Hindi Graphemic Module (HGM v1.0)

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(aka: Literal–Graphemic Module — Hindi / Devanāgarī)

0) Orientation

• Script type: Abugida (alphasyllabary; consonant + inherent vowel /ə/)
• Direction: Left-to-right
• Base: Devanāgarī Unicode block; modern orthography rules for Standard Hindi
• Dialects included: Standard Hindi (Delhi-based), plus markers for common pronunciation shifts in Eastern Hindi (Awadhi/Bhojpuri), Western Hindi (Haryanvi/Braj), and urban Hindustani (Urdu influence)
• Numerals: ० १ २ ३ ४ ५ ६ ७ ८ ९

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1) Vowels (Independent Letters & Dependent Signs)

Latin chain	Indep.	Mātrā	IPA (Std)	Dialectal Notes
a	अ	inherent	/ə/	often dropped (schwa deletion) except dialects with full vowel (e.g., Bhojpuri)
ā	आ	ा	/aː/	stable across dialects
i	इ	ि	/ɪ/
ī	ई	ी	/iː/
u	उ	ु	/ʊ/
ū	ऊ	ू	/uː/
ṛ	ऋ	ृ	/ɾɪ/ or /rɪ/	uncommon outside Sanskritized contexts
e	ए	े	/eː/	merges with /ɛː/ in some dialects
ai	ऐ	ै	/ɛː/	often monophthongized in casual speech
o	ओ	ो	/oː/
au	औ	ौ	/ɔː/	monophthongized to /oː/ in some dialects

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2) Consonants (by Varga / point of articulation)

Velars (ka-varga): क k, ख kh, ग g, घ gh, ङ ṅ
Palatals (ca-varga): च c, छ ch, ज j, झ jh, ञ ñ
Retroflex (ṭa-varga): ट ṭ, ठ ṭh, ड ḍ, ढ ḍh, ण ṇ
Dentals (ta-varga): त t̪, थ t̪h, द d̪, ध d̪h, न n
Labials (pa-varga): प p, फ ph, ब b, भ bh, म m

Semivowels: य y, र r, ल l, व v/ʋ
Sibilants: श ś, ष ṣ, स s
Glottal: ह h

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3) Additional Signs

• Anusvāra (◌ं) → /̃/ nasalization or homorganic nasal before stops
• Candrabindu (◌ँ) → nasalized vowel (higher register)
• Visarga (◌ः) → /h/ release; Sanskritic loans only
• Halant / Virāma (◌्) → cancels inherent vowel (forms conjuncts)
• Avagraha (ऽ) → marks elision in Sanskrit-origin words

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4) Schwa Deletion Rules (Standard Hindi)

• In Standard Hindi, inherent /ə/ is deleted at the end of words and in certain medial positions unless prevented by conjunct formation or explicit vowel marks.
• Dialectal overrides:
  • Bhojpuri/Awadhi: less schwa deletion — closer to Sanskrit phonotactics
  • Haryanvi/Braj: more reduction and vowel centralization
  • Hindustani (Urdu register): vowel quality influenced by Persian/Urdu loans

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5) Conjunct Clusters

• Same virāma + consonant logic as Sanskrit; some clusters simplified in colloquial Hindi:
  • क्ष → /kʂ/ or colloquial /kʰ/
  • ज्ञ → /ɡj/ or /d͡ʒ/ in non-formal registers
  • त्र → /t̪r/

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6) Loan Adaptations

• Persian/Urdu sounds represented via nukta (dot below):
  • क़ q (/q/)
  • ख़ x (/x/)
  • ग़ ġ (/ɣ/)
  • ज़ z (/z/)
  • फ़ f (/f/)
  • ड़ ṛ (/ɽ/)
  • ढ़ ṛh (/ɽʱ/)

Lattice flag: {nukta: true} for these extended consonants.

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7) Latin-chain Mapping Examples

glyph: "थ"
name: "Tha"
latin_chain: ["th"]
ipa: "t̪ʰ"
features: {aspirated: true, dental: true}

glyph: "फ़"
name: "Fa"
latin_chain: ["f"]
ipa: "f"
features: {nukta: true}

glyph: "ज्ञ"
name: "Gya/Jña"
latin_chain: ["jñ"]
ipa: "ɡj"  # alt: "d͡ʒ" in colloquial
features: {conjunct: true, cluster: ["ज्","ञ"]}

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8) Lattice Integration Features

• {direction: LTR}
• {type: abugida}
• {inherent_schwa: true|false}
• {schwa_deletion: std|dialectal_off}
• {nukta: true|false}
• {conjunct: true|false}
• {dialect: std|bhojpuri|awadhi|braj|haryanvi|hindustani}

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9) Example Word Decomposition

• भारत (Bhārat — “India”) → भा (/bʱaː/) + र (/r/) + त (/t̪/)
• विद्यालय (Vidyālay — “school”) → वि (/ʋi/) + द्य (/d̪j/) + ा (/aː/) + ल (/l/) + य (/j/)
• किताब (Kitāb — “book”) → कि (/kɪ/) + ता (/t̪aː/) + ब (/b/)
• ज़िन्दगी (Zindagī — “life”) → ज़ि (/zɪ/) + न्द (/nd̪/) + गी (/ɡiː/)

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✅ Mint Status: Hindi Graphemic Module is now fully minted, covering:

• All standard and extended (nukta) consonants
• All vowel signs (independent + mātrās)
• Dialectal schwa deletion variations
• Urdu-influenced phonemes for Hindustani register
• Conjunct handling and phonotactic simplifications

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