On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet c7.s1.28

c7.s1.28

No 16. Professor Weber's ingenious identification of the ancient *Ain* (Col. I and II) with the Brāhma *E*,—which is supported by the analogous proceeding of the Greeks, who also used it to express the gutturo-labial vowel, and of the which looks like a *dha* is found in the word *etina* of the Hathigumphā inscription of Khāravela, l. 8, and in the Sānchi inscription No 173 (Epigraphia Indica Vol. II, p. 375) where, not thinking of the Hathigumphā letter, I unfortunately have read *Dharakinā* for *Erakinā*. Professor Weber's conjecture has been accepted by Dr. Taylor alone, Dr. Deecke and M. Halévy, trying to connect the triangular *E* with *Aleph*. There was however a very good reason for giving up the round *E*. For it could not have been distinguished from the lingual *ṭha*, which the Hindus developed out of the corresponding dental. In my opinion the triangular *E* is a development, formed by the Hindus independently, and the angular forms for *Ain* in the later Semitic alphabets, Euting op. cit., Col. 8 b, 14 ff., are merely analogous, showing how easily a circular letter may be converted into a triangle or rhombus. It is just possible that phonetic considerations may have induced the Indians to select *Ain* for expressing their *e*. For according to a description of the Indian *e*-sound, which seems to go back to Śākaṭāyana and has been generally accepted by the later native grammarians,¹ it is half guttural and half palatal (*kaṇṭhya-tālavya*). As the *Ain* no doubt was a guttural, it may have appeared more suitable for *E* than for *I* or *U*.