On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet c7.s1.6

c7.s1.6

No 1. That the Hindus, like the Greeks used the Semitic *Aleph* in order to express the vowel *a* has been suspected by Professor Weber. His successors have asserted the identity of the first letters of the two alphabets as a fact, though the Indian forms of the initial *A* with two curves, which have been mostly used for comparison,¹ do not agree very well. The doubtlessly oldest form with the angle to the left of the vertical (Col. V) which, as stated above, is peculiar to the Southern versions of the Edicts, agrees almost exactly with the oldest Semitic signs. Only the vertical has been placed at the point of the angle in order to make the appearance of the letter more regular, and the whole sign has, of course, been turned from the right to the left. On a Patna seal it occurs, however, once in its original position, see the Grundriss, Taf. II. 1. I, and p. 8.