Namaste

(requires download of Sambhaav Gujarati fonts)

THE GUJARATI ALPHABET

Every language has a different method of writing the script. Gujarati script is derived from Devanagari script to which it bears a considerable resemblance. The difference consists mainly in the ommision in Gujarati of the head-line used in joining together most of the Devanagari characters. Besides, some of the letters are written in quite a different style. As such the Gujarati script is easier to write than any other script. The letters have for their limbs or parts geometrical figures like arcs of circles, straight lines and dots combined in various ways. The height of the letters is uniform and they can therefore be neatly written between twp parallel lines. But vowel marks are placed either before, or after, or on top, or below a consonant, giving the writing the appearance of a multi-storied building. Though by themselves the vowels are written as separate letters, they are reduced to certain signs which must be used while combining them with consonants to determine the final sound.
The order of writing is from left to right like the Roman script. ( The Persian way of writing is from right to left, the Chinese from top to bottom vertically.)

The letters of the alphabet are divided into two catagories. The letters which can be pronounced independently by themselves are called Vowels ( EMC svar). The letters which cannot be pronounced independently by themselves are called Consonants ( ®Y>W¶ vyanjan). There are 11 vowels and 34 consonants in the Gujarati alphabet.

Consonants
[ ô m Ð ¯ © W
ka         kha         ga         gha       cha         chha        ja

Á è ø Q Ó × Ø ¼
za         ta        tha      da         dha       aNa        ta          tha

Ñ ª ¶ T R ú X @
da        dha         na           pa        fa         ba            bha        ma

Y C a M Æ t á À
ya          ra          la          va          sa          sha       shha        ha

í Ã h
ala        ksha        gna

 

Initial Vowels

When initial, i.e. when they begin a syllable, the initial vowels are depicted on the first line and just below them are the corresponding vowel marks :

#          a      (no mark)
[ 		#j      aa      j
[j 		$      e                          o
o[
¨      ee   É
[É 		&      u     ±
[± 		~      oo   Ò
[Ò
#K a          K
[K 		#º   ai        º
[º 		#jK   o       jK
[jK
#jº    au       jº
[jº 		#>   am       >
[> 		#:      ah         :
[:

The dot on # represents the nasal sound, called #¶ÕEMjC (anuswar), and the two dots after # represent the soft aspirate sound ÀÒ called ²MÆm° (visarga). These have been given there to show how these dots are applied to other letters.

The vowel marks or signs shown above are applied to all consonants in the same way as they are applied to [ . The only exception is the application of ¨ when it is applied to W and when ~ is applied to C .

W +  É =  ¡ , not WÉ , and C   +   Ò      =  ¬ , not CÒ

W +    j   = ë , not Wj (i.e. j    is joined to W )

W +  ±   = ë± , not W± , and W    +  Ò     =  ëÒ   , not WÒ

 

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