The Development of Graphic Representation in Abugida Writing: The Akshara’s Grammar

Phonological writing systems can use different modes in the arrangement of phonological information: linear or emblematic. The latter presupposes a two-dimensional composition of graphic elements which convey information of different levels: basic phonological units or their secondary features. Abugida is one of the most perfect modes of writing, using a two-dimensional principle of organization in its graphemes. Indian scripts imply forms of abugida, based on aksharas - orthographic syllables - as main graphemes, with their vocalization marked by sub-graphemes. Their complex forms reveal hierarchical structures representing phonological structures. Thus, “the akshara’s grammar” may be described, with its paradigms of shapes and meanings, their organization in space, their modes of conjunction. The functional characteristics of diacritic types and ligatures can be specified. The graphic shapes of the akshara can be represented as forming a “grammar” comparable to morphological structures. The graphic complexity of writing can then be estimated in typological perspective. This paper is an attempt to describe such a grammar