Geʽez Braille
Geʽez Braille Amharic Braille | |
---|---|
Script type | alphabet
|
Print basis | Geʽez alphabet |
Languages | Amharic; possibly also Tigrinya, Tigre, etc. |
Related scripts | |
Parent systems | Braille
|
Geʽez Braille is a collection of braille alphabets for the Ethiopian languages that are written in Geʽez script in print.[citation needed] Letter values are mostly in line with international usage. At least the Amharic language is supported; perhaps the extended letters needed for Tigrinya, Tigre and possibly other Ethiopian languages are supported as well, but if so that is not recorded in available references.
Amharic alphabet
[edit]Amharic Braille may be an abugida like the print Geʽez script, but the inherent vowel is epenthetic ə /ɨ/ rather than a /ɐ/. The same letter is used for syllables ending in the vowel ə as for the bare consonant. Other syllables are written with this letter plus a second letter for the vowel. Thus the system is very close to a true alphabet, with any inherent ə vowel often but evidently not always predictable.
The photograph of the syllabic chart at right shows a blank cell ⟨⠀⟩ being used for the inherent vowel ə. That is perhaps an artefact of the presentation; UNESCO (2013) shows that is simply not written.[1]
-ä |
-u |
-i |
-a |
-e |
-o |
-wa |
h ሀ |
l ለ |
ḥ ሐ |
m መ |
ś ሠ |
r ረ |
s ሰ |
š ሸ |
ḳ ቀ |
b በ |
t ተ |
č ቸ |
ḫ ኀ |
n ነ |
ñ ኘ |
ʾ አ |
k ከ |
x ኸ |
w ወ |
ʿ ዐ |
z ዘ |
ž ዠ |
y የ |
d ደ |
ǧ ጀ |
g ገ |
ṭ ጠ |
č̣ ጨ |
p̣ ጰ |
ṣ ጸ |
ṣ́ ፀ |
f ፈ |
p ፐ |
v ቨ |
⟨ə⟩ is not the default vowel in print Amharic, which is instead ⟨ä⟩ (braille ⠢). For most consonants, a is the only vowel that can occur in a Cw- syllable, so -wa has its own letter: ⠭. CwV and CyV syllables other than ⠭ -wa are written with medial ⠺ w and ⠽ y:
⠛⠢ | ⠛⠥ | ⠛⠊ | ⠛⠁ | ⠛⠑ | ⠛ | ⠛⠕ |
ገ gä | ጉ gu | ጊ gi | ጋ ga | ጌ ge | ግ gə | ጎ go |
⠛⠺⠢ | ⠛⠺⠊ | ⠛⠭ | ⠛⠺⠑ | ⠛⠺⠥ | ||
ጐ gwä | ጒ gwi | ጓ gwa | ጔ gwe | ጕ gwə |
Note that -wə is written ⠺⠥, as if it were -wu, a combination that does not occur in print.
Tigrinya and Tigrean alphabets
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Numbers
[edit]Ethiopic digits do not follow the international pattern. They are also circumfixed with ⠁ ... ⠆:
፩ | 1 | ⠁⠁⠆ | ፲ | 10 | ⠁⠅⠆ |
፪ | 2 | ⠁⠉⠆ | ፳ | 20 | ⠁⠅⠉⠆ |
፫ | 3 | ⠁⠒⠆ | ፴ | 30 | ⠁⠅⠒⠆ |
፬ | 4 | ⠁⠤⠆ | ፵ | 40 | ⠁⠅⠤⠆ |
፭ | 5 | ⠁⠑⠆ | ፶ | 50 | ⠁⠅⠑⠆ |
፮ | 6 | ⠁⠢⠆ | ፷ | 60 | ⠁⠅⠢⠆ |
፯ | 7 | ⠁⠊⠆ | ፸ | 70 | ⠁⠅⠊⠆ |
፰ | 8 | ⠁⠔⠆ | ፹ | 80 | ⠁⠅⠔⠆ |
፱ | 9 | ⠁⠃⠆ | ፺ | 90 | ⠁⠅⠃⠆ |
፲ | 10 | ⠁⠅⠆ | ፻ | 100 | ⠁⠋⠁⠆[2] |
Western numbers are marked with ⠼ as in other braille alphabets.
Punctuation
[edit]Native punctuation is as follows:
፡ | ። | ፣ | ፤ | ፦ | ፧ | ᎐ | |
Braille |
The last is yizet, one of several interlinear tone marks.
There is also Western punctuation:
? | ! | ... | - | — | / | * | |
Braille |
« ... » | ‹ ... › | ( ... ) | [ ... ] | |
Braille | ... | ... | ... | ... |
References
[edit]- ^ Unesco (2013), World Braille Usage, 3rd ed.
- ^ The source has ፻ 100 ⠁⠋⠁⠅.