Takri script

Takri
Takri;
Script type	Abugida
Direction	Left-to-right
Region	India, Pakistan,Nepal
Languages	Dogri, Kishtwari, Sirmauri, Chamiyali,Nepali
Related scripts
Parent systems	Proto-Sinaitic alphabet [a] Phoenician alphabet [a] Aramaic alphabet [a] Brāhmī Gupta Śāradā Takri; ; ; ; ; ;
Sister systems	Gurmukhī
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Takr (321), Takri, Ṭākrī, Ṭāṅkrī
Unicode
Unicode alias	Takri
Unicode range	U+11680–U+116CF
	[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.
	This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

The Takri script (sometimes called Tankri) is an abugida writing system of the Brahmic family of scripts. It is closely related to, and derived from, the Sharada script employed by Kashmiri. It is also related to the Gurmukhī script used to write Punjabi. Until the late 1940s, Takri was the official script for writing the Dogri language in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. There are some record of using Takri script in the history of Nepali (Khas Kura). Takri has historically been used by a number of Western Pahari, Garhwali and Dardic languages in the Western Himalayas, such as Gaddi or Gaddki (the language of the Gaddi ethnic group), Kashtwari (the dialect centered on the Kashtwar or Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir) and Chamiyali (the language of the Chamba region of Himachal Pradesh). Takri used to be most prevalent script for business records and communication in various parts of Himachal Pradesh including Chintpurni, Una, Kangra, Bilaspur, and Hamirpur regions. The aged businessmen can still be found using Takri in these areas, but newer generation has now shifted to Devanagari and even English (Roman). This shift can be traced to have happened during the period ranging from 1950s to 1980s.

Revival Movements

Since Takri fell into disuse, there have been sporadic attempts to revive the script in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh states. Kashtwari and Kulluvi are two languages for which recent efforts have been made.

Unicode

Takri script was added to the Unicode Standard in January, 2012 with the release of version 6.1.

Block

The Unicode block for Takri is U+11680–U+116CF:

Takri^[1]^[2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	A	B	C	D	E	F
U+1168x	𑚀	𑚁	𑚂	𑚃	𑚄	𑚅	𑚆	𑚇	𑚈	𑚉	𑚊	𑚋	𑚌	𑚍	𑚎	𑚏
U+1169x	𑚐	𑚑	𑚒	𑚓	𑚔	𑚕	𑚖	𑚗	𑚘	𑚙	𑚚	𑚛	𑚜	𑚝	𑚞	𑚟
U+116Ax	𑚠	𑚡	𑚢	𑚣	𑚤	𑚥	𑚦	𑚧	𑚨	𑚩	𑚪	𑚫	𑚬	𑚭	𑚮	𑚯
U+116Bx	𑚰	𑚱	𑚲	𑚳	𑚴	𑚵	𑚶	𑚷	𑚸	𑚹
U+116Cx	𑛀	𑛁	𑛂	𑛃	𑛄	𑛅	𑛆	𑛇	𑛈	𑛉
Notes 1.^ As of Unicode version 16.0 2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

References

External resources

The Takri alphabet, http://ancientscripts.com/takri.html
Examples of Takri usage on Kashmir state stamps, http://www.kashmirstamps.ca/DogriGloss.html
Comparative examples of Takri and related scripts (Spanish language website), http://www.proel.org/index.php?pagina=alfabetos/takri
A discussion of the Gaddi, with a reference to Takri, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5625318
Ancient script of the Himalayas fights for survival, http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=275913&sid=FTP