International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Transliteration scheme for Indic scripts}}
{{Short description|Transliteration scheme for Indic scripts}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{redirect|IAST|the security testing method|Interactive application security testing}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox romanization
{{Infobox romanization
Line 7: Line 8:
| altname  = IAST
| altname  = IAST
| languages = [[Sanskrit]] and other [[Languages of South Asia|Indic Languages]]
| languages = [[Sanskrit]] and other [[Languages of South Asia|Indic Languages]]
| time      = 17th century–present
| time      = 19th century–present
| romanised-from = [[Indic scripts]]
| romanised-from = [[Indic scripts]]
}}
}}
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}


The '''International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration''' ('''IAST''') is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless [[romanisation]] of [[Brahmic family|Indic scripts]] as employed by [[Sanskrit]] and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during the nineteenth century from suggestions by [[Sir Charles Trevelyan, 1st Baronet|Charles Trevelyan]], [[William Jones (philologist)|William Jones]], [[Monier Monier-Williams]] and other scholars, and formalised by the Transliteration Committee of the Geneva [[International Congress of Orientalists|Oriental Congress]], in September 1894.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw010033.pdf|title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary|last=Monier-Williams|first=Monier|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1899|location=Oxford|pages=xxx|author-link=Monier Monier-Williams}}</ref> IAST makes it possible for the reader to read the Indic text unambiguously, exactly as if it were in the original Indic script.  It is this faithfulness to the original scripts that accounts for its continuing popularity amongst scholars.
The '''International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration''' ('''IAST''') is a [[transliteration]] scheme that allows the lossless [[romanisation]] of [[Brahmic family|Indic scripts]] as employed by [[Sanskrit]] and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during the 19th century from suggestions by [[Sir Charles Trevelyan, 1st Baronet|Charles Trevelyan]], [[William Jones (philologist)|William Jones]], [[Monier Monier-Williams]] and other scholars, and formalised by the Transliteration Committee of the Geneva [[International Congress of Orientalists|Oriental Congress]], in September 1894.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw010033.pdf|title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary|last=Monier-Williams|first=Monier|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1899|location=Oxford|pages=xxx|author-link=Monier Monier-Williams}}</ref><ref name="10th">{{cite journal |title=Tenth International Congress of Orientalists, Held at Geneva |journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date=1895 |pages=879–892 |jstor=25207765 }}</ref> IAST makes it possible for the reader to read the Indic text unambiguously, exactly as if it were in the original Indic script.


==Use==
==Usage==
University scholars commonly use IAST in publications that cite textual material in Sanskrit, [[Pāḷi]] and other classical Indian languages.
Scholars commonly use IAST in publications that cite textual material in Sanskrit, [[Pāḷi]] and other classical Indian languages.


IAST is also used for major e-text repositories such as SARIT, Muktabodha, GRETIL, and sanskritdocuments.org.
IAST is also used for major e-text repositories such as SARIT, Muktabodha, GRETIL, and sanskritdocuments.org.


The IAST scheme represents more than a century of scholarly usage in books and journals on classical Indian studies. By contrast, the [[ISO 15919]] standard for transliterating Indic scripts emerged in 2001 from the standards and library worlds. For the most part, ISO 15919 follows the IAST scheme, departing from it only in minor ways (e.g., ṃ/ṁ and ṛ/r̥)—see comparison below.
The IAST scheme is the most common system used for more than a century in scholarly books and journals on classical Indian studies,  though  often with some minor variations, such as common usage of ''ṃ'' instead of ṁ (and occasional usage of ''r̥'' instead of ṛ, especially in materials where the Devanagari letter ड़, used in Hindi, needs to be distinguished). More recently, the [[ISO 15919]] standard for transliterating Indic scripts emerged in 2001 from the standards and library worlds. For the most part, ISO 15919 follows the IAST scheme, departing from it only in minor ways (e.g., ḷ/l̥ and ṛ/r̥), the most notable being ISO 15919 ē, ō representing what IAST translates as e, o which in the ISO denote short vowels (a practice commonly established among scholars in [[Dravidian studies|Dravidian]] studies—see comparison below.


The Indian [[National Library at Kolkata romanization]], intended for the romanisation of all [[Brahmic family|Indic scripts]], is an extension of IAST.
The Indian [[National Library at Kolkata romanization]], intended for the romanisation of all [[Brahmic family|Indic scripts]], is an extension of IAST.
==History==
The Tenth International Congress of Orientalists, held at Geneva on 10 September 1894, adopted the following notations:<ref name="10th"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/transliterationr00roya/page/4/mode/2up | title = Transliteration Report| date = 1896}}</ref>
[[File:Report of Transliteration Commitee from Pg 887.png|275px|thumb|Table from the Report of Transliteration Committee, Pg 887]]
{| class=wikitable
|-
!
| a || ā || i || ī || u || ū || ṛ || ṝ || ḷ || l̤ || e || ai || o || au
|-
!
| k || kh || g || gh || ṅ
|-
!
| c || ch || j || jh || ñ
|-
!
| ṭ || ṭh || ḍ || ḍh || ṇ
|-
!
| t || th || d || dh || n
|-
!
| p || ph || b || bh || m
|-
!
| y || r || l || v || ś || ṣ || s || h || ḻ ||ṁ || m̐
|-
! visarga
| ḥ
|-
! jihvāmūlīya
| ẖ
|-
! upadhmānīya
| ḫ
|}
For the short e and o, the Committee also recommended the use of ĕ and ŏ, respectively.


==Inventory and conventions==
==Inventory and conventions==
Line 30: Line 69:
!Devanāgarī
!Devanāgarī
!colspan=2|Transcription
!colspan=2|Transcription
!IPA for Sanskrit pronunciation
!Category
!Category
|-
|-
Line 35: Line 75:
|a
|a
|A
|A
|rowspan=10|monophthongs<br>and [[syllabic consonant|syllabic]] [[liquid consonant|liquid]]s
|[[Near-open central vowel|ɐ]]
|rowspan=6|[[monophthongs]]
|-
|-
|आ
|आ
|ā
|ā
|Ā
|Ā
|[[Open front unrounded vowel|aː]]
|-
|-
|इ
|इ
|i
|i
|I
|I
|[[Near-close near-front unrounded vowel|ɪ]]
|-
|-
|ई
|ई
|ī
|ī
|Ī
|Ī
|[[Close front unrounded vowel|iː]]
|-
|-
|उ
|उ
|u
|u
|U
|U
|[[Near-close near-back rounded vowel|ʊ]]
|-
|-
|ऊ
|ऊ
|ū
|ū
|Ū
|Ū
|[[Close back rounded vowel|uː]]
|-
|-
|ऋ
|ऋ
|ṛ
|ṛ
|Ṛ
|Ṛ
|[[Syllabic consonant|r̩]]
|rowspan=4|[[syllabic consonant|syllabic]] [[liquid consonant|liquid]]s
|-
|-
|ॠ
|ॠ
|ṝ
|ṝ
|Ṝ
|Ṝ
|[[Syllabic consonant|r̩ː]]
|-
|-
|ऌ
|ऌ
|ḷ
|ḷ
|Ḷ
|Ḷ
|[[Syllabic consonant|l̩]]
|-
|-
|ॡ
|ॡ
|ḹ
|ḹ
|Ḹ
|Ḹ
|[[Syllabic consonant|l̩ː]]
|-
|-
|ए
|ए
|e
|e
|E
|E
|[[Close-mid front unrounded vowel|e]]
|rowspan=4|[[diphthong]]s
|rowspan=4|[[diphthong]]s
|-
|-
Line 81: Line 133:
|ai
|ai
|Ai
|Ai
|ɐi̯
|-
|-
|ओ
|ओ
|o
|o
|O
|O
|[[Close-mid back rounded vowel|o]]
|-
|-
|औ
|औ
|au
|au
|Au
|Au
|ɐu̯
|-
|-
|ं
|◌̣
|ṃ
|ṃ
|Ṃ
|Ṃ
|
|[[anusvara]]
|[[anusvara]]
|-
|-
Line 98: Line 154:
|ḥ
|ḥ
|Ḥ
|Ḥ
|
|[[visarga]]
|[[visarga]]
|-
|-
|ँ
|ँ
|˜
|m̐
|M̐
|
|
|[[chandrabindu]]<ref>See, now, the [[Talk:International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration#Candrabindu|Talk page]], where m̐ is recommended.</ref>
|[[chandrabindu]]<ref>See, now, the [[Talk:International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration#Candrabindu|Talk page]], where m̐ is recommended.</ref>
Line 107: Line 165:
|ऽ
|ऽ
|'
|'
|
|
|
|[[avagraha]]
|[[avagraha]]
Line 156: Line 215:
|[[nasal stop]]s
|[[nasal stop]]s
|-  
|-  
|ह <br> h&nbsp;&nbsp;H
|ह <br> h&nbsp;&nbsp;H<sup>*</sup>
|य <br> y&nbsp;&nbsp;Y
|य <br> y&nbsp;&nbsp;Y
|र <br> r&nbsp;&nbsp;R
|र <br> r&nbsp;&nbsp;R
Line 169: Line 228:
| &nbsp;  
| &nbsp;  
|[[sibilant]]s
|[[sibilant]]s
|-
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|ळ <br> ḻ&nbsp;&nbsp;Ḻ
|&nbsp;
|&nbsp;
|[[approximant]]s ([[Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic]])<ref name="10th"/>
|}
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> ''H'' is actually [[glottal consonant|glottal]], not [[velar consonant|velar]].


Some letters are modified with diacritics: Long vowels are marked with an overline. Vocalic (syllabic) consonants, retroflexes and ṣ ({{IPA|/[[ʂ]]~[[ɕ]]~ʃ/}}) have an underdot. One letter has an overdot: ṅ ({{IPA|/ŋ/}}). One has an acute accent: ś ({{IPA|/ʃ/}}).
Some letters are modified with [[diacritic]]s: Long vowels are marked with an [[overline]] (often called a [[macron (diacritic)|macron]]). Vocalic (syllabic) consonants, retroflexes and ṣ ({{IPA|/[[ʂ]]/}} in Sanskrit, [ʃ] in Hindi) have an [[underdot]]. One letter has an overdot: ṅ ({{IPA|/ŋ/}}). One has an [[acute accent]]: ś ({{IPA|/[[ɕ]]}} in Sanskrit, {{IPA|/ʃ/}} in Hindi). One letter has a line below: ḻ ({{IPA|/[[ɭ]]/}}) (the intervocalic allophone of ḍ in Vedic Sanskrit).


Unlike [[ASCII]]-only romanizations such as [[ITRANS]] or [[Harvard-Kyoto]], the diacritics used for IAST allow capitalization of proper names. The capital variants of letters never occurring word-initially ({{IAST|Ṇ Ṅ Ñ Ṝ}}) are useful only when writing in all-caps and  in [[Pāṇini]] contexts for which the convention is to typeset the ''[[Aṣṭādhyāyī|IT]]'' sounds as capital letters.
Unlike [[ASCII]]-only romanisations such as [[ITRANS]] or [[Harvard-Kyoto]], the diacritics used for IAST allow capitalisation of proper names. The capital variants of letters never occurring word-initially ({{IAST|Ṃ Ṇ Ṅ Ñ Ṝ Ḹ}}) are useful only when writing in all-caps and  in [[Pāṇini]] contexts for which the convention is to typeset the ''[[Aṣṭādhyāyī|IT]]'' sounds as capital letters.


==Comparison with ISO 15919==
==Comparison with ISO 15919==
For the most part, IAST is a subset of [[ISO 15919]] that merges: the retroflex (underdotted) liquids with the vocalic ones ([[ring (diacritic)#Ring below|ringed below]]); and the short [[close-mid vowel]]s with the long ones. The following seven exceptions are from the ISO standard accommodating an extended repertoire of symbols to allow transliteration of Devanāgarī and other Indic scripts, as used for languages other than Sanskrit.
For the most part, IAST is a subset of [[ISO 15919]] that merges the retroflex (underdotted) liquids with the vocalic ones ([[ring (diacritic)#Ring below|ringed below]]) and the short [[close-mid vowel]]s with the long ones. The following seven exceptions are from the ISO standard accommodating an extended repertoire of symbols to allow transliteration of [[Devanāgarī]] and other [[Indic scripts]] as used for languages other than Sanskrit.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 188: Line 256:
||e
||e
||ē (e)
||ē (e)
||ISO ''e'' generally represents short {{lang|hi|ए / ॆ}}, but optionally represents long {{lang|hi|ए / े}} in Devanagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, and Odia script.
||ISO ''e'' generally represents short {{lang|hi|ऎ / ॆ}}, but optionally represents long {{lang|hi|ए / े}} in the Devanagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, and Odia scripts.
|-
|-
||{{lang|hi|ओ / ो}}
||{{lang|hi|ओ / ो}}
||o
||o
||ō (o)
||ō (o)
||ISO ''o'' generally represents short {{lang|hi|ऒ / ॆ}}, but optionally represents long {{lang|hi|ओ / ो}} in Devanagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, and Odia script.
||ISO ''o'' generally represents short {{lang|hi|ऒ / ॆ}}, but optionally represents long {{lang|hi|ओ / ो}} in the Devanagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, and Odia scripts.
|-
|-
||{{lang|sa|अं / ं}}
||{{lang|hi|ऎ / ॆ}}
||ṃ
||ĕ
||ṁ
||e
||ISO ''ṃ'' represents [[Gurmukhi]] ''[[Gurmukhi#Other signs|tippi]]'' {{lang|pa| ੰ}}.
||ISO ''e'' generally represents short {{lang|hi|ऎ / ॆ}}, but optionally represents long {{lang|hi|ए / े}} in the Devanagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, and Odia scripts. The IAST ''ĕ'' represents short {{lang|hi|ऎ / ॆ}}.
|-
||{{lang|hi|ऒ / ॆ}}
||ŏ
||o
||ISO ''o'' generally represents short {{lang|hi|ऒ / ॆ}}, but optionally represents long {{lang|hi|ओ / ो}} in the Devanagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, and Odia scripts. The IAST ''ŏ'' represents short {{lang|hi|ऒ / ॆ}}.
|-
|-
||{{lang|hi|ऋ / ृ}}
||{{lang|hi|ऋ / ृ}}
Line 213: Line 286:
||ḷ
||ḷ
||l̥
||l̥
||ISO ''ḷ''  represents ळ {{IPAslink|ɭ̆}}.
||ISO ''ḷ''  represents ळ {{IPAslink|𝼈}}.  
|-
|-
||{{lang|hi|ॡ / ॣ}}
||{{lang|hi|ॡ / ॣ}}
Line 219: Line 292:
||l̥̄
||l̥̄
||for consistency with ''l̥''.
||for consistency with ''l̥''.
|-
||ळ
||ḻ
||ḷ
||Used in Vedic Sanskrit only and not found in the Classical variant
|}
|}


== Computer input by alternative keyboard layout==
== Computer input by alternative keyboard layout ==
The most convenient method of inputting romanized Sanskrit is by setting up an alternative [[keyboard layout]]. This allows one to hold a modifier key to type letters with diacritical marks.  For example, {{keypress|alt|a}} = ā. How this is set up varies by operating system.
The most convenient method of inputting romanized Sanskrit is by setting up an alternative [[keyboard layout]]. This allows one to hold a modifier key to type letters with diacritical marks.  For example, {{keypress|alt|a}} = ā. How this is set up varies by operating system and user-preference.
 
[[Unix|Linux/Unix]] and BSD desktop environment users can select custom keyboard layouts and switch them by clicking a flag icon in the menu bar.  Keyboards for typing Sanskrit, Hindi and many other Indian languages, in original script and in transliteration, are delivered as standard features in Ubuntu, Linux Mint and similar Linux systems.  For others, such keyboards can be installed without much difficulty.  


[[Unix|Linux/Unix]] and BSD desktop environments allow one to set up custom keyboard layouts and switch them by clicking a flag icon in the menu bar.
[[macOS]] users can use the pre-installed US International keyboard, or install Toshiya Unebe's Easy Unicode keyboard layout.


[[Mac OS X|macOS]] One can use the pre-installed US International keyboard, or install Toshiya Unebe's Easy Unicode keyboard layout.
[[Microsoft Windows]] users can change keyboard layouts and set up additional custom keyboard mappings for IAST. This Pali keyboard installer<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fsnow.com/pali/keyboard/|title=Pali Keyboard|website=fsnow.com|access-date=21 October 2019}}</ref> made by Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator (MSKLC) supports IAST (works on Microsoft Windows up to at least version 10, can use Alt button on the right side of the keyboard instead of Ctrl+Alt combination).


[[Microsoft Windows]]  
[[Android (operating system)|Android]] keyboard called "Sanskrit (Latin)" offers IAST and ISO characters - these can be entered by holding the key for the corresponding letters without diacritic: e.g. holding "s" calls a selection between ś and ṣ.
Windows also allows one to change keyboard layouts and set up additional custom keyboard mappings for IAST. This Pali keyboard installer<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fsnow.com/pali/keyboard/|title=Pali Keyboard|website=fsnow.com|access-date=2019-10-21}}</ref> made by Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator (MSKLC) supports IAST (works on Microsoft Windows up to at least version 10, can use Alt button on the right side of the keyboard instead of Ctrl+Alt combination).


== Computer input by selection from a screen==
== Computer input by selection from a screen==
Line 244: Line 323:


Users of SCIM on Linux based platforms can also have the opportunity to install and use the sa-itrans-iast input handler which provides complete support for the ISO 15919 standard for the romanization of Indic languages as part of the m17n library.
Users of SCIM on Linux based platforms can also have the opportunity to install and use the sa-itrans-iast input handler which provides complete support for the ISO 15919 standard for the romanization of Indic languages as part of the m17n library.
Or user can use some Unicode characters in Latin-1 Supplement, Latin Extended-A, Latin Extended Additional and Combining Diarcritical Marks block to write IAST.


== Font support ==
== Font support ==
{{expand section|date=September 2016}}
{{expand section|date=September 2016}}


Only certain [[font]]s support all the Latin [[Unicode]] characters essential for the transliteration of Indic scripts according to the [[ISO 15919]] standard. For example, the [[Arial]], [[Tahoma (typeface)|Tahoma]] and [[Times New Roman]] font packages that come with [[Microsoft Office 2007]] and later versions also support precomposed Unicode characters like ''ā, ḍ, ḥ, ī, ḷ, ḹ, ṃ, ñ, ṅ, ṇ, ṛ, ṝ, ṣ, ś, ṭ'' and ''ū,'' glyphs for some of which are only to be found in the [[Latin Extended Additional]] Unicode block. The majority of other text fonts commonly used for book production are defective in their support for one or more characters from this block. Accordingly, many academics working in the area of Sanskrit studies now make use of [[free and open-source software]] like [[LibreOffice]], instead of [[Microsoft Word]], in conjunction with free OpenType fonts like FreeSerif or [[Gentium]], both of which have complete support for the full repertoire of conjoined diacritics in the IAST character set. Released under the [[GNU FreeFont]] or [[SIL Open Font License]], respectively, such  fonts may be freely shared and do not require the person reading or editing a document to purchase proprietary software to make use of its  associated fonts.
Only certain [[font]]s support all the Latin [[Unicode]] characters essential for the transliteration of Indic scripts according to the IAST and ISO 15919 standards.
 
For example, the commercially-licensed [[Arial]], [[Tahoma (typeface)|Tahoma]] and [[Times New Roman]] font packages that come with [[Microsoft Office 2007]] and later versions also support precomposed Unicode characters like ''ī''. 
 
[[Junicode]], [[Libertinus]], the [https://www.gust.org.pl/projects/e-foundry/tex-gyre/index_html TeX Gyre family] and Google's [[Noto]] font are just a few high-quality free fonts that include pre-composed IAST characters.  
 
Many other text fonts commonly used for book production may be lacking in support for one or more characters from this block. Accordingly, many academics working in the area of Sanskrit studies make use of free OpenType fonts such as FreeSerif or [[Gentium]], both of which have complete support for the full repertoire of conjoined diacritics in the IAST character set. Released under the [[GNU FreeFont]] or [[SIL Open Font License]], respectively, such  fonts may be freely shared and do not require the person reading or editing a document to purchase proprietary software to make use of its  associated fonts.


==See also==
==See also==
Line 257: Line 344:
* [[Harvard-Kyoto]]
* [[Harvard-Kyoto]]
* [[ITRANS]]
* [[ITRANS]]
* [[National Library at Kolkata romanization]]
* [[ISO 15919]]
* [[ISO 15919]]
* [[Shiva Sutra]]
* [[National Library at Kolkata romanisation]]
* [[Shiva Sutras]]
* [[Template:IAST]]
* [[Template:IAST]]
{{colend}}
{{colend}}
Line 267: Line 354:


==External links ==
==External links ==
* {{Cite web |url=http://shashir.autodidactus.org/shashir_umich/sanskrit_transcription.html|title=Shashir's Notes: Modern Transcription of Sanskrit|last=Reddy|first=Shashir|access-date=2016-12-02}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://shashir.autodidactus.org/shashir_umich/sanskrit_transcription.html|title=Shashir's Notes: Modern Transcription of Sanskrit|last=Reddy|first=Shashir}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stone-catend/trind.htm |title=Transliteration of Indic Scripts: How to use ISO 15919 |last=Stone |first=Anthony |access-date=2016-12-02 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414223033/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stone-catend/trind.htm |archive-date=14 April 2016 |df=dmy-all }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/index.htm|title=Mutlilingual keyboard}}
*{{Cite web |url=http://indology.info/email/members/wujastyk/|title=Transliteration of Devanagari|last=Wujastyk|first=Dominik|date=1996|website=INDOLOGY|access-date=2016-12-02}}
* [https://vimeo.com/groups/sanskrit Sanskrit Pronunciation Tips for beginners & Simple Charts to help memorize where the diacritics fit in. - pages from Dina-Anukampana Das]


{{DEFAULTSORT:International Alphabet Of Sanskrit Transliteration}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:International Alphabet Of Sanskrit Transliteration}}

Latest revision as of 03:12, 4 March 2026


"IAST" redirects here. For the security testing method, see Interactive application security testing.

Template:Infobox romanization

The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during the 19th century from suggestions by Charles Trevelyan, William Jones, Monier Monier-Williams and other scholars, and formalised by the Transliteration Committee of the Geneva Oriental Congress, in September 1894.[1][2] IAST makes it possible for the reader to read the Indic text unambiguously, exactly as if it were in the original Indic script.

Usage[edit | edit source]

Scholars commonly use IAST in publications that cite textual material in Sanskrit, Pāḷi and other classical Indian languages.

IAST is also used for major e-text repositories such as SARIT, Muktabodha, GRETIL, and sanskritdocuments.org.

The IAST scheme is the most common system used for more than a century in scholarly books and journals on classical Indian studies, though often with some minor variations, such as common usage of ṃ instead of ṁ (and occasional usage of r̥ instead of ṛ, especially in materials where the Devanagari letter ड़, used in Hindi, needs to be distinguished). More recently, the ISO 15919 standard for transliterating Indic scripts emerged in 2001 from the standards and library worlds. For the most part, ISO 15919 follows the IAST scheme, departing from it only in minor ways (e.g., ḷ/l̥ and ṛ/r̥), the most notable being ISO 15919 ē, ō representing what IAST translates as e, o which in the ISO denote short vowels (a practice commonly established among scholars in Dravidian studies—see comparison below.

The Indian National Library at Kolkata romanization, intended for the romanisation of all Indic scripts, is an extension of IAST.

History[edit | edit source]

The Tenth International Congress of Orientalists, held at Geneva on 10 September 1894, adopted the following notations:[2][3]

Table from the Report of Transliteration Committee, Pg 887
a ā i ī u ū ṛ ṝ ḷ l̤ e ai o au
k kh g gh ṅ
c ch j jh ñ
ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh ṇ
t th d dh n
p ph b bh m
y r l v ś ṣ s h ḻ ṁ m̐
visarga ḥ
jihvāmūlīya ẖ
upadhmānīya ḫ

For the short e and o, the Committee also recommended the use of ĕ and ŏ, respectively.

Inventory and conventions[edit | edit source]

The IAST letters are listed with their Devanagari equivalents and phonetic values in IPA, valid for Sanskrit, Hindi and other modern languages that use Devanagari script, but some phonological changes have occurred:

Vowels and codas
Devanāgarī Transcription IPA for Sanskrit pronunciation Category
अ a A ɐ monophthongs
आ ā Ā aː
इ i I ɪ
ई ī Ī iː
उ u U ʊ
ऊ ū Ū uː
ऋ ṛ Ṛ r̩ syllabic liquids
ॠ ṝ Ṝ r̩ː
ऌ ḷ Ḷ l̩
ॡ ḹ Ḹ l̩ː
ए e E e diphthongs
ऐ ai Ai ɐi̯
ओ o O o
औ au Au ɐu̯
◌̣ ṃ Ṃ anusvara
ः ḥ Ḥ visarga
ँ m̐ M̐ chandrabindu[4]
ऽ ' avagraha
Consonants
velars palatals retroflexes dentals labials Category
क
k  K 		च
c  C 		ट
ṭ  Ṭ 		त
t  T 		प
p  P 		tenuis stops
ख
kh  Kh 		छ
ch  Ch 		ठ
ṭh  Ṭh 		थ
th  Th 		फ
ph  Ph 		aspirated stops
ग
g  G 		ज
j  J 		ड
ḍ  Ḍ 		द
d  D 		ब
b  B 		voiced stops
घ
gh  Gh 		झ
jh  Jh 		ढ
ḍh  Ḍh 		ध
dh  Dh 		भ
bh  Bh 		breathy-voiced stops
ङ
ṅ  Ṅ 		ञ
ñ  Ñ 		ण
ṇ  Ṇ 		न
n  N 		म
m  M 		nasal stops
ह
h  H* 		य
y  Y 		र
r  R 		ल
l  L 		व
v  V 		approximants
  श
ś  Ś 		ष
ṣ  Ṣ 		स
s  S 		  sibilants
    ळ
ḻ  Ḻ 		    approximants (Vedic)[2]

* H is actually glottal, not velar.

Some letters are modified with diacritics: Long vowels are marked with an overline (often called a macron). Vocalic (syllabic) consonants, retroflexes and ṣ (/ʂ/ in Sanskrit, [ʃ] in Hindi) have an underdot. One letter has an overdot: ṅ (/ŋ/). One has an acute accent: ś (/ɕ in Sanskrit, /ʃ/ in Hindi). One letter has a line below: ḻ (/ɭ/) (the intervocalic allophone of ḍ in Vedic Sanskrit).

Unlike ASCII-only romanisations such as ITRANS or Harvard-Kyoto, the diacritics used for IAST allow capitalisation of proper names. The capital variants of letters never occurring word-initially (Ṃ Ṇ Ṅ Ñ Ṝ Ḹ) are useful only when writing in all-caps and in Pāṇini contexts for which the convention is to typeset the IT sounds as capital letters.

Comparison with ISO 15919[edit | edit source]

For the most part, IAST is a subset of ISO 15919 that merges the retroflex (underdotted) liquids with the vocalic ones (ringed below) and the short close-mid vowels with the long ones. The following seven exceptions are from the ISO standard accommodating an extended repertoire of symbols to allow transliteration of Devanāgarī and other Indic scripts as used for languages other than Sanskrit.

Devanāgarī IAST ISO 15919 Comment
ए / े e ē (e) ISO e generally represents short ऎ / ॆ, but optionally represents long ए / े in the Devanagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, and Odia scripts.
ओ / ो o ō (o) ISO o generally represents short ऒ / ॆ, but optionally represents long ओ / ो in the Devanagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, and Odia scripts.
ऎ / ॆ ĕ e ISO e generally represents short ऎ / ॆ, but optionally represents long ए / े in the Devanagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, and Odia scripts. The IAST ĕ represents short ऎ / ॆ.
ऒ / ॆ ŏ o ISO o generally represents short ऒ / ॆ, but optionally represents long ओ / ो in the Devanagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, and Odia scripts. The IAST ŏ represents short ऒ / ॆ.
ऋ / ृ ṛ r̥ ISO ṛ represents ड़ /ɽ/.
ॠ / ॄ ṝ r̥̄ for consistency with r̥.
ऌ / ॢ ḷ l̥ ISO ḷ represents ळ Error using {{IPA symbol}}: "𝼈" not found in list.
ॡ / ॣ ḹ l̥̄ for consistency with l̥.
ळ ḻ ḷ Used in Vedic Sanskrit only and not found in the Classical variant

Computer input by alternative keyboard layout[edit | edit source]

The most convenient method of inputting romanized Sanskrit is by setting up an alternative keyboard layout. This allows one to hold a modifier key to type letters with diacritical marks. For example, alt+a = ā. How this is set up varies by operating system and user-preference.

Linux/Unix and BSD desktop environment users can select custom keyboard layouts and switch them by clicking a flag icon in the menu bar. Keyboards for typing Sanskrit, Hindi and many other Indian languages, in original script and in transliteration, are delivered as standard features in Ubuntu, Linux Mint and similar Linux systems. For others, such keyboards can be installed without much difficulty.

macOS users can use the pre-installed US International keyboard, or install Toshiya Unebe's Easy Unicode keyboard layout.

Microsoft Windows users can change keyboard layouts and set up additional custom keyboard mappings for IAST. This Pali keyboard installer[5] made by Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator (MSKLC) supports IAST (works on Microsoft Windows up to at least version 10, can use Alt button on the right side of the keyboard instead of Ctrl+Alt combination).

Android keyboard called "Sanskrit (Latin)" offers IAST and ISO characters - these can be entered by holding the key for the corresponding letters without diacritic: e.g. holding "s" calls a selection between ś and ṣ.

Computer input by selection from a screen[edit | edit source]

Further information: Unicode input § Selection from a screen
Applet for character selection

Many systems provide a way to select Unicode characters visually. ISO/IEC 14755 refers to this as a screen-selection entry method.

Microsoft Windows has provided a Unicode version of the Character Map program (find it by hitting ⊞ Win+R then type charmap then hit ↵ Enter) since version NT 4.0 – appearing in the consumer edition since XP. This is limited to characters in the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP). Characters are searchable by Unicode character name, and the table can be limited to a particular code block. More advanced third-party tools of the same type are also available (a notable freeware example is BabelMap).

macOS provides a "character palette" with much the same functionality, along with searching by related characters, glyph tables in a font, etc. It can be enabled in the input menu in the menu bar under System Preferences → International → Input Menu (or System Preferences → Language and Text → Input Sources) or can be viewed under Edit → Emoji & Symbols in many programs.

Equivalent tools – such as gucharmap (GNOME) or kcharselect (KDE) – exist on most Linux desktop environments.

Users of SCIM on Linux based platforms can also have the opportunity to install and use the sa-itrans-iast input handler which provides complete support for the ISO 15919 standard for the romanization of Indic languages as part of the m17n library.

Or user can use some Unicode characters in Latin-1 Supplement, Latin Extended-A, Latin Extended Additional and Combining Diarcritical Marks block to write IAST.

Font support[edit | edit source]

Only certain fonts support all the Latin Unicode characters essential for the transliteration of Indic scripts according to the IAST and ISO 15919 standards.

For example, the commercially-licensed Arial, Tahoma and Times New Roman font packages that come with Microsoft Office 2007 and later versions also support precomposed Unicode characters like ī.

Junicode, Libertinus, the TeX Gyre family and Google's Noto font are just a few high-quality free fonts that include pre-composed IAST characters.

Many other text fonts commonly used for book production may be lacking in support for one or more characters from this block. Accordingly, many academics working in the area of Sanskrit studies make use of free OpenType fonts such as FreeSerif or Gentium, both of which have complete support for the full repertoire of conjoined diacritics in the IAST character set. Released under the GNU FreeFont or SIL Open Font License, respectively, such fonts may be freely shared and do not require the person reading or editing a document to purchase proprietary software to make use of its associated fonts.

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Monier-Williams, Monier (1899). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (PDF). Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. xxx.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Tenth International Congress of Orientalists, Held at Geneva". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland: 879–892. 1895. JSTOR 25207765.
  3. ↑ "Transliteration Report". 1896.
  4. ↑ See, now, the Talk page, where m̐ is recommended.
  5. ↑ "Pali Keyboard". fsnow.com. Retrieved 21 October 2019.

External links[edit | edit source]

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