Tai Tham script
Tai Tham ᨲ᩠ᩅᩫᨵᩢᨾ᩠ᨾ᩼, Tua Tham | ||
---|---|---|
Script type | ||
Time period | c. 1300–present | |
Direction | Left-to-right Unicode range | U+1A20–U+1AAF |
[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon. | ||
Tai Tham script (
The
There are 670,000 speakers of Tai Lü, some of those born before 1950 are literate in Tham, also known as Old Tai Lue.[citation needed] The script has also continued to be taught in the monasteries. The New Tai Lue script is derived from Tham. There are 120,000 speakers of Khün for which Lanna is the only script.
History
The Tai Tham script shows a strong similarity to the
Most of the script is recorded on palm-leaf manuscripts, many of which were destroyed during the '
Brahmic scripts |
---|
The Brahmi script and its descendants |
Characteristics
Although both the ancient forms of the Mon and Khmer script are different, they are both abugidas that descend from the Brahmic scripts introduced via contacts with South Indian traders, soldiers, merchants and Brahmans. As a Mon-derived script, Tai Tham has many similarities with the writing systems for Burmese, Shan, Rakhine and modern Mon and rounder letter forms compared to the angled letters of Khmer.[10] Letters can be stacked, sometimes with special subscript forms, similar to 'ຼ' which was used in Tai Noi and also in modern Lao as the subscript version of 'ຣ' /r/ or 'ລ' /l/ as in Lao: ຫຼວງພຼະບາງ/ຫລວງພຣະບາງ. Letters also are more circular or rounded than the typically angled style of Khmer.[9]
Consonants
There are 43 Tai Tham consonants. They are divided into three groups: categorized consonants (ᨻ᩠ᨿᩢᨬ᩠ᨩᨶᨶᩲᩅᩢᨣ᩠ᨣ᩼, payanjana nai wak), non-categorized consonants (ᨻ᩠ᨿᩢᨬ᩠ᨩᨶᩋᩅᩢᨣ᩠ᨣ᩼, payanjana awak), and additional consonants (ᨻ᩠ᨿᩢᨬ᩠ᨩᨶᨲᩮᩬᩥ᩵ᨾ, payanjana tueam). Categorized consonants and non-categorized consonants are those derived from
Consonant chart
There are 25 categorized consonants, 10 non-categorized consonants, and 8 additional consonants. Similar to Khmer, Tai Tham also has a subjoined form called haang (ᩉᩣ᩠ᨦ), tua joeng (ᨲ᩠ᩅᩫᨩᩮᩥ᩠ᨦ), or tua hoy (ᨲ᩠ᩅᩫᩉᩬ᩠ᨿ᩶). In the Unicode input method, sakot sign (U1A60) (◌᩠) is used to trigger the subjoined forms.[5][11] The additional consonants are shown in yellow. These consonants have the characteristics of lacking the subjoined form. Similar to Thai script and Lao script, consonants in Tai Tham can be classified into high, mid, and low classes regarding to the tone rules.
Letter | Subjoined form |
Name | Transliteration | IPA | Tone Class | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Translit. | IPA | Initial | Final | Initial | Final | |||||
ᨠ | ◌᩠ᨠ | ka | [kǎ] | k | k | [k] | [k̚] | high | ||
ᨡ | ◌᩠ᨡ | xa, kha | [xǎ], [kʰǎ] | x, kh | k | [x], [kʰ] | [k̚] | high | ||
ᨢ[a] | — | xa, kha | [xǎ], [kʰǎ] | x, kh | — | [x], [kʰ] | [k̚] | high | ||
ᨣ | ◌᩠ᨣ | ka | [ka᷇] | k | k | [k] | [k̚] | low | ||
ᨤ[a] | — | xa, kha | [xa᷇], [kʰǎ] | x, kh | — | [x], [kʰ] | [k̚] | low | ||
ᨥ | ◌᩠ᨥ | xa, kha | [xa᷇], [kʰa᷇] | x, kh | k | [x], [kʰ] | [k̚] | low | ||
ᨦ | ◌᩠ᨦ | nga | [ŋa᷇] | ng | ng | [ŋ] | [ŋ] | low | ||
ᨧ | ◌᩠ᨧ | ja, ca | [t͡ɕǎ] | j, c | t | [t͡ɕ] | [t̚] | high | ||
ᨨ | ◌᩠ᨨ | sa, cha | [sǎ], [t͡ɕʰǎ] | s, ch | — | [s], [t͡ɕʰ] | — | high | ||
ᨩ | ◌᩠ᨩ | ja, ca | [t͡ɕa᷇] | j, c | t | [t͡ɕ] | [t̚] | low | ||
ᨪ[a] | — | sa | [sa᷇] | s | t | [s] | [t̚] | low | ||
ᨫ | , | ◌᩠ᨫ | sa, cha | [sa᷇], [t͡ɕʰa᷄] | s, ch | t | [s], [t͡ɕʰa᷄] | [t̚] | low | |
ᨬ | ◌᩠ᨬ | nya | [ɲa᷇] | ny, y | n | [ɲ], [j][b] | [n] | low | ||
ᨭ | ◌᩠ᨭ | rata | [lǎ.tǎ] | t | t | [t] | [t̚] | high | ||
ᨮ | , | ◌᩠ᨮ , ◌ᩛ | ratha | [lǎ.tʰǎ] | th | t | [tʰ] | [t̚] | high | |
ᨯ | ◌᩠ᨯ | da | [dǎ] | d, th[c] | t | [d], [tʰ][c] | [t̚] | mid | ||
ᨰ | ◌᩠ᨰ | ratha | [lǎ.tʰa᷇] | th | t | [tʰ] | [t̚] | low | ||
ᨱ | ◌᩠ᨱ | rana | [lǎ.na᷇] | n | n | [n] | [n] | low | ||
ᨲ | ◌᩠ᨲ | ta | [tǎ] | t | t | [t] | [t̚] | high | ||
ᨳ | ◌᩠ᨳ | tha | [tʰǎ] | th | t | [tʰ] | [t̚] | high | ||
ᨴ | ◌᩠ᨴ | ta | [ta᷇] | t | t | [t] | [t̚] | low | ||
ᨵ | ◌᩠ᨵ | tha | [tʰa᷇] | th | t | [tʰ] | [t̚] | low | ||
ᨶ | ◌᩠ᨶ | na | [na᷇] | n | n | [n] | [n] | low | ||
ᨷ | ◌᩠ᨷ , ◌ᩝ | ba | [bǎ] | b | p | [b][d] | [p̚] | mid | ||
◌᩠ᨷ | pa[e] | [pǎ] | p | p | [p][e][12][13] | [p̚] | high[13][12] | |||
ᨸ[a][f] | – | pa | [pǎ] | p | p | [p] | [p̚] | high | ||
ᨹ | ◌᩠ᨹ | pha | [pʰǎ] | ph | – | [pʰ] | – | high | ||
ᨺ[a] | – | fa | [fǎ] | f | – | [f] | – | high | ||
ᨻ | ◌᩠ᨻ , ◌ᩛ | pa | [pa᷇] | p | p | [p] | [p̚] | low | ||
ᨼ[a] | – | fa | [fa᷇] | f | p | [f] | [p̚] | low | ||
ᨽ | ◌᩠ᨽ | pha | [pʰa᷇] | ph | p | [pʰ] | [p̚] | low | ||
ᨾ | ◌᩠ᨾ , ◌ᩜ | ma | [ma᷇] | m | m | [m] | [m] | low | ||
ᨿ | ◌᩠ᨿ | nya | [ɲa᷇] | ny, y | – | [ɲ], [j][b] | – | low | ||
ᩀ[a] | – | ya | [jǎ] | y | – | [j] | – | mid | ||
ᩁ | ◌᩠ᩁ , ᩕ | ra, la | [la᷇] | r,[g] l, h | n | [r],[c] [l],[c] [h] | [n] | low | ||
ᩃ | ◌᩠ᩃ , ◌ᩖ | la | [la᷇] | l | n | [l] | [n] | low | ||
ᩅ | ◌᩠ᩅ | wa | [wa᷇] | w | – | [w] | – | low | ||
ᩆ | ◌᩠ᩆ | sa | [sǎ] | s | t | [s] | [t̚] | high | ||
ᩇ | ◌᩠ᩇ | sa | [sǎ] | s | t | [s] | [t̚] | high | ||
ᩈ | ◌᩠ᩈ , ◌ᩞ | sa | [sǎ] | s | t | [s] | [t̚] | high | ||
ᩉ | ◌᩠ᩉ | ha | [hǎ] | h | – | [h] | – | high | ||
ᩊ | ◌᩠ᩊ | la | [la᷇] | l | n | [l] | [n] | low | ||
ᩋ | , | ◌ᩬ | a | [ʔǎ] | – | – | [ʔ] | – | mid | |
ᩌ[a] | – | ha | [ha᷇] | h | – | [h] | – | low |
- Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Added consonant invented for Tai sound, as an extension to the original chategorized Pali 'vagga' consonants. These consonants have the characteristics of lacking the subjoined form.
- ^ a b In Tai Lue language
- ^ a b c d Influence from Thai, Pali, and Sanskrit languages.
- ^ When used to write Tai words.
- ^ a b When used to write Pali-Sanskrit derived words.
- ^ Used only for Tai words, not for Pali.
- ^ Often transliterated as 'r' to preserve the semantics for Thai and Pali-Sanskrit words.
Consonant combinations and ligatures
Consonant digraph with Ha
Certain consonants in the low-class group lack their high-class counterpart. These consonants are sometimes called the single low-class consonants. Their high-class counterparts are created by the combination with letter high Ha (ᩉ) as a digraph, called Ha Nam (ᩉ ᨶᩣᩴ).[14]
Letter | Name | Transliteration | IPA | Tone
Class | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Translit. | IPA | Initial | Final | Initial | Final | ||
ᩉ᩠ᨦ | nga | [ŋǎ] | ng | – | [ŋ] | – | high |
ᩉ᩠ᨶ | na | [nǎ] | n | – | [n] | – | high |
ᩉ᩠ᨾ | ma | [mǎ] | m | – | [m] | – | high |
ᩉ᩠ᨿ | nya | [ɲǎ] | ny | – | [ɲ], [j][a] | – | high |
ᩉᩕ | ra, la, ha | [rǎ], [lǎ], [hǎ] | r,[b] l, h | – | [r],[c] [l],[c] [h] | – | high |
ᩉᩖ, ᩉ᩠ᩃ | la | [lǎ] | l | – | [l] | – | high |
ᩉ᩠ᩅ | wa | [wǎ] | w | – | [w] | – | high |
- Notes
Special letters
Letter | Name | Phonetic value
(IPA) |
Comments | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tham | Translit. | IPA | ||||
ᩓ | , [a] | ᩃᩯᩡ, ᩃᩯ | lae | [lɛ̄ː] | [lɛʔ], [lɛ̄ː] | Ligature of letter ᩃ (la) and superscript vowel sign ᩮ (e). |
ᨶᩣ | ᨶᩣ | naa | [nāː] | [nāː] | Ligature of letter ᨶ (na) and vowel sign ᩣ (a). | |
ᨬ᩠ᨬ | ᨬᨬ | nya nya | [ɲa᷇ʔ ɲa᷇ʔ] | [n.ɲ] | Ligature of letter ᨱ (rana) and ᨬ (nya), used in lieu of double ᨬ. | |
ᩔ | ᩈ ᩈᩬᨦᩉᩬ᩶ᨦ | sa song hong | [sǎː sɔ̌ːŋ hɔ᷇ːŋ] | [t̚.s] | Ligature of double ᩈ (high sa). | |
ᩕ | ᩁᩁᩰᩫ᩠ᨦ | rarong, rahong | [la.hōːŋ] | [r], [l], [ʰ] | Subjoined form of letter ᩁ (ra) for a consonant cluster such as ᨷᩕ (pra) ᨻᩕ (pra) as opposed to the subjoined form -᩠ᩁ used as a final consonant. Traditionally considered as a special letter. |
- Notes
- ^ Khuen/Lue style.
Vowels
Vowel characters come in two forms: as stand-alone letters for writing initial vowels or as diacritics that can be attached to all sides of the consonant letters. However, Lanna excels in terms of the number of diacritics used. Some vowel sounds can be written with a combination of as many as four diacritics: one on each side of the consonant.[15][16]
Dependent vowels
Short vowels[a] (with consonant ᨠ) |
Long vowels (with consonant ᨠ) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
IPA | No final consonant |
With final consonant (ᨦ)[b] |
IPA | No final consonant |
With final consonant (ᨦ)[b] | |
Simple vowels | ||||||
/a/ | ᨠ, ᨠᩡ | ᨠᩢ᩠ᨦ | /aː/ | ᨠᩣ[c] | ᨠᩣ᩠ᨦ | |
/i/ | ᨠᩥ | ᨠᩥ᩠ᨦ | /iː/ | ᨠᩦ | ᨠᩦ᩠ᨦ | |
/ɯ/ | ᨠᩧ | ᨠᩧ᩠ᨦ | /ɯː/ | ᨠᩨ | ᨠᩨ᩠ᨦ | |
/u/ | ᨠᩩ | ᨠᩩᨦ, ᨠᩩᨦ᩼ | /uː/ | ᨠᩪ | ᨠᩪᨦ, ᨠᩪᨦ᩼ | |
/e/ | ᨠᩮᩡ, ᨠᩮᩬᩡ | ᨠᩮᩢ᩠ᨦ, ᨠᩮᩬᨦᩡ | /eː/ | ᨠᩮ | ᨠᩮ᩠ᨦ | |
/ɛ/ | ᨠᩯᩡ, ᨠᩯᩬᩡ | ᨠᩯᩢ᩠ᨦ, ᨠᩯᩬᨦᩡ | /ɛː/ | ᨠᩯ | ᨠᩯ᩠ᨦ | |
/o/ | ᨠᩰᩡ | ᨠᩫ᩠ᨦ | /oː/ | ᨠᩰ, ᨠᩮᩣ[c][d] | ᨠᩰᩫ᩠ᨦ, ᨠᩰ᩠ᨦ | |
/ɔ/ | ᨠᩰᩬᩡ | ᨠᩬᩢᨦ, ᨠᩬᨦᩡ | /ɔː/ | ᨠᩬᩴ, ᨠᩳ[e] | ᨠᩬᨦ, ᨠᩬᨦ᩼ | |
/ɤ/ | ᨠᩮᩬᩥᩡ | ᨠᩮᩥᩢ᩠ᨦ, ᨠᩮᩥ᩠ᨦᩡ | /ɤː/ | ᨠᩮᩬᩥ | ᨠᩮᩥ᩠ᨦ | |
Diphthongs | ||||||
/iaʔ/ | ᨠ᩠ᨿᩮᩡ | ᨠ᩠ᨿᩢᨦ, ᨠ᩠ᨿᨦᩡ | /ia/ | ᨠ᩠ᨿᩮ | ᨠ᩠ᨿᨦ | |
/ɯaʔ/ | ᨠᩮᩬᩥᩋᩡ | ᨠᩮᩬᩥᩢᨦ, ᨠᩮᩬᩥᨦᩡ | /ɯa/ | ᨠᩮᩬᩥᩋ | ᨠᩮᩬᩥᨦ | |
ᨠᩮᩬᩨᩋᩡ | ᨠᩮᩬᩨᩢᨦ, ᨠᩮᩬᩨᨦᩡ | ᨠᩮᩬᩨᩋ | ᨠᩮᩬᩨᨦ | |||
/uaʔ/ | ᨠ᩠ᩅᩫᩡ | ᨠ᩠ᩅᩢᨦ, ᨠ᩠ᩅᨦᩡ | /ua/ | ᨠ᩠ᩅᩫ | ᨠ᩠ᩅᨦ, ᨠ᩠ᩅᨦ᩼ | |
Phonetic diphthongs[f] | ||||||
/aw/ | ᨠᩮᩢᩣ,[c] ᨠᩳ,[g] ᨠᩪᩦ[h] | – | ||||
/aj/ | ᨠᩱ, ᨠᩲ, ᨠᩱ᩠ᨿ, ᨠᩱᨿ᩠ᨿ, ᨠᩮᨿ᩠ᨿ,[17] ᨠᩢ᩠ᨿ[13] | - | ||||
/ɔːj/ | ᨠᩭ,[e] ᨠᩬ᩠ᨿ | - | ||||
Extra vowels | ||||||
/aŋ/ | ᨠᩴ,[d] ᨠᩘ[d] | — | ||||
/am/ | ᨠᩣᩴ[c] | — | ||||
/lɯ/ | ᩂ | – | /lɯː/ | ᩂ,[i] ᩄ[j][13] | - | |
|
Independent vowels
Independent vowels are mainly reserved for writing Pali words, except for ᩐᩣ /ʔau/ which is used as a special vowel sign and not for Pali words.[18]
Tai Tham | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ᩋ | ᩋᩣ | ᩍ | ᩎ | ᩏ | ᩐ | ᩑ | ᩒ | ᩐᩣ | |
IPA | /ʔáʔ/ | /ʔāː/ | /ʔíʔ/ | /ʔīː/ | /ʔúʔ/ | /ʔūː/ | /ʔēː/ | /ʔōː/ | /ʔaw/ |
Tone marks
Tone marks | Name | Comments | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tham | Transliteration | IPA | |||
᩵ | ᨾᩱ᩶ᩀᩢ᩠ᨠ,[13] ᨾᩱ᩶ᩀᩰᩬᩡ[13] | mai yak,
mai yo |
/máj.jǎk/,
/máj.jɔ́ʔ/ |
||
᩶ | ᨾᩱ᩶ᨡᩬᩴᨩ᩶ᩣ᩠ᨦ,[13] ᨾᩱ᩶ᨪᩢ᩠ᨯ[19] | mai kho jang,
mai sat |
/máj.kʰɔ̌ː.t͡ɕáːŋ/,
/máj.sát/ |
||
᩷ | ᨾᩱ᩶ᨠᩳᩉ᩠ᨶᩮᩬᩥᩋ[20] | mai ko nuea | /máj.kɔ̌.nɯa̯/ | Invented for Khuen language, shape like vowel sign -ᩳ (mai ko).[19] | |
᩸ | ᨾᩱ᩶ᩈᩬᨦᩉ᩠ᨶᩮᩬᩥᩋ[20] | mai song nuea | /máj.sɔ̌ːŋ.nɯa̯/ | Invented for Khuen language, shape like ᪂ (Hora digit 2).[19] | |
᩹ | ᨾᩱ᩶ᩈᩣ᩠ᨾᩉ᩠ᨶᩮᩬᩥᩋ[20] | mai sam nuea | /máj.sǎːm.nɯa̯/ | Invented for Khuen language, shape like ᪃ (Hora digit 3).[19] | |
๋ | - | – | - | Borrowed from Thai script "Mai Chattawa" into Khuen language. Interchangeable with mai song nuea.[19] | |
้ | - | – | - | Borrowed from Thai script "Mai Tho" into Khuen language. Interchangeable with mai sam nuea.[19] |
Tone mark conjugation
There are six phonemic
Chiang Mai Tone[21] | Thai Tone Equivalence[21] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Tone letters | Name | Tone letters | ||
mid-level | 33 or ˧˧ | สามัญ | saman | mid-level | 33 or ˧˧ |
low-falling | 21 or ˨˩ | เอก | ek | low-falling | 21 or ˨˩ |
high-falling | 42 or ˦˨ | โท | tho | high-falling | 41 or ˦˩ |
high-level, glottalized | 44ʔ or ˦˦ʔ | โทพิเศษ[a] | special tho[a] | – | – |
high-rising | 45 or ˦˥ | ตรี | tree | high-rising | 45 or ˦˥ |
low-rising | 24 or ˨˦ | จัตวา | chattawa | low-rising | 24 or ˨˥ |
Tone mark conjugation system of Tai Tham highly correlates with the system used by Thai script. Despite the difference in tone quality between Northern Thai, Tai Khuen, Thai, and Lao; equivalent words in each language are, in large part, marked with the same (or equivalent) tone mark. For example, the word ᨣ᩶ᩤ (Northern Thai pronunciation: [kaː˦˥]; Khuen: [kaː˦˩]) which is equivalent to Thai ค้า (Thai pronunciation: [kʰaː˦˥]), and Lao ຄ້າ (Lao pronunciation: [kʰaː˥˨]) all has the same meaning "to trade" and is expressed with the same or equivalent tone mark mai tho/mai kho jang but is pronounced with different tones differed by the languages.
Tone mark conjugation in Tai Tham follows the same model used for Thai script. Consonants are divided into 3 classes: high, mid, low; with some degree of variation form Thai script due to the phonological differences between Northern Thai and standard Thai. Consonants in each class are combined with these tone marks to give a different tonal pattern.
Only two tone marks mai yo (᩵) and mai kho jang (᩶) are mainly used. Low class and High class consonants only have one tone per one tone mark. Hence, to achieve the 6 tones while using only 2 tone marks (and one case of no tone mark), they are conjugated as a couple of the same sound.[22]
IPA | High class | Low class |
---|---|---|
[k] | ᨠ | ᨣ |
[kʰ] | ᨡ, ᨢ | ᨤ, ᨥ |
[ŋ] | ᩉ᩠ᨦ | ᨦ |
[t͡ɕ] | ᨧ | ᨩ |
[s] | ᨨ, ᩆ, ᩇ, ᩈ | ᨪ, ᨫ |
[ɲ] | ᩉ᩠ᨿ | ᨬ, ᨿ |
[t] | ᨭ, ᨲ | ᨴ |
[tʰ] | ᨮ, ᨳ | ᨰ, ᨵ |
[n] | ᩉ᩠ᨶ | ᨱ, ᨶ |
[p] | ᨷ[a] ᨸ | ᨻ |
[pʰ] | ᨹ | ᨽ |
[f] | ᨺ | ᨼ |
[m] | ᩉ᩠ᨾ | ᨾ |
[r] | ᩉᩕ | ᩁ |
[l] | ᩉᩖ, ᩉ᩠ᩃ, ᩉᩕ | ᩃ, ᩊ, ᩁ |
[h] | ᩉ, ᩉᩕ | ᩌ, ᩁ |
[w] | ᩉ᩠ᩅ | ᩅ |
- Notes
- ^ Pali derived words.
Mid class consonants ([ʔ], [b], [d], and [j]) do not have a couple for tone conjugation. Hence, different tones can be expressed with the same tone mark. Readers have to rely on the context in order to know the correct tone pronunciation. Therefore, to solve this ambiguity, three new tone marks: mai ko nuea (᩷), mai song nuea (᩸), and mai sam nuea (᩹) were invented for the mid class consonants in Khuen language. However, these three new tone marks aren't used in Lanna spelling convention and even in Khuen, they are rarely used. The use of these new three tone marks is also not standardized and may also differ between the dialects of Khuen language.[19]
Moreover, similar to standard Thai, the tonal pattern for each consonant class also differs by vowel length and final consonant sounds, which can be divided into the "checked" and "unchecked" syllables. Checked syllables are a group of syllables with the obstruent coda sounds [p̚], [t̚], [k̚], and [ʔ] (short vowel with no final consonant actually ends with the glottal stop, but often omitted). The unchecked syllables are a group of syllables with the sonorant coda sound [m], [n], [ŋ], [j], and [w].
Hence, by combining the consonant classes and the system of checked–unchecked syllables, the full tone conjugation table can be constructed as shown below. Color codes are assigned in the table to each tone mark: cyan – no tone mark; yellow – mai yo (equi. Thai mai ek); pink – mai kho jang (equi. Thai mai tho). Low class and high class rows are paired together to show the system of the consonant couples.
final consonant sound |
Vowel length |
Consonant class |
Chiang Mai Tone | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mid-level | low-falling | high-falling | high-level, glottalized |
high-rising | low-rising | |||
Thai Tone Equivalence | ||||||||
สามัญ (saman) |
เอก (ek) |
โท (tho) |
โทพิเศษ (special tho)[a] |
ตรี (tree) |
จัตวา (chattawa) | |||
mid | low | falling | - | high | rising | |||
m, n, ŋ, j, w
coda (unchecked syllables) (sonorant) |
long & short |
Low | ᨴᩣ /taː˧˧/ "to smear" |
ᨴ᩵ᩣ /taː˦˨/ "port" |
ᨴ᩶ᩣ /taː˦˥/ "to challenge" |
|||
High | ᨲ᩵ᩣ᩠ᨦ /taːŋ˨˩/ "to carry" |
ᨲ᩶ᩣ᩠ᨶ /taːn˦˦ʔ/ "to oppose" |
ᨲᩣ /taː˨˦/ "eye" | |||||
Mid | ᩋᩩ᩠ᨿ /ʔuj˧˧/ "soft hair" |
ᩋᩩ᩠᩵ᨿ /ʔuj˨˩/ "to scatter" |
ᩋᩩ᩠᩶ᨿᩌᩩ᩠᩵ᨿ[b][23] /ʔuj˦˨.huj˦˨/ "greenish" |
ᩋᩩ᩠᩶ᨿ[23] /ʔuj˦˦ʔ/ "thigh" |
ᩋᩩ᩠᩶ᨿ[b][24] /ʔuj˦˥/ "grand parents" |
ᩋᩩ᩠ᨿ[b][25] /ʔuj˨˦/ "breast" | ||
ʔ, p̚, t̚, k̚
coda[c] (checked syllables) |
long | Low | ᨴᩣ᩠ᨠ /taːk̚˦˨/ "slug" |
ᨶᩰ᩠᩶ᨴ[b][d][26]
/noːt̚˦˥/ "note" |
||||
High | ᨲᩣ᩠ᨠ /taːk̚˨˩/ "to dry" |
|||||||
Mid | ᨯᩣ᩠ᨷ /daːp̚˨˩/ "sword" |
ᩋᩪ᩶ᨯ[b][27] /ʔuːt̚˦˨/ "to swell" |
ᩋ᩶ᩬᨷ[b][28] /ʔɔːp̚˦˥/ "bottle neck" |
|||||
short | Low | ᨴᩢ᩠ᨠ /tak̚˦˥/ "to greet" |
||||||
High | ᨲᩢ᩠ᨷ /tap̚˨˦/ "liver" | |||||||
Mid | ᩋᩩ᩶ᨠ[b][29] /ʔuk̚˦˥/ "to ferment" |
ᨯᩢ᩠ᨷ /dap̚˨˦/ "to distinguish (fire)" |
- Notes
- ^ Not exist in standard Thai, but often approximated as the special falling tone (โทพิเศษ) in many grammar books and the academic circle in Thailand.
- ^ a b c d e f g Secondary form for mid class consonants. This form is less frequently found, and not listed in some grammar book. However, there are dictionary records of words in this form, especially the word start with ᩋ /ʔ/.
- ^ Some linguists consider this class as separated tones group.
- ^ Mostly the borrow words from Thai and English.
Numerals
Lanna has two sets of numerals. The first set, Lek Nai Tham, is reserved for liturgical purposes. The other set, Lek Hora, is used in everyday life.[30]
Arabic numerals | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hora digits | ᪀ | ᪁ | ᪂ | ᪃ | ᪄ | ᪅ | ᪆ | ᪇ | ᪈ | ᪉ |
Tham digits | ᪐ | ᪑ | ᪒ | ᪓ | ᪔ | ᪕ | ᪖ | ᪗ | ᪘ | ᪙ |
Thai numerals | ๐ | ๑ | ๒ | ๓ | ๔ | ๕ | ๖ | ๗ | ๘ | ๙ |
Lao numerals
|
໐ | ໑ | ໒ | ໓ | ໔ | ໕ | ໖ | ໗ | ໘ | ໙ |
Burmese numerals | ๐ | ၁ | ၂ | ၃ | ၄ | ၅ | ၆ | ၇ | ၈ | ၉ |
Khmer numerals | ០ | ១ | ២ | ៣ | ៤ | ៥ | ៦ | ៧ | ៨ | ៩ |
Relation with other scripts
Tai Tham is very similar in shape to Burmese script since both are derived from Old Mon script. New Tai Lue is a descendant of Tai Tham with its shape simplified and many consonants removed. Thai script looks distinctive from Tai Tham but covers all equivalent consonants including 8 additional consonants, as Thai is the closest sister language to the Northern Thai, Khuen, and Lue languages. A variation of Thai script (Sukhothai script) called Fakkham script was also used in Lan Na to write Northern Thai, Khuen, and Lue during the 14th century, influencing the development of the modern Tai Tham script.[31][4]
Tai Tham | Burmese | New Tai Lue | Khmer | Thai | Lao | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode | Lanna style | ||||||
ᨠ | က | ᦂ | ក | ก | ກ | ||
ᨡ | ခ | ᦃ | ខ | ข | ຂ | ||
ᨢ | – | – | – | ฃ | – | ||
ᨣ | ဂ | ᦅ | គ | ค | ຄ | ||
ᨤ | – | ᦆ | – | ฅ | – | ||
ᨥ | ဃ | – | ឃ | ฆ |
(modern: ຄ) | ||
ᨦ | င | ᦇ | ង | ง | ງ | ||
ᨧ | စ | ᦈ | ច | จ | ຈ | ||
ᨨ | ဆ | – | ឆ | ฉ |
(modern: ສ) | ||
ᨩ | ဇ | ᦋ | ជ | ช | ຊ | ||
ᨪ | – | ᦌ | – | ซ | – | ||
ᨫ | ဈ | – | ឈ | ฌ |
(modern: ຊ) | ||
ᨬ | ည | – | ញ | ญ |
(modern: ຍ) | ||
ᨭ | ဋ | – | ដ | ฏ |
(modern: ຕ) | ||
ᨮ | ဌ | – | ឋ | ฐ |
(modern: ຖ) | ||
ᨯ | ဍ | ᦡ | ឌ | ฑ, ฎ, ด |
(modern: ທ, ດ) | ||
ᨰ | ဎ | – | ឍ | ฒ |
(modern: ທ) | ||
ᨱ | ဏ | – | ណ | ณ |
(modern: ນ) | ||
ᨲ | တ | ᦎ | ត | ต | ຕ | ||
ᨳ | ထ | ᦏ | ថ | ถ | ຖ | ||
ᨴ | ဒ | ᦑ | ទ | ท | ທ | ||
ᨵ | ဓ | ᦒ | ធ | ธ |
(modern: ທ) | ||
ᨶ | န | ᦓ | ន | น | ນ | ||
ᨷ | ပ | ᦢ | ប | บ | ບ | ||
ᨸ | – | ᦔ | – | ป | ປ | ||
ᨹ | ဖ | ᦕ | ផ | ผ | ຜ | ||
ᨺ | – | ᦚ | – | ฝ | ຝ | ||
ᨻ | ဗ | ᦗ | ព | พ | ພ | ||
ᨼ | – | ᦝ | – | ฟ | ຟ | ||
ᨽ | ဘ | ᦘ | ភ | ภ |
(modern: ພ) | ||
ᨾ | မ | ᦙ | ម | ม | ມ | ||
ᨿ | ယ | ᦍ | យ | ย | ຍ | ||
ᩀ | – | ᦊ | – | อย | ຢ | ||
ᩁ | ရ | ᦣ | រ | ร | ຣ
(modern: ລ) | ||
ᩃ | လ | ᦟ | ល | ล | ລ | ||
ᩅ | ဝ | ᦞ | វ | ว | ວ | ||
ᩆ | ၐ
(modern: သ) |
– | ឝ
(modern: ស) |
ศ |
(modern: ສ) | ||
ᩇ | ၑ
(modern: သ) |
– | ឞ
(modern: ស) |
ษ |
(modern: ສ) | ||
ᩈ | သ | ᦉ | ស | ส | ສ | ||
ᩉ | ဟ | ᦠ | ហ | ห | ຫ | ||
ᩊ | ဠ | – | ឡ | ฬ |
(modern: ລ) | ||
ᩋ | အ | ᦀ | អ | อ | ອ | ||
ᩌ | – | – | – | ฮ | ຮ | ||
7. Special | ᩂ | ၒ | – | ឫ | ฤ | – | |
ᩄ | ၔ | – | ឭ | ฦ | – |
Sanskrit and Pali
The Tai Tham script (like all
Pali consonants in Tai Tham script
Sanskrit consonants in Tai Tham script
Unicode block
Tai Tham script was added to the Unicode Standard in October, 2009 with the release of version 5.2.
The Unicode block for Tai Tham is U+1A20–U+1AAF:
Tai Tham[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+1A2x | ᨠ | ᨡ | ᨢ | ᨣ | ᨤ | ᨥ | ᨦ | ᨧ | ᨨ | ᨩ | ᨪ | ᨫ | ᨬ | ᨭ | ᨮ | ᨯ |
U+1A3x | ᨰ | ᨱ | ᨲ | ᨳ | ᨴ | ᨵ | ᨶ | ᨷ | ᨸ | ᨹ | ᨺ | ᨻ | ᨼ | ᨽ | ᨾ | ᨿ |
U+1A4x | ᩀ | ᩁ | ᩂ | ᩃ | ᩄ | ᩅ | ᩆ | ᩇ | ᩈ | ᩉ | ᩊ | ᩋ | ᩌ | ᩍ | ᩎ | ᩏ |
U+1A5x | ᩐ | ᩑ | ᩒ | ᩓ | ᩔ | ᩕ | ᩖ | ᩗ | ᩘ | ᩙ | ᩚ | ᩛ | ᩜ | ᩝ | ᩞ | |
U+1A6x | ᩠ | ᩡ | ᩢ | ᩣ | ᩤ | ᩥ | ᩦ | ᩧ | ᩨ | ᩩ | ᩪ | ᩫ | ᩬ | ᩭ | ᩮ | ᩯ |
U+1A7x | ᩰ | ᩱ | ᩲ | ᩳ | ᩴ | ᩵ | ᩶ | ᩷ | ᩸ | ᩹ | ᩺ | ᩻ | ᩼ | ᩿ | ||
U+1A8x | ᪀ | ᪁ | ᪂ | ᪃ | ᪄ | ᪅ | ᪆ | ᪇ | ᪈ | ᪉ | ||||||
U+1A9x | ᪐ | ᪑ | ᪒ | ᪓ | ᪔ | ᪕ | ᪖ | ᪗ | ᪘ | ᪙ | ||||||
U+1AAx | ᪠ | ᪡ | ᪢ | ᪣ | ᪤ | ᪥ | ᪦ | ᪧ | ᪨ | ᪩ | ᪪ | ᪫ | ᪬ | ᪭ | ||
Notes |
Fonts
Supports for Tai Tham Unicode font in
However, the current version of this font still fails to display Tai Tham text correctly. The table below gives a list of publicly available Tai Tham fonts.Font name | Supports | Script style | Font family | Publisher (with page link) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode[a] | Non-Unicode[b] | ||||
A Tai Tham KH New V3 | Yes | No | Khün | Sans-serif | Arloka Tai Tham Unicode group |
A Tai Tham LN | Yes | No | Lanna | Serif | Arloka |
Chiangsaen Alif | Yes | No | Lanna | Sans-serif | Alif Silapachai |
CR Insom Lanna | Yes | Yes | Lanna | Serif | Worawut Thanawatanawanich |
Hariphunchai | Yes | No | Lanna | Serif | TragerStudio, Richard Wordingham |
Kotthabun | Yes | No | Lao Tham | Serif | Theppitak Karoonboonyanan Tai Tham Unicode group |
Lanna Alif | Yes | No | Lanna | Sans-serif | Alif Silapachai |
Lamphun | Yes | No | Lanna | Serif | Richard Wordingham |
LN Mon Saen | No | Yes | Khün | Serif | Chiang Mai University (page link), Pichai Saengboon |
LN Tilok | No | Yes | Lanna | Serif | Chiang Mai University (page link), Pichai Saengboon |
LN Wat Inda | No | Yes | Khün | Serif | Chiang Mai University (page link), Pichai Saengboon |
Noto Sans Tai Tham | Yes | No | Khün | Sans-serif | Google Fonts |
Pali-Kotthabun | Pali only | Yes | Lao Tham | Serif | Worawut Thanawatanawanich, Theppitak Karoonboonyanan |
Pali-Tilok | Pali only | Yes | Lanna | Serif | Worawut Thanawatanawanich, Pichai Saengboon |
Payap Lanna | Yes | No | Lanna | Serif | SIL International |
RST-ISAN | No | Yes | Lao Tham | Serif | Royal Society of Thailand (page link) |
RST-LANNA | No | Yes | Lanna | Serif | Royal Society of Thailand (page link) |
Tai Tham BXL | Yes | No | Lue | Serif | Tai Tham Unicode group |
Tai Tham Kammattana | Yes | No | Khün | Serif | Tai Tham Unicode group |
Tai Tham Kasem | Yes | No | Lanna | Serif | Tai Tham Unicode group |
Tai Tham Kruba Promma | Yes | No | Lanna | Serif | Tai Tham Unicode group |
Tai Tham Nang Kham | Yes | No | Khün | Serif | Tai Tham Unicode group |
Tai Tham Sripanyawut | Yes | No | Lanna | Serif | Tai Tham Unicode group |
Tai Tham Thatdaokham | Yes | No | Lue | Serif | Tai Tham Unicode group |
VS Tham Lanxang | Yes | Yes | Lao Tham | Serif | Worawut Thanawatanawanich |
- Note
References
- ^ a b Diringer, David (1948). Alphabet a key to the history of mankind. p. 411.
- JSTOR 40860228.
- ^ Penth, Hans (1986). "On the History of Thai scripts" (PDF). Siam Society Newsletter. Vol. 2, no. 3.
- ^ a b c d Prongthura, Naiyana (1982). Dhamma script of Northern Thailand (อักษรธรรมลานนา) (Thesis) (in Thai). Bangkok: Silapakorn University.
- ^ a b Everson, Michael, Hosken, Martin, & Constable, Peter. (2007). Revised proposal for encoding the Lanna script in the BMP of the UCS.
- ^ Natnapang Burutphakdee (October 2004). Khon Muang Neu Kap Phasa Muang [Attitudes of Northern Thai Youth towards Kammuang and the Lanna Script] (PDF) (M.A. Thesis). Presented at 4th National Symposium on Graduate Research, Chiang Mai, Thailand, August 10–11, 2004. Asst. Prof. Dr. Kirk R. Person, adviser. Chiang Mai: Payap University. P. 7, digital image 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-05-05. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
The reason why they called this language 'Kammuang' is because they used this language in the towns where they lived together, which were surrounded by mountainous areas where there were many hill tribe people.
- ^ Hundius, Harald; Wharton, David (2010). "The Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts".
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - S2CID 160928923.
- ^ a b ธวัช ปุณโณทก (Punnothek, T.) อักษรโบราณอีสาน: อักขรวิทยาอักษรตัวธรรมและไทยน้อย. กรุงเทพฯ: สยามเพรส แมเนจเม้นท์, ๒๕๔๐, ๕๔
- ^ a b c McDaniel, J. (2005). Notes on the lao influence on northern thai buddhist literature. The literary heritage of Laos: Preservation, dissemination, and research perspectives. Vientiane, Laos: Lao National Archives.
- ^ Chew, P., Saengboon, P., & Wordingham, R. (2015). "Tai Tham: A Hybrid Script that Challenges Current Encoding Models". Presented at the Internationalization and Unicode Conference (IUC 39).
- ^ ISBN 9789747793567.
- ^ ISBN 9789746851756.
- )
- ^ Everson, Michael; Hosken, Martin; Constable, Peter (March 21, 2007). "Lanna Unicode: A Proposal" (PDF). Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ^ Burutphakdee, Natnapang (October 2004). "Khon Muang Neu Kap Phasa Muang: Attitudes of Northern Thai Youth towards Kammuang and the Lanna Script" (PDF). SIL International. pp. 32–61. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2015.
- )
- ISBN 9748547205.
- ^ hdl:10524/52403.
- ^ a b c Buddhism Summer Curriculum Level 1 Book 2 (ᩉᩖᩢᨠᩈᩪᨲ᩠ᨲ᩼ᨻᩕᨻᩩᨴ᩠ᨵᩈᩣᩈᨶᩣᨽᩣ᩠ᨣᩁᩬ᩶ᩁ ᨩᩢ᩠᩶ᨶ ᪑ ᩃᩮ᩠᩵ᨾ ᪒). Vol. 2. Bangkok: Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Press. 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
{{cite book}}
: templatestyles stripmarker in|title=
at position 44 (help) - ^ ISBN 9789747793567.
- )
- ^ a b Sunthornsing, Charee. "พจนานุกรมภาษาล้านนา-ไทย ฉบับมรดกล้านนา". มรดกล้านนา. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ISBN 9789747793567.
- ^ Sunthornsing, Charee. "พจนานุกรมภาษาล้านนา-ไทย ฉบับมรดกล้านนา". มรดกล้านนา. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "รายงานสัมมนา แนวทางการเขียนศัพท์วิชาการด้วยอักษรธรรมล้านนา" [Seminar report: guidelines for writing technical terms using Lanna script.] (PDF). The Center for the Promotion of Arts and Culture, Chiang Mai University. 17 January 2004. p. 44. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ISBN 9789747793567.
- ISBN 9789747793567.
- ISBN 9789747793567.
- ^ Omniglot. Lanna alphabet (Tua Mueang). Retrieved 28 April 2019
- ^ Vimonkasam, Kannika (1981). Fakkham script found in Northern Thai inscriptions (อักษรฝักขามที่พบในศิลาจารึกภาคเหนือ) (Thesis) (in Thai). Bangkok: Silapakorn University.
- ^ "Creating and supporting OpenType fonts for the Universal Shaping Engine". Microsoft technical documentation. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "Lanna Fonts (ฟอนต์ล้านนา)". The Center for the Promotion of Arts and Culture, Chiang Mai University. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "Six fonts for ancient scripts (ชุดแบบอักษรหรือฟอนต์อักษรโบราณ ๖ ชุด)". The Royal Society of Thailand. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "System Fonts". Apple Developer. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
Further reading
- Khamjan, Mala(มาลา คำจันทร์). Kham Mueang Dictionary(พจนานุกรมคำเมือง). Chiang Mai: bookworm, 2008. ISBN 978-974-8418-55-1.
- "Lanna script". Complete information from traditional sources. Sky Knowledge. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
- Owen, R. Wyn. 2017. A description and linguistic analysis of the Tai Khuen writing system. Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society 10.1, 140–164.
- Trager, Ed. (2014). Hariphunchai Tai Tham Font Project.
- Wordingham, Richard. Lamphun glyphs (A page with specimen of the font Lamphun). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
- Alan Wood's Tai Tham test page
External links
- ISO/IEC 10646:2003/Amd.5:2008 Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set (UCS) – Amendment 5: AMENDMENT 5: Tai Tham, Tai Viet, Avestan, Egyptian Hieroglyphs, CJK Unified Ideographs Extension C, and other characters