abugida

Also known as alphasyllabary

thumb|300px|Comparison of various abugidas descended from Brahmi script. [[Sanskrit for, May Śiva protect those who take delight in the language of the gods. (Kalidasa)]]

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An abugida is a writing system where consonants are the base letters and vowels are represented by marks or modifications attached to them, rather than as separate characters. This system is used in many Asian languages and developed from ancient scripts like Brahmi, making it an important alternative to alphabetic writing systems found in other parts of the world.

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Commons category: Abugida writing systems
native label: abugida

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Article

18 sections

Contents

Etymology
Terminology
General description
Family-specific features
Indic (Brahmic)
Ethiopic
Canadian Aboriginal syllabics
Borderline cases
Vowelled abjads
Phagspa
Pahawh
Meroitic
Shorthand
Development
List of abugidas
Fictional
Abugida-like scripts
References

thumb|300px|Comparison of various abugidas descended from Brahmi script. [[Sanskrit for, May Śiva protect those who take delight in the language of the gods. (Kalidasa)]]

An abugida (; from Geʽez: , )—sometimes also called an alphasyllabary, neosyllabary, or pseudo-alphabet—is a segmental writing system in which consonant–vowel sequences are written as units; each unit is based on a consonant letter, and vowel notation is secondary, like a diacritical mark. This contrasts with a full alphabet, in which vowels have status equal to consonants, and with an abjad, in which vowel marking is absent, partial, or optional. In less formal contexts, all three types of script may be termed "alphabets". The terms also contrast them with a syllabary, in which a single symbol denotes the combination of a consonant and a vowel.