Meitei script

This article is about the historic and naturally evolved writing system. For the 20th century constructed script, see Naoriya Phulo script.

Meitei script
(Meitei: ꯃꯩꯇꯩ ꯃꯌꯦꯛ, romanized: Meitei Mayek)
The original 18 letters used in the Meitei Mayek writing system
Script type
Time period
6th-18th centuries AD,[1] revived 1930 – present
DirectionLeft-to-right Edit this on Wikidata
Official scriptfor Meitei language in India
Region India
LanguagesMeitei (Manipuri) language
Related scripts
Parent systems
Sister systems
Tibetan,[2][3][4] Lepcha, Khema, ʼPhags-pa, Marchen
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Mtei (337), ​Meitei Mayek (Meithei, Meetei)
Unicode
Unicode alias
Meetei Mayek
Meetei Mayek (Unicode block)
Meetei Mayek
This article contains the Meitei alphabet. Without proper rendering support, you may see errors in display.
Brahmic scripts
The Brahmi script and its descendants
Northern Brahmic
Southern Brahmic

The Meitei script (Meitei: ꯃꯩꯇꯩ ꯃꯌꯦꯛ, romanized: Meitei mayek), also known as the Kanglei script (Meitei: ꯀꯪꯂꯩ ꯃꯌꯦꯛ, romanized: Kanglei mayek)[5] or the Kok Sam Lai script (Meitei: ꯀꯣꯛ ꯁꯝ ꯂꯥꯏ ꯃꯌꯦꯛ, romanized: Kok Sam Lai mayek), after its first three letters[6][7] is an abugida in the Brahmic scripts family used to write the Meitei language, the official language of Manipur, Assam and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is first known from engravings on 6th century CE coins and copper plate inscriptions.[8] as verified by the various publications of the National Sahitya Akademi.[1] It was used until the 18th century, when it was replaced by the Bengali alphabet. A few manuscripts survive. In the 20th century, the script was revived and is again being used.[9] Beginning in 2021, the Government of Manipur began to use the Meitei alongside the Bengali-Assamese script, per the Manipur Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2021.[10]

Since Meitei does not have voiced consonants, there are only fifteen consonant letters used for native words, plus three letters for pure vowels. Nine additional consonants letters inherited from Indic languages are available for writing loan words. There are seven vowel diacritics and a final consonant (/ŋ/) diacritic. The names of the twenty-seven letters are based on parts of the human body.[11]

  1. ^ a b Datta, Amaresh (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. Sahitya Akademi. p. 142. ISBN 978-81-260-1803-1.
  2. ^ Chelliah, Shobhana Lakshmi (2011). A Grammar of Meithei. De Gruyter. p. 355. ISBN 9783110801118. Meithei Mayek is part of the Tibetan group of scripts, which originated from the Gupta Brahmi script
  3. ^ Singh, Harimohon Thounaojam (January 2011), The Evolution and Recent Development of the Meetei Mayek Script, Cambridge University Press India, p. 28
  4. ^ Hyslop, Gwendolyn; Morey, Stephen; Post, Mark W (January 2011). North East Indian Linguistics Volume 3. Cambridge University Press India. ISBN 9788175967939.
  5. ^ Noni, Arambam; Sanatomba, Kangujam (16 October 2015). Colonialism and Resistance: Society and State in Manipur. Routledge. pp. 223, 235, 237. ISBN 978-1-317-27066-9.
  6. ^ মণিপুরদা লোলয়ান চঙলকপা অমদি মীতৈ ইয়েক্না থোঙজিন্দা ৱারৌজনা লেপ্লরবদা ! (PDF). hueiyenlanpao.com (in Manipuri).
  7. ^ "Lost and revived: The story of Meitei script". The Indian Express. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  8. ^ Fresh Fictions: Folk Tales, Plays, Novellas from the North East. Katha. 2005. p. 4. ISBN 978-81-87649-44-1.
  9. ^ Laithangbam, Iboyaima (23 September 2017). "Banished Manipuri script stages a comeback". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  10. ^ "GAZETTE TITLE: The Manipur Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2021". manipurgovtpress.nic.in.
  11. ^ Ray, Sohini (2009). "Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India". Anthropological Quarterly. 82 (1): 150. ISSN 0003-5491. JSTOR 25488260.