Śa (Indic)

Ancient scripts
Bangla and Tibetan scripts
	Note: Korean Hangul is an alphabet, not an Indic abugida, but; appears to ultimately have some derivation from 'Phags-pa.
Sharada-based scripts
Nagaris and other Gupta-based scripts
Kawi scripts
Tai and Khmer scripts
Other Grantha-based scripts
Other Brahmic scripts
	Canadian Aboriginal syllabics do not have a letter derived from Śa.
Phonemic representation:	/ʃ/
IAST transliteration:	ś Ś
ISCII code point:	D5 (213)

Śa or Sha is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Śa is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

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 श are:[1]

श [ʃə] = 70 (७०)
शि [ʃɪ] = 7,000 (७ ०००)
शु [ʃʊ] = 700,000 (७ ०० ०००)
शृ [ʃri] = 70,000,000 (७ ०० ०० ०००)
शॢ [ʃlə] = 7×10⁹ (७×१०^९)
शे [ʃe] = 7×10¹¹ (७×१०^११)
शै [ʃɛː] = 7×10¹³ (७×१०^१३)
शो [ʃoː] = 7×10¹⁵ (७×१०^१५)
शौ [ʃɔː] = 7×10¹⁷ (७×१०^१७)

Historic Sha

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Sha as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta . The Tocharian Sha had an alterante Fremdzeichen form, . The third form of sha, in Kharoshthi () was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.

Brahmi Sha

The Brahmi letter , Sha, is probably derived from the Aramaic Shin , and is thus related to the modern Latin S and Greek Sigma.[2] Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Sha can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period.[3] 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 Sha historic forms
Ashoka (3rd-1st c. BCE)	Girnar (~150 BCE)	Kushana (~150-250 CE)	Gujarat (~250 CE)	Gupta (~350 CE)
	No sample

Tocharian Sha

The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi , and has an alternate Fremdzeichen form used in conjuncts and as an alternate representation of Shä.

Tocharian Sha with vowel marks
Sha	Shā	Shi	Shī	Shu	Shū	Shr	Shr̄	She	Shai	Sho	Shau	Shä	Fremdzeichen

Kharoṣṭhī Sha

The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the Aramaic Shin , and is thus related to S and Sigma, in addition to the Brahmi Sha.[2]

Devanagari Śa

Śa (श) 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 શ, and the Modi letter 𑘫.

Devanagari-using Languages

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

Devanagari श with vowel marks
Śa	Śā	Śi	Śī	Śu	Śū	Śr	Śr̄	Śl	Śl̄	Śe	Śai	Śo	Śau	Ś
श	शा	शि	शी	शु	शू	शृ	शॄ	शॢ	शॣ	शे	शै	शो	शौ	श्

Conjuncts with श

Half form of Śa.

Half form of Ribbon Śa.

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. Śa is unique in having an alternate form, sometimes called "Ribbon Śa", that appears as both a half form in horizontal and as an element in vertical conjuncts. The use of ligatures and vertical conjuncts may vary across languages using the Devanagari script, with Marathi in particular preferring the use of half forms where texts in other languages would show ligatures and vertical stacks.[4]

Ligature conjuncts of श

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) + श (ʃa) gives us the ligature rʃa: ^note

Eyelash र্ (r) + श (ʃa) gives us the ligature rʃa:

श্ (ʃ) + न (na) gives us the ligature ʃna:

श্ (ʃ) + rakar र (ra) gives us the ligature ʃra:

Stacked conjuncts of श

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) + श (ʃa) gives us the ligature cʰʃa:

ढ্ (ḍʱ) + श (ʃa) gives us the ligature ḍʱʃa:

ड্ (ḍ) + श (ʃa) gives us the ligature ḍʃa:

द্ (d) + श (ʃa) gives us the ligature dʃa:

ज্ (j) + श (ʃa) gives us the ligature jʃa:

ङ্ (ŋ) + श (ʃa) gives us the ligature ŋʃa:

श্ (ʃ) + ब (ba) gives us the ligature ʃba:

श্ (ʃ) + च (ca) gives us the ligature ʃca:

श্ (ʃ) + ज (ja) gives us the ligature ʃja:

श্ (ʃ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ʃjña:

श্ (ʃ) + ल (la) gives us the ligature ʃla:

श্ (ʃ) + ळ (ḷa) gives us the ligature ʃḷa:

श্ (ʃ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ʃña:

श্ (ʃ) + श (ʃa) gives us the ligature ʃʃa:

श্ (ʃ) + व (va) gives us the ligature ʃva:

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

ट্ (ṭ) + श (ʃa) gives us the ligature ṭʃa:

Bengali Sha

The Bengali script শ is derived from the Siddhaṃ , and is marked by the lack of a horizontal head line, unlike the reduced head line of its Devanagari counterpart, श. The inherent vowel of Bengali consonant letters is /ɔ/, so the bare letter শ will sometimes be transliterated as "sho" instead of "sha". Adding okar, the "o" vowel mark, gives a reading of /ʃo/.

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

Bengali শ with vowel marks
sha	shā	shi	shī	shu	shū	shr	shr̄	she	shai	sho	shau	sh
শ	শা	শি	শী	শু	শূ	শৃ	শৄ	শে	শৈ	শো	শৌ	শ্

শ in Bengali-using languages

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

Conjuncts with শ

Bengali শ exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts, with a tendency towards stacked ligatures.[5]

Conjuncts in Ksha ক্ষ

The most important conjunct of শ is the irregular kʃa ligature ক্ + ষ [ʃ] = ক্ষ. This conjunct not only has a special form in all Bengali alphabets, it even functions as an independent letter in the Assamese orthography.

This ক্ষ conjunct forms regular conjuncts with other letters, keeping its distinct form:

ক্ষ (kʃ) + ম (ma) gives us the ligature kʃma:

ক্ষ (kʃ) + ম্ (m) + য (ya) gives us the ligature kʃmya, with the ya phala suffix:

ক্ষ (kʃ) + ন (na) gives us the ligature kʃna:

ক্ষ (kʃ) + ব (va) gives us the ligature kʃva, with the va phala suffix:

ক্ষ (kʃ) + য (ya) gives us the ligature kʃya, with the ya phala suffix:

Other conjuncts of শ

র্ (r) + শ (ʃa) gives us the ligature rʃa, with the repha prefix:

র্ (r) + শ্ (ʃ) + ব (va) gives us the ligature rʃva, with the repha prefix and va phala suffix:

র্ (r) + শ্ (ʃ) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rʃya, with the ya phala suffix:

শ্ (ʃ) + চ (ca) gives us the ligature ʃca:

শ্ (ʃ) + ছ (cʰa) gives us the ligature ʃcʰa:

শ্ (ʃ) + ল (la) gives us the ligature ʃla:

শ্ (ʃ) + ম (ma) gives us the ligature ʃma:

শ্ (ʃ) + ন (na) gives us the ligature ʃna:

শ্ (ʃ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ʃra, with the ra phala suffix:

শ্ (ʃ) + ব (va) gives us the ligature ʃva, with the va phala suffix:

শ্ (ʃ) + য (ya) gives us the ligature ʃya, with the ya phala suffix:

Gujarati Śa

Gujarati Śa.

Śa (શ) is the thirtieth consonant of the Gujarati abugida. It is derived from the Devanagari Śa 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, શ is pronounced as [ʃə] or [ʃ] when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Gujarati uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

Śa	Śā	Śi	Śī	Śu	Śū	Śr	Śl	Śr̄	Śl̄	Śĕ	Śe	Śai	Śŏ	Śo	Śau	Ś

Gujarati Śa syllables, with vowel marks in red.

Conjuncts with શ

Half form of Śa.

Gujarati શ exhibits conjunct ligatures, much like its parent Devanagari Script. Most Gujarati conjuncts can only be 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". 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.

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) + શ (ʃa) gives us the ligature RŚa:

શ્ (ʃ) + ર (ra) gives us the ligature ŚRa:

શ્ (ʃ) + ચ (ca) gives us the ligature ŚCa:

શ્ (ʃ) + ન (na) gives us the ligature ŚNa:

શ્ (ʃ) + લ (la) gives us the ligature ŚLa:

શ્ (ʃ) + વ (va) gives us the ligature ŚVa:

Telugu Śa

Telugu independent and subjoined Śa.

Śa (శ) is a consonant of the Telugu abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter . It is closely related to the Kannada letter ಶ. 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 Śa

Malayalam letter Śa

Śa (ശ) is a consonant of the Malayalam abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Grantha letter Sha. 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 Sha matras: Sha, Shā, Shi, Shī, Shu, Shū, Shr̥, Shr̥̄, Shl̥, Shl̥̄, She, Shē, Shai, Sho, Shō, Shau, and Sh.

Conjuncts of ശ

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.

ശ് (ʃ) + ന (na) gives us the ligature ʃna:

ശ് (ʃ) + മ (ma) gives us the ligature ʃma:

ശ് (ʃ) + ശ (ʃa) gives us the ligature ʃʃa:

Odia Śa

Odia independent and subjoined letter Śa.

Śa (ଶ) is a consonant of the Odia abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Siddhaṃ letter Sha. 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 Sha with vowel matras
Sha	Shā	Shi	Shī	Shu	Shū	Shr̥	Shr̥̄	Shl̥	Shl̥̄	She	Shai	Sho	Shau	Sh
ଶ	ଶା	ଶି	ଶୀ	ଶୁ	ଶୂ	ଶୃ	ଶୄ	ଶୢ	ଶୣ	ଶେ	ଶୈ	ଶୋ	ଶୌ	ଶ୍

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. ଶ generates conjuncts only by subjoining and does not form ligatures, although the subjoined form of Cha used with Sha is irregular:

ଶ୍ (ʃ) + ଛ (cʰa) gives us the ligature ʃcʰa:

References

Ifrah, Georges (2000). The Universal History of Numbers. From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 447–450. ISBN 0-471-39340-1.
Bühler, Georg. "On the Origin of the Indian Brahmi Alphabet". archive.org. Karl J. Trübner. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838
Pall, Peeter. "Microsoft Word - kblhi2" (PDF). Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
"The Bengali Alphabet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-28.

^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".

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[Ifrah-1] Ifrah, Georges (2000). The Universal History of Numbers. From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 447–450. ISBN 0-471-39340-1.

[Buhler-2] Bühler, Georg. "On the Origin of the Indian Brahmi Alphabet". archive.org. Karl J. Trübner. Retrieved 10 June 2020.

[3] Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838

[KNAB-4] Pall, Peeter. "Microsoft Word - kblhi2" (PDF). Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Retrieved 19 June 2020.

[5] "The Bengali Alphabet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-28.

note