Cha (Indic)

The Brahmi letter , Cha, is probably derived from the altered Aramaic Tsade , and is thus related to the Greek San (letter). Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Cha can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period.[2] 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 vowel marks not attested until later forms of Brahmi back-formed to match the geometric writing style.

Brahmi Cha historic forms

Ashoka (3rd-1st c. BCE)	Girnar (~150 BCE)	Kushana (~150-250 CE)	Gujarat (~250 CE)	Gupta (~350 CE)

The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi , but does not have an alternate Fremdzeichen form.

Tocharian Cha with vowel marks

Cha	Chā	Chi	Chī	Chu	Chū	Chr	Chr̄	Che	Chai	Cho	Chau	Chä

The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the altered Aramaic Tsade , and is thus related to the Greek San (letter), in addition to the Brahmi Cha.

In most languages, छ is pronounced as [t͡ʃʰə] or [t͡ʃʰ] when appropriate, while in standard Nepali, it is pronounced as [t͡sʰ]. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

Half form of Cha.

Devanagari exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. In modern Devanagari texts, most conjuncts are formed by reducing the letter shape to fit tightly to the following letter, usually by dropping a character's vertical stem, sometimes referred to as a "half form". Some conjunct clusters are always represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters. Vertically stacked conjuncts are ubiquitous in older texts, while only a few are still used routinely in modern Devanagari texts. The use of ligatures and vertical conjuncts may vary across languages using the Devanagari script, with Marathi in particular preferring the use of half forms where texts in other languages would show ligatures and vertical stacks.[3]

True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Devanagari are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra. Nepali and Marathi texts use the "eyelash" Ra half form for an initial "R" instead of repha.

• Repha र্ (r) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature rcʰa: ^note

• Eyelash र্ (r) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature rcʰa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature cʰra:

Vertically stacked ligatures are the most common conjunct forms found in Devanagari text. Although the constituent characters may need to be stretched and moved slightly in order to stack neatly, stacked conjuncts can be broken down into recognizable base letters, or a letter and an otherwise standard ligature.

• ब্ (b) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature bcʰa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ब (ba) gives the ligature cʰba:

• छ্ (cʰ) + भ (bʰa) gives the ligature cʰbʰa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + च (ca) gives the ligature cʰca:

• छ্ (cʰ) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature cʰcʰa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + द (da) gives the ligature cʰda:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ड (ḍa) gives the ligature cʰḍa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature cʰḍʱa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature cʰdʱa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ग (ga) gives the ligature cʰga:

• छ্ (cʰ) + घ (ɡʱa) gives the ligature cʰɡʱa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ह (ha) gives the ligature cʰha:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature cʰja:

• छ্ (cʰ) + झ (jʰa) gives the ligature cʰjʰa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature cʰjña:

• छ্ (cʰ) + क (ka) gives the ligature cʰka:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ख (kʰa) gives the ligature cʰkʰa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature cʰkṣa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ल (la) gives the ligature cʰla:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ळ (ḷa) gives the ligature cʰḷa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + म (ma) gives the ligature cʰma:

• छ্ (cʰ) + न (na) gives the ligature cʰna:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ङ (ŋa) gives the ligature cʰŋa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ण (ṇa) gives the ligature cʰṇa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature cʰña:

• छ্ (cʰ) + प (pa) gives the ligature cʰpa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + फ (pʰa) gives the ligature cʰpʰa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + स (sa) gives the ligature cʰsa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + श (ʃa) gives the ligature cʰʃa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature cʰṣa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + त (ta) gives the ligature cʰta:

• छ্ (cʰ) + थ (tʰa) gives the ligature cʰtʰa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ट (ṭa) gives the ligature cʰṭa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature cʰṭʰa:

• छ্ (cʰ) + व (va) gives the ligature cʰva:

• छ্ (cʰ) + य (ya) gives the ligature cʰya:

• द্ (d) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature dcʰa:

• ड্ (ḍ) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature ḍcʰa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature ḍʱcʰa:

• ख্ (kʰ) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature kʰcʰa:

• ङ্ (ŋ) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature ŋcʰa:

• ट্ (ṭ) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature ṭcʰa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature ṭʰcʰa:

• व্ (v) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature vcʰa:

ছ is used as a basic consonant character in all of the major Bengali script orthographies, including Bengali and Assamese.

Bengali ছ exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. Unlike most Bengali letters, conjuncts with ছ do not tend towards stacked ligatures.[4]

• চ্ (c) + ছ (cʰa) gives the ligature ccʰa:

• চ্ (c) + ছ্ (cʰ) + র (ra) gives the ligature ccʰra, with the ra phala suffix:

• চ্ (c) + ছ্ (cʰ) + ব (va) gives the ligature ccʰva, with the va phala suffix:

• ঞ (ñ) + ছ (cʰa) gives the ligature ñcʰa:

• র্ (r) + ছ (cʰa) gives the ligature rcʰa, with the repha prefix:

• শ্ (ʃ) + ছ (cʰa) gives the ligature ʃcʰa:

The Gujarati script is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. In both languages, છ is pronounced as [cʰə] or [cʰ] when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Gujarati uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

Cha	Chā	Chi	Chī	Chu	Chū	Chr	Chl	Chr̄	Chl̄	Chĕ	Che	Chai	Chŏ	Cho	Chau	Ch
Gujarati Cha syllables, with vowel marks in red.

Gujarati છ exhibits conjunct ligatures, much like its parent Devanagari Script. While most Gujarati conjuncts can only be formed by reducing the letter shape to create a "half form" that fits tightly to following letter, Cha does not have a half form. A few conjunct clusters can be represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters, and vertically stacked conjuncts can also be found in Gujarati, although much less commonly than in Devanagari. Lacking a half form, Cha will normally use an explicit virama when forming conjuncts without a true ligature. True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Gujarati are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra.

• ર્ (r) + છ (cʰa) gives the ligature RCha:

• છ્ (cʰ) + ર (ra) gives the ligature ChRa:

As is common in Indic scripts, Malayalam joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. There are several ways in which conjuncts are formed in Malayalam texts: using a post-base form of a trailing consonant placed under the initial consonant of a conjunct, a combined ligature of two or more consonants joined together, a conjoining form that appears as a combining mark on the rest of the conjunct, the use of an explicit candrakkala mark to suppress the inherent "a" vowel, or a special consonant form called a "chillu" letter, representing a bare consonant without the inherent "a" vowel. Cha does not form ligatures or other combining forms, and Cha conjuncts can only be formed with post-base forms of other letter or an explicit candrakkala. Texts written with the modern reformed Malayalam orthography, put̪iya lipi, may favor more regular conjunct forms than older texts in paḻaya lipi, due to changes undertaken in the 1970s by the Government of Kerala.

As is common in Indic scripts, Odia joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. The most common conjunct formation is achieved by using a small subjoined form of trailing consonants. Most consonants' subjoined forms are identical to the full form, just reduced in size, although a few drop the curved headline or have a subjoined form not directly related to the full form of the consonant. The second type of conjunct formation is through pure ligatures, where the constituent consonants are written together in a single graphic form. This ligature may be recognizable as being a combination of two characters or it can have a conjunct ligature unrelated to its constituent characters. The "infinity" shaped subjoined form of Cha used in a few conjuncts is identical to the normal subjoined form of Tha and should not be confused with Tha.

• ଚ୍ (c) + ଛ (cʰa) gives the ligature ccʰa:

• ଞ୍ (ñ) + ଛ (cʰa) gives the ligature ñcʰa:

• ଶ୍ (ʃ) + ଛ (cʰa) gives the ligature ʃcʰa:

As is common in Indic scripts, Kaithi joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. The most common conjunct formation is achieved by using a half form of preceding consonants, although several consonants use an explicit virama. Most half forms are derived from the full form by removing the vertical stem. As is common in most Indic scripts, conjucts of ra are indicated with a repha or rakar mark attached to the rest of the consonant cluster. In addition, there are a few vertical conjuncts that can be found in Kaithi writing, but true ligatures are not used in the modern Kaithi script.

• 𑂩୍ (r) + 𑂓 (cʰa) gives the ligature rcʰa: