Ahom script: Difference between revisions

What links here Related changes Page information Get shortened URL
Created by Jellysandwich0
Last edited January 4, 2026
← Older edit
VisualWikitext
>Drmccreedy
m →Unicode: tweak wording
add structure also and cleaned formatting
 
(One intermediate revision by one other user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Abugida used to write the Ahom language}}
{{Infobox writing system
{{Infobox writing system
|name=Ahom script
|name=Ahom script
|altname={{script|Ahom|𑜒𑜑𑜪𑜨}}
|altname={{script|Ahom|𑜒𑜑𑜪𑜨}}
|type=[[Abugida]]
|type=[[Abugida]]
|sample=Ahom script.png
|sample=Shukla Ahom.svg
|caption='Ahom' in Ahom script
|imagesize=150px
|languages=[[Ahom language]], [[Assamese language]] (rarely)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sealang.net/ahom/|title=SEAlang Library Ahom Lexicography|website=sealang.net}}</ref>
|languages=[[Ahom language]], [[Assamese language]] (rarely)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sealang.net/ahom/|title=SEAlang Library Ahom Lexicography|website=sealang.net}}</ref>
|fam1=[[Proto-Sinaitic alphabet]]<sup>[a]</sup>
|fam1=[[Proto-Sinaitic alphabet]]
|fam2=[[Phoenician alphabet]]<sup>[a]</sup>
|fam2=[[Phoenician alphabet]]
|fam3=[[Aramaic alphabet]]<sup>[a]</sup>
|fam3=[[Aramaic alphabet]]
|footnotes=[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.
|footnotes=
|fam4=[[Brāhmī script|Brāhmī]]
|fam4=[[Brāhmī script|Brāhmī]]
|fam5=[[Tamil-Brahmi]]
|fam5=[[Tamil-Brahmi]]
|fam6=[[Pallava script]]<ref name="diringer">{{cite book |last1=Diringer |first1=David |title=Alphabet a key to the history of mankind |date=1948 |page=411 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.1287}}</ref> or [[Kadamba script|Kadamba]]
|fam6=[[Pallava script]]<ref name="diringer">{{cite book |last1=Diringer |first1=David |title=Alphabet a key to the history of mankind |date=1948 |page=411 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.1287}}</ref>  
|fam7=[[Pyu script]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aung-Thwin |first1=Michael A. |title=The Mon Paradigm and the Origins of the Burma Script |date=2005 |pages=154–178 |publisher=University of Hawai'i Press |jstor=j.ctt1wn0qs1.10 |isbn=9780824828868 }}</ref>
|fam7=[[Mon–Burmese script]]
|fam8=[[Burmese script|Burmese]]
|fam8=''Lik-Tai scripts''{{Sfn|Daniels|2012|p=170-171}}
|fam9=''Lik-Tai scripts''{{Sfn|Daniels|2012|p=170-171}}
|sisters=[[Tai Le script|Tai Le]], [[Khamti script|Khamti]]
|sisters=[[Tai Le script|Tai Le]], [[Khamti script|Khamti]]
|time= 13th century&ndash;19th century
|time= 13th century&ndash;19th century
Line 23: Line 25:
{{Contains special characters|Uncommon Unicode}}
{{Contains special characters|Uncommon Unicode}}
{{brahmic}}
{{brahmic}}
The '''Ahom script''' or '''Tai Ahom Script''', is an [[abugida]] that is used to write the [[Ahom language]], a dead (but being revived) [[Tai language]] spoken by the [[Ahom people]] till the late 18th-century, who established the [[Ahom kingdom]] and ruled the eastern part of the [[Brahmaputra]] valley between the 13th and the 18th centuries.<ref name="Diller">Diller, A. (1993). Tai Languages. In ''International Encyclopedia of Linguistics'' (Vol. 4, pp. 128-131). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.</ref>  The old Ahom language today survives in the numerous manuscripts written in this script currently in institutional and private possession.
The '''Ahom script''' or '''Tai Ahom Script''' is an [[abugida]] that is used to write the [[Ahom language]], a dormant [[Tai language]] undergoing revival spoken by the [[Ahom people]] till the late 18th-century, who established the [[Ahom kingdom]] and ruled the eastern part of the [[Brahmaputra]] valley between the 13th and the 18th centuries.<ref name="Diller">Diller, A. (1993). Tai Languages. In ''International Encyclopedia of Linguistics'' (Vol. 4, pp. 128-131). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.</ref>  The old Ahom language today survives in the numerous manuscripts written in this script currently in institutional and private possession.


== History ==
== History ==
The Ahom script was probably ultimately derived from the Indic, or [[Brahmi script]],<ref name="Diller" /> the root of almost all the Indic and Southeast Asian abugidas. It is probably of South Indic origin.<ref name="French">French, M. A. (1994). Tai Languages. In ''The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics'' (Vol. 4, pp. 4520-4521). New York, NY: Pergamon Press Press.</ref> The Brahmi script spread in a peaceful manner, Indianization, or the spread of Indian learning. It spread naturally to Southeast Asia, at ports on trading routes.<ref name="Court">Court, C. (1996). Introduction. In P. T. Daniels & W. Bright (Eds.) ''The World's Writing Systems'' (pp. 443). Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref> At these trading posts, ancient inscriptions have been found in Sanskrit, using scripts that originated in India. At first, inscriptions were made in Indian languages, but later the scripts were used to write the local Southeast Asian languages. Hereafter, local varieties of the scripts were developed. By the 8th century, the scripts had diverged and separated into regional scripts.<ref name="Spread">Court, C. (1996). The spread of Brahmi Script into Southeast Asia. In P. T. Daniels & W. Bright (Eds.) ''The World's Writing Systems'' (pp. 445-449). Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref>  
It is believed that the Ahom people adopted their script from either [[Mon–Burmese script|Old Mon or Old Burmese]], in [[Upper Myanmar]] before migrating to the Brahmaputra Valley in the 13th century. This is supported based on similar shapes of characters between Ahom and Old Mon and Old Burmese scripts. It is clear, however, that the script and language would have changed during the few hundred years it was in use.<ref name="Stars"/> The Lik Tai script featured on a 1407 [[Ming dynasty]] scroll exhibits many features of the Burmese script, including fourteen of the nineteen consonants, three medial diacritics and the high tone marker. According to the scholar Daniels, this shows that the Tai borrowed from the Burmese script to create their own script; the Lik Tai script was derived from the Burmese script, as it could only have been created by someone proficient in Burmese. Daniels also argues that, unlike previously thought, the [[Lik Tho Ngok]] script is not the origin of the other Lik Tai scripts, as the 1407 Lik Tai script shows greater similarity to the Ahom script, which has been attested earlier than the Lik Tho Ngok script.{{Sfn|Daniels|2012|p=170-171}} Other "Lik" scripts are used for the [[Khamti language|Khamti]], [[Phake language|Phake]], [[Aiton language|Aiton]] and [[Tai Nuea language]]s, as well as for other Tai languages across Northern Myanmar and [[Assam]], in Northeast India. The Lik scripts have a limited inventory of 16 to 18 consonant symbols compared to the Tai Tham script, which possibly indicates that the scripts were not developed for writing Pali.<ref name="Manuscripts">{{cite journal |last1=Hundius |first1=Harald |last2=Wharton |first2=David |title=The Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts |date=2010}}</ref>  


It is believed that the Ahom people adopted their script from either Old Mon or Old Burmese, in [[Upper Myanmar]] before migrating to the Brahmaputra Valley in the 13th century. This is supported based on similar shapes of characters between Ahom and Old Mon and Old Burmese scripts. It is clear, however, that the script and language would have changed during the few hundred years it was in use.<ref name="Stars"/> The Lik Tai script featured on a 1407 [[Ming dynasty]] scroll exhibits many features of the Burmese script, including fourteen of the nineteen consonants, three medial diacritics and the high tone marker. According to the scholar Daniels, this shows that the Tai borrowed from the Burmese script to create their own script; the Lik Tai script was derived from the Burmese script, as it could only have been created by someone proficient in Burmese. Daniels also argues that, unlike previously thought, the [[Lik Tho Ngok]] script is not the origin of the other Lik Tai scripts, as the 1407 Lik Tai script shows greater similarity to the Ahom script, which has been attested earlier than the Lik Tho Ngok script.{{Sfn|Daniels|2012|p=170-171}} Other "Lik" scripts are used for the [[Khamti language|Khamti]], [[Phake language|Phake]], [[Aiton language|Aiton]] and [[Tai Nuea language]]s, as well as for other Tai languages across Northern Myanmar and [[Assam]], in Northeast India. The Lik scripts have a limited inventory of 16 to 18 consonant symbols compared to the Tai Tham script, which possibly indicates that the scripts were not developed for writing Pali.<ref name="Manuscripts">{{cite journal |last1=Hundius |first1=Harald |last2=Wharton |first2=David |title=The Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts |date=2010}}</ref>  
Samples of writing in the Ahom Script ([[Buranji|Buranji's]]) remain stored in Assamese collections. The manuscripts were reportedly traditionally produced on paper prepared from [[agarwood]] (locally known as ''sachi'') bark.<ref name="Stars" /> Assamese replaced Ahom during the 17th century.<ref name="Columbia">Assam. (2008). In ''Columbia Encyclopedia'' Retrieved April 12, 2009, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/8256016/.</ref>


The earliest coins minted in the Ahom script and language were made during the reign of [[Subinphaa]] (1281-1293 AD).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hazarika |first1=Chow Nagen |title=Ahom language: its typology, language contact and historical implications in South-East Asian languages |date=2004 |url=http://www.sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/hazarika2004ahom.pdf |access-date=10 September 2021}}</ref> Samples of writing in the Ahom Script ([[Buranji|Buranji's]]) remain stored in Assamese collections. The manuscripts were reportedly traditionally produced on paper prepared from [[agarwood]] (locally known as ''sachi'') bark.<ref name="Stars" /> Assamese replaced Ahom during the 17th century.<ref name="Columbia">Assam. (2008). In ''Columbia Encyclopedia'' Retrieved April 12, 2009, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/8256016/.</ref>
The various Burmese scripts that the Ahom script itself is derived from, was likely derived from the Indic, or [[Brahmi script]],<ref name="Diller" /> and possibly of South Indic origin.<ref name="French">French, M. A. (1994). Tai Languages. In ''The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics'' (Vol. 4, pp. 4520-4521). New York, NY: Pergamon Press Press.</ref> The Brahmic Script gradually spread to Southeast Asia (from the more western and/or northern regions of South Asia), through ports on trading routes.<ref name="Court">Court, C. (1996). Introduction. In P. T. Daniels & W. Bright (Eds.) ''The World's Writing Systems'' (pp. 443). Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref> At these trading posts, ancient inscriptions have been found in Sanskrit, using scripts like the Brahmic Script, among others. At first, inscriptions were made in Sanskrit, Pali or various other Prakirts, but later the scripts were used to write the local Southeast Asian languages along with local varieties of the scripts being developed. By the 8th century, the scripts had diverged and separated into regional scripts.<ref name="Spread">Court, C. (1996). The spread of Brahmi Script into Southeast Asia. In P. T. Daniels & W. Bright (Eds.) ''The World's Writing Systems'' (pp. 445-449). Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref>  


The Ahom script is no longer used by the Ahom people to read and write in everyday life. However, it retains cultural significance and is used for religious chants and to read literature.<ref name="Diller" /> Ahom's literary tradition provides a window into the past, of Ahom's culture.<ref name="Hongladarom">Hongladarom, K. (2005). Thai and Tai Languages. In ''Encyclopedia of linguistics'' (Vol. 2, pp. 1098-1101). New York, NY: Fitzroy Dearborn.</ref> A printed form of the font was developed in 1920, to be used in the first "Ahom-Assamese-English Dictionary".<ref name="Stars">Terwiel, B. J., & Wichasin, R. (eds.), (1992). ''Tai Ahoms and the stars: three ritual texts to ward off danger''. Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program.</ref>
The Ahom script is no longer used by the Ahom people to read and write in everyday life. However, it retains cultural significance and is used for religious chants and to read literature.<ref name="Diller" /> Ahom's literary tradition provides a window into the past, of Ahom's culture.<ref name="Hongladarom">Hongladarom, K. (2005). Thai and Tai Languages. In ''Encyclopedia of linguistics'' (Vol. 2, pp. 1098-1101). New York, NY: Fitzroy Dearborn.</ref> A printed form of the font was developed in 1920, to be used in the first "Ahom-Assamese-English Dictionary".<ref name="Stars">Terwiel, B. J., & Wichasin, R. (eds.), (1992). ''Tai Ahoms and the stars: three ritual texts to ward off danger''. Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program.</ref>
Line 40: Line 42:
</gallery>
</gallery>


== Characteristics ==
== Letters ==
Like most abugidas, each letter has an inherent vowel of /a/.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12309r-n4321r.pdf | title=N4321R: Revised Proposal to add the Ahom Script in the SMP of the UCS | first1=Martin | last1=Hosken | first2=Stephen | last2=Morey | publisher=ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 | date=2012-10-23 }}</ref> Other vowels are indicated by using [[diacritic]]s, which can appear above, below, to the left, or to the right of the consonant. The script does not, however, indicate tones used in the language.<ref name="Stars" /> The Ahom script is further complicated as it contains inconsistencies; a consonant may be written once in a word, but pronounced twice, common words may be shortened, and consecutive words with the same initial consonant may be contracted.<ref name="Stars" />
Like most abugidas, each letter has an inherent vowel of /a/.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12309r-n4321r.pdf | title=N4321R: Revised Proposal to add the Ahom Script in the SMP of the UCS | first1=Martin | last1=Hosken | first2=Stephen | last2=Morey | publisher=ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 | date=2012-10-23 }}</ref> Other vowels are indicated by using [[diacritic]]s, which can appear above, below, to the left, or to the right of the consonant. The script does not, however, indicate tones used in the language.<ref name="Stars" /> The Ahom script is further complicated as it contains inconsistencies; a consonant may be written once in a word, but pronounced twice, common words may be shortened, and consecutive words with the same initial consonant may be contracted.<ref name="Stars" />
===Consonants===
===Consonants===
Line 46: Line 48:
|+ Ahom consonants
|+ Ahom consonants
|-
|-
! Character !! Sound !! Unicode<ref name="Unicode">{{cite journal |last1=Morey |first1=Stephen |last2=Hosken |first2=Martin |title=Revised Proposal to add the Ahom Script in the SMP of the UCS |date=2012 |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12309r-n4321r.pdf}}</ref>
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜀|ipa=/ka/|iso=ka}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜁|ipa=/kʰa/|iso=kha}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch1=𑜕|ch2=𑜖|note={{noteTag|name=variantg|group=consonants|Font variants.}}|ipa=/ɡa/|iso=ga}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜗|ipa=/ɡʱa/|iso=gha}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜂|ipa=/ŋa/|iso=nga}}
|-
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜀}} || /ka/ || Ka
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑝀|ipa=/ca/|iso=ca}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜋|ipa=/cʰa/|iso=cha}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜊|ipa=/ɟa/|iso=ja}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜙|ipa=/ɟʱa/|iso=jha}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜐|ipa=/ɲa/|iso=nya}}
|-
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜁}} || /kʰa/ || Kha
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑝁|ipa=/ʈa/|iso=ṭa}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑝂|ipa=/ʈʰa/|iso=ṭha}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑝃|ipa=/ɖa/|iso=ḍa}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑝄|ipa=/ɖʱa/|iso=ḍha}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑝅|ipa=/ɳa/|iso=ṇa}}
|-
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜂}} || /ŋa/ || Nga
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch1=𑜄|ch2=𑜅|note={{noteTag|name=variantt|group=consonants|The second version of this letter is ''ta'' and ''ja'' conjoined, with ''ta'' shortened.}}|ipa=/ta/|iso=ta}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜌|ipa=/tʰa/|iso=tha}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜓|ipa=/da/|iso=da}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜔|ipa=/dʱa/|iso=dha}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜃|ipa=/na/|iso=na}}
|-
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜃}} || /na/ || Na
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜆|ipa=/pa/|iso=pa}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜇|ipa=/pʰa/|iso=pha}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch1=𑜈|ch2=𑜚|note={{noteTag|name=variantb|group=consonants|A font variant of Ba. The second version is used as ''va'' in Sajjhaya spelling.}}|ipa=/ba/|iso=ba}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜘|ipa=/bʱa/|iso=bha}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜉|ipa=/ma/|iso=ma}}
|-
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜄}},<br>{{Script|Ahom|𑜅}}{{ref|1|1}} || /ta/ || Ta
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜍|ipa=/ra/|iso=ra}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜎|ipa=/la/|iso=la}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑝆|ipa=/ɭa/|iso=ḷa}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜏|ipa=/sa/|iso=sa}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜑|ipa=/ha/|iso=ha}}
|-
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜆}} || /pa/ || Pa
|
|-
|
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜇}} || /pʰa/ || Pa
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜒|iso=a|note={{noteTag|name=a|group=consonants|This letter is not an independent vowel, but acts as a null consonant that can be combined with a vowel diacritic to write initial vowels.}}}}
|-
|
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜈}},<br>{{Script|Ahom|𑜚}}{{ref|2|2}} || /ba/ || Ba
|
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜉}} || /ma/ || Ma
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜊}} || /ja/ || Ja
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜋}} || /ca/ || Cha
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜌}} || /tʰa/ || Tha
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜍}} || /ra/ || Ra
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜎}} || /la/ || La
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜏}} || /sa/ || Sa
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜐}} || /ɲa/ || Nya
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜑}} || /ha/ || Ha
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜒}} || -{{ref|3|3}} || A
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜓}} || /da/ || Da
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜔}} || /dʰa/ || Dha
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜕}},<br>{{Script|Ahom|𑜖}}{{ref|4|4}} || /ga/ || Ga
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜗}} || /gʰa/ || Gha
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜘}} || /bʰa/ || Bha
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜙}} || /jʰa/ || Jha
|}
|}
{{smalldiv|1=
{{noteFoot|group=consonants}}
*{{note|1|1}} This letter is Ta and Ja conjoined, with Ta shortened.
*{{note|2|2}} A font variant of Ba.
*{{note|3|3}} This letter is not an independent vowel, but is combined with a vowel diacritic to write initial vowels.
*{{note|4|4}} A font variant of Ga.
}}


The following medial consonant diacritics are used to form [[consonant cluster]]s with /l/ and /r/, such as /kl/ and /kr/.
The following medial consonant diacritics are used to form [[consonant cluster]]s with /l/ and /r/, such as /kl/ and /kr/.
Line 108: Line 97:
|+ Medial consonants
|+ Medial consonants
|-
|-
! Character !! Sound !! Unicode<ref name="Unicode"/>
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=◌𑜝|ipa=/l/|iso=Medial la}}
|-
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=◌𑜞|ipa=/r/|iso=Medial ra}}
| {{Script|Ahom|◌𑜝}} || /l/ || Medial La
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=◌𑜟|ipa=/r/|note=Medial ligating ra}}
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|◌𑜞}} || /r/ || Medial Ra
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|◌𑜟}} || /r/ || Medial Ligating Ra
|}
|}


Line 123: Line 108:
|+ Vowel diacritics
|+ Vowel diacritics
|-
|-
! Character !! Sound !! Unicode<ref name="Unicode"/>
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜠|ipa=/a/|iso=a}}
|-
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜡|ipa=/a:/|iso=aa}}
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜠}} || /a/ || A
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=◌𑜢|ipa=/i/|iso=i}}
|-
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=◌𑜣|ipa=/i:/|iso=ii}}
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜡}} || /a:/ || Aa
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=◌𑜤|ipa=/u/|iso=u}}
|-
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=◌𑜥|ipa=/u:/|iso=uu}}
| {{Script|Ahom|◌𑜢}} || /i/ || I
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜦|ipa=/e/|iso=e}}
|-
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=◌𑜩|ipa=/ai/|iso=ai}}
| {{Script|Ahom|◌𑜣}} || /i:/ || Ii
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=◌𑜨|ipa=/o/|iso=o}}
|-
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=◌𑜧|ipa=/aw/|iso=aw}}
| {{Script|Ahom|◌𑜤}} || /u/ || U
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=◌𑜪|ipa=/am/|iso=am}}
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|◌𑜥}} || /u:/ || Uu
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜦}} || /e/ || E
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|◌𑜧}} || /aw/ || Aw
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|◌𑜨}} || /o/ || O
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|◌𑜩}} || /ai/ || Ai
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|◌𑜪}} || /am/ || Am
|}
|}


To write a consonant without a vowel, the [[virama]] {{Script|Ahom|◌𑜫}} is used.<ref name="Unicode"/>
To write a consonant without a vowel, the [[virama]] {{Angbr|{{Script|Ahom|◌𑜫}}}} is used.<ref name="Unicode">{{cite journal |last1=Morey |first1=Stephen |last2=Hosken |first2=Martin |date=2012 |title=Revised Proposal to add the Ahom Script in the SMP of the UCS |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12309r-n4321r.pdf |journal=[[Unicode]] }}</ref>


===Punctuation===
== Punctuation ==
The following characters are used for punctuation:<ref name="Unicode"/>
The following characters are used for punctuation:<ref name="Unicode"/>


Line 156: Line 129:
|+ Punctuation
|+ Punctuation
|-
|-
! Character !! Use<ref name="Unicode"/>
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜼|note=Separates{{br}}small sections.}}
|-
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜽|note=Separates{{br}}sections.}}
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜼}} || Separates small sections.
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜾|note=Marks{{br}}paragraphs.}}
|-
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜿|note=Exclamation{{br}}mark.}}
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜽}} || Separates sections.
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜾}} || Marks paragraphs.
|-
| {{Script|Ahom|𑜿}} || Exclamation mark.
|}
|}


===Numerals===
== Numerals ==
The Ahom script contains its own set of numerals:<ref name="Unicode"/>
The Ahom script contains its own set of numerals:<ref name="Unicode"/>


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
! Ahom numerals
|+Ahom numerals
|| {{Script|Ahom|𑜰}} || {{Script|Ahom|𑜱}} || {{Script|Ahom|𑜲}} || {{Script|Ahom|𑜳}} || {{Script|Ahom|𑜴}} || {{Script|Ahom|𑜵}} || {{Script|Ahom|𑜶}} || {{Script|Ahom|𑜷}} || {{Script|Ahom|𑜸}} || {{Script|Ahom|𑜹}} || {{Script|Ahom|𑜺}} || {{Script|Ahom|𑜻}}
|{{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜰|top=0}}  
|- align="center"
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜱|top=1}}
! Hindu-Arabic numerals
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜲|top=2}}
|| 0 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 10 || 20
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜳|top=3}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜴|top=4}}
|{{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜵|top=5}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜶|top=6}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜷|top=7}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜸|top=8}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜹|top=9}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜺|top=10}}
| {{Letter|s=Ahom|ch=𑜻|top=20}}
|}
|}


Line 200: Line 176:
{{refbegin}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Terwiel |first1=B J |last2=Wichasin |first2=R |year=1992 |title=Tai Ahoms and the stars: three ritual texts to ward off danger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=as1TI8XEbrUC |location=Ithaca, NY |publisher=SEAP Publications|isbn=9780877277095 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Terwiel |first1=B J |last2=Wichasin |first2=R |year=1992 |title=Tai Ahoms and the stars: three ritual texts to ward off danger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=as1TI8XEbrUC |location=Ithaca, NY |publisher=SEAP Publications|isbn=9780877277095 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Daniels |first1=Christian |title=Script without buddhism: burmese influence on the tay (shan) script of mäng2 maaw2 as seen in a chinese scroll painting of 1407 |date=2012}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Daniels |first1=Christian |title=Script without buddhism: burmese influence on the tay (shan) script of mäng2 maaw2 as seen in a chinese scroll painting of 1407 |date=2012|journal=International Journal of Asian Studies}}
{{refend}}
{{refend}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
* Entry on [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/ahom.htm Ahom] at [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/ Omniglot.com -- A guide to writing systems]
* Entry on [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/ahom.htm Ahom] at [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/ Omniglot.com -- A guide to writing systems]
* Pali Tripitaka in Ahom Script by Sajjhaya foundation [https://www.sajjhaya.org/node/104]


{{list of writing systems}}
{{list of writing systems}}

Latest revision as of 02:39, 4 January 2026


Ahom script
'Ahom' in Ahom script
Script type
Time period
13th century–19th century
LanguagesAhom language, Assamese language (rarely)[1]
Related scripts
Parent systems
Sister systems
Tai Le, Khamti
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Ahom, , ​Ahom, Tai Ahom
Unicode
Unicode alias
Template:ISO 15924 alias
U+11700–U+1173F
Brahmic scripts
The Brahmic script and its descendants
Northern Brahmic
Southern Brahmic

The Ahom script or Tai Ahom Script is an abugida that is used to write the Ahom language, a dormant Tai language undergoing revival spoken by the Ahom people till the late 18th-century, who established the Ahom kingdom and ruled the eastern part of the Brahmaputra valley between the 13th and the 18th centuries.[4] The old Ahom language today survives in the numerous manuscripts written in this script currently in institutional and private possession.

History[edit | edit source]

It is believed that the Ahom people adopted their script from either Old Mon or Old Burmese, in Upper Myanmar before migrating to the Brahmaputra Valley in the 13th century. This is supported based on similar shapes of characters between Ahom and Old Mon and Old Burmese scripts. It is clear, however, that the script and language would have changed during the few hundred years it was in use.[5] The Lik Tai script featured on a 1407 Ming dynasty scroll exhibits many features of the Burmese script, including fourteen of the nineteen consonants, three medial diacritics and the high tone marker. According to the scholar Daniels, this shows that the Tai borrowed from the Burmese script to create their own script; the Lik Tai script was derived from the Burmese script, as it could only have been created by someone proficient in Burmese. Daniels also argues that, unlike previously thought, the Lik Tho Ngok script is not the origin of the other Lik Tai scripts, as the 1407 Lik Tai script shows greater similarity to the Ahom script, which has been attested earlier than the Lik Tho Ngok script.[3] Other "Lik" scripts are used for the Khamti, Phake, Aiton and Tai Nuea languages, as well as for other Tai languages across Northern Myanmar and Assam, in Northeast India. The Lik scripts have a limited inventory of 16 to 18 consonant symbols compared to the Tai Tham script, which possibly indicates that the scripts were not developed for writing Pali.[6]

Samples of writing in the Ahom Script (Buranji's) remain stored in Assamese collections. The manuscripts were reportedly traditionally produced on paper prepared from agarwood (locally known as sachi) bark.[5] Assamese replaced Ahom during the 17th century.[7]

The various Burmese scripts that the Ahom script itself is derived from, was likely derived from the Indic, or Brahmi script,[4] and possibly of South Indic origin.[8] The Brahmic Script gradually spread to Southeast Asia (from the more western and/or northern regions of South Asia), through ports on trading routes.[9] At these trading posts, ancient inscriptions have been found in Sanskrit, using scripts like the Brahmic Script, among others. At first, inscriptions were made in Sanskrit, Pali or various other Prakirts, but later the scripts were used to write the local Southeast Asian languages along with local varieties of the scripts being developed. By the 8th century, the scripts had diverged and separated into regional scripts.[10]

The Ahom script is no longer used by the Ahom people to read and write in everyday life. However, it retains cultural significance and is used for religious chants and to read literature.[4] Ahom's literary tradition provides a window into the past, of Ahom's culture.[11] A printed form of the font was developed in 1920, to be used in the first "Ahom-Assamese-English Dictionary".[5]

  • The Ahom script
    The Ahom script
  • An Ahom manuscript preserved in the Department of Historical and Antiquarian Studies, Pan Bazaar, Guwahati.
    An Ahom manuscript preserved in the Department of Historical and Antiquarian Studies, Pan Bazaar, Guwahati.
  • Coin of Ahom king Sunyatphaa in Ahom script
    Coin of Ahom king Sunyatphaa in Ahom script

Letters[edit | edit source]

Like most abugidas, each letter has an inherent vowel of /a/.[12] Other vowels are indicated by using diacritics, which can appear above, below, to the left, or to the right of the consonant. The script does not, however, indicate tones used in the language.[5] The Ahom script is further complicated as it contains inconsistencies; a consonant may be written once in a word, but pronounced twice, common words may be shortened, and consecutive words with the same initial consonant may be contracted.[5]

Consonants[edit | edit source]

Ahom consonants
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter
Template:Letter

The following medial consonant diacritics are used to form consonant clusters with /l/ and /r/, such as /kl/ and /kr/.

Medial consonants
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter

Vowels[edit | edit source]

The following vowel diacritics are added to an initial consonant:

Vowel diacritics
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter

To write a consonant without a vowel, the virama ⟨Template:Script/Ahom⟩ is used.[13]

Punctuation[edit | edit source]

The following characters are used for punctuation:[13]

Punctuation
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter

Numerals[edit | edit source]

The Ahom script contains its own set of numerals:[13]

Ahom numerals
Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter Template:Letter

Unicode[edit | edit source]

Main article: Ahom (Unicode block)

Ahom script was added to the Unicode Standard in June, 2015 with the release of version 8.0. The Ahom block was expended by 16 code points with Unicode 14.0.

The Unicode block for Ahom is U+11700–U+1174F:

Template:Unicode chart Ahom

See also[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "SEAlang Library Ahom Lexicography". sealang.net.
  2. ↑ Diringer, David (1948). Alphabet a key to the history of mankind. p. 411.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Daniels 2012, p. 170-171.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Diller, A. (1993). Tai Languages. In International Encyclopedia of Linguistics (Vol. 4, pp. 128-131). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Terwiel, B. J., & Wichasin, R. (eds.), (1992). Tai Ahoms and the stars: three ritual texts to ward off danger. Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program.
  6. ↑ Hundius, Harald; Wharton, David (2010). "The Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ↑ Assam. (2008). In Columbia Encyclopedia Retrieved April 12, 2009, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/8256016/.
  8. ↑ French, M. A. (1994). Tai Languages. In The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (Vol. 4, pp. 4520-4521). New York, NY: Pergamon Press Press.
  9. ↑ Court, C. (1996). Introduction. In P. T. Daniels & W. Bright (Eds.) The World's Writing Systems (pp. 443). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  10. ↑ Court, C. (1996). The spread of Brahmi Script into Southeast Asia. In P. T. Daniels & W. Bright (Eds.) The World's Writing Systems (pp. 445-449). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  11. ↑ Hongladarom, K. (2005). Thai and Tai Languages. In Encyclopedia of linguistics (Vol. 2, pp. 1098-1101). New York, NY: Fitzroy Dearborn.
  12. ↑ Hosken, Martin; Morey, Stephen (2012-10-23). "N4321R: Revised Proposal to add the Ahom Script in the SMP of the UCS" (PDF). ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Morey, Stephen; Hosken, Martin (2012). "Revised Proposal to add the Ahom Script in the SMP of the UCS" (PDF). Unicode.

References[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ahom_script&oldid=463184"
Discover more