Description
In general, a letter of an abugida transcribes a consonant. Letters are written as a linear sequence, in most cases left to right. Vowels are written through modification of these consonant letters, either by means of diacritics (which may not follow the direction of writing the letters) or by changes in the form of the letter itself.
Vowels not preceded by a consonant may be represented with a zero consonant letter, modified to indicate the vowel, or separate letters for each vowel, that are distinct from the corresponding dependent vowel signs. Consonants not followed by a vowel may be represented with:
- a modification that explicitly indicates the lack of a vowel (virama),
- a lack of vowel marking (often with ambiguity between no vowel and a default inherent vowel),
- vowel marking for a short or neutral vowel such as schwa (with ambiguity between no vowel and that short or neutral vowel),
- conjunct consonant letters where two or more letters are graphically joined in a ligature, or
- dependent consonant signs, which may be smaller or differently placed versions of the full consonant letters, or may be distinct signs altogether.
There are three principal families of abugidas, depending on whether vowels are indicated by modifying consonants by diacritics, distortion, or orientation.
- The oldest and largest is the Brahmic family of India and Southeast Asia, in which vowels are marked with diacritics and syllable-final consonants, when they occur, are indicated with ligatures, diacritics, or with a special vowel-canceling mark.
- In the Ethiopic family, vowels are marked by modifying the shapes of the consonants, and one of these pulls double duty for final consonants.
- In the Cree family, vowels are marked by rotating or flipping the consonants, and final consonants are indicated with either special diacritics or superscript forms of the main initial consonants.
Tāna of the Maldives has dependent vowels and a zero vowel sign, but no inherent vowel.
| Feature | North Indic | South Indic | Tāna | Ethiopic | Canadian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vowel representation after consonant |
Dependent sign (diacritic) in distinct position per vowel |
Fused diacritic | Rotate/reflect | ||
| Initial vowel representation |
Distinct inline letter per vowel |
Zero consonant plus dependent vowel in SEA |
Glottal stop plus dependent |
Zero consonant plus dependent |
|
| Inherent vowel (value of no vowel sign) |
, or | No | N/A | ||
| Zero vowel sign (sign for no value) |
Often | Always used when no final vowel |
No | ||
| Consonant cluster | Conjunct | Stack or separate | Separate | ||
| Final consonant | Inline except ṃ, ḥ | Inline | Dependent | ||
| Distinct final sign | Only for ṃ, ḥ | No | Only in Western | ||
| Final sign position | Inline but ṃ top | Inline | Raised or inline | ||
Read more about this topic: Abugida
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