Warang Citi

Warang Citi
𑢹𑣗𑣁𑣜𑣊 𑢯𑣂𑣕𑣂
Uppercase
Lowercase
The word 'Warang Citi (Hbårŋ citi-Undying Writing)' in Warang Citi uppercase and lowercase script[1]
Script type
CreatorLako Bodra
Time period
1950s — present
DirectionLeft-to-right Edit this on Wikidata
LanguagesHo
Related scripts
Parent systems
original invention
  • Warang Citi
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Wara (262), ​Warang Citi (Varang Kshiti)
Unicode
Unicode alias
Warang Citi
U+118A0–U+118FF
Final Accepted Script Proposal

Warang Citi (also written Varang Kshiti or Barang Kshiti; Ho: 𑢹𑣗𑣁𑣜𑣊 𑣏𑣂𑣕𑣂,[1] IPA: /wɐrɐŋ ʧɪt̪ɪ/) is a writing system invented by Lako Bodra for the Ho language spoken in East India. It is used in primary and adult education and in various publications.

It has mainly gained acceptance among the easternmost group of speakers, and is more prevalent among those who have been educated in it. Many other speakers prefer oral transmission of knowledge, Devanagari, or Latin, but Warang Citi holds prestige among many Ho speakers.

History

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Community leader Bodra invented it as an alternative to the writing systems devised by Christian missionaries. He claims that the alphabet was invented in the 13th century by Deowan Turi, and that it was rediscovered in a shamanistic vision and Bodra modernized.

'Ong' in Warang Citi script

Characters

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Warang Citi is quite distinct from other writing systems of India, and it has features of an abugida and an alphabet.[1] As in Brahmic abugidas, consonant letters have an inherent vowel, usually /a/ or /ɔ/ but sometimes /ɛ/. The inherent vowel is not pronounced at the end of the word. Unlike in Brahmic abugidas, and more like in an alphabet, the full vowel letters are always written after the consonant, letters usually don't form ligatures, and there is no virama character.

It follows capitalization rules as are done in English and follows English punctuation. There are few ligatures that combine to form new sounds, and there are conjunct consonants that are used as well by stacking in some cases. It is written from left to right in horizontal lines.

The script begins with the letter Ong, which corresponds to Om in other Brahmic scripts. It has 32 letters in total with capital and small letters.

ong
𑣿
om
ngaa
𑢠𑣀
ṃ, ŋ
[note 1]
a
𑢡𑣁
a
wi
𑢢𑣂
i
yu
𑢣𑣃
u
ya
𑢤𑣄
yo
𑢥𑣅
y
ii
𑢦𑣆
ī
uu
𑢧𑣇
ū
e
𑢨𑣈
e
O
𑢩𑣉
o
ang
𑢪𑣊
ga
𑢫𑣋
g
ko
𑢬𑣌
k
eny
𑢭𑣍
ñ
yuj
𑢮𑣎
j
uc
𑢯𑣏
c
enn
𑢰𑣐
odd
𑢱𑣑
tte
𑢲𑣒
nung
𑢳𑣓
n
da:
𑢴𑣔
d
ot
𑢵𑣕
t
am
𑢶𑣖
m
bu
𑢷𑣗
b
pu
𑢸𑣘
p
hiyo
𑢹𑣙
h
holo
𑢺𑣚
l
horr
𑢻𑣛
har
𑢼𑣜
r
ssuu
𑢽𑣝
sii
𑢾𑣞
s
viyo
𑢿𑣟
  1. ^ nasalisation)
  2. ^ glottal stop
  3. ^ ligature of 𑢡 and 𑢹

Warang Citi uses its own set of numerals. The digits 0-9 are used in modern writing, but the signs for larger numbers are falling into disuse.

1
𑣡
2
𑣢
3
𑣣
4
𑣤
5
𑣥
6
𑣦
7
𑣧
8
𑣨
9
𑣩
0
𑣠
10
𑣪
20
𑣫
30
𑣬
40
𑣭
50
𑣮
60
𑣯
70
𑣰
80
𑣱
90
𑣲

Unicode

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Warang Citi was added to the Unicode Standard in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0.

The Unicode block for Warang Citi is U+118A0–U+118FF. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points:

Warang Citi[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+118Ax 𑢠 𑢡 𑢢 𑢣 𑢤 𑢥 𑢦 𑢧 𑢨 𑢩 𑢪 𑢫 𑢬 𑢭 𑢮 𑢯
U+118Bx 𑢰 𑢱 𑢲 𑢳 𑢴 𑢵 𑢶 𑢷 𑢸 𑢹 𑢺 𑢻 𑢼 𑢽 𑢾 𑢿
U+118Cx 𑣀 𑣁 𑣂 𑣃 𑣄 𑣅 𑣆 𑣇 𑣈 𑣉 𑣊 𑣋 𑣌 𑣍 𑣎 𑣏
U+118Dx 𑣐 𑣑 𑣒 𑣓 𑣔 𑣕 𑣖 𑣗 𑣘 𑣙 𑣚 𑣛 𑣜 𑣝 𑣞 𑣟
U+118Ex 𑣠 𑣡 𑣢 𑣣 𑣤 𑣥 𑣦 𑣧 𑣨 𑣩 𑣪 𑣫 𑣬 𑣭 𑣮 𑣯
U+118Fx 𑣰 𑣱 𑣲 𑣿
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 16.0
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

References

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  1. ^ a b c Everson, Michael (2012-04-19). "N4259: Final proposal for encoding the Warang Citi script in the SMP of the UCS" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-20.
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