On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet c7.s2.7
On the Origin of the Indian Brāhma Alphabet c7.s2.7
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c7.s2.7
Two other cases of the mutilation of borrowed letters occur in the signs for initial *I* and *U*. It has been recognised already by Mr. Prinsep that the three dots of *I* (No 16, Col. VI, a—c, lower row) indicate of *I* generally agrees with the position of the angles of *E*. To a Hindu phoneticist or grammarian the derivation of *I* from *E* would appear a matter of course, because *E* is very commonly [71] the representative of an *I* in strong forms or its *Guṇa*. Hence he expressed the latter by a lighter form of the former, just marking the corners of the triangle.