Conjunct consonant
{{Short description|Type of letter in Brahmic scripts}}
File:Brahmi Kya (Ka-Ya) conjunct consonant.jpg, consisting in the vertical assembly of consonants "Ka" 12px and "Ya" 12px. Used in the spelling of the word "Shakyamuni" to designate the Buddha, Rummindei pillar of Ashoka ({{circa|250 BCE}}).]]
File:Conjunct consonant Sya in Brahmic scripts.jpg
Conjunct consonants are a type of letters, used for example in Brahmi or Brahmi derived modern scripts such as Balinese, Bengali, Devanagari, Gujarati, Tibetan, Dzongkha etc to write consonant clusters such as {{IPA|/pr/}} or {{IPA|/rv/}}. Although most of the time, letters are formed by using a simple consonant with the inherent value vowel "a" (as with "k" 12px, pronounced "ka" in Brahmi), or by combining a consonant with an vowel in the form of a diacritic (as with "ki" 12px in Brahmi), the usage of conjunct consonant permits the creation of more sophisticated sounds (as with "kya" 12px, formed with the consonants k 10px and y 10px assembled vertically). 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.{{cite book |last1=Shapiro |first1=Michael C. |title=A Primer of Modern Standard Hindi |date=1989 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120805088 |page=23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vvuP8sD1wloC&pg=PA23 |language=en}}
Some simple examples of conjunct consonants in Devanagari are: {{lang|und-deva|त + व {{=}} त्व}} ({{transliteration|deva|tva}}), {{lang|und-deva|ण + ढ {{=}} ण्ढ}} ({{transliteration|deva|ṇḍha}}), {{lang|und-deva|स + थ {{=}} स्थ}} ({{transliteration|deva|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 {{transliteration|deva|kṣ}} is {{lang|und-deva|क्ष (क् + ष)}} and for {{transliteration|deva|jñ}} it is {{lang|und-deva|ज्ञ (ज् + ञ)}}.
Some examples of conjunct consonants in Gujarati are: {{lang|und-gujr|પ + ઝ {{=}} પ્ઝ}} ({{transliteration|gujr|pjha}}) (where a stroke of the first letter is lost in the combination), {{lang|und-gujr|હ + ળ {{=}} હ્ળ}} ({{transliteration|gujr|hḷa}}), {{lang|und-gujr|જ + ભ {{=}} જ્ભ}} ({{transliteration|gujr|jbha}}). Sometimes, conjunct consonants are not clearly derived from the letters making up their components: the conjunct for {{transliteration|gujr|śc}} is {{lang|und-gujr|શ્ચ (શ્ + ચ)}} and for {{transliteration|gujr|ñj}} it is {{lang|und-gujr|ઞ્જ (ઞ્ + જ)}}.
Conjunct consonants are used in many other scripts as well, usually derived from the Brahmi script.{{cite book |last1=Tuṅga |first1=Sudhāṃśu Śekhara |title=Bengali and Other Related Dialects of South Assam |date=1995 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=9788170995883 |page=163 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lRRYBHQvXdsC&pg=PA163 |language=en}} In Balinese, conjunct consonants are called Haksara Wrehastra.{{cite book |last1=Shadeg |first1=Norbert |title=Tuttle Balinese-English Dictionary |date=2014 |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |isbn=9781462910786 |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20ktBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |language=en}}