On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet c7.s3.23

c7.s3.23

With the exception of the signs for the sibilants *śa* and *ṣa*-*sa*, which in consequence of modifications, introduced, it [80] would seem, independently by the Hindus,¹ resemble later Aramaic characters, the Brāhma letters closely agree with or are most easily derivable from the old types of the North-Semitic alphabet. And the Brāhma initial vowels *A* and *E* as well as the consonants *kha*, *ga*, *gha*, *tha*, *dha*, *ba* and *va* point to particularly archaic prototypes, while *ha* and *ta* appear to be connected with somewhat modified forms. It would, therefore, seem that the Semitic alphabet became known to the Hindus at a period when the angle of its *Aleph* opened wide and the vertical crossbar protruded about equally on the two sides, when the top of *Beth* was still closed, when *ga* consisted of an angle open below, when *Daleth* had not yet developed a tail, when *Waw* consisted of a semicircular head with a vertical depending from the middle, when *Cheth* had three bars, when *Theth* and *Ain* were quite or nearly circular and *Qoph* had a round head with a vertical hanging down from it, but when the simplified *He* consisting only of three strokes had been developed and the left half of the original crossbar of *Taw* had nearly or quite disappeared.