The Devanagari Script - देवनागरी लिपि
The Devanagari Script (देवनागरी लिपि) is the most impressive writing
system that I have ever studied. It impresses me for many reasons, for instance:
- The ordering of the letters is according to precise scientific principles.
- Each letter transcribes a distinct sound.
- It recognizes subtle distinctions in sound.
I also find Devanagari to be a very beautiful script.
Note that this article will discuss the Devanagari Script as it is adapted for the Hindi language.
The Ordering of Letters
In order to appreciate the significance of the ordering of letters in Devanagari, some background
information is necessary.
information is necessary.
Place of Articulation
Consonants can be classified according to the place within the mouth that they are articulated.
- Velar consonants are pronounced with the back of the tongue touching
the soft palate. Examples of velar consontants in English include “k” as in “keep”, and “g”
as in “good”. - Palatal consonants are pronounced with the tongue touching the hard palate.
Examples of palatal consonants in English include “ch” as in “change” and “j” as in “job”. - Retroflex consonants are pronounced with the tongue curled slightly backward and touching the front portion of the hard palate.
There are no retroflex consonants in English. As an example, try pronouncing the “t” in “tip”, yet curl your
tongue backward. - Dental consonants are pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the back of the upper front teeth.
Examples of dental consontants in English include the “th” in “the”, and the “th” in “thin”. - Labial consonants are pronounced with the lips.
Examples of labial consonants in English include the “p” in “pit”, the “b” in “boy”, and the “m” in “man”.
Manner of articulation
Consonants can also be classified according to their manner of articulation.
- Unvoiced consonants are pronounced without vibrating the vocal cords.
Examples of unvoiced consonants in English include the “s” in “sit”, the “p” in “pit”, the “t” in “time”, etc. - Voiced consonants are pronounced by vibrating the vocal cords.
Examples of voiced consonants in English include the “z” in “zoo”, and the “g” in “good”. - Unaspirated consonants are pronounced without a breath of air following the consonant.
Contrast the pronunciation of the “p” in “spit” and the “p” in “pit”; the former is unaspirated, whereas the
latter is aspirated. - Aspirated consonants are pronounced with a strong breath of air following
the consonant, as the “p” in “pit”. - Nasal consonants are pronounced with some air flowing through the nose. Examples of
nasal consonants in English include the “n” in “English”, the “n” in “punch”, and the “m” in “me”.
Now, consider the following chart of the first 25 consonants of the Devanagari script:
| Unaspirated | Aspirated | Unaspirated | Aspirated | ||
| Velar | क | ख | ग | घ | ङ |
| Palatal | च | छ | ज | झ | ञ |
| Retroflex | ट | ठ | ड (ड़) | ढ (ढ़) | ण |
| Dental | त | थ | द | ध | न |
| Labial | प | फ (फ़) | ब | भ | म |
Next, consider the ordering of the same 25 consonants in the Devanagari script, from left to right:
क ख ग घ ङ च छ ज झ ञ ट ठ ड (ड़) ढ (ढ़) ण त थ द ध न प फ (फ़) ब भ म
Note that if you read the chart from left to right and top to bottom, it corresponds to the ordering of
the letters in Devanagari! This is remarkable because this has been the ordering of the Devanagari script for
centuries. This fact is a testament to the advanced state of the study of phonetics in ancient India.
the letters in Devanagari! This is remarkable because this has been the ordering of the Devanagari script for
centuries. This fact is a testament to the advanced state of the study of phonetics in ancient India.
Ordering of Vowels
The vowels in Hindi are likewise ordered scientifically.
Place of Articulation of Vowels
- Velar/Guttural vowels are pronounced near the back of the throat, as
the “a” in “amid”. - Palatal vowels are pronounced with the tip of the tongue raised toward the hard palatte, as the “i” in “sing”.
- Labial vowels are pronounced using the lips, as the “oo” in “boot”.
- Retroflex vowels are pronounced with the tongue curled backward. There are no retroflex vowels in English.
- Palato-Guttural vowels are pronounced as a combination of palatal and velar articulation.
- Labio-Guttural vowels are pronounced as a combination of labial and velar articulation.
Manner of Articulation of Vowels
The manner of articulation of vowels can be classified according to many categories, but we will discuss two
particular categories:
particular categories:
- Short vowels are sustained for a relatively shorter duration of time.
- Long vowels are sustained for a relatively longer duration of time.
Monophthongs are vowels pronounced as a single, pure sound, whereas diphthongsare vowels pronounced as two adjacent sounds glided together within the same syllable.
| ARTICULATION | VOWELS | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| MONOPHTHONGS | DIPHTHONGS | ||
| SHORT | LONG | ||
| Guttural | अ | आ | |
| Palatal | इ | ई | |
| Labial | उ | ऊ | |
| Retroflex | ऋ | - | |
| Palato-Guttural | ए | ऐ | |
| Labio-Guttural | ओ | औ | |
Now consider the vowels in their order within the Devanagari script:
अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ए ऐ ओ औ
Once again, note that the ordering corresponds to the ordering in the table, if the table is ordered from
left to right and top to bottom.
left to right and top to bottom.
The technical distinction between the vowel pairs in Hindi (such as इ ई) is the
vowel length, although modern Hindi speakers tend to pronounce the vowels distinctly, regardless of the duration.
इ is pronounced like the “i” in “bit” whereas ई is
pronounced like the “ee” in “feet”, and उ is pronounced
like the “u” in “put” whereas ऊ is pronounced like the “oo” in “boot”.
vowel length, although modern Hindi speakers tend to pronounce the vowels distinctly, regardless of the duration.
इ is pronounced like the “i” in “bit” whereas ई is
pronounced like the “ee” in “feet”, and उ is pronounced
like the “u” in “put” whereas ऊ is pronounced like the “oo” in “boot”.
Also note that the complement of the letter ऋ is marked as “-” because it is not
commonly employed in Hindi, but it is used in other applications of Devanagari, such as in Sanskrit.
commonly employed in Hindi, but it is used in other applications of Devanagari, such as in Sanskrit.
Miscellaneous Ordering
The final consonants in the Devanagari script are organized into three categories: semivowels/approximants, sibilants, and a glottal.
Semivowels/Approximants
य र ल व
Sibilants
श ष स
Glottal
ह
Application to Hindi
Now, I’ll discuss the application of Devanagari to Hindi.
Hindi is written using the Devanagari script.
Devanagari is also used to write other languages, such as Nepali and Marathi, and is the most common script used to write Sanskrit. Several other languages have scripts which are related to Devanagari, such as Bengali, Punjabi, and Gujarati.
The Devanagari script represents the sounds of the Hindi language with remarkable consistency. Whereas many letters of the English alphabet can be pronounced many different ways, the letters of the Devanagari script are pronounced consistently (with a few minor exceptions). Thus, Devanagari is relatively easy to learn.
Devanagari consists of 11 vowels and 33 consonants, and is written from left to right.
Basic Genius
Devanagari is not actually an alphabet, but a so-called alphasyllabary. An alphasyllabary is a writing system which is primarily based on consonants, and in which vowel symbols are requisite yet secondary. As such, the fundamental genius of Devanagari is that every letter represents a consonant which is followed by an inherent schwa vowel, अ. For example, the letter स is read “sa”. In order to suppress the inherent vowel, one of two methods is required: a diacritical mark called a halant, or a ligature, called a conjunct. In order to indicate a vowel other than the inherent vowel, diacritical marks called maatraas are used. For vowels independent of consonants, there exist full letters to transcribe vowels.
Vowels
Hindi has 11 vowels. 10 vowels are transcribed in two distinct forms: the independent form, and the dependent (maatraa) form. The independent form is used when the vowel letter appears alone, at the beginning of a word, or immediately following another vowel letter. The dependent form is used when the vowel follows a consonant.
Vowels in Independent Form
अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ए ऐ ओ औ
The following table lists the vowel in its independent form, and its description. The best way to learn the pronunciation is to learn from a native speaker.
| VOWEL | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| अ | as in “but”, “again” |
| आ | as in father, far |
| इ | as in “fit”, “hit” |
| ई | as in “feet”, “heat” |
| उ | as in “put”, “pull” |
| ऊ | as in “pool”, “shoot” |
| ऋ | as is “rip”, “rib” |
| ए | as in “ate”, “day” |
| ऐ | as in “man”, “bat” |
| ओ | as in “go“, “boat” |
| औ | as in “saw”, “taught” |
Vowels in Dependent (maatraa) Form
When a vowel follows a consonant, it is written in its respective maatraa form, which is appended to the consonant. Matraa forms never appear at the beginning of a word or after another vowel. The first vowel, अ, has no particular maatraa form. Instead it is the default vowel. It is assumed to be present unless the maatraa form of another vowel is explicitly appended to a consonant. In Sanskrit, the vowel अ is pronounced at the end of a word. In Hindi, however, it is not pronounced, except at the end of single-letter words. The following table lists each vowel in its independent form, its corresponding dependent form, and how it would appear with the consonantक (“k”).
| INDEPENDENT | DEPENDENT | WITH क |
|---|---|---|
| अ | (none) | क |
| आ | ा | का |
| इ | ि | कि |
| ई | ी | की |
| उ | ु | कु |
| ऊ | ू | कू |
| ऋ | ृ | कृ |
| ए | े | के |
| ऐ | ै | कै |
| ओ | ो | को |
| औ | ौ | कौ |
Allophones
As mentioned earlier, the distinction between the vowels इ and ई is the duration of the pronunciation of the vowel – the former is shorter, and the latter longer. However, in practice, the vowel इ is pronounced more like the English “i” as in the word “it”, as described in the corresponding text. The same is so for the vowels उ and ऊ.
Final Schwa
The schwa, अ, is normally not pronounced at the end of a word. Thus, कान is pronounced “kaan”, not “kaana”. An exception occurs when a word ends in a conjunct. In this case, the word may be pronounced with a slight final schwa, as in मित्र, literally “mitr”, but often pronounced like “mitr(a)”, with a soft final schwa.
Monophthongs versus Diphthongs
Native English speakers should be careful not to pronounce the Hindi vowels that are monophthongs as diphthongs. For instance, ओis a pure sound, not a glide like the English “o” as in the word “low”. Many vowel letters in English can represent diphthongs. Thus, whereas English may represent a diphthong with the letter “i” as in the word “site”, in Devanagari, this diphthong would be more precisely transcribed as two monopthongs, आ and ई: साईट
Schwa Syncope
Sometimes, the inherent vowel is not pronounced, despite its implicit presence and the lack of any modifying diacritic. This phenomenon is called schwa syncope, or alternatively schwa deletion. For instance, consider the word नमकीन, literally “namakeen”. The second inherent vowel is not pronounced, as if the word were written नम्कीन (“namkeen”). There is no rule which can predict this phenomenon with absolute accuracy, yet one generally useful heuristic is that the inherent vowel is deleted after a consonant which is between two vocalic consonants. Thus, the word देवनागरी itself is pronounced with the first schwa deleted, like “Devnagari”, and not “Devanagari”, even though it is still transliterated as “Devanagari”.
Occasionally, the schwa will not be totally deleted, but will be very slightly pronounced.
Schwa Pronunciation in Context
The Hindi inherent vowel, अ, may be pronounced as [ɛ], a vowel which is similar to the English “e” as in the word “bed”, but only in certain contexts, namely, when two अ vowels appear on both sides of the consonant ह, as in the verb पहनना (“to wear”). Both schwa vowels are often pronounced as [ɛ] in such circumstances. Thus, although the phrase पहन लो is literally “pahan lo”, it is often pronounced “pehen lo”. Occasionally, however, this phenomenon occurs when only one schwa vowel is beside the consonant ह, as in the word बहिन (“sister”). In this case, both vowels adjacent to ह are converted to [ɛ], and thus, although the word is literally “bahin”, it is pronounced “behen”.
Nasalization of Vowels
All vowels in Hindi can be nasalized, except for ऋ. Nasalization is indicated by either the symbol ” ं ” or by the symbol ” ँ “. The former symbol is called bindu (“dot”), and the latter symbol is called chandrabindu (“moon and dot”). The bindu is used when part or all of the vowel symbol extends above the horizontal line. The chandrabindu is used when no part of the vowel symbol extends above the horizontal line. The bindu is more common is modern written Hindi, and may even be used exclusively.
The following examples summarize the use of the bindu and chandrabindu:
अँ आँ इँ ईं उँ ऊँ एँ ऐं ओं औं
कँ काँ किं कीं कुँ कूँ कें कैं कों कौं
A special diacritic is sometimes used with the vowel आ to transcribe the English “o” vowel sound as in “college”: कॉलेज
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