This post is going to be a detailed one as I would be studying the anatomy, arrangement and various additional elements of the script.
Beginning with the major consonants, monothongs and diphthongs of the script. What are mono- and dipthongs? They are vowel sounds based on the number of sounds they articulate.
Devanagiri is an Abugida script - Abugida also known as an alphasyllabary or alphasyllabic, is a writing system that's a cross between alphabetic (Latin) and syllabic systems (Kanji).
Alphabetic: Uses distinct characters, or letters, for consonants and vowels
Syllabic: Uses symbols, or syllabograms, to represent syllables or moras
Alpha-syllabic: Uses characters and symbols (diacritic marks) to represent syllables, phonemes, or sometimes just consonants itself.
Devanagari is written as it is spoken. Unlike alphabetic scripts, it has a single case and no concept of silent letters. Every character in Devanagari carries an inherent vowel ‘ə’ (the Schwa vowel). The script is also characterized by a distinct horizontal stroke on top, called the Shirorekha. It’s structure is meticulously designed, with letters arranged based on articulation points, and it includes a range of diacritic marks and conjunct letter formations that enhance its phonetic richness.
Anatomy of the type:
Devanagiri characters have a slightly different anatomical structure than Latin alphabets. Being an alpha-syllabic script, it allows for unique combinations with vowels and other consonants and it happens in a very scientific and established way. Let’s look into the anatomical structure of the script, figure 1, the letter ‘kə’:
The main character sits between the Head line and Base line, the x-height.
The horizontal stroke on head line, called Shirorekha, is a characteristic trait of the script and every character/word hangs from it. Traditionally written using a reed bamboo pen at a 45 degree angle, hence the varying stroke widths.
Upper mean and Lower mean lines act as mark points and all the characters and their strokes touch a minimum of one of these lines.
Lower matra line is the lower most point in the anatomy that marks the placement for any diacritic marks that need to be added to the main consonant.
Similarly there an diacritic marks that go above the head line and are marked by the ‘Matra’ line.
Some special diacritic marks go slightly above the matra line and they are denoted by the ‘Rakar’ line. The next page shows a few examples of diacritic marks in relation to this anatomical structure.
Arrangement of letters:
The arrangement of letters in Devanagiri is very scientific. Here’s how they are arranged based on their manner of articulation-
Ka-varga or Guttural sounds - The first line of letters are spoken at the back of the mouth with least vibration of vocal cords.
Ca-varga or Palatal sounds - The second line of letters are spoken at the middle of the mouth cavity.
Ṭa-varga or Retroflex - The third line of letters is spoken by curling the tongue back and hitting the back of the upper jaw.
Ta-varga or Dental - The fourth line is spoken while the tongue hits the back of the upper teeth.
Pa-varga or Labial - The last line is spoken just using lips.
This shows how the alphabets move from the back of the mouth to the front in the arrangement. In addition to the vargas, there are several non-varga consonants that do not fit into the above categories but are still part of the script.
This structured system is attributed to the fact that South Asian languages are written the same way they are spoken.
Diacritic Marks
Figure are the Diacritic marks used in the script. These diacritic marks denote added sounds to the given consonant. Each vowel and some consonants can be depicted as diacritics with relation to the consonant. This is a unique Alpha-syllabic trait that is seen in South Asian Languages that allows for characters to combine and form unique sounds enriching its phonetic heritage.
(Add scans from my diary)
Based on the above research, here are some possible directions I am able to think of:
Study the evolution of characters.
Original compounding and writing styles for the script.
What is Kutakshar?
Read more about Siddham Script and Kharoshti.
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