Ña (Indic)

Ña or Nya is the tenth consonant of Indic abugidas. It is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter .

← Jha		Ña			Ṭa →
Devanagari	Ashoka Brahmi		Tibetan	Bengali		Tamil
091E	1101C		0F49	099E		0B9E
Gurmukhi	Thai		Baybayin	Malayalam		Sinhala
ਞ 0A1E	ญ 0E0D		- --	ഞ 0D1E		ඤ 0DA4
Ancient scripts Ashoka Brahmi Kushana Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Tocharian 1101C 𑀜 1101C 1101C -- Kharoṣṭhī Siddhaṃ Sharada Grantha - -- 11597 - -- - --
Bangla and Tibetan scripts Ashoka Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Tibetan Bengali 1101C 1101C 0F49 099E 'Phags-pa Oriya Limbu Lepcha Marchen - -- ଞ 0B1E - -- - -- 𑱹 11C79 Siddhaṃ Pracalit Tirhuta Zanabazar Square 11597 𑐘 11418 - -- 𑨓 11A13 Note: Korean Hangul is an alphabet, not an Indic abugida, but appears to ultimately have some derivation from 'Phags-pa.
Sharada-based scripts Sharada Ashoka Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Takri Dogra - -- 1101C 1101C - -- 𑠓 11813 Gurmukhi Khudawadi Mahajani Khojki Multani ਞ 0A1E - -- - -- - -- 𑊏 1128F
Nagaris and other Gupta-based scripts Ashoka Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Devanagari 1101C 1101C 091E Gujarati Kaithi Syloti Nagari Modi ઞ 0A9E - -- - -- - -- Nandinagari Gunjala Gondi Soyombo Bhaiksuki 𑦷 119B7 𑩥 11A65 - -- 𑰗 11C17
Kawi scripts Grantha Baybayin Tagbanwa Hanunó'o Buhid - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- Balinese Javanese Batak Lontara Rejang - -- - -- ᯠ 1BE0 ᨎ 1A0E - -- Ashoka Brahmi Sundanese Makasar Chakma 1101C - -- 𑻫 11EEB 𑻫 11EEB
Tai and Khmer scripts Ashoka Brahmi Grantha Khmer Lao 1101C - -- ញ 1789 ຍ 0E8D Thai Tai Tham Tai Viet Tai Le New Tai Lü ญ 0E0D - -- - -- - -- - --
Other Grantha-based scripts Ashoka Brahmi Grantha Ahom Dives Akuru 1101C - -- 𑜐 11710 𑤕 11915 Malayalam Saurashtra Cham Burmese Kayah Li ഞ 0D1E - -- - -- ဉ 1009 - --
Other Brahmic scripts Ashoka Brahmi Masaram Gondi Meetei Mayek 1101C 𑴕 11D15 - -- Tamil Kannada Sinhala Telugu 0B9E ඤ 0DA4 ఞ 0C1E ಞ 0C9E
Phonemic representation:				/ɲ/
IAST transliteration:				ña Ña
ISCII code point:				BC (188)

Historic Nya

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Nya as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta . The Tocharian Nya did not have an alterante Fremdzeichen form. The third form of nya, in Kharoshthi () was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.

Brahmi Nya

The Brahmi letter , Nya, is probably derived from the altered Aramaic Nun , and is thus related to the modern Latin N and Greek Nu. Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Nya can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period.[1] 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 Nya historic forms

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

Tocharian Nya

The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi , but does not have an alternate Fremdzeichen form.

Tocharian Nya with vowel marks

Nya	Nyā	Nyi	Nyī	Nyu	Nyū	Nyr	Nyr̄	Nye	Nyai	Nyo	Nyau	Nyä

Kharoṣṭhī Nya

The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the altered Aramaic Nun , and is thus related to N and Nu, in addition to the Brahmi Nya.

Devanagari script

Ña (ञ, Sanskrit and Hindi: ञकार ñakāra) is the tenth consonant of the Devanagari abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , after having gone through the Gupta letter . Letters that derive from it are the Gujarati letter ઞ, and the Modi letter 𑘗.

Devanagari-using Languages

In all languages, ञ is pronounced as [ɲə] or [ɲ] when appropriate, similar to the phoneme in English canyon (/ˈkænjən/).. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

Devanagari ञ with vowel marks

Ña	Ñā	Ñi	Ñī	Ñu	Ñū	Ñr	Ñr̄	Ñl	Ñl̄	Ñe	Ñai	Ño	Ñau	Ñ
ञ	ञा	ञि	ञी	ञु	ञू	ञृ	ञॄ	ञॢ	ञॣ	ञे	ञै	ञो	ञौ	ञ्

Conjuncts with ञ

Half form of Nya.

Devanagari exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. In modern Devanagari texts, most conjuncts are formed by reducing the letter shape to fit tightly to the following letter, usually by dropping a character's vertical stem, sometimes referred to as a "half form". Some conjunct clusters are always represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters. Vertically stacked conjuncts are ubiquitous in older texts, while only a few are still used routinely in modern Devanagari texts. The use of ligatures and vertical conjuncts may vary across languages using the Devanagari script, with Marathi in particular preferring the use of half forms where texts in other languages would show ligatures and vertical stacks.[2]

Ligature conjuncts of ञ

True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Devanagari are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra. Nepali and Marathi texts use the "eyelash" Ra half form for an initial "R" instead of repha.

• र্ (r) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature rña:

• ञ্ (ñ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ñra:

• ञ্ (ñ) + न (na) gives us the ligature ñna:

Devanagari Jña

Jña half form

One of the most common true ligatures in Devanagari is the conjunct jña ज्ञ. This ligature is a required form for most Devanagari languages, and the conjunct even has its own half form that freely joins other letters in horizontal conjuncts. ज्ञ্‍

• ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature jña:

• र্ (r) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature rjña:

• भ্ (bʰ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature bʰjña:

• ब্ (b) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature bjña:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature cʰjña:

• च্ (c) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature cjña:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ḍʱjña:

• ड্ (ḍ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ḍjña:

• द্ (d) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature djña:

• घ্ (ɡʱ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ɡʱjña:

• ग্ (g) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature gjña:

• ह্ (h) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature hjña:

• ज্ (j) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature jjña:

• झ্ (jʰ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature jʰjña:

• ख্ (kʰ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature kʰjña:

• क্ (k) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature kjña:

• ल্ (l) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ljña:

• म্ (m) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature mjña:

• न্ (n) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature njña:

• ञ্ (ñ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ñjña:

• ङ্ (ŋ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ŋjña:

• फ্ (pʰ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature pʰjña:

• प্ (p) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature pjña:

• श্ (ʃ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ʃjña:

• स্ (s) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature sjña:

• ष্ (ṣ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ṣjña:

• थ্ (tʰ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature tʰjña:

• त্ (t) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature tjña:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ṭʰjña:

• ट্ (ṭ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ṭjña:

• व্ (v) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature vjña:

• य্ (y) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature yjña:

Stacked conjuncts of ञ

Vertically stacked ligatures are the most common conjunct forms found in Devanagari text. Although the constituent characters may need to be stretched and moved slightly in order to stack neatly, stacked conjuncts can be broken down into recognizable base letters, or a letter and an otherwise standard ligature.

• भ্ (bʰ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature bʰña:

• ब্ (b) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature bña:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature cʰña:

• च্ (c) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature cña:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ḍʱña:

• ड্ (ḍ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ḍña:

• ध্ (dʱ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature dʱjña:

• ध্ (dʱ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature dʱña:

• द্ (d) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature dña:

• घ্ (ɡʱ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ɡʱña:

• ह্ (h) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature hña:

• झ্ (jʰ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature jʰña:

• ख্ (kʰ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature kʰña:

• क্ (k) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature kña:

• ळ্ (ḷ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ḷña:

• ल্ (l) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature lña:

• म্ (m) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature mña:

• ङ্ (ŋ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ŋña:

• न্ (n) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature nña:

• ञ্ (ñ) + ब (ba) gives us the ligature ñba:

• ञ্ (ñ) + च (ca) gives us the ligature ñca:

• ञ্ (ñ) + ज (ja) gives us the ligature ñja:

• ञ্ (ñ) + ल (la) gives us the ligature ñla:

• ञ্ (ñ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ñña:

• ञ্ (ñ) + व (va) gives us the ligature ñva:

• फ্ (pʰ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature pʰña:

• प্ (p) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature pña:

• श্ (ʃ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ʃña:

• स্ (s) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature sña:

• ष্ (ṣ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ṣña:

• थ্ (tʰ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature tʰña:

• त্ (t) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature tña:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ṭʰña:

• ट্ (ṭ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature ṭña:

• व্ (v) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature vña:

• य্ (y) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature yña:

Bengali script

The Bengali script ঞ is derived from the Siddhaṃ , and is marked by no horizontal head line, and a less geometric shape than its Devanagari counterpart, ञ. The inherent vowel of Bengali consonant letters is /ɔ/, so the bare letter ঞ will sometimes be transliterated as "nyo" instead of "nya". Adding okar, the "o" vowel mark, gives a reading of /ɲo/.

Like all Indic consonants, ঞ can be modified by marks to indicate another (or no) vowel than its inherent "a".

Bengali ঞ with vowel marks

nya	nyā	nyi	nyī	nyu	nyū	nyr	nyr̄	nye	nyai	nyo	nyau	ny
ঞ	ঞা	ঞি	ঞী	ঞু	ঞূ	ঞৃ	ঞৄ	ঞে	ঞৈ	ঞো	ঞৌ	ঞ্

ঞ in Bengali-using languages

ঞ is used as a basic consonant character in all of the major Bengali script orthographies, including Bengali and Assamese.

Conjuncts with ঞ

Bengali ঞ exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts, with a mix of both stacked and linear ligatures.[3]

• চ্ (c) + ঞ (ña) gives us the ligature cña:

• জ্ (j) + ঞ (ña) gives us the ligature jña:

• ঞ্ (ñ) + চ (ca) gives us the ligature ñca:

• ঞ্ (ñ) + ছ (cʰa) gives us the ligature ñcʰa:

• ঞ্ (ñ) + জ (ja) gives us the ligature ñja:

• ঞ্ (ñ) + ঝ (jʰa) gives us the ligature ñjʰa:

• ষ্ (ṣ) + ঞ (ña) gives us the ligature ṣña:

Gurmukhi script

Ñaññā (ਞ, Punjabi: ਞੱਞਾ ñaññā) is a consonant of Gurmukhi. It is represented in Shahmukhi with Punjabi: ں nun gunnah or Punjabi: ن nun.

Gujarati script

Ña (ઞ, Gujarati: ઞ) is a Gujarati consonant, from the Devenagari letter without the top bar.

Javanese script

Main article: Nya (Javanese)

Thai script

Yo Ying (ญ, Thai: ญอ หญิง) is the thirteenth letter of the Thai script. It falls under the low class of Thai consonants. In IPA, yo ying is pronounced as [j] at the beginning of the syllable and [n] at the end of syllable and in Old Thai, it was pronounced as [ɲ], Thai consonants do not form conjunct ligatures, and use the pinthu—an explicit virama with a dot shape—to indicate bare consonants. In the acrophony of the Thai script, ying (หญิง) means ‘woman’. Yo Ying corresponds to the Sanskrit character ‘ञ’.

References

1. Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838
2. Pall, Peeter. "Microsoft Word - kblhi2" (PDF). Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
3. "The Bengali Alphabet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-28.