On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet c7.s1.31

c7.s1.31

No 18. Regarding the Brāhma equivalent of the Semitic *Tsade* I differ from all my predecessors. I believe that it was [66] used, as one would expect from its phonetic value, for the formation of the letter *ca*, the sound of which is and always has been, not the English *tsha*, but *tśa* almost like *tya*. The Semitic sign, of course, had to be turned topsy-turvy on account of its heavy top, and the small bar running to the right was turned towards the vertical. This process gave first a tailed [Figure:] and later with the direction to the left, [Figure:]. The angular shape of the letter has been well preserved in the *ca* of the Edicts, Col. V, a, which is not uncommon, and the tail appears in the Bhaṭṭiprolu form, Col. V, c.¹ The round *ca* (Col. V, b) is purely cursive, and not the parent of the later Indian letters, which mostly go back to angular or pointed forms.