Script Basics
- Written left-to-right.
- Each consonant has an inherent vowel /ə/, modified by vowel diacritics or suppressed by the virāma (halant, ्).
- Vowels can appear as independent letters (word-initial or standalone) or as diacritic signs attached to consonants.
Independent Vowels (10 core)
| Glyph | Latin Chain | Phoneme (IPA) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| अ | a | /ə/ | inherent vowel |
| आ | ā | /aː/ | long a |
| इ | i | /ɪ/ | short i |
| ई | ī | /iː/ | long i |
| उ | u | /ʊ/ | short u |
| ऊ | ū | /uː/ | long u |
| ऋ | ṛ | /r̩/ | syllabic r |
| ए | e | /eː/ | long e |
| ऐ | ai | /ɛː/ | diphthong |
| ओ | o | /oː/ | long o |
| औ | au | /ɔː/ | diphthong |
Consonants (Grouped by Articulation)
Velars
| Glyph | Latin Chain | Phoneme | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| क | ka | /k/ | |
| ख | kha | /kʰ/ | aspirated |
| ग | ga | /ɡ/ | |
| घ | gha | /ɡʱ/ | breathy voiced |
| ङ | ṅa | /ŋ/ | velar nasal |
Palatals
| Glyph | Latin Chain | Phoneme | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| च | ca | /t͡ʃ/ | |
| छ | cha | /t͡ʃʰ/ | aspirated |
| ज | ja | /d͡ʒ/ | |
| झ | jha | /d͡ʒʱ/ | breathy voiced |
| ञ | ña | /ɲ/ | palatal nasal |
Retroflex
| ट | ṭa | /ʈ/ |
| ठ | ṭha | /ʈʰ/ | aspirated
| ड | ḍa | /ɖ/ |
| ढ | ḍha | /ɖʱ/ | breathy voiced
| ण | ṇa | /ɳ/ | retroflex nasal
Dentals
| त | ta | /t̪/ |
| थ | tha | /t̪ʰ/ | aspirated
| द | da | /d̪/ |
| ध | dha | /d̪ʱ/ | breathy voiced
| न | na | /n/ |
Labials
| प | pa | /p/ |
| फ | pha | /pʰ/ | aspirated
| ब | ba | /b/ |
| भ | bha | /bʱ/ | breathy voiced
| म | ma | /m/ |
Semi-vowels & Approximants
| य | ya | /j/ |
| र | ra | /r/ |
| ल | la | /l/ |
| व | va/wa | /ʋ/ |
Sibilants & Fricatives
| श | śa | /ʃ/ | palatal
| ष | ṣa | /ʂ/ | retroflex
| स | sa | /s/ | dental
| ह | ha | /ɦ/ | voiced glottal
Diacritic Vowel Signs (Matras)
Attach to consonants to replace inherent vowel /ə/:
| Matra | Latin Chain | Phoneme | Example (क) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ◌ा | ā | /aː/ | का | kā |
| ◌ि | i | /ɪ/ | कि | ki |
| ◌ी | ī | /iː/ | की | kī |
| ◌ु | u | /ʊ/ | कु | ku |
| ◌ू | ū | /uː/ | कू | kū |
| ◌ृ | ṛ | /r̩/ | कृ | kr̩ |
| ◌े | e | /eː/ | के | ke |
| ◌ै | ai | /ɛː/ | कै | kai |
| ◌ो | o | /oː/ | को | ko |
| ◌ौ | au | /ɔː/ | कौ | kau |
Special Signs
- Virāma (्) — removes inherent vowel (क् = /k/)
- Anusvara (ं) — nasalization; place of articulation depends on following consonant
- Visarga (ः) — voiceless glottal fricative after vowel
- Chandrabindu (ँ) — nasalization of vowel
System Integration Notes
- All Devanagari graphemes can be decomposed into base consonant + vowel flag.
- For our lattice, this makes Hindi fully compatible with how we handled Baybayin, Geʽez, and other abugidas.
- Aspirated vs. unaspirated and breathy voiced vs. plain voiced are phonemic — these must be separate phoneme nodes, not just features.
- Nasalization can be a vowel feature flag in the lattice.