Anusvara

{{short description|Diacritic in Indic scripts}} {{distinguish|Nuqta}} {{Infobox diacritic | char = {{lang|hi|ं}} | name = Anusvara | unicode = }} '''Anusvara''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|n|ʊ|ˈ|s|v|ɑːr|ə}} {{respell|AN-uu-SVAR-ə}}; {{langx|sa|अनुस्वार}}, {{IAST3|anusvāra}}, {{IPA|sa|ɐn̪usʋaːrɐ|IPA}}), also known as '''Bindu''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɪ|n|d|u}} {{respell|BIN-doo}}; {{langx|hi|बिन्दु}} {{ipa|hi|bɪn̪d̪uː|}}), is a symbol used in many Indic scripts to mark a type of nasal sound, typically transliterated {{grapheme|ṁ}} or {{grapheme|ṃ}} in standards like ISO 15919 and IAST. Depending on its location in a word and the language for which it is used, its exact pronunciation can vary. In the context of ancient Sanskrit, ''anusvara'' is the name of the particular nasal sound itself, regardless of written representation.

== Sanskrit == In Vedic Sanskrit, the anusvāra ({{lit|after-sound' or 'subordinate sound}}){{Sfn|Allen|1953|p=40}} was an allophonic (derived) nasal sound.

The exact nature of the sound has been subject to debate. The material in the various ancient phonetic treatises points towards different phonetic interpretations, and these discrepancies have historically been attributed to either differences in the description of the same pronunciation<ref>Whitney, cited in {{Harvnb|Emeneau|1946|p=91}}</ref> or to dialectal or diachronic variation.{{sfn|Varma|1961|pp=148–55}}{{sfn|Emeneau|1946|p=91}} In a 2013 reappraisal of the evidence, Cardona concludes that these reflect real dialectal differences.{{sfn|Cardona|2013}}

The environments in which the anusvara could arise, however, were well defined. In the earliest Vedic Sanskrit, it was an allophone of /m/ at a morpheme boundary, or of /n/ within morphemes, when it was preceded by a vowel and followed by a fricative ({{IAST|/ś/, /ṣ/, /s/, /h/}}).{{sfn|Allen|1953|p=40}} In later Sanskrit its use expanded to other contexts, first before /r/ under certain conditions, then, in Classical Sanskrit, before {{IAST|/v/}} and {{IAST|/y/}}.{{sfn|Allen|1953|p=40}}

Later still, Pāṇini gave anusvara as an alternative pronunciation as word-final sandhi, and later treatises also prescribed it at morpheme junctions and within morphemes.{{sfn|Allen|1953|p=41}} In the later written language, the diacritic used to represent anusvara was optionally used to indicate a nasal stop having the same place of articulation as a following plosive, which was written in some evolved scripts (e.g. in Bengali-Assamese) as an additional sandhi letter (no longer as a diacritic) for Vedic transcriptions of Sanskrit, to distinguish it with the anusvara diacritic that was used to transcribe other phonemes.

== Languages using the Devanagari script == In the Devanagari script, anusvāra is represented with a dot (''bindu'') above the letter (e.g. <big>मं</big>). In the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST), the corresponding symbol is ṃ (''m'' with an underdot). Some transcriptions render notation of phonetic variants used in some Vedic shakhas with variant transcription (ṁ).

In writing Sanskrit, the anusvara is often used as an alternative representation of the nasal stop with the same place of articulation as the following plosive. For example, {{IPA|[əŋɡə]}} 'limb (of the body)' may be written with either a conjunct, अङ्ग ''aṅga'', or with an anusvara, अंग ''aṃga''. A variant of the anusvara, the anunāsika or 'chandrabindu', was used more explicitly for nasalized vowels, as in अँश ''aṃśa'' for {{IPA|[ə̃ɕə]}} 'portion'.<ref name="DB">William Bright, "The Devanagari Script", in Daniels & Bright, ''The World's Writing Systems'', OUP, 1996.</ref>

=== Hindi === In Standard Hindi, the anusvāra is traditionally defined as representing a nasal consonant homorganic to a following plosive, in contrast to the {{lang|hi-Latn|candrabindu}} ({{lang|hi-Latn|anunāsika}}), which indicates vowel nasalization. In practice, however, the two are often used interchangeably.

The precise phonetic value of the phoneme, whether it is represented by {{lang|hi-Latn|anusvāra|}} or {{lang|hi-Latn|candrabindu}}, is dependent on the phonological environment.<ref>The following rules are from {{Harvtxt|Ohala|1983|pp=87–90}}</ref>

Word-finally, it is realized as nasalization of the preceding vowel: ''{{lang|hi-Latn|kuṃā}}'' {{IPA|[kʊ̃ãː]}}, "a well". It results in vowel nasalization also medially between a short vowel and a non-obstruent (''{{lang|hi-Latn|kuṃvar}}'' {{IPA|[kʊ̃ʋər]}} "a youth", ''{{lang|hi-Latn|gaṃṛāsā}}'' {{IPA|[ɡə̃ɽaːsaː]}} "a long-handled axe") and, in native words, between a long vowel and a voiceless plosive (''{{lang|hi-Latn|dāṃt}}'' {{IPA|[dãːt]}} "tooth", ''{{lang|hi-Latn|sāṃp}}'' {{IPA|[sãːp]}} "a snake", ''{{lang|hi-Latn|pūṃch}}'' {{IPA|[pũːtʃʰ]}} "tail").

It is pronounced as a homorganic nasal, with the preceding vowel becoming nasalized allophonically, in the following cases: between a long vowel and a voiced plosive (''{{lang|hi-Latn|tāṃbā}}'' {{IPA|[taːmbaː]}} "copper", ''{{lang|hi-Latn|cāṃdī}}'' {{IPA|[tʃaːndiː]}} "silver"), between a long vowel and a voiceless plosive in loanwords (''{{lang|hi-Latn|dāṃt}}'' {{IPA|[daːnt]}} "repressed", ''{{lang|hi-Latn|bêṃk}}'' {{IPA|[bæːŋk]}} "a bank", ''{{lang|hi-Latn|xazāṃcī}}'' {{IPA|[xəzaːɲtʃiː]}} "cashier"), and between a short vowel and an obstruent (''{{lang|hi-Latn|saṃbhāl-}}'' {{IPA|[səmbʱaːl]}} "to support", ''{{lang|hi-Latn|saṃdūk}}'' {{IPA|[sənduːk]}} "a chest").

The last rule has two sets of exceptions in which the {{lang|hi-Latn|anusvāra|}} results only in the nasalization of the preceding short vowel. Words from the first set are morphologically derived from words with a long nasalized vowel (''{{lang|hi-Latn|baṃṭ-}}'' {{IPA|[bə̃ʈ]}}, "to be divided" from ''{{lang|hi-Latn|bāṃṭ-}}'' {{IPA|[bãʈ]}}, "to divide"; ''{{lang|hi-Latn|siṃcāī}}'' {{IPA|[sɪ̃tʃai]}}, "irrigation" from ''{{lang|hi-Latn|sīṃc-}}'' {{IPA|[sĩːtʃ]}}, "to irrigate"). In such cases, the vowel is sometimes denasalized ({{IPA|[bəʈ]}}, {{IPA|[sɪtʃai]}} instead of {{IPA|[bə̃ʈ-]}}, {{IPA|[sɪ̃tʃai]}}). The second set is composed of a few words like ''({{lang|hi-Latn|pahuṃc-}}'' {{IPA|[pahʊ̃tʃ]}}, "to arrive" and ''{{lang|hi-Latn|haṃs-}}'' {{IPA|[hə̃s]}}, "to laugh").<ref group="note">{{Harvtxt|Ohala|1983|p=90}} lists five more such words: ''{{lang|hi-Latn|dhaṃs-}}'' "to sink", ''{{lang|hi-Latn|phaṃs-}}'' "to be stuck", ''{{lang|hi-Latn|haṃslī}}'' "a necklace", ''{{lang|hi-Latn|haṃsiyā}}'' "a sickle" and ''{{lang|hi-Latn|haṃsī}}'' "laughter".</ref>

=== Marathi === In Marathi, the anusvāra is pronounced as a nasal that is homorganic to the following consonant (with the same place of articulation). For example, it is pronounced as the dental nasal न् before dental consonants, as the bilabial nasal म् before bilabial consonants, etc.{{citation needed|date=December 2015|reason=sounds quite plausible, but the phonetics of nasals in South Asian languages can be complex and so the claim might as well turn out to be false.}} . Unlike in other Indic languages, the same dot designating the anusvāra in Marathi is also used to mark a retension of the inherent vowel (it is inconsistently placed over a consonant after which the short central vowel is to be pronounced and not elided).

=== Nepali === In Nepali, the candrabindu indicates vowel nasalization. Therefore, there is a great deal of variation regarding which occurs in any given position. Many words containing anusvara thus have alternative spellings with a chandrabindu instead of the anusvāra and vice versa. Anusvara is used when there is too little space for the chandrabindu. The anusvāra can represent a nasal vowel, a homoorganic nasal, or both.

== Other languages using Indic scripts == Anusvara is used in other languages using Indic scripts as well, usually to represent suprasegmental phones (such as phonation type or nasalization) or other nasal sounds.

=== Bengali === thumb|50px In the Bengali alphabet, the anusvara diacritic ({{Langx|bn|অনুস্বার|translit=ônuśśar}}) is written as a circle above a slanted line (<big>ং</big>), and represents coda {{IPA|/ŋ/}}. It is used in the name of the Bengali language <big>বাংলা</big> {{IPA|[baŋla]}} and has merged in pronunciation with the letter <big>ঙ</big> ''ungô'' in Bengali.

Although the anusvara is a consonant in Bengali phonology, it is treated in the written system as a diacritic in that it is always directly adjacent to the preceding consonant, even when consonants are spaced apart in titles or banners: <big>বাং-লা-দে-শ</big> ''baṅ-la-de-ś'', not <big>বা-ং-লা-দে-শ</big> ''ba-ṅ-la-de-ś'' for <big>বাংলাদেশ</big> ''Bangladesh''. It is never pronounced with the inherent vowel 'ô' ({{IPA|/ɔ/}} or {{IPA|/o/}}), and it cannot take a vowel sign (instead, the consonant <big>ঙ</big> ''uṅô'' is used before vowels).

=== Burmese === In the Burmese alphabet, the anusvara ({{lang|my|အောက်မြစ်}} ''auk myit'' (့) {{IPA|my|aʊʔ mjɪʔ|IPA}}) is represented as a dot under a nasalised final to indicate a creaky tone (with a shortened vowel).

Burmese also uses a dot above a letter to indicate the {{IPA|/-ɴ/}} nasalized ending (called "Myanmar Sign Anusvara" in Unicode), called {{lang|my|သေးသေးတင်}} ''thay thay tin'' ({{IPA|my|θé ðé tɪ̀ɰ̃|IPA}}) (ံ)

=== Sinhala === In the Sinhala script, the anusvara is not a nonspacing combining mark but a spacing combining mark. It has a circular shape and follows its base letter ( ං).<ref>See an example in {{cite web |first1=Anshuman |last1=Pandey |title=Proposal to encode a nasal character in Vedic Extensions |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17117r-vedic-double-antargomukha.pdf |id=L2/17-117R |date=April 25, 2017 |website=Unicode |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008031028/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17117r-vedic-double-antargomukha.pdf |archive-date= Oct 8, 2022 }}</ref> It is called {{transliteration|si|binduva}} in Sinhala, which means "dot". The anusvara represents {{IPAslink|ŋ}} at the end of a syllable. It is used in the name of the Sinhala language සිංහල {{IPA|si|ˈsiŋɦələ|}}. It has merged in pronunciation with the letter ඞ ṅa in Sinhala.

=== Telugu === The Telugu script has full-zero (sunna) ం, half-zero (arasunna) and ''visarga'' to convey various shades of nasal sounds. Anusvara is represented as a circle shape after a letter:<ref>{{cite book |title= A History of Telugu Literature |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xwXx7LB-ai4C&pg=PA18 |last= Chenchiah |first= P. |author2=Rao, Raja Bhujanga |year= 1988 |publisher= Asian Educational Services |isbn= 81-206-0313-3 |page=18}}</ref> క - ka and కం - kam.

=== Malayalam === In the Malayalam script, the ''anusvāram'' ({{Langx|ml|അനുസ്വാരം}}, {{IPA|/ɐnusʋäːɾɐm/}}) or anusvara (ം) represents the consonant sound {{IPA|/m/}} after a vowel, though this {{IPA|/m/}} can assimilate to another consonant.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Neo-Brahmi Script Generation Panel |url=https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/proposal-malayalam-lgr-25sep18-en.pdf |title=Proposal for a Malayalam Script Root Zone Label Generation Ruleset (LGR) |date=2018-09-25 |publisher=ICANN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Malayalam Pronunciation: The Basics |url=https://malayalam.la.utexas.edu/resources/pronunciation-the-basics/ |website=malayalam.la.utexas.edu |publisher=University of Texas at Austin |access-date=2026-04-25 |quote=The anusvāra അം is simply the way that a final m-sound is added to many words in Malayalam, especially those coming from Sanskrit.}}</ref> It is defined as a special character that, unlike a normal consonant, is never followed by an inherent vowel.{{cn|date=April 2026}} In ISO 15919, the Malayalam anusvara in the final position of a word is transliterated as ''m'', without a dot.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pedersen |first=Thomas |date=2005-09-30 |title=Transliteration of Malayalam |url=https://transliteration.eki.ee/pdf/Malayalam.pdf}}</ref>

=== Thai === The equivalent of the anusvara in the Thai alphabet is the ''nikkhahit'' (◌ํ). Used in rendering Sanskrit and Pali texts, it is written as an open circle above the consonant (for example {{lang|th|อํ}}). Its pronunciation depends on the following sound: if it is a consonant, the nikkhahit is pronounced as a homorganic nasal, and if it is at the end of a word, it is pronounced as a voiced velar nasal {{IPA|/ŋ/}}.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}

== Anunasika == '''Anunasika''' (''{{IAST|anunāsika}}'') is a form of vowel nasalization, often represented by an anusvara. It is a form of open-mouthed nasalization, akin to the nasalization of vowels followed by "n" or "m" in Parisian French. When "n" or "m" follows a vowel, the "n" or "m" becomes silent and causes the preceding vowel to become nasal (it is pronounced with the soft palate extended downward to allow part or all of the air to leave through the nostrils). Anunasika is sometimes called a ''subdot'' because of its IAST representation.

In Devanagari and related scripts, the anunasika is represented by the chandrabindu diacritic (''example'': माँ).

In Burmese, the anunasika, called {{lang|my|သေးသေးတင်}} ({{IPA|my|θé ðé tɪ̀ɰ̃|IPA}}) and represented as {{angbr|{{lang|my|ံ}}}}, creates the {{IPA|/-ɰ̃/}} nasalized ending when it is attached as a dot above a letter. The anunasika represents the -m final in Pali.

== Unicode == {{Contains special characters|Uncommon Unicode|section}} Unicode encodes anusvara and anusvara-like characters for a variety of scripts:

{| | {|class="wikitable" |+ South Asian scripts ! Script !! Sign !! Example !! Unicode |- | Bengali || ং||কং|| U+0982 |- | Bengali Vedic ||ৼ|| || U+09FC |- | Bhaiksuki || 𑰽||𑰎𑰽|| U+11C3D |- | Brahmi || 𑀁||𑀓𑀁|| U+11001 |- | Chakma || 𑄁||𑄇𑄁|| U+11101 |- | Devanagari || ं||कं|| U+0902 |- |Devanagari Vedic |ꣳ | |U+A8F3 |- |Devanagari Vedic Double |ꣴ | |U+A8F4 |- | Dhives Akuru || 𑤻||𑤌𑤻|| U+1193B |- | Dogra || 𑠷||𑠊𑠷|| U+11837 |- | Grantha || 𑌂||𑌕𑌂|| U+11302 |- | Grantha Vedic ||𑍞|| || U+1135E |- | Grantha Vedic (double) ||𑍟|| || U+1135F |- | Grantha (combining above) || 𑌀||𑌕𑌀|| U+11300 |- | Gujarati || ં||કં|| U+0A82 |- | Gunjala Gondi || 𑶕||𑵱𑶕|| U+11D95 |- | Gurmukhi || ਂ||ਕਂ|| U+0A02 |- | Gurung Khema || 𖄭||𖄁𖄭|| U+1612D |- | Kaithi || 𑂁||𑂍𑂁|| U+11081 |- | Kannada || ಂ||ಕಂ|| U+0C82 |- | Kannada (combining above right) || ೳ||ಕೳ|| U+0CF3 |- | Kharosthi || 𐨎||𐨐𐨎|| U+10A0E |- | Khojki || 𑈴||𑈈𑈴|| U+11234 |- | Khudabadi || 𑋟||𑊺𑋟|| U+112DF |- | Kirat Rai || 𖵀|| 𖵛𖵣𖵀|| U+16D40 |- | Malayalam || ം||കം|| U+0D02 |- | Malayalam (combining above) || ഀ||കഀ|| U+0D00 |- | Malayalam Vedic|| ഄ|| || U+0D04 |- | Marchen || 𑲵||𑱲𑲵|| U+11CB5 |- | Masaram Gondi || 𑵀||𑴌𑵀|| U+11D40 |- | Modi || 𑘽||𑘎𑘽|| U+1163D |- | Mongolian ||{{MongolUnicode|ᢀ᠋}}||{{MongolUnicode|ᢀ᠋ᠠ᠋}}|| U+1880 |- | Nandinagari || 𑧞||𑦮𑧞|| U+119DE |- | Odia || ଂ||କଂ|| U+0B02 |- | Prachalit Nepal || 𑑄||𑐎𑑄|| U+11444 |- | Prachalit Nepal (Vedic) ||𑑟|| || U+1145F |- | Sharada || 𑆁||𑆑𑆁|| U+11181 |- | Saurashtra || ꢀ||ꢒꢀ|| U+A880 |- | Siddham || 𑖽||𑖎𑖽|| U+115BD |- | Sinhala || ං||කං|| U+0D82 |- | Soyombo || 𑪖||𑩜𑪖|| U+11A96 |- | Sylheti Nagari || ꠋ||ꠇꠋ|| U+A80B |- | Takri || 𑚫||𑚊𑚫|| U+116AB |- | Tamil || ◌ஂ||கஂ|| U+0B82 |- | Telugu || ం||కం|| U+0C02 |- | Telugu (Prakrit)<ref>{{cite web|title=L2/16-285: Proposal to encode the Telugu Sign Combining Anusvara Above|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2016/16285-telugu-comb-anusvara.pdf|date=2016-10-20|first1=Srinidhi|last1=A|first2=Sridatta|last2=A |website=Unicode }}</ref> (combining above) || ఄ||కఄ|| U+0C04 |- | Tibetan (rjes su nga ro) || ཾ||ཀཾ||U+0F7E |- | Tirhuta || 𑓀||𑒏𑓀|| U+114C0 |- | Zanabazar Square || 𑨸||𑨋𑨸|| U+11A38 |} | valign="top" | {|class="wikitable" |+ Southeast Asian scripts ! Script !! Sign !! Example !! Unicode |- | Balinese || {{script|Bali| ᬂ}} || {{script|Bali|ᬓᬂ}} || U+1B02 |- | Burmese || {{script|Mymr| ံ}} || {{script|Mymr|ကံ}} || U+1036 |- | Javanese || {{script|Java| ꦁ}} || {{script|Java|ꦏꦁ}} || U+A981 |- | Kawi ||  𑼁 || 𑼒𑼁 || U+11F01 |- | Khmer || {{script|Khmr| ំ}} || {{script|Khmr|កំ}} || U+17C6 |- | Lao || ໍ||ກໍ|| U+0ECD |- | Sundanese || {{script|Sund| ᮀ}} || {{script|Sund|ᮊᮀ}} || U+1B80 |- | Tai Tham (mai kang) || ᩴ||ᨠᩴ|| U+1A74 |- | Thai || ํ||กํ|| U+0E4D |}

==See also== * Chandrabindu * Tilde * Ogonek

== Notes == {{Reflist|group=note}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Bibliography == * {{Citation |last= Allen |first= W.S. |title= Phonetics in ancient India |year= 1953 |publisher= OUP }} *{{Cite journal| last = Cardona| first = George| date = 2013| title = Developments of nasals in early Indo-Aryan : anunāsika and anusvāra| journal = Tokyo University Linguistic Papers| volume = 33| pages = 3–81| issn = 1345-8663| url = https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/120005245953/en/}} * {{Cite journal |last= Emeneau |first= M. B. |author-link= Murray Barnson Emeneau |year= 1946 |journal= Language |title= The Nasal Phonemes of Sanskrit |volume= 22 |pages= 86–93 |jstor= 410341 |issue= 2 |doi=10.2307/410341 }} * {{Citation |last= Ohala |first= Manjari |title= Aspects of Hindi Phonology |year= 1983 |publisher= Motilal Banarsidass |isbn= 0-89581-670-9 }} *{{Cite book| publisher = Munshi Ram Manohar Lal| last = Varma| first = Siddheshwar| title = Critical studies in the phonetic observations of Indian grammarians.| location = Delhi| series = James G. Forlong Fund| date = 1961| orig-year = 1927}}

Category:Brahmic diacritics Category:Sanskrit