Pa (Meitei letter)
| Pa | |
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| Usage | |
| Writing system | Meitei (Meetei Mayek) |
| Type | Abugida |
| In Unicode | U+ABC4 |
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_called_Eeyek_Eepee_letters_of_the_traditional_Meetei_Mayek_writing_system.png) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Meitei alphabets | ||||||||||||||||||
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| History and culture | ||||||||||||||||||
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Meitei script movement • MEELAL Philosophy • Wakoklon Puya |
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| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||
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Unicode block (Extensions) Meitei keyboards • Script support |
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Pa (Meitei: ꯄ) is the fifth letter of the Meitei script (Meetei Mayek). It primarily represents the voiceless bilabial plosive consonant ([p]).[1] In accordance with the unique naming system of the Meitei alphabet, the letter is named after and visually represents the eyelash of the human body.[2][3]
Origin and etymology
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The name Pa literally translates to "eyelashes" (historically representing the eyelash) in the Meitei language (Manipuri). Within the script's core 18 original letters (Eyek Ipee), the characters follow a top-down structural logic based on the human anatomy, following Mit (eye).[4][5][6][7]
According to traditional Meitei philosophy and ancient manuscripts known as Puyas, the graphic shape of the letter mimics the curved profile and structure of a human eyelash. During the late 20th-century script revival movement, this character was officially standardized by the Government of Manipur to its current digital shape.[8][9][10][11]
Meitei mythology and cosmogony
In the context of traditional Meitei cosmogeny, the alphabet ꯄ (Pa) is linked to the generation of the central human body. It corresponds to the third day of the week, Leipakpokpa (Tuesday), a day marking the creation of the human trunk. As part of the second alphabetical group to emerge (comprising ꯃ, ꯄ, and ꯅ), its appearance is spiritually tied to the cosmic directive where the human form was uniquely fashioned in the image mirrored within the pupils of the God Father Creator's divine eyes.[4][5][6][7]
Linguistic and phonetic usage
Sound value
In modern Meitei, Pa primarily represents the voiceless bilabial plosive consonant ([p]). When spoken natively with its inherent vowel sound, it is pronounced as /pa/.[12][13]
Positional variations
- Syllable-initial: When appearing at the beginning of a syllable, it retains its standard sound of [p].[14][12][13]
- Syllable-final (Lonsum): When appearing at the end of a syllable without an inherent vowel, it shifts to its dedicated final consonant form (Lonsum), written as ꯞ (U+ABDE). In this position, it represents an unreleased bilabial stop ([p̚]).[14][12][13]
Tonal interaction
As Meitei is a tonal language, the pitch of the syllable containing Pa is altered depending on the attached vowel diacritics (Cheitap) or the accompanying tone markers to signify distinct meanings.[12][13]
Vowel diacritic combinations
Like other abugida scripts, the consonant Pa has an inherent vowel sound of /ə/. To represent alternate or modified vowel sounds, explicit vowel diacritics (known as Cheitap Mayek) are attached to the base letter.[1][2][12][13]
The table below demonstrates how Pa combines with the standard Meitei vowel markers, detailing their respective graphic positioning, Unicode rendering, and phonetic output:
| Diacritic Name | Unicode[15][16] | Graphic Position | Syllable Character | Transliteration | Pronunciation (IPA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (None) | — | Inherent Vowel | ꯄ | pa / pə | [pə] |
| Aatap | U+ABE5 | Post-posed (Right) | ꯄꯥ | pā / paa | [paː] |
| Inap | U+ABE4 | Post-posed (Right) | ꯄꯤ | pi | [pi] |
| Unap | U+ABE8 | Sub-posed (Bottom) | ꯄꯨ | pu | [pu] |
| Yetnap | U+ABE6 | Post-posed (Right) | ꯄꯦ | pe | [pe] |
| Otnap | U+ABE3 | Post-posed / Right-wrapping | ꯄꯣ | po | [po] |
| Cheinap | U+ABE9 | Post-posed (Right) | ꯄꯩ | pei / pai | [pɐj] |
| Sounap | U+ABE7 | Post-posed (Right) | ꯄꯧ | pou / pau | [pɐw] |
| Nung | U+ABEA | Post-posed (Right) | ꯄꯪ | pang | [paŋ] |
Computer encoding
Pa was added to the Unicode Standard in October 2009 with the release of version 5.2. It is located inside the "Meetei Mayek" block.[17]
| Character | Unicode Code Point[15][16] | Name | Character Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| ꯄ | U+ABC4 | MEETEI MAYEK LETTER PA | ꯄ |
| ꯞ | U+ABDE | MEETEI MAYEK LETTER PA LONSUM | ꯞ |
Derived Lom Eeyek character: Ba
The letter Pa serves as the direct ancestral base for the extended character Ba (Meitei: ꯕ). Classified as a Lom Eeyek (derived or evolved letter), it was standardized into the modern 27-letter system to accommodate voiced or voiced-aspirated consonants introduced via historical linguistic evolution and phonetic changes.[12][13][1][2]
Within the traditional Meitei grammatical system, the naming convention features a distinct rhyming relationship where the sound profile of the original core letter directly mirrors and shifts into its corresponding Lom Eeyek counterpart (e.g., Pa phonetically rhymes and evolves into Ba).[12][13][1][2]
Grapheme profile
| Ba | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Usage | |
| Writing system | Meitei (Meetei Mayek) |
| Type | Abugida (Lom Eeyek) |
| In Unicode | U+ABD5 |
Phonetic and graphic evolution
- Phonetic Shift: While the original letter Pa represents the voiceless bilabial plosive, its derived Lom Eeyek Ba expands the phonetic reach of the native script by representing the voiced bilabial plosive consonant ([b]).[12][13][1][2]
- Graphic Relationship: Unlike the original core letters (Eyek Ipee), Lom Eeyek characters do not independently map to parts of the human anatomy. Instead, their visual glyphs are stylized variations or direct evolutionary designs branching from the physical geometry of their parent characters.[12][13][1][2]
- Syntactic Restrictions: Unlike the core character, Ba does not possess a corresponding shortened Lonsum form for syllable-final configurations. It functions strictly in syllable-initial or medial environments where it can bind with standard vowel diacritics (Cheitap).[12][13][1][2]
Vowel diacritic combinations
The table below demonstrates how the Lom Eeyek consonant Ba combines with the standard Meitei vowel markers (Cheitap Mayek):
| Diacritic Name | Unicode[15][16] | Graphic Position | Syllable Character | Transliteration | Pronunciation (IPA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (None) | — | Inherent Vowel | ꯕ | ba / bə | [bə] |
| Aatap | U+ABE5 | Post-posed (Right) | ꯕꯥ | bā / baa | [baː] |
| Inap | U+ABE4 | Post-posed (Right) | ꯕꯤ | bi | [bi] |
| Unap | U+ABE8 | Sub-posed (Bottom) | ꯕꯨ | bu | [bu] |
| Yetnap | U+ABE6 | Post-posed (Right) | ꯕꯦ | be | [be] |
| Otnap | U+ABE3 | Post-posed / Right-wrapping | ꯕꯣ | bo | [bo] |
| Cheinap | U+ABE9 | Post-posed (Right) | ꯕꯩ | bei / bai | [bɐj] |
| Sounap | U+ABE7 | Post-posed (Right) | ꯕꯧ | bou / bau | [bɐw] |
| Nung | U+ABEA | Post-posed (Right) | ꯕꯪ | bang | [baŋ] |
Technical specifications
| Character | Unicode Code Point[15][16] | Official Unicode Name | Character Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| ꯕ | U+ABD5 | MEETEI MAYEK LETTER BA | ꯕ |
Equivalent letters
In comparative typography, the phonetic properties of Pa align with corresponding characters in other major ancestral and regional writing systems. The table below places the base character alongside its historical Lom Eeyek counterpart Ba (representing the extended voiced phonetic offshoot), arranged in strict alphabetical order by script family:
| Script Family | Base Letter Profile (Pa) | Lom Eeyek Profile (Derived / Extended: Ba) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equivalent Glyph | Transliteration | Equivalent Glyph | Transliteration | |
| Aramaic | 𐡐 | Pa | 𐡁 | Ba |
| Bengali-Assamese | প | Pa | ব | Ba |
| Ashokan Brahmi | 𑀧 | Pa | 𑀩 | Ba |
| Burmese | ပ | Pa | ဗ | Ba |
| Devanagari | प | Pa | ब | Ba |
| Gujarati | પ | Pa | બ | Ba |
| Gupta Brahmi | 𑀧 (Brahmi glyph) | Pa | 𑀩 (Brahmi glyph) | Ba |
| Gurmukhi | ਪ | Pa | ਬ | Ba |
| Kannada | ಪ | Pa | ಬ | Ba |
| Malayalam | ပ | Pa | ബ | Ba |
| Odia | ପ | Pa | ବ | Ba |
| Perso-Arabic (Urdu) | پ | Pa | ب | Ba |
| Phoenician | 𐤐 | Pa | 𐤁 | Ba |
| Tamil | ப | Pa | ப | Ba |
| Telugu | ప | Pa | బ | Ba |
| Thai | ป | Pa | บ | Ba |
| Tibetan | པ | Pa | བ | Ba |
See also
- Meitei input methods (Meitei keyboards)
- Meetei Mayek (Unicode block)
- Meetei Mayek Extensions
- Wikipedia:Meitei script display help
- Wakoklon Heelel Thilel Salai Amailon Pukok Puya
- Philosophy of Meitei script
- Meitei alphabets
- Meitei script movement
- Meetei Erol Eyek Loinasillol Apunba Lup
- Ancient Meitei language
- Medieval Meitei language
- Modern Meitei language
- Meitei philosophy
- Meitei mythology
- Meitei folklore
- Traditional Meitei religion (Sanamahism)
- Sanamahists
- Philosophy of Sanamahism
- Naoriya Phulo script
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Teaching Meitei Mayek: A New Approach" (PDF). Language in India.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Noren, akoijambam (1993). Supchanlaba Meetei Lonmit Amasung Lonchat Pathap.
- ↑ Kangjiya, Ng (1978). Kanglei Eyekki Waree.
- 1 2 Thokchao Pangkanpa, Thokchom (1958). Wakoklon Thilel Sallai Amailon Pukok (in Manipuri). Manipur University Library. India: Digital Library of India; Internet Archive.
- 1 2 "Discovery of Kangleipak 11". e-pao.net.
- 1 2 "Discovery of Kangleipak 12". e-pao.net.
- 1 2 "Meetei Mayek 18 Subagee Kanglon Amasung Wangulon". Internet Archive; Digital Library of India (in Manipuri).
- ↑ Arambarn Parratt, Saroj Nalini, ed. (2009), "Meetei Mayek or Meetei script chart", The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur, Foundation Books, pp. 145–148, ISBN 978-81-7596-638-3, retrieved 2026-07-15
- ↑ "Transliteration from Hindi Script to Meetei Mayek : ( A Rule Based Approach )". www.semanticscholar.org. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ "Meitei Mayek Alphabets". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ "Meetei Mayek: The Script". tabish.freeshell.org. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ray, Sohini (2009). "Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India". Anthropological Quarterly. 82 (1): 129–154. ISSN 0003-5491.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sarangthem, Bobita; Lokendro, Laishram (2022-01-01). "Script and sound system of Meiteilon". Journal of Language and Culture.
- 1 2 "Meitei Mayek Transliteration: A Comprehensive Guide". okram.co.in. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- 1 2 3 4 "Meetei Mayek | Official Unicode Consortium code chart" (PDF). Unicode.
- 1 2 3 4 "Meetei Mayek | Charts | Name list". unicode.org. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ "Meitei Mayek Unicode 2009". e-pao.net. Retrieved 2026-07-15.