฤแนญh). Presently, the Chakma language is being taught in 87 schools.[9]
References
- 1 2 Scheuren, Zachary (22 April 2019). "Proposal to encode CHAKMA LETTER VAA for Pali" (PDF). The Unicode Consortium. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2019.
- โ Joshi, R. Malatesha; McBride, Catherine, eds. (2019). Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography. Literacy Studies. Vol. 17. p. 28. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-05977-4. ISBN 978-3-030-05976-7.
- 1 2 Talukdar, S. P. (2010). Genesis of Indigenous Chakma Buddhists and Their Pulverization Worldwide. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 9788178357584.
- 1 2 Brauns, Claus-Dieter; Lรถffler, Lorenz G. (11 November 2013). Mru: Hill People on the Border of Bangladesh. Birkhรคuser. ISBN 9783034856942.
- 1 2 Everson, Michael; Hosken, Martin (28 July 2009). "Proposal for encoding the Chakma script in the UCS" (PDF).
- โ "Chakma". The Unicode Standard, Version 15.1 (PDF). The Unicode Consortium. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2023.
- โ Brandt, Carmen (2014). "Script as a potential demarcator and stabilizer of languages in South Asia". In Cardoso, Hugo C. (ed.). Language Endangerment and Preservation in South Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. p. 86. hdl:10125/4602. ISBN 9780985621148.
- โ "Unicode 6.1.0". The Unicode Consortium. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- โ "Chakma Language". The Directorate of Kokborok & Other Minority Languages. Government of Tripura, India.
Further reading
- 'เฆฐเฆฟเฆฌเงเฆ เฆเฆเฆจเฆฟ'เฆคเง เฆฒเงเฆเฆพ เฆนเฆฌเง เฆเฆพเฆเฆฎเฆพ เฆญเฆพเฆทเฆพ [RibengUni will be written in the Chakma language]. Kaler Kantho. 18 June 2012. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
External links
- RibengUni (First Chakma Unicode Font)
- Chakma Script Archived 2020-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
- Chakma Bangla Blog
- Chakma Prototype Keyboard
- Chakma Unicode Converter
- Available Chakma Unicode Fonts
- Chakma Keyboard Layout for Mac OSX
- Chakma Open Dictionary
- "Chakma alphabet, pronunciation and language". Omniglot. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
- "Tribal Languages - Banglapedia". Banglapedia. Retrieved 1 September 2018.