Conjunct consonant
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and "Ya" 
. Used in the spelling of the word "Shakyamuni" to designate the Buddha, Rummindei pillar of Ashoka (circa 250 BCE).
Conjunct consonants are a type of letters, used for example in Brahmi or modern Devanagari, to write consonant clusters such as /pr/ or /rv/. Although most of the time, letters are formed by using a simple consonant with the inherent value vowel "a" (as with "k" , pronounced "ka" in Brahmi), or by combining a consonant with an vowel in the form of a diacritic (as with "ki" 
in Brahmi), the usage of conjunct consonant permits the creation of more sophisticated sounds (as with "kya" 
, formed with the consonants k and y assembled vertically).[1] Conjuncts are often used with loan words. Native words typically use the basic consonant and native speakers know to suppress the vowel.
In modern Devanagari the components of a conjunct are written left to right when possible (when the first consonant has a vertical stem that can be removed at the right), whereas in Brahmi characters are joined vertically downwards.[1]
Some simple examples of conjunct consonants in Devanagari are: त + व = त्व tva, ण + ढ = ण्ढ ṇḍha, स + थ = स्थ stha, where the vertical stroke of the first letter is simply lost in the combination. Sometimes, conjunct consonants are not clearly derived from the letters making up their components: the conjunct for kṣ is क्ष (क् + ष) and for jñ it is ज्ञ (ज् + ञ).
Some examples of conjunct consonants in Gujarati are: પ + ઝ = પ્ઝ pjha (where the first letter of the stroke is lost in the combination), હ + ળ = હ્ળ hḷa, જ + ભ = જ્ભ jbha. Sometimes, conjunct consonants are not clearly derived from the letters making up their components: the conjunct for śc is શ્ચ (શ્ + ચ) and for ñj it is ઞ્જ (ઞ્ + જ).
Conjunct consonants are used in many other scripts as well, usually derived from the Brahmi script.[2] In Balinese, conjunct consonants are called Haksara Wrehastra.[3]
Conjunct consonants are not limited to Brahmic languages, and can be seen in Navajo for example.[4]
References
- ^ a b Shapiro, Michael C. (1989). A Primer of Modern Standard Hindi. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 23. ISBN 9788120805088.
- ^ Tuṅga, Sudhāṃśu Śekhara (1995). Bengali and Other Related Dialects of South Assam. Mittal Publications. p. 163. ISBN 9788170995883.
- ^ Shadeg, Norbert (2014). Tuttle Balinese-English Dictionary. Tuttle Publishing. p. 11. ISBN 9781462910786.
- ^ McDonough, J. M. (2003). The Navajo Sound System. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 29. ISBN 9781402013522.