Ū is a vowel of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ū is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter . As an Indic vowel, Ū comes in two normally distinct forms: as an independent letter and as a vowel sign for modifying a base consonant. Bare consonants without a modifying vowel sign have the inherent "A" vowel.
Ū | |
---|---|
Example glyphs | |
Bengali–Assamese | |
Tibetan | ཨཱུ |
Tamil | |
Thai | ู |
Malayalam | ഊ |
Sinhala | ඌ |
Ashoka Brahmi | |
Devanagari | |
Cognates | |
Hebrew | ו |
Greek | Ϝ (Ϛ), Υ (Ȣ) |
Latin | F, V, U, W, Y, Ⅎ |
Cyrillic | Ѕ, У (Ꙋ), Ѵ, Ю |
Properties | |
Phonemic representation | /uː/ |
IAST transliteration | ū Ū |
ISCII code point | A9 (169) |
Āryabhaṭa numeration
editAryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The ू modifier sign was used to modify a consonant's value ×104, but the vowel letter ऊ did not have an inherent value by itself.[1]
Historic Ū
editThere are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Ū as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gujarat . Like all Brahmic scripts, Tocharian Ū 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 Ū are indicated with vowel marks added to the letter A.
Brahmi Ū
editThe Brahmi letter Ū , is probably derived from the altered Aramaic Waw , and is thus related to the modern Latin F, V, U, W, Y and Greek Upsilon.[2] Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ū 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 some vowel marks not attested until later forms of Brahmi back-formed to match the geometric writing style.
Ashoka (3rd-1st c. BCE) |
Girnar (~150 BCE) |
Kushana (~150-250 CE) |
Gujarat (~250 CE) |
Gupta (~350 CE) |
---|---|---|---|---|
No sample | No sample | No sample |
Tocharian Ū
editThe Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi . Unlike some of the consonants, Tocharian vowels do not have a Fremdzeichen form.
Kū | Khū | Gū | Ghū | Cū | Chū | Jū | Jhū | Nyū | Ṭū | Ṭhū | Ḍū | Ḍhū | Ṇū |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tū | Thū | Dū | Dhū | Nū | Pū | Phū | Bū | Bhū | Mū | Yū | Rū | Lū | Vū |
Śū | Ṣū | Sū | Hū | ||||||||||
Kharoṣṭhī Ū
editThe Kharoṣṭhī letter Ū is indicated with the U vowel mark plus the vowel length mark . As an independent vowel, Ū is indicated by adding the vowel marks to the independent vowel letter A .
Devanagari Ū
editŪ (ऊ) is a vowel of the Devanagari abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter . Letters that derive from it are the Gujarati letter ઊ, and the Modi letter 𑘅.
Devanagari Using Languages
editThe Devanagari script is used to write the Hindi language, Sanskrit and the majority of Indo-Aryan languages. In most of these languages, ऊ is pronounced as [uː]. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari vowels come in two forms: an independent vowel form for syllables that begin with a vowel sound, and a vowel sign attached to base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel.
Bengali Ū
editŪ (ঊ) is a vowel of the Bengali abugida. It is derived from the Siddhaṃ letter , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, ऊ.
Bengali Script Using Languages
editThe Bengali script is used to write several languages of eastern India, notably the Bengali language and Assamese. In most languages, ঊ is pronounced as [uː]. Like all Indic scripts, Bengali vowels come in two forms: an independent vowel form for syllables that begin with a vowel sound, and a vowel sign attached to base consonant to override the inherent /ɔ/ vowel.
Gujarati Ū
editŪ (ઊ) is a vowel of the Gujarati abugida. It is derived from the Devanagari Ū , and ultimately the Brahmi letter .
Gujarati-using Languages
editThe Gujarati script is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. In both languages, ઊ is pronounced as [u]; there is no phonemic distinction from U (ઉ) in Gujarati. Like all Indic scripts, Gujarati vowels come in two forms: an independent vowel form for syllables that begin with a vowel sound, and a vowel sign attached to base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel. In addition to the standard vowel sign, Ū forms a unique ligature when combined with the consonant R:
- ર (r) + ઊ (ū) gives the ligature રૂ (rū):
Telugu Script
editŪ (ఊ) is a vowel of the Telugu abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter . It is closely related to the Kannada letter ಊ. Like in other Indic scripts, Telugu vowels have two forms: and independent letter for word and syllable-initial vowel sounds, and a vowel sign for changing the inherent "a" of Telugu consonant letters. Vowel signs in Telugu can interact with a base consonant in one of three ways: 1) the vowel sign touches or sits adjacent to the base consonant without modifying the shape of either 2) the vowel sign sits directly above the consonant, replacing its v-shaped headline, 3) the vowel sign and consonant interact, forming a ligature.
Malayalam Ū
editŪ (ഊ) is a vowel of the Malayalam abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Grantha letter uu. Like in other Indic scripts, Malayalam vowels have two forms: an independent letter for word and syllable-initial vowel sounds, and a vowel sign for changing the inherent "a" of consonant letters. Vowel signs in Malayalam usually sit adjacent to its base consonant - below, to the left, right, or both left and right, but are always pronounced after the consonant sound. Some vowel signs, such as Ū, can also form a ligature with some consonants, although this is much more common in old-style paḻaya lipi texts than in the modern reformed paḻaya lipi orthography.
Odia Ū
editŪ (ଊ) is a vowel of the Odia abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Siddhaṃ letter uu. Like in other Indic scripts, Odia vowels have two forms: an independent letter for word and syllable-initial vowel sounds, and a vowel sign for changing the inherent "a" of consonant letters. Vowel signs in Odia usually sit adjacent to its base consonant - below, to the left, right, or both left and right, but are always pronounced after the consonant sound. No base consonants are altered in form when adding a vowel sign, and there are no consonant+vowel ligatures in Odia.
Kaithi Ū
editŪ (𑂈) is a vowel of the Kaithi abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Siddhaṃ letter Uu. Like in other Indic scripts, Kaithi vowels have two forms: an independent letter for word and syllable-initial vowel sounds, and a vowel sign for changing the inherent "a" of consonant letters. Vowel signs in Kaithi usually sit adjacent to its base consonant - below, to the left, right, or both left and right, but are always pronounced after the consonant sound. No base consonants are altered in form when adding a vowel sign, and there are no consonant+vowel ligatures in Kaithi.
Comparison of Ū
editThe various Indic scripts are generally related to each other through adaptation and borrowing, and as such the glyphs for cognate letters, including Ū, are related as well.
Comparison of Ū in different scripts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Notes
|
Character encodings of Ū
editMost Indic scripts are encoded in the Unicode Standard, and as such the letter Ū in those scripts can be represented in plain text with unique codepoint. Ū from several modern-use scripts can also be found in legacy encodings, such as ISCII.
Preview | ఊ | ଊ | ಊ | ഊ | ઊ | ਊ | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | DEVANAGARI LETTER UU | BENGALI LETTER UU | TAMIL LETTER UU | TELUGU LETTER UU | ORIYA LETTER UU | KANNADA LETTER UU | MALAYALAM LETTER UU | GUJARATI LETTER UU | GURMUKHI LETTER UU | |||||||||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 2314 | U+090A | 2442 | U+098A | 2954 | U+0B8A | 3082 | U+0C0A | 2826 | U+0B0A | 3210 | U+0C8A | 3338 | U+0D0A | 2698 | U+0A8A | 2570 | U+0A0A |
UTF-8 | 224 164 138 | E0 A4 8A | 224 166 138 | E0 A6 8A | 224 174 138 | E0 AE 8A | 224 176 138 | E0 B0 8A | 224 172 138 | E0 AC 8A | 224 178 138 | E0 B2 8A | 224 180 138 | E0 B4 8A | 224 170 138 | E0 AA 8A | 224 168 138 | E0 A8 8A |
Numeric character reference | ऊ |
ऊ |
ঊ |
ঊ |
ஊ |
ஊ |
ఊ |
ఊ |
ଊ |
ଊ |
ಊ |
ಊ |
ഊ |
ഊ |
ઊ |
ઊ |
ਊ |
ਊ |
ISCII | 169 | A9 | 169 | A9 | 169 | A9 | 169 | A9 | 169 | A9 | 169 | A9 | 169 | A9 | 169 | A9 | 169 | A9 |
Preview | 𑌊 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | BRAHMI LETTER UU | SIDDHAM LETTER UU | GRANTHA LETTER UU | |||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 69642 | U+1100A | 71045 | U+11585 | 70410 | U+1130A |
UTF-8 | 240 145 128 138 | F0 91 80 8A | 240 145 150 133 | F0 91 96 85 | 240 145 140 138 | F0 91 8C 8A |
UTF-16 | 55300 56330 | D804 DC0A | 55301 56709 | D805 DD85 | 55300 57098 | D804 DF0A |
Numeric character reference | 𑀊 |
𑀊 |
𑖅 |
𑖅 |
𑌊 |
𑌊 |
Preview | 𑐅 | 𑰅 | 𑆈 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | NEWA LETTER UU | BHAIKSUKI LETTER UU | SHARADA LETTER UU | |||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 70661 | U+11405 | 72709 | U+11C05 | 70024 | U+11188 |
UTF-8 | 240 145 144 133 | F0 91 90 85 | 240 145 176 133 | F0 91 B0 85 | 240 145 134 136 | F0 91 86 88 |
UTF-16 | 55301 56325 | D805 DC05 | 55303 56325 | D807 DC05 | 55300 56712 | D804 DD88 |
Numeric character reference | 𑐅 |
𑐅 |
𑰅 |
𑰅 |
𑆈 |
𑆈 |
Preview | ဦ | ᩐ | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | MYANMAR LETTER UU | TAI THAM LETTER UU | ||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 4134 | U+1026 | 6736 | U+1A50 |
UTF-8 | 225 128 166 | E1 80 A6 | 225 169 144 | E1 A9 90 |
Numeric character reference | ဦ |
ဦ |
ᩐ |
ᩐ |
Preview | ឩ | |
---|---|---|
Unicode name | KHMER INDEPENDENT VOWEL QUU | |
Encodings | decimal | hex |
Unicode | 6057 | U+17A9 |
UTF-8 | 225 158 169 | E1 9E A9 |
Numeric character reference | ឩ |
ឩ |
Preview | ඌ | 𑤅 | ꢇ | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | SINHALA LETTER UUYANNA | DIVES AKURU LETTER UU | SAURASHTRA LETTER UU | |||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 3468 | U+0D8C | 71941 | U+11905 | 43143 | U+A887 |
UTF-8 | 224 182 140 | E0 B6 8C | 240 145 164 133 | F0 91 A4 85 | 234 162 135 | EA A2 87 |
UTF-16 | 3468 | 0D8C | 55302 56581 | D806 DD05 | 43143 | A887 |
Numeric character reference | ඌ |
ඌ |
𑤅 |
𑤅 |
ꢇ |
ꢇ |
Preview | 𑘅 | 𑦥 | 𑵥 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | MODI LETTER UU | NANDINAGARI LETTER UU | GUNJALA GONDI LETTER UU | KAITHI LETTER UU | ||||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 71173 | U+11605 | 72101 | U+119A5 | 73061 | U+11D65 | 69768 | U+11088 |
UTF-8 | 240 145 152 133 | F0 91 98 85 | 240 145 166 165 | F0 91 A6 A5 | 240 145 181 165 | F0 91 B5 A5 | 240 145 130 136 | F0 91 82 88 |
UTF-16 | 55301 56837 | D805 DE05 | 55302 56741 | D806 DDA5 | 55303 56677 | D807 DD65 | 55300 56456 | D804 DC88 |
Numeric character reference | 𑘅 |
𑘅 |
𑦥 |
𑦥 |
𑵥 |
𑵥 |
𑂈 |
𑂈 |
Preview | 𑒆 | |
---|---|---|
Unicode name | TIRHUTA LETTER UU | |
Encodings | decimal | hex |
Unicode | 70790 | U+11486 |
UTF-8 | 240 145 146 134 | F0 91 92 86 |
UTF-16 | 55301 56454 | D805 DC86 |
Numeric character reference | 𑒆 |
𑒆 |
Preview | 𑚅 | 𑠅 | 𑊵 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | TAKRI LETTER UU | DOGRA LETTER UU | KHUDAWADI LETTER UU | |||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 71301 | U+11685 | 71685 | U+11805 | 70325 | U+112B5 |
UTF-8 | 240 145 154 133 | F0 91 9A 85 | 240 145 160 133 | F0 91 A0 85 | 240 145 138 181 | F0 91 8A B5 |
UTF-16 | 55301 56965 | D805 DE85 | 55302 56325 | D806 DC05 | 55300 57013 | D804 DEB5 |
Numeric character reference | 𑚅 |
𑚅 |
𑠅 |
𑠅 |
𑊵 |
𑊵 |
Preview | ᬊ | |
---|---|---|
Unicode name | BALINESE LETTER UKARA TEDUNG | |
Encodings | decimal | hex |
Unicode | 6922 | U+1B0A |
UTF-8 | 225 172 138 | E1 AC 8A |
Numeric character reference | ᬊ |
ᬊ |
Preview | 𑴅 | |
---|---|---|
Unicode name | MASARAM GONDI LETTER UU | |
Encodings | decimal | hex |
Unicode | 72965 | U+11D05 |
UTF-8 | 240 145 180 133 | F0 91 B4 85 |
UTF-16 | 55303 56581 | D807 DD05 |
Numeric character reference | 𑴅 |
𑴅 |
References
edit- ^ 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 (1898). "On the Origin of the Indian Brahmi Alphabet". archive.org. Karl J. Trübner. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ Asiatic Society of Bengal (1838). Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Princeton Theological Seminary Library. Calcutta : Printed at the Baptist Mission Press [etc.]