Social:Takri alphabet
Takri 𑚔𑚭𑚊𑚤𑚯 [1] | |
---|---|
Type | Abugida
|
Languages | Kangri, Sirmauri, Chamiyali, Mandeali |
Time period | 16 century CE to 19 century CE |
Parent systems | Proto-Sinaitic alphabet [a]
|
Sister systems | Gurmukhī |
Direction | Left-to-right |
ISO 15924 | Takr, 321 |
Unicode alias | Takri |
U+11680–U+116CF | |
[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon. | |
The Takri script (Devanagari: टाकरी; sometimes called Tankri) is an abugida writing system of the Brahmic family of scripts. It is closely related to, and derived from, the Sharada script formerly employed for Kashmiri. It is also related to the Gurmukhī script used to write Punjabi. Until the late 1940s, an adapted version of the script (called Dogri, Dogra or Dogra Akkhar) was the official script for writing Dogri in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and for Kangri, Chambeali and Mandeali in Himachal Pradesh. There is also some record of the script's use in the history of Nepali (Khas-kura).
Takri itself has historically been used to write a number of Dardic and Western and Central Pahari languages in the Western Himalaya, such as Gaddi or Gaddki (the language of the Gaddi ethnic group), Kashtwari (the dialect centered on the Kashtwar or Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir) and Chamiyali (the language of the Chamba region of Himachal Pradesh). Takri used to be most prevalent script for business records and communication in various parts of Himachal Pradesh including the regions of Chintpurni, Una, Kangra, Bilaspur and Hamirpur. The aged businessmen can still be found using Takri in these areas, but the younger generation have now shifted to Devanagari and even English (Roman). This change can be traced to the early days of Indian independence (1950s−80s).
Revival movement
Since Takri fell into disuse,[2] there have been sporadic attempts to revive the script in Himachal Pradesh. Recent efforts have been made to teach the script to Himachalis.[3]
Unicode
Takri script was added to the Unicode Standard in January, 2012 with the release of version 6.1.
Block
The Unicode block for Takri is U+11680–U+116CF:
References
- ↑ Pandey, Anshuman (2009-04-06). "Proposal to Encode the Takri Script in ISO/IEC 10646". https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2009/09111-takri.pdf.
- ↑ "Tankri once the language of royals, is now dying in Himachal Pradesh - Hindustan times". https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-982214571.html.
- ↑ "Ancient scripts of Indian Mountains fights for survival - Zee News". http://zeenews.india.com/home/ancient-script-of-indian-mountains-fights-for-survival_275913.html.
External resources
- The Takri alphabet, http://ancientscripts.com/takri.html
- Examples of Takri usage on Kashmir state stamps, http://www.kashmirstamps.ca/DogriGloss.html
- Comparative examples of Takri and related scripts (Spanish language website), http://www.proel.org/index.php?pagina=alfabetos/takri
- A discussion of the Gaddi, with a reference to Takri, https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5625318
- Ancient script of the Himalayas fights for survival, http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=275913&sid=FTP