Ṭha (Indic)

Comparison of Ṭha in different scripts
Notes

Ṭha (also romanized as Ttha) is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ṭha is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . As with the other cerebral consonants, ṭha is not found in most scripts for Tai, Sino-Tibetan, and other non-Indic languages, except for a few scripts, which retain these letters for transcribing Sanskrit religious terms.

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 values of the different forms of ठ are:

• ठ [ʈʰə] = 12 (१२)
• ठि [ʈʰɪ] = 1,200 (१२००)
• ठु [ʈʰʊ] = 120,000 (१ २० ०००)
• ठृ [ʈʰri] = 12,000,000 (१ २० ०० ०००)
• ठॢ [ʈʰlə] = 1,200,000,000 (१ २० ०० ०० ०००)
• ठे [ʈʰe] = 12Template:E (१२×१०^१०)
• ठै [ʈʰɛː] = 12Template:E (१२×१०^१२)
• ठो [ʈʰoː] = 12Template:E (१२×१०^१४)
• ठौ [ʈʰɔː] = 12Template:E (१२×१०^१६)

Historic Ttha

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Ttha as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, and did not vary much throughout the centuries. The Tocharian Ttha did not have an alterante Fremdzeichen form. The third form of ttha, in Kharoshthi () was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.

Brahmi Ttha

The Brahmi letter , Ttha, is probably derived from the altered Aramaic Teth , and is thus related to the modern Greek Theta. Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ttha 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 Ttha historic forms

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

Tocharian Ttha

The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi , but does not have an alternate Fremdzeichen form.

Tocharian Ttha with vowel marks

Ttha	Tthā	Tthi	Tthī	Tthu	Tthū	Tthr	Tthr̄	Tthe	Tthai	Ttho	Tthau	Tthä

Kharoṣṭhī Ttha

The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the altered Aramaic Taw , and is thus related to T and Tau.

Devanagari Ṭha

Main article: Devanagari ttha

Template:Devanagari abugida sidebar Ṭha (ठ) is a consonant 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 ઠ, and the Modi letter 𑘙.

Devanagari-using Languages

In all languages, ठ is pronounced as [ʈʰə] or [ʈʰ] when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

Devanagari ठ with vowel marks

Ṭha	Ṭhā	Ṭhi	Ṭhī	Ṭhu	Ṭhū	Ṭhr	Ṭhr̄	Ṭhl	Ṭhl̄	Ṭhe	Ṭhai	Ṭho	Ṭhau	Ṭh
ठ	ठा	ठि	ठी	ठु	ठू	ठृ	ठॄ	ठॢ	ठॣ	ठे	ठै	ठो	ठौ	ठ्

Conjuncts with ठ

Devanagari exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. In modern Devanagari texts, most conjuncts are formed by reducing the letter shape to fit tightly to the following letter, usually by dropping a character's vertical stem, sometimes referred to as a "half form". Some conjunct clusters are always represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters. Vertically stacked conjuncts are ubiquitous in older texts, while only a few are still used routinely in modern Devanagari texts. Lacking a vertical stem to drop for making a half form, Ṭha either forms a stacked conjunct/ligature, or uses its full form with Virama. The use of ligatures and vertical conjuncts may vary across languages using the Devanagari script, with Marathi in particular avoiding their use where other languages would use them.

Ligature conjuncts of ठ

True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Devanagari are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra. Nepali and Marathi texts use the "eyelash" Ra half form for an initial "R" instead of repha.

• Repha र্ (r) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature rṭʰa:

• Eyelash र্ (r) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature rṭʰa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature ṭʰra:

• प্ (p) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature pṭʰa:

• ष্ (ṣ) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature ṣṭʰa:

• ष্ (ṣ) + ठ্ (ṭʰ) + य (ya) gives the ligature ṣṭʰya:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + य (ya) gives the ligature ṭʰya:

Stacked conjuncts of ठ

Vertically stacked ligatures are the most common conjunct forms found in Devanagari text. Although the constituent characters may need to be stretched and moved slightly in order to stack neatly, stacked conjuncts can be broken down into recognizable base letters, or a letter and an otherwise standard ligature.

• छ্ (cʰ) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature cʰṭʰa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature ḍʱṭʰa:

• ड্ (ḍ) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature ḍṭʰa:

• द্ (d) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature dṭʰa:

• ङ্ (ŋ) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature ŋṭʰa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ब (ba) gives the ligature ṭʰba:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + भ (bʰa) gives the ligature ṭʰbʰa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + च (ca) gives the ligature ṭʰca:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature ṭʰcʰa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + द (da) gives the ligature ṭʰda:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ड (ḍa) gives the ligature ṭʰḍa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature ṭʰḍʱa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature ṭʰdʱa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ग (ga) gives the ligature ṭʰga:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + घ (ɡʱa) gives the ligature ṭʰɡʱa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ह (ha) gives the ligature ṭʰha:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ṭʰja:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + झ (jʰa) gives the ligature ṭʰjʰa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ṭʰjña:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + क (ka) gives the ligature ṭʰka:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ख (kʰa) gives the ligature ṭʰkʰa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature ṭʰkṣa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ल (la) gives the ligature ṭʰla:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ळ (ḷa) gives the ligature ṭʰḷa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + म (ma) gives the ligature ṭʰma:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + न (na) gives the ligature ṭʰna:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ङ (ŋa) gives the ligature ṭʰŋa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ण (ṇa) gives the ligature ṭʰṇa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ṭʰña:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + प (pa) gives the ligature ṭʰpa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + फ (pʰa) gives the ligature ṭʰpʰa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + स (sa) gives the ligature ṭʰsa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + श (ʃa) gives the ligature ṭʰʃa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature ṭʰṣa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + त (ta) gives the ligature ṭʰta:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + थ (tʰa) gives the ligature ṭʰtʰa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ट (ṭa) gives the ligature ṭʰṭa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature ṭʰṭʰa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + व (va) gives the ligature ṭʰva:

• ट্ (ṭ) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature ṭṭʰa:

Bengali Ttha

The Bengali script ঠ is derived from the Siddhaṃ , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, ठ. The inherent vowel of Bengali consonant letters is /ɔ/, so the bare letter ঠ will sometimes be transliterated as "ttho" instead of "ttha". Adding okar, the "o" vowel mark, gives a reading of /t̳ʰo/.

Like all Indic consonants, ঠ can be modified by marks to indicate another (or no) vowel than its inherent "a".

Bengali ঠ with vowel marks

ttha	tthā	tthi	tthī	tthu	tthū	tthr	tthr̄	tthe	tthai	ttho	tthau	tth
ঠ	ঠা	ঠি	ঠী	ঠু	ঠূ	ঠৃ	ঠৄ	ঠে	ঠৈ	ঠো	ঠৌ	ঠ্

ঠ in Bengali-using languages

ঠ is used as a basic consonant character in all of the major Bengali script orthographies, including Bengali and Assamese.

Conjuncts with ঠ

Bengali ঠ exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. Conjunct ligatures with ঠ are all based on the ঠ glyph, with little to no alteration aside from the addition of marks suggesting the conjoining letter.

• ণ্ (ṇ) + ঠ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature ṇṭʰa:

• ণ্ (ṇ) + ঠ্ (ṭʰ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ṇṭʰya, with the ya phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + ঠ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature nṭʰa:

• ষ্ (ṣ) + ঠ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature ṣṭʰa:

• ষ্ (ṣ) + ঠ্ (ṭʰ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ṣṭʰya, with the ya phala suffix:

Gujarati Ṭha

Gujarati Ṭha.

Ṭha (ઠ) is the twelfth consonant of the Gujarati abugida. It is derived from the Devanagari Ṭha with the top bar (shiro rekha) removed, and ultimately the Brahmi letter .

Gujarati-using Languages

The Gujarati script is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. In both languages, ઠ is pronounced as [ʈʰə] or [ʈʰ] when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Gujarati uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

Ṭha	Ṭhā	Ṭhi	Ṭhī	Ṭhu	Ṭhū	Ṭhr	Ṭhl	Ṭhr̄	Ṭhl̄	Ṭhĕ	Ṭhe	Ṭhai	Ṭhŏ	Ṭho	Ṭhau	Ṭh
Gujarati Ṭha syllables, with vowel marks in red.

Conjuncts with ઠ

Gujarati ઠ exhibits conjunct ligatures, much like its parent Devanagari Script. While most Gujarati conjuncts can only be formed by reducing the letter shape to create a "half form" that fits tightly to following letter, Ṭha does not have a half form. A few conjunct clusters can be represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters, and vertically stacked conjuncts can also be found in Gujarati, although much less commonly than in Devanagari. Lacking a half form, Ṭha will normally use an explicit virama when forming conjuncts without a true ligature.

True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Gujarati are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra.

• ર્ (r) + ઠ (ʈʰa) gives the ligature RṬha:

• ઠ્ (ʈʰ) + ર (ra) gives the ligature ṬhRa:

• ઠ્ (ʈʰ) + ઠ (ʈʰa) gives the ligature ṬhṬha:

• ટ્ (ʈ) + ઠ (ʈʰa) gives the ligature ṬṬha:

• ષ્ (ʂ) + ઠ (ʈʰa) gives the ligature ṢṬha:

Javanese Ttha

Main article: Ttha (Javanese)

Telugu Ṭha

Telugu independent and subjoined Ṭha.

Ṭha (ఠ) is a consonant of the Telugu abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter . It is closely related to the Kannada letter ಠ. Most Telugu consonants contain a v-shaped headstroke that is related to the horizontal headline found in other Indic scripts, although headstrokes do not connect adjacent letters in Telugu. The headstroke is normally lost when adding vowel matras.

Telugu conjuncts are created by reducing trailing letters to a subjoined form that appears below the initial consonant of the conjunct. Many subjoined forms are created by dropping their headline, with many extending the end of the stroke of the main letter body to form an extended tail reaching up to the right of the preceding consonant. This subjoining of trailing letters to create conjuncts is in contrast to the leading half forms of Devanagari and Bengali letters. Ligature conjuncts are not a feature in Telugu, with the only non-standard construction being an alternate subjoined form of Ṣa (borrowed from Kannada) in the KṢa conjunct.

Malayalam Ṭha

Malayalam letter Ṭha

Ṭha (ഠ) is a consonant of the Malayalam abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Grantha letter Ttha. Like in other Indic scripts, Malayalam consonants have the inherent vowel "a", and take one of several modifying vowel signs to represent syllables with another vowel or no vowel at all.

Malayalam Ttha matras: Ttha, Tthā, Tthi, Tthī, Tthu, Tthū, Tthr̥, Tthr̥̄, Tthl̥, Tthl̥̄, Tthe, Tthē, Tthai, Ttho, Tthō, Tthau, and Tth.

Conjuncts of ഠ

As is common in Indic scripts, Malayalam joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. There are several ways in which conjuncts are formed in Malayalam texts: using a post-base form of a trailing consonant placed under the initial consonant of a conjunct, a combined ligature of two or more consonants joined together, a conjoining form that appears as a combining mark on the rest of the conjunct, the use of an explicit candrakkala mark to suppress the inherent "a" vowel, or a special consonant form called a "chillu" letter, representing a bare consonant without the inherent "a" vowel. Texts written with the modern reformed Malayalam orthography, put̪iya lipi, may favor more regular conjunct forms than older texts in paḻaya lipi, due to changes undertaken in the 1970s by the Government of Kerala.

• ണ് (ṇ) + ഠ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature ṇṭʰa:

• ഷ് (ṣ) + ഠ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature ṣṭʰa:

Odia Ṭha

Odia independent and subjoined letter Ṭha.

Ṭha (ଠ) is a consonant of the Odia abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Siddhaṃ letter Ttha. Like in other Indic scripts, Odia consonants have the inherent vowel "a", and take one of several modifying vowel signs to represent syllables with another vowel or no vowel at all.

Odia Ttha with vowel matras

Ttha	Tthā	Tthi	Tthī	Tthu	Tthū	Tthr̥	Tthr̥̄	Tthl̥	Tthl̥̄	Tthe	Tthai	Ttho	Tthau	Tth
ଠ	ଠା	ଠି	ଠୀ	ଠୁ	ଠୂ	ଠୃ	ଠୄ	ଠୢ	ଠୣ	ଠେ	ଠୈ	ଠୋ	ଠୌ	ଠ୍

As is common in Indic scripts, Odia joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. The most common conjunct formation is achieved by using a small subjoined form of trailing consonants. Most consonants' subjoined forms are identical to the full form, just reduced in size, although a few drop the curved headline or have a subjoined form not directly related to the full form of the consonant. The second type of conjunct formation is through pure ligatures, where the constituent consonants are written together in a single graphic form. ଠ generates conjuncts only by subjoining and does not form ligatures.

References

^note Conjuncts are identified by IAST transliteration, except aspirated consonants are indicated with a superscript "h" to distinguish from an unaspirated cononant + Ha, and the use of the IPA "ŋ" and "ʃ" instead of the less dinstinctive "ṅ" and "ś".