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Zanabazar square script

Abugida developed by the monk and scholar Zanabazar

Zanabazar's square script 𑨢𑨆𑨏𑨳𑨋𑨆𑨬𑨳‎
Script type	Abugida
Creator	Zanabazar
Time period	unknown
Direction	Left-to-right
Languages	Mongolian, Tibetan, Sanskrit
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Aramaic Brahmi Gupta Tibetan Phagspa Zanabazar's square script
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Zanb (339), ​Zanabazar Square (Zanabazarin Dörböljin Useg, Xewtee Dörböljin Bicig, Horizontal Square Script)
Unicode
Unicode alias	Zanabazar Square
Unicode range	U+11A00–U+11A4F Zanabazar Square

Zanabazar's square script is a horizontal Mongolian square script (Mongolian: Хэвтээ Дөрвөлжин бичиг, romanized: Hevtee Dörvöljin bichigorХэвтээ Дөрвөлжин Үсэг, Hevtee Dörvöljin Üseg),^[1]anabugida developed by the monk and scholar Zanabazar based on the Tibetan alphabettowrite Mongolian. It can also be used to write Tibetan language and Sanskrit as a geometric typeface.^[2][3]

It was re-discovered in 1801 and the script's applications during its using period are not known, read left to right, and employed vowel diacritics above and below the consonant letters.^[1]

Letters[edit]

Vowels[edit]

The Zanabazar Square script is an abugida. Consonant represent a syllable with an inherent vowel /a/. The vowel can be changed by adding a diacritic to the consonant. Only the vowel /a/ is written as an independent letter; other independent vowels, for example those at the start of a word which can't be attached to a consonant, are written by adding the appropriate diacritic to the letter ⟨𑨀‎⟩. A length mark indicates that the vowel sound is long and a candrabindu ⟨◌𑨵‎⟩ indicates that it is nasalised.^[4] The final consonant mark ⟨◌𑨳‎⟩ functions as a virama, or "killer stroke" that removes the inherent vowel, leaving an isolated consonant. When transcribing Sanskrit or Tibetan, a different virama, ⟨◌ 𑨴‎⟩ is used. Two additional diacritics are used for Sanskrit transcription, the anusvara ⟨◌𑨸‎⟩, which adds nasalisation and the visarga ⟨◌𑨹‎⟩, which adds aspiration.

Consonants[edit]

The Zanabazar script includes twenty basic consonants used for writing Mongolian, and twenty additional consonants that are used for transcribing Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, and other languages.^[4]

Tibetan consonant clusters[edit]

The following diacritics are used for transcribing Tibetan consonant clusters.

Other characters[edit]

Head marks are similar to Tibetan yig mgo, and may be used to mark the beginning of a text, page, or section. They may be decorated with a candra, ⟨◌ 𑨶‎⟩or⟨◌ 𑨶‎⟩

Unicode[edit]

"Zanabazar Square" has been included in the Unicode Standard since the release of Unicode version 10.0 in June 2017. The Zanabazar Square block contains 72 characters.^[5]

The Unicode block for Zanabazar Square is U+11A00–U+11A4F:

See also[edit]

• Mongolian writing systems
• ʼPhags-pa script

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• BabelStone Fonts for Zanabazar