Assamese Alphabet
Script type	Abugida
Time period	8th century to the present
Direction	left-to-right
Region	Assam
Languages	Assamese, Sanskrit, Rabha, Deori, Mishing, Bodo (formerly) and others.
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Aramaic Brahmi script Gupta script Siddhaṃ script Gaudi script[1] Bengali-Assamese script[2] Assamese Alphabet
Sister systems	Bengali alphabet and Tirhuta
[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.

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The Assamese alphabet^[3] (Assamese: অসমীয়া বৰ্ণমালা, romanized: Ôxômiya Bôrnômala) 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)^[4] 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 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.

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.^[5] 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

Consonants

The text says: "Sri Sri Môt Xiwô Xinghô Môharaza". 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 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 ঘ is itself ঘ 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 ন, ণ, or ঞ (depending on the spelling of the particular word), these letters are not simply called no; instead, they are called ন dontyo no ("dental n"), ণ murdhoinnyo no ("retroflex n"), and ঞ inyo. Similarly, the phoneme /x/ can be written as শ taloibbyo xo ("palatal x"), ষ murdhoinnyo xo ("retroflex x"), or স dontyo xo ("dental x"), the phoneme /s/ can be written using চ prothom sô ("first s") or ছ dwitio 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 ontohstho 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
ক	ko	k	k
খ	kho	kh	kʰ
গ	go	g	ɡ
ঘ	gho	gh	ɡʱ
ঙ	uŋo	ng	ŋ
চ	prothom so	s	s
ছ	dwitio so	s	sʰ
জ	borgiyo zo	z	z
ঝ	zho	zh	zʱ
ঞ	inyo	y	̃, ɲ
ট	murdhoinyo to	t	t
ঠ	murdhoinyo tho	th	tʰ
ড	murdhoinyo do	d	d
ঢ	murdhoinyo dho	dh	dʱ
ণ	murdhoinyo no	n	n
ত	dontyo to	t	t
থ	dontyo tho	th	tʰ
দ	dontyo do	d	d
ধ	dontyo dho	dh	dʱ
ন	dontyo no	n	n
প	po	p	p
ফ	pho	ph and f	pʰ~ɸ
ব	bo	b	b
ভ	bho	bh and v	bʱ~β
ম	mo	m	m
য	ontohstho zo	z	z
ৰ	ro	r	ɹ
ল	lo	l	l
ৱ	wo	w	w~β
শ	taloibyo xo	x and s	x~s
ষ	murdhoinyo xo	x and s	x~s
স	dontyo xo	x and s	x~s
হ	ho	h	ɦ~h
ক্ষ	khyo	khy, kkh	kʰj
ড়	dore ro	r	ɹ
ঢ়	dhore ro	rh	ɹɦ
য়	ontohstho 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 murdhoinyo no ("cerebral n"), and ঞ nio.

Similarly, the phoneme /x/ can be written as শ taloibyo xo ("palatal x"), ষ murdhonno xo ("cerebral x"), or স dointo xo ("dental x"), the phoneme /s/ can be written using চ prothom so ("first s") or ছ dwitio 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 ontohstho 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
ক	kô
খ	khô
গ	gô
ঘ	ghô
ঙ	ṅgô

Group: 2 – Palatals

Consonants	Phonetics
চ	prôthôm sô
ছ	dwitiyô sô
জ	bôrgiyo jô
ঝ	jhô
ঞ	iñyô

Group: 3 – Cerebrals or Retroflex

Consonants	Phonetics
ট	murdhôinyo ṭa
ঠ	murdhôinyo ṭha
ড	murdhôinyo ḍa
ড়	daré ṛa
ঢ	murdhôinyo ḍha
ঢ়	dharé ṛha
ণ	murdhôinyo ṇa

Group: 4 – Dentals

Consonants	Phonetics
ত	dôntyo ta
ৎ	khanda ṯ
থ	dôntyo tha
দ	dôntyo da
ধ	dôntyo dha
ন	dôntyo na

Group: 5 – Labials

Consonants	Phonetics
প	pa
ফ	pha
ব	ba
ভ	bha
ম	ma

Group: 6 – Semivowels

Consonants	Phonetics
য	ôntôhsthô zô
য়	ôntôhsthô ẏô
ৰ	ra
ল	la
ৱ	wa

Group: 7 – Sibilants

Consonants	Phonetics
শ	talôibyo xô
ষ	mudhôinnya xô
স	dôntyo xô

Group: 8 – Aspirate

Consonants	Phonetics
হ	ha
ক্ষ	khyô

Group: 9 – Anuxāra

Consonants	Phonetics
ং	ṃ anuxar

Group: 9 – Bixarga

Consonants	Phonetics
ঃ	ḥ bixarga

Group: 10 – Chandrabindu (anunāsika)

Consonants	Phonetics
ঁ	n̐, m̐ candrabindu

• The letters শ (talôibyo xô), ষ (murdhôinyo xô), স (dôntyo xô) and হ (hô) are called usma barna
• The letters য (za), ৰ (ra), ল (la) and ৱ (wa) are called ôntôhsthô barna
• The letters ড় (daré ṛa) and ঢ় (dharé ṛha) are phonetically similar to /ra/
• The letter য (ôntôhsthô zô) is articulated like 'ôntôhsthô yô' in the word medial and final position. To denote the ôntôhsthô ẏô, the letter য় (ôntôhsthô ẏô) is used in Assamese
• ৎ (khanda ṯ or hôsôntô t) means the consonant letter Tö (dôntyo 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 hôsôntô or tôlôr réf (meaning bottom réf). (্)

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 /.

Three distinct variations of Assamese script from the Bengali

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:

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।^[6]

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:

See also

• Assamese Braille
• Help:IPA for Assamese
• Romanisation of Assamese

Notes

References

Further reading

• "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

• Assamese alphabet
• Madhava Kandali Ramayana