Ahom Letter Pa

It represents the plain p consonant in Tai Ahom.

Ahom is an abugida, a writing system in which a consonant normally carries an unwritten vowel. Here that vowel is a, so 𑜆 alone is roughly pa. A vowel sign changes the vowel; a mark that removes the built-in vowel lets p close a syllable. The sound is like the p in English “spin,” without a strong puff of air.

Where does Ahom writing come from?

It developed in the Lik Tai tradition for Tai Ahom.

Lik Tai is a family of Tai writing systems. Ahom script has deeper links to Mon-Burmese and Brahmi traditions; Brahmi is an older South Asian writing-system family.

The script appears on stones, coins, brass plates and manuscripts. These records served administration, chronicles, dictionaries, religious texts and ritual knowledge. Tai Ahom language use declined in the late 17th century, but priests continued using the language and script in religious practice through the 19th century. A 1920 Ahom-Assamese-English dictionary is associated with the modern revival, continued through primers, archives and digital fonts.

Why can Ahom vowels look out of order?

The written order and visible order can differ.

In text, a vowel sign follows its base consonant even if it displays before it. Software without Ahom shaping can place the sign incorrectly or show a fallback box.

In 2014, a community Ahom font and keyboard were used on Facebook and some email; Microsoft Word and OpenOffice had vowel-shaping problems.