Dha (Indic)

The Brahmi letter , Dha, is probably derived from the Aramaic Dalet , and is thus related to the modern Latin D and Greek Delta.[2] Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Dha can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period.[3] 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 Dha 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 Dha with vowel marks

Dha	Dhā	Dhi	Dhī	Dhu	Dhū	Dhr	Dhr̄	Dhe	Dhai	Dho	Dhau	Dhä

The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the Aramaic Dalet , and is thus related to D and Delta, in addition to the Brahmi Dha.[2]

In all languages, ध is pronounced as [dʱə] or [dʱ] when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

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. Dha however, does not have a vertical stem to drop for making a half form, and either forms a stacked conjunct/ligature, or uses its full form with Virama. 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.[4]

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) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature rdʱa: ^note

• Eyelash र্ (r) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature rdʱa:

• ध্ (dʱ) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature dʱra:

• Repha र্ (r) + ध্ (dʱ) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature rdʱra:

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

• ध্ (dʱ) + न (na) gives the ligature dʱna:

• द্ (d) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature ddʱa:

• न্ (n) + द্ (d) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature nddʱa:

• Repha र্ (r) + द্ (d) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature rddʱa:

• द্ (d) + ध্ (dʱ) + म (ma) gives the ligature ddʱma:

• द্ (d) + ध্ (dʱ) + व (va) gives the ligature ddʱva:

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.

• ड্ (ḍ) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature ḍdʱa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature ḍʱdʱa:

• ध্ (dʱ) + च (ca) gives the ligature dʱca:

• ध্ (dʱ) + ड (ḍa) gives the ligature dʱḍa:

• ध্ (dʱ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature dʱja:

• ध্ (dʱ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature dʱjña:

• ध্ (dʱ) + ल (la) gives the ligature dʱla:

• ध্ (dʱ) + ङ (ŋa) gives the ligature dʱŋa:

• ध্ (dʱ) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature dʱña:

• ङ্ (ŋ) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature ŋdʱa:

• ट্ (ṭ) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature ṭdʱa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature ṭʰdʱa:

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

Bengali ধ exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts, with a tendency towards linear (horizontal) ligatures, and few stacked ligatures.[5]

• দ্ (d) + ধ (dʱa) gives the ligature ddʱa:

• ধ্ (dʱ) + ম (ma) gives the ligature dʱma:

• ধ্ (dʱ) + ন (na) gives the ligature dʱna:

• ধ্ (dʱ) + র (ra) gives the ligature dʱra, with the ra phala suffix:

• ধ্ (dʱ) + ব (va) gives the ligature dʱva, with the va phala suffix:

• ধ্ (dʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature dʱya, with the ya phala suffix:

• গ্ (g) + ধ (dʱa) gives the ligature gdʱa:

• গ্ (g) + ধ্ (dʱ) + র (ra) gives the ligature gdʱra, with the ra phala suffix:

• গ্ (g) + ধ্ (dʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature gdʱya, with the ya phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + ধ (dʱa) gives the ligature ndʱa:

• ন্ (n) + ধ্ (dʱ) + র (ra) gives the ligature ndʱra, with the ra phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + ধ্ (dʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ndʱya, with the ya phala suffix:

• র্ (r) + ধ (dʱa) gives the ligature rdʱa, with the repha prefix:

• র্ (r) + ধ্ (dʱ) + ব (va) gives the ligature rdʱva, with the repha prefix and va phala suffix:

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

Dha	Dhā	Dhi	Dhī	Dhu	Dhū	Dhr	Dhl	Dhr̄	Dhl̄	Dhĕ	Dhe	Dhai	Dhŏ	Dho	Dhau	Dh
Gujarati Dha syllables, with vowel marks in red.

Half form of Dha.

Gujarati ધ exhibits conjunct ligatures, much like its parent Devanagari Script. Most Gujarati conjuncts can only be 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". 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. 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) + ધ (dʱa) gives the ligature RDha:

• ધ્ (dʱ) + ર (ra) gives the ligature DhRa:

• દ્ (d) + ધ (dʱa) gives the ligature DDha:

• ધ્ (dʱ) + ન (na) gives the ligature DhNa:

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. 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.

• ദ് (d) + ധ (dʱa) gives the ligature ddʱa:

• ന് (n) + ധ (dʱa) gives the ligature ndʱa:

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.

• ଦ୍ (d) + ଧ (dʱa) gives the ligature ddʱa:

• ନ୍ (n) + ଧ (dʱa) gives the ligature ndʱa:

• ଧ୍ (dʱ) + ୟ (ya) gives the ligature dʱya:

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 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.

• 𑂡୍ (dʱ) + 𑂩 (ra) gives the ligature dʱra:

• 𑂩୍ (r) + 𑂡 (dʱa) gives the ligature rdʱa: