Ā (Indic)

Comparison of Ā in different scripts
Notes

Ā is a vowel of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Aa is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . As an Indic vowel, "Ā" comes in two normally distinct forms: 1) as an independent letter, and 2) as a vowel sign for modifying a base consonant. Bare consonants without a modifying vowel sign have the inherent short "A" vowel.

Āryabhaṭa numeration

Further information: Āryabhaṭa numeration

Aryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The "Ā" modifier could be used to indicate a consonant's base value, although the unmodified consonant had this value as well. The independent vowel letter आ was not used to indicate any numeric value in the Aryabhata system.

Historic Ā

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Aa as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta . Like all Brahmic scripts, Tocharian Ā has an accompanying vowel mark for modifying a base consonant. In Kharoṣṭhī, the only independent vowel letter is for the inherent A. All other independent vowels, including Ā are indicated with vowel marks added to the letter A.

Brahmi Ā

The Brahmi letter Ā , is probably derived from the Aramaic Alef , and is thus related to the modern Latin A and Greek Alpha. Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Aa can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period. As the earliest and most geometric style of Brahmi, the letters found on the Edicts of Ashoka and other records from around that time are normally the reference form for Brahmi letters, with vowel marks not attested until later forms of Brahmi back-formed to match the geometric writing style.

Brahmi Ā historic forms

Ashoka (3rd-1st c. BCE)	Girnar (~150 BCE)	Kushana (~150-250 CE)	Gujarat (~250 CE)	Gupta (~350 CE)

Tocharian Ā

The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi . Unlike some of the consonants, Tocharian vowels do not have a Fremdzeichen form.

Tocharian consonants with Ā vowel marks

Kaa	Khaa	Gaa	Ghaa	Caa	Chaa	Jaa	Jhaa	Nyaa	Ṭaa	Ṭhaa	Ḍaa	Ḍhaa	Ṇaa
Taa	Thaa	Daa	Dhaa	Naa	Paa	Phaa	Baa	Bhaa	Maa	Yaa	Raa	Laa	Vaa
Śaa	Ṣaa	Saa	Haa

Kharoṣṭhī Ā

The Kharoṣṭhī letter Ā is indicated with the vowel length mark . As an independent vowel, Ā is indicated by adding this vowel mark to the independent vowel letter A .

Devanagari Ā

Main article: Devanagari aa

Devanagari independent Ā and Ā vowel sign.

Ā (आ) is a vowel of the Devanagari abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , after having gone through the Gupta letter . Letters that derive from it are the Gujarati letter આ, and the Modi letter 𑘁.

Devanagari Using Languages

The Devanagari script is used to write the Hindi language, Sanskrit and the majority of Indic languages. In most of these languages, आ is pronounced as [ā]. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari vowels come in two forms: an independent vowel form for syllables that begin with a vowel sound, and a vowel sign attached to base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel.

Bengali Ā

Main article: aa (Bengali)

Bengali independent Ā and Ā vowel sign.

Ā (আ) is a vowel of the Bengali abugida. It is derived from the Siddhaṃ letter , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, आ.

Bengali Script Using Languages

The Bengali script is used to write several languages of eastern India, notably the Bengali language and Assamese. In most languages, আ is pronounced as [ā]. Like all Indic scripts, Bengali vowels come in two forms: an independent vowel form for syllables that begin with a vowel sound, and a vowel sign attached to base consonant to override the inherent /ɔ/ vowel.

Gujarati Ā

Gujarati independent Ā and Ā vowel sign.

Ā (આ) is a vowel of the Gujarati abugida. It is derived from the Devanagari Ā , and ultimately the Brahmi letter .

Gujarati-using Languages

The Gujarati script is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. In both languages, આ is pronounced as [ā]. Like all Indic scripts, Gujarati vowels come in two forms: an independent vowel form for syllables that begin with a vowel sound, and a vowel sign attached to base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel.

Javanese Ā

Main article: Aa (Javanese)

Telugu Ā

Telugu independent vowel and vowel sign Ā.

Ā (ఆ) is a vowel of the Telugu abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter . It is closely related to the Kannada letter ಆ. Like in other Indic scripts, Telugu vowels have two forms: and independent letter for word and syllable-initial vowel sounds, and a vowel sign for changing the inherent "a" of Telugu consonant letters. Vowel signs in Telugu can interact with a base consonant in one of three ways: 1) the vowel sign touches or sits adjacent to the base consonant without modifying the shape of either 2) the vowel sign sits directly above the consonant, replacing its v-shaped headline, 3) the vowel sign and consonant interact, forming a ligature.

Telugu Hā, showing a consonant+vowel ligature

Telugu Ā vowel sign on క, ఖ, గ, ఘ & ఙ: Kā, Khā, Gā, Ghā and Ngā. Note that how the vowel sign interacts with the base consonant is dependent on the location of the headline, the absence of a headline, and the presence of a tail to attach to.

Malayalam Ā

Malayalam independent vowel and vowel sign Ā.

Ā (ആ) is a vowel of the Malayalam abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Grantha letter aa. Like in other Indic scripts, Malayalam vowels have two forms: an independent letter for word and syllable-initial vowel sounds, and a vowel sign for changing the inherent "a" of consonant letters. Vowel signs in Malayalam usually sit adjacent to its base consonant - below, to the left, right, or both left and right, but are always pronounced after the consonant sound.

Odia Ā

Odia independent vowel and vowel sign Ā.

Ā (ଆ) is a vowel of the Odia abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Siddhaṃ letter aa. Like in other Indic scripts, Odia vowels have two forms: an independent letter for word and syllable-initial vowel sounds, and a vowel sign for changing the inherent "a" of consonant letters. Vowel signs in Odia usually sit adjacent to its base consonant - below, to the left, right, or both left and right, but are always pronounced after the consonant sound. No base consonants are altered in form when adding a vowel sign, and there are no consonant+vowel ligatures in Odia.