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Anusvara also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
:
) is the diacritic used to mark a type of
nasalizationIn phonetics, nasalization is the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, so that some air escapes through the nose during the production of the sound by the mouth...
used in a number of Indic languages. Depending on the location of the anusvara in the word and the language within which it is used, its exact pronunciation can vary greatly.
Devanagari script
In the Devanagari script, anusvara is represented with a
dotWhen used as a diacritic mark, the term dot is usually reserved for the Interpunct , or to the glyphs 'combining dot above' and 'combining dot below'...
(
bindu) above the letter (
मं). In
IASTThe International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...
, the corresponding symbol is (
m with an underdot). Some transcriptions render notation of phonetic variants used in some Vedic
shakhaA shakha , is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school. An individual follower of a particular school or recension is called a ...
s with variant transcription .
Sanskrit
In
Vedic SanskritVedic Sanskrit is an old Indo-Aryan language. It is an archaic form of Sanskrit, an early descendant of Proto-Indo-Iranian. It is closely related to Avestan, the oldest preserved Iranian language...
, the (lit. "after-sound") is a sound that occurs as an allophone of /m/ – at a
morphemeIn linguistics, a morpheme is the smallest semantically meaningful unit in a language. The field of study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology. A morpheme is not identical to a word, and the principal difference between the two is that a morpheme may or may not stand alone, whereas a word,...
boundary, or /n/ – morpheme-internally, if they are preceded by a vowel and followed by a fricative . Descriptions of this sound in the different ancient
phonetic treatisesPratisakhyas, collectively constituting four treatises, are works dealing with the phonetic aspects of the Sanskrit language used in Vedas. These works mainly pertain to euphonic permutation and combination of letters and special characteristics of their pronunciation as they prevailed in various...
might suggest either a type of nasalization (different from the ) and lengthening of the preceding vowel, or a consonantal segment, such as a nasal fricative homorganic (i.e. sharing the same place of articulation) to the following consonant. The discrepancies have been attributed either to differences of analysis of the same pronunciation, or to differences due to dialectal or diachronic variation. In the later language the began to be used before /r/ under certain conditions, and in Classical Sanskrit its use had extended before /l/ and /y/, replacing earlier [l̃] and [ỹ]. It further began to be used instead of the homorganic nasal before a stop: gave such an optional use in
sandhiSandhi is a cover term for a wide variety of phonological processes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries . Examples include the fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of sounds due to neighboring sounds or due to the grammatical function of adjacent words...
word-finally, while later treatises prescribed it also at morpheme junctions and in intra-morphemic position.
Hindi
In Standard Hindi, the is traditionally defined as representing a nasal consonant homorganic to a following
stopIn phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &...
, in contrast to the , which indicates
vowel nasalizationA nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through nose as well as the mouth. By contrast, oral vowels are ordinary vowels without this nasalisation...
. In practice, however, the two are often used interchangeably. The precise phonetic value of the phoneme, whether represented by or , is dependent on the phonological environment. Word-finally it is realized as nasalization of the preceding vowel (e.g.
[kʊ̃ãː], "a well"). It results in vowel nasalization also medially between a short vowel and a non-
obstruentAn obstruent is a consonant sound formed by obstructing airflow, causing increased air pressure in the vocal tract, such as [k], [d͡ʒ] and [f]. In phonetics, articulation may be divided into two large classes: obstruents and sonorants....
(
[kʊ̃ʋər] "a youth",
[ɡə̃ɽaːsaː] "a long-handled axe"), and, in native words, between a long vowel and a voiceless stop (
[dãːt] "tooth",
[sãːp] "a snake",
[pũːtʃʰ] "tail"). It is pronounced as a homorganic nasal, with the preceding vowel becoming nasalized
allophonicallyIn phonology, an allophone is one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme. For example, and are allophones for the phoneme in the English language...
, in the following cases: between a long vowel and a voiced stop (
[taːmbaː] "copper",
[tʃaːndiː] "silver"), between a long vowel and a voiceless stop in loanwords (
[daːnt] "repressed",
[bæːŋk] "a bank",
[kʰəzaːɲtʃiː]), and also between a short vowel and an obstruent (
[səmbʱaːl] "to support",
[sənduːk] "a chest"). The last rule has two sets of exceptions where the effects only a nasalization of the preceding short vowel. Words from the first set are morphologically derived from words with a long nasalized vowel (
[bə̃ʈ], "to be divided" from
[bãʈ], "to divide";
[sɪ̃tʃai], "irrigation" from
[sĩːtʃ], "to irrigate"). In suchs cases the vowel is sometimes denasalized ([bəʈ], [sɪtʃai] instead of [bə̃ʈ-], [sɪ̃tʃai]). The second set is composed of a few words like
( [pahʊ̃tʃ], "to arrive" and
[hə̃s], "to laugh").
[ lists five more such words: "to sink", "to be stuck", "a necklace", "a sickle" and "laughter".]
Nepali
In
NepaliNepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
, chandrabindu and anusvara have the same pronunciation similarly to Hindi. However, as Nepali spelling usage is largely unstandardised, there is a great deal of variation regarding which occurs in any given position. So many words containing anusvara have alternative spellings with
chandrabinduChandrabindu is a diacritic sign having the form of a dot inside the lower half of a circle. It is used in the Devanagari , Bengali , Gujarati , Oriya and Telugu scripts.It usually means that the previous vowel is nasalized...
instead of anusvara and vice versa.
Other Indic script languages
Anusvara is used in other languages using Indic scripts as well, usually to represent suprasegmental phones (such as
phonationPhonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of phonetics. Among some phoneticians, phonation is the process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds through quasi-periodic vibration. This is the definition used among those who study laryngeal anatomy and physiology...
type or nasalization), or for other nasal sounds.
Bengali
In the
Bengali scriptThe Bengali alphabet is the writing system for the Bengali language. The script with variations is used for Assamese and is basis for Meitei, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Kokborok, Garo and Mundari alphabets. All these languages are spoken in the eastern region of South Asia. Historically, the script has...
, the anusvara diacritic (
অনুস্বার onushshar in Bengali) is written as a circle above a slanted line (
ং), and represents ŋ. It is used in the name of the Bengali language
বাংলা [baŋla]. It has merged in pronunciation with the letter
ঙ ungô in Bengali. Although the anusvara is a consonant in
Bengali phonologyBengali phonology is the study of the inventory and patterns of the consonants, vowels, and prosody of the Bengali language.-Consonants and vowels:The phonemic inventory of Bangla consists of 29 consonants and 14 vowels, including the seven nasalized vowels...
, it is nevertheless treated in the written system as a diacritic in that it is always directly adjacent to the preceding consonant, even when spacing consonants apart in titles or banners (e.g.
বাং-লা-দে-শ bang-la-de-sh, not
বা-ং-লা-দে-শ ba-ng-la-de-sh for
বাংলাদেশ BangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
), it is never pronounced with the inherent vowel "ô", and it cannot take a vowel sign (instead, the consonant
ঙ ungô is used pre-vocalically).
Burmese
In the Burmese script, the anusvara (
auk myit auʔ mjɪʔ) is represented as a dot underneath a nasalised final to indicate a creaky tone (with a shortened vowel). Burmese also uses a dot above to indicate the /-ɴ/ nasalized ending (called "Myanmar Sign Anusvara" in Unicode), called
thay thay tin (θé ðé tɪ̀ɴ)
Sinhala
In the Sinhala script, the anusvara is not a diacritic but an independent grapheme. It has circular shape (ං), which is why it is called
binduva in Sinhala, which means ´dot´. The anusvara represents ŋ at the end of a syllable. It is used in the name of the Sinhala language සිංහල. It has merged in pronunciation with the letter ඞ ṅa in Sinhala.
Telugu
The
Telugu scriptTelugu script, an abugida from the Brahmic family of scripts, is used to write the Telugu language, a language found in the South-Central Indian state of Andhra Pradesh as well as several other neighboring states. The Telugu script is derived from the Bhattiprolu script...
has full-Zero(anusvāra) ం , half-zero (arthanusvāra) and Visarga to convey various shades of nasal sounds. Anusvara is represented as clircle shape after a letter.
Ex: క - Ka and కం - Kam
Anunasika
Anunasika (
) is a form of vowel nasalization, often represented by an anusvara. It is a form of open mouthed nasalization akin to the nasalization of vowels followed by "n" or "m" in Parisian
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. When "n" or "m" follow a vowel, the "n" or "m" becomes silent and causes the preceding vowel to become
nasalA nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through nose as well as the mouth. By contrast, oral vowels are ordinary vowels without this nasalisation...
(i.e. pronounced with the soft palate extended downward so as to allow part or all of the air to leave through the nostrils). Anunasika is sometimes called a
subdot because of its IAST representation.
In
DevanagariDevanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
and related orthographies it is represented by the
chandrabinduChandrabindu is a diacritic sign having the form of a dot inside the lower half of a circle. It is used in the Devanagari , Bengali , Gujarati , Oriya and Telugu scripts.It usually means that the previous vowel is nasalized...
diacritic (
example: मँ ).
In
BurmeseThe Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...
, the anunasika, called (θé ðé tɪ̀ɴ) and represented as creates the /-ɴ/ nasalized ending, when attached as a dot above a letter. The anunasika represents the -m final in Pali.
Unicode
In South Asian scripts
| Script | Sign | Example | Unicode |
BengaliThe Bengali alphabet is the writing system for the Bengali language. The script with variations is used for Assamese and is basis for Meitei, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Kokborok, Garo and Mundari alphabets. All these languages are spoken in the eastern region of South Asia. Historically, the script has...
|
ং |
কং |
U+0982 (2434)(881618kP1553) (9999104278391) |
DevanagariDevanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
|
ं |
कं |
U+0902 (2306) |
GujaratiThe Gujarati script , which like all Nāgarī writing systems is strictly speaking an abugida rather than an alphabet, is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages...
|
ં |
કં |
U+0A82 (2690) |
| Gurmukhi Gurmukhi is the most common script used for writing the Punjabi language. An abugida derived from the Laṇḍā script and ultimately descended from Brahmi, Gurmukhi was standardized by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad Dev Ji, in the 16th century. The whole of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji's 1430...
|
ਂ |
ਕਂ |
U+0A02 (2562) |
KannadaThe Kannada script is an alphasyllabary of the Brahmic family, used primarily to write the Kannada language, one of the Dravidian languages of southern India and also Sanskrit in the past. The Telugu script is derived from Old Kannada, and resembles Kannada script...
|
ಂ |
ಕಂ |
U+0C82 (3202) |
MalayalamThe Malayalam script is a Brahmic script used commonly to write the Malayalam language—which is the principal language of the Indian state of Kerala, spoken by 36 million people in the world. Like many other Indic scripts, it is an abugida, or a writing system that is partially “alphabetic” and...
|
ം |
കം |
U+0D02 (3330) |
OriyaThe Oriya script or Utkala Lipi or Utkalakshara is used to write the Oriya language, and can be used for several other Indian languages, for example, Sanskrit.- History :...
|
ଂ |
କଂ |
U+0B02 (2818) |
| Sinhala |
ං |
කං |
U+0D82 (3458) |
| Telugu Telugu script, an abugida from the Brahmic family of scripts, is used to write the Telugu language, a language found in the South-Central Indian state of Andhra Pradesh as well as several other neighboring states. The Telugu script is derived from the Bhattiprolu script...
|
ం |
కం |
U+0C15 (3093) |
|
In Southeast Asian scripts
| Script | Sign | Example | Unicode |
BalineseThe Balinese alphabet is an abugida that was used to write the Balinese language, an Austronesian language spoken by about three million people on the Indonesian island of Bali. The use of the Balinese script has mostly been replaced by the Roman alphabet. Although it is learned in school, few...
|
ᬂ |
ᬓᬂ |
U+1B02 |
| Burmese |
ံ |
ကံ |
U+1036 |
JavaneseThe Javanese alphabet, natively known as Hanacaraka or Carakan , known by the Sundanese people as Cacarakan is the pre-colonial script used to write the Javanese language....
|
ꦁ |
ꦏꦁ |
U+A981 |
KhmerThe Khmer script is an alphasyllabary script used to write the Khmer language . It is also used to write Pali among the Buddhist liturgy of Cambodia and Thailand....
|
ំ |
កំ |
U+17C6 |
| Lao |
ໍ |
ກໍ |
U+0ECD |
| Sundanese Sundanese script Sundanese script Sundanese script (Aksara Sunda, is a writing system which is used by some Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (Aksara Sunda Kuna) which was used by ancientSundanese between 14th and 18th centuries....
|
ᮀ |
ᮊᮀ |
U+1B80 |
| Thai |
ํ |
กํ |
U+0E4D |
|