Warang Citi: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:18, 21 October 2023

The Warang Citi script, also referred to as Varang Kshiti or Barang Kshiti,^[1] IPA: /wɐrɐŋ ʧɪt̪ɪ/), represents a noteworthy writing system devised by Lako Bodra specifically for the Ho language, prevalent in East India. This script has found utility in both primary and adult education, and its influence extends to various publications.

It's important to note that the adoption of Warang Citi is more pronounced among the easternmost cluster of Ho language speakers, particularly those who have received formal education in its usage. While a significant portion of speakers still opt for the oral transmission of knowledge or favor scripts like Devanagari or Latin, Warang Citi maintains its prestige and significance within the Ho-speaking community. This underscores its pivotal role in preserving and promoting the Ho language and culture in the region.

History

Community leader Bodra invented it as an alternative to the writing systems devised by Christian missionaries. He claims that the alphabet was invented in the 13th century by Deowan Turi, and that it was rediscovered in a shamanistic vision and modernized by Lako Bodra.

Characters

It is written from left to right in horizontal lines.

Warang Citi is quite distinct from other writing systems of India, and it has features of an abugida and an alphabet.^[1] As in Brahmic abugidas, consonant letters have an inherent vowel, usually /a/ or /ɔ/ but sometimes /ɛ/. The inherent vowel is not pronounced at the end of the word. Unlike in Brahmic abugidas, and more like in an alphabet, the full vowel letters are always written after the consonant, letters usually don't form ligatures, and there is no virama character.

It follows capitalization rules as are done in English and follows English punctuation. There are few ligatures that combine to form new sounds, and there are conjunct consonants that are used as well by stacking in some cases.

The script begins with the letter Ong, which corresponds to Om in other Brahmic scripts. It has 32 letters in total with capital and small letters.

Warang Chiti script

Capital letter	Small letter	Name	Sound
𑣿		Ong	om
𑢠	𑣀	Ngaa	ṃ, ŋ (nasalisation)
𑢡	𑣁	A	a
𑢢	𑣂	Wi	i
𑢣	𑣃	Yu	u
𑢤	𑣄	Ya	ʔ (glottal stop)
𑢥	𑣅	Yo	y
𑢦	𑣆	Ii	ī
𑢧	𑣇	Uu	ū
𑢨	𑣈	E	e
𑢩	𑣉	O	o
𑢪	𑣊	Ang	ṅ
𑢫	𑣋	Ga	g
𑢬	𑣌	Ko	k
𑢭	𑣍	Eny	ñ
𑢮	𑣎	Yuj	j
𑢯	𑣏	Uc	c
𑢰	𑣐	Enn	ṇ
𑢱	𑣑	Odd	ḍ
𑢲	𑣒	Tte	ṭ
𑢳	𑣓	Nung	n
𑢴	𑣔	Da	d
𑢵	𑣕	At	t
𑢶	𑣖	Am	m
𑢷	𑣗	Bu	b
𑢸	𑣘	Pu	p
𑢹	𑣙	Hiyo	h
𑢺	𑣚	Holo	l
𑢻	𑣛	Horr	ṛ
𑢼	𑣜	Har	r
𑢽	𑣝	Ssuu	ṣ
𑢾	𑣞	Sii	s
𑢿	𑣟	(Viyo)	ligature of 𑢡 (a) and 𑢹 (hiyo)

Warang Citi uses its own set of numerals. The digits are used in modern writing, whereas signs for numbers above 9 are falling into disuse.

𑣠	0
𑣡	1
𑣢	2
𑣣	3
𑣤	4
𑣥	5
𑣦	6
𑣧	7
𑣨	8
𑣩	9
𑣪	10
𑣫	20
𑣬	30
𑣭	40
𑣮	50
𑣯	60
𑣰	70
𑣱	80
𑣲	90

Unicode

Warang Citi was added to the Unicode Standard in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0.

The Unicode block for Warang Citi is U+118A0–U+118FF. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points:

Template:Unicode chart Warang Citi

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Everson, Michael (2012-04-19). "N4259: Final proposal for encoding the Warang Citi script in the SMP of the UCS" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-20.

Template:Writingsystem-stub

This Austroasiatic language-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[N4259-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Everson, Michael (2012-04-19). "N4259: Final proposal for encoding the Warang Citi script in the SMP of the UCS" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-20.

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Infobox Writing system
+The '''Warang Citi''' script, also referred to as '''Varang Kshiti''' or '''Barang Kshiti''',<ref name="N4259">{{cite web|last=Everson|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Everson|title=N4259: Final proposal for encoding the Warang Citi script in the SMP of the UCS|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12118-n4259-warang-citi.pdf|date=2012-04-19|access-date=2016-08-20}}</ref> IPA: /wɐrɐŋ ʧɪt̪ɪ/), represents a noteworthy writing system devised by [[Lako Bodra]] specifically for the [[Ho language]], prevalent in [[East India]]. This script has found utility in both primary and adult education, and its influence extends to various publications.
-|type=[[Alphabet]]
-|creator=[[Lako Bodra]]
-|languages=[[Ho language|Ho]]
-|fam1= original invention
-|iso15924=Wara
-|unicode=[https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U118A0.pdf U+118A0&ndash;U+118FF]<br />
-[https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12118-n4259-warang-citi.pdf Final&nbsp;Accepted&nbsp;Script&nbsp;Proposal]
-|note=none
-|altname=Varang Kshiti
-}}
-'''Warang Citi''' (also written '''Varang Kshiti''' or '''Barang Kshiti'''; {{Lang-hoc|{{Script|Wara|𑢹𑣗𑣁𑣜𑣊 𑣏𑣂𑣕𑣂}}}},<ref name="N4259">{{cite web|last=Everson|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Everson|title=N4259: Final proposal for encoding the Warang Citi script in the SMP of the UCS|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12118-n4259-warang-citi.pdf|date=2012-04-19|access-date=2016-08-20}}</ref> IPA: /wɐrɐŋ ʧɪt̪ɪ/) is a writing system invented by [[Lako Bodra]] for the [[Ho language]] spoken in [[East India]]. It is used in primary and adult education and in various publications.
-It has mainly gained acceptance among the easternmost group of speakers, and is more prevalent among those who have been educated in it. Many other speakers prefer [[Oral tradition|oral transmission of knowledge]], [[Devanagari]], or [[Latin script|Latin]], but Warang Citi holds prestige among many Ho speakers.
+It's important to note that the adoption of Warang Citi is more pronounced among the easternmost cluster of [[Ho language]] speakers, particularly those who have received formal education in its usage. While a significant portion of speakers still opt for the oral transmission of knowledge or favor scripts like [[Devanagari]] or [[Latin script|Latin]], Warang Citi maintains its prestige and significance within the [[Ho language|Ho]]-speaking community. This underscores its pivotal role in preserving and promoting the Ho language and culture in the region.
 == History ==