Ā (Indic)

Ancient scripts
Bangla and Tibetan scripts
	Note: Korean Hangul is an alphabet, not an Indic abugida, but; appears to ultimately have some derivation from 'Phags-pa.
Sharada-based scripts
Nagaris and other Gupta-based scripts
Kawi scripts
Tai and Khmer scripts
Other Grantha-based scripts
Other Brahmic scripts
Phonemic representation:	/ɑː/
IAST transliteration:	ā Ā
ISCII code point:	A5 (165)

Ā is a vowel of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Aa is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . As an Indic vowel, "Ā" comes in two normally distinct forms: 1) as an independent letter, and 2) as a vowel sign for modifying a base consonant. Bare consonants without a modifying vowel sign have the inherent short "A" vowel.

Āryabhaṭa numeration

Aryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The "Ā" modifier could be used to indicate a consonant's base value, although the unmodified consonant had this value as well. The independent vowel letter आ was not used to indicate any numeric value in the Aryabhata system.[1]

Historic Ā

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Aa as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta . Like all Brahmic scripts, Tocharian Ā has an accompanying vowel mark for modifying a base consonant. In Kharoṣṭhī, the only independent vowel letter is for the inherent A. All other independent vowels, including Ā are indicated with vowel marks added to the letter A.

Brahmi Ā

The Brahmi letter Ā , is probably derived from the Aramaic Alef , and is thus related to the modern Latin A and Greek Alpha.[2] Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Aa can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period.[3] As the earliest and most geometric style of Brahmi, the letters found on the Edicts of Ashoka and other records from around that time are normally the reference form for Brahmi letters, with vowel marks not attested until later forms of Brahmi back-formed to match the geometric writing style.

Brahmi Ā historic forms
Ashoka (3rd-1st c. BCE)	Girnar (~150 BCE)	Kushana (~150-250 CE)	Gujarat (~250 CE)	Gupta (~350 CE)

Tocharian Ā

The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi . Unlike some of the consonants, Tocharian vowels do not have a Fremdzeichen form.

Tocharian consonants with Ā vowel marks
Kaa	Khaa	Gaa	Ghaa	Caa	Chaa	Jaa	Jhaa	Nyaa	Ṭaa	Ṭhaa	Ḍaa	Ḍhaa	Ṇaa

Taa	Thaa	Daa	Dhaa	Naa	Paa	Phaa	Baa	Bhaa	Maa	Yaa	Raa	Laa	Vaa

Śaa	Ṣaa	Saa	Haa

Kharoṣṭhī Ā

The Kharoṣṭhī letter Ā is indicated with the vowel length mark . As an independent vowel, Ā is indicated by adding this vowel mark to the independent vowel letter A .

Devanagari Ā

Bengali Ā

Javanese Ā

gollark: OH NO PLEASE NOT ain't PLEASE NOT THAT

gollark: As I said, if you dislike it you can make an RFC.

gollark: I've never heard anyone say that, although I suppose I don't visit Scotland very much despite technically being Scottish.

gollark: No.

gollark: "I aren't a potato"? That doesn't make sense.

References

Ifrah, Georges (2000). The Universal History of Numbers. From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 447–450. ISBN 0-471-39340-1.
Bühler, Georg. "On the Origin of the Indian Brahmi Alphabet". archive.org. Karl J. Trübner. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838

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[Ifrah-1] Ifrah, Georges (2000). The Universal History of Numbers. From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 447–450. ISBN 0-471-39340-1.

[Buhler-2] Bühler, Georg. "On the Origin of the Indian Brahmi Alphabet". archive.org. Karl J. Trübner. Retrieved 10 June 2020.

[3] Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838