Ḷ (Indic)

or Vocalic L is a vowel symbol of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ḷ is derived from the Brahmi letter . As an Indic vowel, Ḷ comes in two normally distinct forms: 1) as an independent letter, and 2) as a sign for modifying a base consonant. Bare consonants without a modifying vowel sign have the inherent "A" vowel.

Devanagari Ashoka Brahmi Tibetan Bengali Tamil
 /
090C / 0962
 /
1100D / 11040

0F78
 /
098C / 09E2
-
--
Gurmukhi Thai Baybayin Malayalam Sinhala
-
--
-
--
-
--
 /
0D0C / 0D62
 /
0D8F / 0DDF
Ancient scripts
Ashoka
Brahmi
Kushana
Brahmi
Gupta
Brahmi
Tocharian
 /
1100D / 11040
𑀍 / 𑁀
1100D / 11040
𑀍 / 𑁀
1100D / 11040
-
--
Kharoṣṭhī Siddhaṃ Sharada Grantha
-
--

11588
𑆋 / 𑆺
1118B / 111BA
𑌌 / 𑍢
1130C / 11362
Bangla and Tibetan scripts
Ashoka Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Tibetan Bengali
 /
1100D / 11040
𑀍 / 𑁀
1100D / 11040

0F78
 /
098C / 09E2
'Phags-pa Oriya Limbu Lepcha Marchen
-
--
 /
0B0C / 0B62
-
--
-
--
-
--
Siddhaṃ Pracalit Tirhuta Zanabazar Square

11588
𑐈 / 𑐼
11408 / 1143C
𑒉 / 𑒷
11489 / 114B7
-
--
Note: Korean Hangul is an alphabet, not an Indic abugida, but
appears to ultimately have some derivation from 'Phags-pa.
Sharada-based scripts
Sharada Ashoka Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Takri Dogra
𑆋 / 𑆺
1118B / 111BA
 /
1100D / 11040
𑀍 / 𑁀
1100D / 11040
-
--
-
--
Gurmukhi Khudawadi Mahajani Khojki Multani
-
--
-
--
-
--
-
--
-
--
Nagaris and other Gupta-based scripts
Ashoka Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Devanagari
 /
1100D / 11040
𑀍 / 𑁀
1100D / 11040
 /
090C / 0962
Gujarati Kaithi Syloti Nagari Modi
 /
0A8C / 0AE2
-
--
-
--
𑘈 / 𑘷
11608 / 11637
Nandinagari Gunjala Gondi Soyombo Bhaiksuki
-
--
𑩚
11A5A
-
--
𑰈 / 𑰶
11C08 / 11C36
Kawi scripts
Grantha Baybayin Tagbanwa Hanunó'o Buhid
𑌌 / 𑍢
1130C / 11362
-
--
-
--
-
--
-
--
Balinese Javanese Batak Lontara Rejang
 /
1B0D / 1B3C

A98A
-
--
-
--
-
--
Ashoka Brahmi Sundanese Makasar Chakma
 /
1100D / 11040

1BBC
-
--
-
--
Tai and Khmer scripts
Ashoka Brahmi Grantha Khmer Lao
 /
1100D / 11040
𑌌 / 𑍢
1130C / 11362
-
--
-
--
Thai Tai Tham Tai Viet Tai Le New Tai Lü
-
--
-
--
-
--
-
--
-
--
Other Grantha-based scripts
Ashoka Brahmi Grantha Ahom Dives Akuru
 /
1100D / 11040
𑌌 / 𑍢
1130C / 11362
-
--
-
--
Malayalam Saurashtra Cham Burmese Kayah Li
 /
0D0C / 0D62
 /
A88A / A8BC
-
--
 /
1054 / 1058
-
--
Other Brahmic scripts
Ashoka Brahmi Masaram Gondi Meetei Mayek
 / 𑁀
1100D / 11040
-
--
-
--
Tamil Kannada Sinhala Telugu
-
--
 /
0D8F / 0CE2
 /
0C0C / 0DDF
 /
0C8C / 0C62
Canadian Aboriginal syllabics do not have a letter derived from Ḷ.
Phonemic representation: /l̩/
IAST transliteration: ḷ Ḷ
ISCII code point: (0)

Āryabhaṭa numeration

Aryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The ॢ sign was used to modify a consonant's value ×108, but the vowel letter ऌ did not have an inherent value by itself.[1]

Historic Ḷ

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Ḷ as found in Brahmi was missing in earlier geometric styles, but emerged as a vowel mark during more flowing styles of Brahmi, such as the Kushana and Gupta. In both Tocharian and Kharoṣṭhī, Ḷ is not currently known from any source materials.

Brahmi Ḷ

The Brahmi letter Ḷ is only found as a vowel mark, and is derived from the consonant La, and therefore is probably from the Aramaic Lamed . This would make it related to the modern Latin L and Greek Lambda.[2] Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ḷ 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, but Ḷ must be back-formed from later forms to match the reference geometric writing style, and the reference image for the independent letter is just the vowel mark enlarged to the size of a full letter.

Devanagari Ḷ


Devanagari independent Ḷ and Ḷ vowel sign.

() is a vowel of the Devanagari abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via Gupta. Letters that derive from it are the Gujarati letter , and the Modi letter 𑘈.

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, ऌ is pronounced as [ḷ]. 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 Ḷ

Bengali independent Ḷ and Ḷ vowel sign.

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

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, ঌ is pronounced as [ḷ]. 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 Ḷ

Gujarati independent Ḷ and Ḷ vowel sign.

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

Gujarati-using Languages

The Gujarati script is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. In both languages, ઌ is pronounced as [ḷ]. 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.

Telugu Ḷ

Telugu independent vowel and vowel sign Ḷ.

() is a vowel of the Telugu abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter . It is closely related to the Kannada letter . 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. Ḷ is a non-attaching vowel sign, and does not alter the underlying consonant or contextually shape itself in any way.

Telugu Ḷ vowel sign on క, ఖ, గ, ఘ & ఙ: Kḷ, Khḷ, Gḷ, Ghḷ and Ngḷ.

Malayalam Ḷ

Malayalam independent vowel and vowel sign Ḷ.

() is a vowel of the Malayalam abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Grantha letter l. 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 Ḷ

Odia independent vowel and vowel sign Ḷ.

() is a vowel of the Odia abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Siddhaṃ letter l. 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.

References

  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.
  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


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.