Gurmukhi Script

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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]The Gurmukhi script is derived from the Later Sharada script and was standardized by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad Dev, in the 16th century for writing the Punjabi language. The whole of the Guru Granth Sahib's 1430 pages are written in this script. The name Gurmukhi is derived from the Old Punjabi term "guramukhi", meaning "from the mouth of the Guru".[/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]The word Gurmukhi is commonly translated as "from the Mouth of the Guru". However, the term used for the Punjabi script has somewhat different connotations. The opinion given by traditional scholars is that as the Sikh holy writings, before they were scribed, were uttered by the Gurus, they came to be known as Gurmukhi or the "Utterance of the Guru". And consequently, the script that was used for scribing the utterance was also given the same name. However, the prevalent view among Punjabi linguists is that as in the early stages the Gurmukhi letters were primarily used by Gurmukhs, or the Sikhs devoted to the Guru, the script came to be associated with them. Another view is that as the Gurmukhs, in accordance with the Sikh belief, used to meditate on the letters ਵ, ਹ, ਗ, ਰ which jointly form ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ or God in Sikhism, these letters were called Gurmukhi or the "speech of the Gurmukhs". Subsequently, the whole script came to be known as Gurmukhi.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]Gurmukhi is a system of writing called an abugida, where each consonant has an inherent vowel (a) that can be changed using vowel signs.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]Modern Gurmukhi has forty-one consonants (vianjan), nine vowel symbols (laga matra), two symbols for nasal sounds (bindi and ṭippi), and one symbol which duplicates the sound of any consonant (addak). In addition, four conjuncts are used: three subjoined forms of the consonants Rara, Haha and Vava, and one half-form of Yayya. Use of the conjunct forms of Vava and Yayya is increasingly scarce in modern contexts.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]Gurmukhi has been adapted to write other languages, such as Braj Bhasha, Khariboli (and other Hindustani dialects), Sanskrit and Sindhi.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]Like most of the North Indian writing systems, the Gurmukhi script is a descendant of the Brahmi script. The Proto-Gurmukhi letters evolved through the Gupta script, from 4th to 8th century, followed by the Sharada script, from 8th century onwards, and finally adapted their archaic form in the Devasesha stage of the Later Sharada script, dated between the 10th and 14th centuries.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]The traditional accounts, such as the references found in the Janamsakhi literature, say that the Gurmukhi script was invented by the second Sikh Guru, Guru Angad Dev. However, it would be correct to say that the script was standardised, rather than invented, by the Sikh Gurus. E.P. Newton (Panjabi Grammar, 1898) writes that at least 21 Gurmukhi characters are found in ancient manuscripts: 6 from 10th century, 12 from 3rd century BC and 3 from 5th century BC. Apparently, the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev also used the Gurmukhi script for his writings.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]There are two major theories on how the Proto-Gurmukhi script emerged in the 15th century. G.B. Singh (1950), while quoting Abu Raihan Al-Biruni's Ta'rikh al-Hind (1030 AD), says that the script evolved from Ardhanagari. Al-Biruni writes that the Ardhanagari script was used in Bathinda, including Sindh and western parts of the Punjab in the 10th century. For some time, Bhatinda remained the capital of the kingdom of Bhatti Rajputs of the Pal clan, who ruled North India before the Muslims occupied the country. Because of its connection with the Bhattis, the Ardhanagari script was also called Bhatachhari. According to Al-Biruni, Ardhanagari was a mixture of Nagari, used in Ujjain and Malwa, and Siddha Matrika or the Siddham script, a variant of the Sharada script used in Kashmir.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]Pritam Singh (1992) has also traced the origins of Gurmukhi to the Siddha Matrika.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]Tarlochan Singh Bedi (1999) writes that the Gurmukhi script developed in the 10-14th centuries from the Devasesha stage of the Sharada script. His argument is that from the 10th century, regional differences started to appear between the Sharada script used in Punjab, the Hill States (partly Himachal Pradesh) and Kashmir. The regional Sharada script evolves from this stage till the 14th century, when it starts to appear in the form of Gurmukhi. Indian epigraphists call this stage Devasesha, while Bedi prefers the name Pritham Gurmukhi or Proto-Gurmukhi.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]Gurus adopted the Proto-Gurmukhi script to write the Guru Granth Sahib, the religious scriptures of the Sikhs. Other contemporary scripts used in the Punjab were Takri and the Laṇḍā alphabets. Also Takri was a script that developed through the Devasesha stage of the Sharada script, and is found mainly in the Hill States, such as Chamba, where it is called Chambyali and in Jammu, where it is known as Dogri. The local Takri variants got the status of official scripts in some of the Punjab Hill States, and were used for both administrative and literary purposes until the 19th century. After 1948, when Himachal Pradesh was established as an administrative unit, the local Takri variants were replaced by Devanagari.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]Meanwhile, the mercantile scripts of Punjab known as the Laṇḍā were normally not used for literary purposes. Landa means alphabet "without tail", applying that the script did not have vowel symbols. In Punjab, there were at least ten different scripts classified as Laṇḍā, Mahajani being the most popular. The Laṇḍā alphabets were used for household and trade purposes. Compared to the Laṇḍā, Sikh Gurus favoured the use of Proto-Gurmukhi, because of the difficulties involved in pronouncing words without vowel signs.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]The usage of Gurmukhi letters in Guru Granth Sahib meant that the script developed its own orthographical rules. In the following epochs, Gurmukhi became the prime script applied for literary writings of the Sikhs. Later in the 20th century, the script was given the authority as the official script of the Eastern Punjabi language. Meanwhile, in Western Punjab a form of the Urdu script, known as Shahmukhi is still in use.[/FONT]

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