Nuqta

{{Short description|Diacritic mark in Devanagari and some other Indic scripts}} {{redirect|Nukta|the fish species|Schismatorhynchos nukta}} {{distinguish|Anusvara}} {{Infobox diacritic|char= ़|name=|unicode=}} The '''nuqta''' ({{langx|hi|नुक़्ता}}, {{langx|ur|نُقْطَہ|nuqtā}}, {{ipa|ur|nʊqt̪aː|ipa}}; sometimes also spelled '''nukta''', {{langx|hi|नुक्ता}}, {{ipa|hi|nʊkt̪aː|ipa}}), is a diacritic mark that was introduced in Devanagari and some other Indic scripts to represent sounds not present in the original scripts.{{efn-ua|The Hindi-Urdu term ''nuqta'' is derived from {{langx|fa-x-classic|نُقْطَه|nuqta}}, from {{langx|ar-x-classic|نُقْطَة|nuqṭa|dot}}.}}<ref name="Kulshreshtha2012">{{cite book |last1=Kulshreshtha |first1=Manisha |last2=Mathur |first2=Ramkumar |title=Dialect Accent Features for Establishing Speaker Identity: A Case Study |date=24 March 2012 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4614-1137-6 |page=19 |language=en |quote=A few sounds, borrowed from the other languages like Persian and Arabic, are written with a dot (bindu or nuqta) as shown in Table 2.2. }}</ref> It takes the form of a dot placed below a character. This idea is inspired from the Arabic script; for example, there are some letters in Urdu that share the same basic shape but differ in the placement of dots(s) or nuqta(s) in the Perso-Arabic script: the letter {{lang|mul-Aran|ع}} ''ayn'', with the addition of a nuqta on top, becomes the letter {{lang|mul-Aran|غ}} ''ghayn''.<ref name="GovindarajuSetlur2009">{{cite book|last1=Govindaraju|first1=Venu|last2=Setlur|first2=Srirangaraj (Ranga)|title=Guide to OCR for Indic Scripts: Document Recognition and Retrieval|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WdSR9OJ0kxYC&pg=PA165|access-date=20 November 2014|date=25 September 2009|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9781848003309|page=165}}</ref> The word itself means "dot" in Arabic.

==Use in Devanagari== ===Perso-Arabic consonants=== The term {{transliteration|hi|ISO|nuqtā}} ({{lang|hi|नुक़्ता}}) is itself an example of the use of the nuqta. Other examples include {{langx|hi|क़िला ({{langx|ur|{{nastaliq|قلعہ}}}})|qilā|fortress|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}; and {{langx|hi|आग़ा ख़ान ({{langx|ur|{{nastaliq|آغا خان}}}})|Āġā K͟hān|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}, a combination of a Türko-Mongolic (''āġā'') and a (''k͟hān'') honorific.

{| class="wikitable" align="right" |+ Nuqta usage in writing Perso-Arabic consonants |- ! Letter !! With nuqta !! IPA !! Example |- | {{langx|hi|क|ka|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} || {{langx|hi|क़|qa|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}|| {{IPAslink|q}} || {{langx|hi|'''क़'''ज़ाक़|qazāq|Kazakh|label=none}} |- | {{langx|hi|ख|kha|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} || {{langx|hi|ख़|k͟ha|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}, {{Transliteration|hi|ISO|xa}} || {{IPAslink|x}} || {{langx|hi|'''ख़ा'''न|k͟hān|label=none|Khan}} |- | {{langx|hi|ग|ga|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} || {{langx|hi|ग़|ġa|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}|| {{IPAslink|ɣ}} || {{langx|hi|का'''ग़'''ज़|kāġaz|label=none|paper}} |- | {{langx|hi|ज|ja|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} || {{langx|hi|ज़|za|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}|| {{IPAslink|z}} || {{langx|hi|अङ्ग्रे'''ज़ी'''|aṅgrēzī|English|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} |- | {{langx|hi|झ|jha|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} || {{langx|hi|झ़|źa|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}, {{Transliteration|hi|ISO|zha}} || {{IPAslink|ʒ}} || {{langx|hi|अ'''झ़'''दहा|aźdahā|dragon, Azhdaha|label=none}} |- | {{langx|hi|ड|ḍa|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}|| {{langx|hi|ड़|ṛa|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}|| {{IPAslink|ɽ}} ||{{langx|hi|ब'''ड़ा'''|baṛā|big|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} |- | {{langx|hi|ढ|ḍha|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} || {{langx|hi|ढ़|ṛha|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}|| {{IPAslink|/ɽʰ/}} || {{langx|hi|प'''ढ़'''ना|paṛhnā|to read|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} |- | {{langx|hi|फ|pha|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} || {{langx|hi|फ़|fa|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}|| {{IPAslink|f}} || {{langx|hi|सा'''फ़'''|sāf|clean|label=none}} |}

The nuqta, and the phonological distinction it represents, is sometimes ignored in practice; e.g., {{lang|hi|क़िला}} {{transliteration|hi|ISO|qilā}} being simply spelled as {{lang|hi|किला}} {{transliteration|hi|ISO|kilā}}. In the text ''Dialect Accent Features for Establishing Speaker Identity'', Manisha Kulshreshtha and Ramkumar Mathur write, "A few sounds, borrowed from the other languages like Persian and Arabic, are written with a dot (bindu or nuqtā). Many people who speak Hindi as a second language, especially those who come from rural backgrounds and do not speak conventional Hindi (also called ''Khaṛībōlī''), or speak in one of its dialects, pronounce these sounds as their nearest equivalents." For example, these rural speakers will assimilate the sound {{IPAslink|ɣ}} (Devanagari: {{lang|mul-Deva|ग़}}; Nastaliq: {{nastaliq|غ}}) as ɡ (Devanagari: {{lang|mul-Deva|ग}}; Nastaliq: {{nastaliq|گ}}).<ref name="KulshreshthaMathur2012">{{cite book|last1=Kulshreshtha|first1=Manisha|last2=Mathur|first2=Ramkumar|title=Dialect Accent Features for Establishing Speaker Identity: A Case Study|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xHmARyhRoNYC&pg=PA19|access-date=20 November 2014|date=24 March 2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9781461411376|pages=19–}}</ref>

With a renewed Hindi–Urdu language contact, many Urdu writers now publish their works in Devanagari editions. Since the Perso-Arabic orthography is preserved in Nastaʿlīq script Urdu orthography, these writers use the nuqta in Devanagari when transcribing these consonants.

===Dravidian consonants===

Devanagari also includes coverage for the Dravidian consonants {{langx|dra-Deva|ऴ|ḻa|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} {{IPAslink|ɻ}}; {{langx|dra-Deva|ऱ|ṟa|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} {{IPAslink|r}} and {{langx|dra-Deva|ऩ|ṉa|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} {{IPAslink|n}}, modifying {{langx|dra-Deva|ळ|ḷa|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} {{IPAslink|ɭ}}; {{langx|dra-Deva|र|ra|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} {{IPAslink|ɾ}} and {{langx|dra-Deva|न|na|translit-std=ISO|label=none}} {{IPAslink|n̪}}, respectively. An example is {{langx|dra-Deva|तमिऴ् {{IPA|/t̪amiɻ/}} ({{langx|ta|தமிழ்}})|tamiḻ|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}.

===Dardic consonants===

For example, the letters {{lang|ks-Deva|च़}} and {{lang|ks-Deva|छ़}} are used in Devanagari to write the Kashmiri alveolar affricates {{lang|ks-Aran|ژ}} {{IPAslink|t͡s}} and {{lang|ks-Aran|ژھ}} {{IPAslink|t͡sʰ}}, respectively.

===Eastern Indo-Aryan letters===

In Maithili, the four non-syllabic vowels {{IPAslink|i̯}}, {{IPAslink|u̯}}, {{IPAslink|e̯}}, {{IPAslink|o̯}} are formally written in Devanagari as {{lang|mai|य़}}, {{lang|mai|व़}}, {{lang|mai|य़ॆ}} and {{lang|mai|व़ॊ}}, respectively (though these are often colloquially written without nuqta, as {{lang|mai|य}}, {{lang|mai|व}}, {{lang|mai|यॆ}} and {{lang|mai|वॊ}}).

The Bengali–Assamese script has {{lang|mul-Beng|ড় ঢ় য়}}, which are variations of {{lang|mul-Beng|ড ঢ য}}; however, {{lang|mul-Beng|ব}} and {{lang|mul-Beng|র}} are completely different in nature.

===Old Nepali Letters===

In Old Nepali language texts, a nuqta-like diactric is often found on similar glyphs or glyphs that have undergone phonological shifts.<ref>{{Citation |last=Michaels |first=Axel |title=From Gorkha to Nepal |date=2024-05-07 |work=Nepal |pages=136–159 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197650936.003.0007 |access-date=2024-08-31 |publisher=Oxford University PressNew York |isbn=0-19-765093-7}}</ref> There are two use cases found for it:

* The glyph {{lang|ne|व़}} was used to represent the phoneme {{IPAslink|w}}, while the glyph {{lang|ne|व}} was instead used to represent the phoneme {{IPAslink|b}}. * The glyph {{lang|ne|य़}} was used to represent the phoneme {{IPAslink|j}}, while the glyph {{lang|ne|य}} was used to represent the phoneme {{IPAslink|dz}}. Many words that contained the {{IPAslink|j}} also shifted in pronunciation to {{IPAslink|dz}}, following a common trend in Indo-Aryan languages.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-18 |title=Indo-Aryan languages - Characteristics of Middle Indo-Aryan {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indo-Aryan-languages/Characteristics-of-Middle-Indo-Aryan |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Similar diacritics==

Sindhi's and Saraiki's implosives are accommodated in Devanagari with a line attached below—a diacritical bar: {{lang|sd-Deva|ॻ}} {{IPA|[ɠə]}}, {{lang|sd-Deva|ॼ}} {{IPA|[ʄə]}}, {{lang|sd-Deva|ॾ}} {{IPA|[ɗə]}}, {{lang|sd-Deva|ॿ}} {{IPA|[ɓə]}}.

In the Tamil script, the special character {{lang|ta|ஃ}} ({{lang|ta|ஆய்த எழுத்து}}, {{transliteration|ta|ISO|āyda eḻuttu}}) is used like nuqta to represent non-native consonants.

In the Thaana script of Maldives, one or many nuqtas are used to represent non-native Perso-Arabic consonants.

For languages adopting the Thai script, the phintu {{lang|th|◌ฺ}} ({{unichar|e3a}}) ({{lang|th|พินทุ}}, {{transliteration|th|phin-thu}}) is also used to represent sounds that do not exist in Thai. For example, when writing Pattani Malay, the letter รฺื ({{transliteration|th|ro ruea}} with {{transliteration|th|phin-thu}})) represents the phoneme {{IPA|ɣ}} ({{lang|mfa-Arab-TH|غ}}/{{lang|mfa-Latn-TH|ṛ}}).

==References== ===Notes=== {{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

=== Works cited === {{reflist}}

=== Bibliography === *Vajpeyi, K. D. (Kishorī Dās Vājpayī; किशोरीदास वाजपेयी), ''Hindī shabdanushāsan'' हिन्दी शब्दनुशासन (1957, 1958, 1973, 1976, 1988).

==External links== *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb8fZ6zzAW4 Nuqte ka funda | नुक़्ते का फ़ंडा | نقطے کا فنڈا] (in Hindi/Urdu) *[http://people.w3.org/rishida/scripts/indic-overview/ An Introduction to Indic scripts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715125312/http://people.w3.org/rishida/scripts/indic-overview/ |date=2009-07-15 }} *[http://tdil-dc.in/tdildcMain/articles/737061Hindi%20Script%20Grammar%20ver%201.4-2.pdf SCRIPT GRAMMAR FOR HINDI LANGUAGE]

Category:Urdu script Category:Brahmic diacritics Category:Hindustani orthography