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Writing Systems Technical Resources

Khema Tamu Phri

Khema script chart (see Symbols & Characters)

Script details

See all script details: code, region, status and more
Code Qa07
Script type abugida
Region Indic
Status Unclear
Direction LTR
Baseline unspecified
Case no
White space between words
Complex behaviors complex positioning, required ligatures
OpenType code unspecified
ISO 15924 Numeric Code / Key none

Explanation of script details

Script description

Khema Tamu Phri is one of three scripts used for writing the Eastern and Western Gurung languages spoken in Nepal, Bhutan and India.

Read the full description…These languages are often known collectively as “Gurung”, although they are not mutually intelligible. Usually, Gurung is written in the Devanagari script; however, in recent times, some Gurung-speaking groups have promoted the use of two other scripts, Khema Tamu Phri and Gurung Khe Phri.

Khema Tamu Phri is an abugida. There are twenty-nine consonant letters, each representing a syllable containing a consonant and the vowel /a/. This vowel can be changed by adding one of seven vowel signs to the consonant letter, or silenced by adding a virama character. Vowels which do not follow a consonant, for example those at the start of a word, are written with one of eight independent vowel letters.

Some of the letter shapes are closely modeled on their Devanagari or Tibetan equivalents.

It is not known how widely this script is used, and it seems to be a topic of controversy with supporters and opponents among Gurung speakers.

This script is not currently recognized by ISO 15924, but is included in ScriptSource for research purposes. If you have any information on this script, please add the information to the site. Your contributions can be a great help in refining and expanding the ISO 15924 standard.

Languages that use this script

There are no known languages that use this script.

Unicode status

In The Unicode Standard, Gurung Khema Script implementation is discussed in Chapter 13 South and Central Asia-II — Other Modern Scripts.

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