Chakma script
| Chakma Changmha Ajhapat ššš“šš³š¦ šš§šššš“ | |
|---|---|
![]() Chakma AjhÄ PÄį¹h Alphabet Chart | |
| Script type | |
Period | 13th century?[1] - present |
| Direction | Left-to-right |
| Languages | Chakma language, Pali,Tanchangya language [2] |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
Sister systems | |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Cakm (349), āChakma |
| Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Chakma |
| U+11100āU+1114F[7] | |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Chakma topics |
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| Brahmic scripts |
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| The Brahmi script and its descendants |
The Chakma Script (Chakma: ššš“šš³š¦ šš§šššš“), also called AjhÄ PÄį¹h, is an abugida used for the Chakma language, and recently for the Pali language.[2]
History
The Chakma script is an abugida that belongs to the Brahmic family of scripts. Chakma evolved from the Burmese script, which was ultimately derived from Pallava.[4][5][6] The Chakma script is stated to be derived from the Arakanese script,[8][9][10][11] on the basis of its letter forms.[12] The Chakma script probably developed in Arakan up to the 13th century, before the Chakma people migrated into Chittagong in the 14th century.[1]
The script, along with the Chakma language, has been introduced to non-government schools in Bangladesh, and as well as schools in Mizoram.[13]
Structure

Chakma is of the Brahmic type: the consonant letters contain an inherent vowel. Unusually for Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, the inherent vowel in Chakma is a long 'Ä' (a) as opposed to short 'a' (É). Consonant clusters are written with conjunct characters, and a visible vowel killer shows the deletion of the inherent vowel when there is no conjunct.
Independent vowels
Four independent vowels exist:
š Ä IPA: aĖ
|
š i IPA: i
|
š
u IPA: u
|
š e IPA: eĖ
|
Other vowels in initial position are formed by adding the vowel sign to š Ä, as in šš© Ä«, šš« Å«, šš ai, šš° oi. Some modern writers are generalizing this spelling in ššØ i, ššŖ u, and šš¬ e.
Dependent vowels
š§ a IPA: [É]
|
š
aa IPA: [a]
|
šØ i IPA: [i]
|
š© ii IPA: [i]
|
šŖ u IPA: [u]
|
š« uu IPA: [u]
|
š¬ e IPA: [e/É]
|
š ai IPA: [aiĢÆ]
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š® o IPA: [o]
|
šÆ au IPA: [ouĢÆ]
|
š° oi IPA: [ÉiĢÆ]
|
š± o IPA: [o]
|
š² au IPA: [ouĢÆ]
|
š
ei IPA: [ei]
|
š candrabindu IPA: [ -Ģ ]
|
š anusvara IPA: [Å]
|
š visarga IPA: [h]
| |
One of the interesting features of Chakma writing is that candrabindu š (cÄnaphudÄ) can be used together with anusvara š (ekaphudÄ) and visarga š (dviphudÄ):
ššš aįø„į¹ = š Ä + š h + šį¹
ššš aį¹į¹ = š Ä + š į¹ + šį¹
š šš uį¹į¹ = š u + š į¹ + šį¹
ššŖš muį¹ = š mÄ + šŖ u + šį¹
Consonants
š kÄ
|
š khÄ
|
š gÄ
|
š ghÄ
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š į¹
Ä
|
š cÄ
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š chÄ
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š jÄ
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š jhÄ
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š ƱÄ
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š į¹Ä
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š į¹hÄ
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š įøÄ
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š įøhÄ
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š į¹Ä
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š tÄ
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š thÄ
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š dÄ
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š dhÄ
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š nÄ
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š pÄ
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š phÄ
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š bÄ
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š bhÄ
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š mÄ
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š yyÄ
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š” yÄ
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š¢ rÄ
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š£ lÄ
|
š¤š
wÄ / vÄ
|
š„ sÄ
|
š¦ hÄ
|
š
įø·Ä
|
||
Vowel-killer
Like other Brahmic scripts, Chakma makes use of the maayyaa (killer) to invoke conjoined consonants. In the past, practice was much more common than it is today. Like the Myanmar script, Chakma is encoded with two vowel-killing characters in order to conform to modern user expectations. As shown above, most letters have their vowels killed with the use of the explicit maayyaa:
šš“ k = š kÄ + š“ MAAYYAA
Conjucts
In 2001 an orthographic reform was recommended in the book CÄį¹ mÄ pattham pÄt which would limit the standard repertoire of conjuncts to those composed with the five letters š yÄ, š¢ rÄ, š£ lÄ, š¤ wÄ, and š nÄ. The four here are the most widely accepted repertoire of conjuncts. No separate conjunct forms of subjoined full-form -yÄ or -rÄ appear to exist. The fifth of these conjuncts, the -na conjunct, is exemplary of the orthographic shift which has taken place in the Chakma language.
| Consonant | š³š
- yyÄ |
š³š¢
- rÄ |
š³š£
- lÄ |
š³š¤
- wÄ |
š³š
- nÄ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| š k | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š kh | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š g | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š gh | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š į¹ | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š c | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š ch | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š j | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š jh | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š Ʊ | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š į¹ | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š į¹h | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š įø | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š įøh | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š į¹ | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š t | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š th | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š d | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š dh | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š n | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š p | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š ph | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š b | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š bh | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š m | šš³š | šš³š¢ | šš³š£ | šš³š¤ | šš³š |
| š yy | š š³š | š š³š¢ | š š³š£ | š š³š¤ | š š³š |
| š” y | š”š³š | š”š³š¢ | š”š³š£ | š”š³š¤ | š”š³š |
| š¢ r | š¢š³š | š¢š³š¢ | š¢š³š£ | š¢š³š¤ | š¢š³š |
| š¤ w | š¤š³š | š¤š³š¢ | š¤š³š£ | š¤š³š¤ | š¤š³š |
| š„ s | š„š³š | š„š³š¢ | š„š³š£ | š„š³š¤ | š„š³š |
| š¦ h | š¦š³š | š¦š³š¢ | š¦š³š£ | š¦š³š¤ | š¦š³š |
While some writers would indeed write kakna (in ligating style) as ššš³š or (in subjoining style) as ššš³š, most now would probably expect it to be written as ššš“š. The ligating style of glyphs is now considered old-fashioned. Thus, taking the letter š mÄ as the second element, while the glyph shapes šš³š kmÄ, šš³š tmÄ, šš³š nmÄ, šš³š bbÄ, šš³š mmÄ, š£š³š£ llÄ, š„š³š smÄ, and š¦š³š hmÄ are attested, most users now prefer the glyph shapes šš³š kmÄ, šš³š tmÄ, šš³š nmÄ, šš³š bbÄ, šš³š mmÄ, š£š³š£ llÄ, š„š³š smÄ, and š¦š³š hmÄ. Again, this distinction is stylistic and not orthographic.
The 2004 book Phadagaį¹ shows examples of the five conjuncts above together alongside conjuncts formed with š bÄ, š mÄ, and š¦ hÄ. These are all formed by simple subjoining.
| Consonant | š³š
- bÄ |
š³š
- mÄ |
š³š¦
- hÄ |
|---|---|---|---|
| š k | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š kh | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š g | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š gh | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š į¹ | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š c | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š ch | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š j | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š jh | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š Ʊ | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š į¹ | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š į¹h | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š įø | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š įøh | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š į¹ | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š t | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š th | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š d | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š dh | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š n | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š p | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š ph | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š b | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š bh | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š m | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š¦ |
| š yy | š š³š | š š³š | š š³š¦ |
| š” y | š”š³š | š”š³š | š”š³š¦ |
| š¢ r | š¢š³š | š¢š³š | š¢š³š¦ |
| š¤ w | š¤š³š | š¤š³š | š¤š³š¦ |
| š„ s | š„š³š | š„š³š | š„š³š¦ |
| š¦ h | š¦š³š | š¦š³š | š¦š³š¦ |
In the 1982 book CÄį¹ mÄr Äg pudhi a much wider range of conjunct pairs is shown, some of them with fairly complicated glyphs:
| Consonant | š³š
- k |
š³š
- g |
š³š
- c |
š³š
- ch |
š³š
- j |
š³š
- jh |
š³š
- į¹ |
š³š
- t |
š³š
- th |
š³š
- d |
š³š
- dh |
š³š
- p |
š³š
- b |
š³š
- m |
š³š¦
- l |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| š k | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š | ||||||||||
| š į¹ | šš³š | šš³š | |||||||||||||
| š c | šš³š | šš³š | |||||||||||||
| š j | šš³š | ||||||||||||||
| š Ʊ | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š | ||||||||||||
| š į¹ | šš³š | ||||||||||||||
| š t | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š | ||||||||||||
| š d | šš³š | šš³š | |||||||||||||
| š n | šš³š | šš³š | šš³š | ||||||||||||
| š p | šš³š | ||||||||||||||
| š b | šš³š | ||||||||||||||
| š m | šš³š | ||||||||||||||
| š£ l | š¦š³š | š¦š³š | š¦š³š | š¦š³š | š¦š³š | š£š³š¦ | |||||||||
| š„ s | š„š³š | š„š³š | š„š³š | š„š³š | |||||||||||
| š¦ h | š¦š³š |
Letter names and punctuation
Chakma letters have a descriptive name followed by a traditional Brahmic consonant. These are given in annotations to the character names. Alongside a single (š ) and double (š ) danda punctuation, Chakma has a unique question mark (š ), and a section sign, Phulacihna. There is some variation in the glyphs for the Phulacihna (š ), some looking like flowers or leaves.
Numerals
The Chakma script contains its own set of numerals.
0 (š¶) (cinyo) [tŹŹ°inyÅ]
1 (š·) šš¬šš“ / (ek) [Ʀk]
2 (šø) ššŖššØ / (dui) [dĢŖui]
3 (š¹) ššØšš“ / (tin) [tĢŖin]
4 (šŗ) šš¬š¢š“ / (cer) [tŹŹ°er]
5 (š») šš“š / (pac) [pʰatŹ]
6 (š¼) šš§ / (cha) [tŹŹ°É]
7 (š½) šš“š„ / (sat) [tŹatĢŖ]
8 (š¾) ššš“šš® / (atto) [aitĢŖtĢŖo]
9 (šæ) šš§š / (na) [ƱÄ]
10 (š·š¶) šš§šš“ / (dac) [dƦƧ]
0 š¶
|
1 š·
|
2 šø
|
3 š¹
|
4 šŗ
|
5 š»
|
6 š¼
|
7 š½
|
8 š¾
|
9 šæ
|
Unicode
Chakma script was added to the Unicode Standard in January 2012 with the release of version 6.1.[14]
The Unicode block for Chakma script is U+11100āU+1114F. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points:
| Chakma[1][2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
| U+1110x | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š |
| U+1111x | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š |
| U+1112x | š | š” | š¢ | š£ | š¤ | š„ | š¦ | š§ | šØ | š© | šŖ | š« | š¬ | š | š® | šÆ |
| U+1113x | š° | š± | š² | š³ | š“ | š¶ | š· | šø | š¹ | šŗ | š» | š¼ | š½ | š¾ | šæ | |
| U+1114x | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | š | ||||||||
| Notes | ||||||||||||||||
Educational Institutions
The Chakma language is taught in numerous government and private schools across India (in Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh) and Bangladesh. In 2004, the Government of Tripura's Directorate of Kokborok & Other Minority Languages officially introduced Chakma in primary schools using the Bengali script. Since 2013, it has been taught using the Chakma script. Currently, 87 schools offer Chakma language instruction.[15]
References
- 1 2 Ray, Sipra (2019). "Impact of the Sanskrit Rites, Tantric and Magic Spells as Revealed in the Chakma Society of Tripura" (PDF): 11.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - 1 2 Scheuren, Zachary (22 April 2019). "Proposal to encode CHAKMA LETTER VAA for Pali" (PDF). The Unicode Consortium.
- ā Joshi, R. Malatesha; McBride, Catherine, eds. (2019). Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography. Literacy Studies. Vol. 17. p. 28. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-05977-4. ISBN 978-3-030-05976-7.
- 1 2 Talukdar, S. P. (2010). Genesis of Indigenous Chakma Buddhists and Their Pulverization Worldwide. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 9788178357584.
- 1 2 Brauns, Claus-Dieter; Lƶffler, Lorenz G. (11 November 2013). Mru: Hill People on the Border of Bangladesh. BirkhƤuser. ISBN 9783034856942.
- 1 2 Everson, Michael; Hosken, Martin (28 July 2009). "Proposal for encoding the Chakma script in the UCS" (PDF).
- ā "Chakma block chart" (PDF). The Unicode Consortium.
- ā Talukdar, S. P. (1988). The Chakmas, Life and Struggle. p. 111.
- ā Bara Parang The Tale of the Developmental Refugees of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. 1995. p. 103.
- ā Vajpeyi, Dhirendra K.; Malik, āYogendra K. (1989). Religious and Ethnic Minority Politics in South Asia -. p. 145.
- ā Bertocci, Peter J. (1996). The Politics of Community and Culture in Bangladesh.
- ā Debbarma, P. K.; Sudhir, Jacob George (1993). The Chakma Refugees in Tripura. p. 23.
- ā Brandt, Carmen (2014). "Script as a potential demarcator and stabilizer of languages in South Asia". In Cardoso, Hugo C. (ed.). Language Endangerment and Preservation in South Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. p. 86. hdl:10125/4602. ISBN 9780985621148.
- ā "Unicode 6.1.0". The Unicode Consortium. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ā "Chakma Language". The Directorate of Kokborok & Other Minority Languages. Government of Tripura, India.
External links
- RibengUni (First Chakma Unicode Font)
- Chakma Script Archived 2020-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
- Chakma Bangla Blog
- Chakma Prototype Keyboard
- Chakma Unicode Converter
- Available Chakma Unicode Fonts
- Chakma Keyboard Layout for Mac OSX
- Chakma Open Dictionary
- "Chakma alphabet, pronunciation and language". Omniglot. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
- "Tribal Languages - Banglapedia". Banglapedia. Retrieved 1 September 2018.

