Meitei script

Meitei script (Meitei: Meitei Mayek) or Meetei script (Meitei: Meetei Mayek) is an abugida used for Meitei language (officially known as Manipuri language), the sole official language, the lingua franca and the predominantly spoken tongue of the Indian state of Manipur.

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Malayalam script
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Languages of India

The official Meitei writing system consists of the following:

History

Early form of Meitei script, also called Old Manipuri script, was evolved from the Gupta Brahmi script (also known as Gupta script or Late Brahmi script). The original Brahmi script underwent modifications to accommodate the phonological distinctions of the Meitei language. The Gupta Brahmi-descended scripts were later categorized into four groups, in which Meitei script is put under the "Tibetan group", along with the eponymous Tibetan script and other sister-scripts. The ancestral Gupta script of 5th century, even passed through the lands of Assam and Manipur, and reached further eastwards into Myanmar, thereby developing into other writing systems in the 10th century.

Old Meitei script has certain visual similarities or resemblance with the Old Burmese script (also called Old Myanmarese script) and the Thai script, which are also derived from the Brahmi script. The use of writing systems in Tibeto-Burman languages appears to be very restricted. Meitei (or Manipuri) is one of four Tibeto-Burman languages with an old written tradition (the other three being Tibetan, Burmese, and Newar).

The Meitei script was evident in the Yumbanlol copper plate inscriptions, dated to the period between 568–658 CE, which was one of the oldest surviving Meitei literary works. It was originally composed during the old historical period of ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur), when the Meitei script and ancient Meitei language were already long established in official and cultural heritage.

Other websites

References

  1. ↑ "Meitei Mayek script | Britannica".
  2. ↑ Singh, Harimohon Thounaojam (2011). "The Evolution and Recent Development of the Meitei Mayek Script". North East Indian Linguistics. pp. 24–32. doi:10.1017/UPO9788175968875.004. ISBN 9788175968875.
  3. ↑ "Figure 1: Meitei Mayek Alphabets".
  4. ↑ "Manipuri language and alphabet".
  5. ↑ Saini, H. S.; Singh, R. K.; Beg, Mirza Tariq; Mulaveesala, Ravibabu; Mahmood, Md Rashid (2022-03-12). Innovations in Electronics and Communication Engineering: Proceedings of the 9th ICIECE 2021. Springer Nature. p. 430. ISBN 978-981-16-8512-5.
  6. ↑ —Singh, K. S.. People of India: An anthropological atlas. India: Anthropological Survey of India (in collaboration with University of Iowa), 1992. p. 81. "Scripts like Hingna, U-Chhen, and U-Med are the variants of either the Bodhi or the Tibetan scripts. Meitei-Mayak is a variety of the Gupta Brahmi script, and is used in Manipur in addition to other scripts like Bengali and Roman."
    —Manihar Singh, Ch. A History of Manipuri Literature. India: Sahitya Akademi, 1996. p. 9. "That the Meitei script evolved out of Brahmi is quite evident and there are four sub-branches of Brahmi, two of which spread to North-East and North India. ..."
    —Texas Linguistic Forum. United States: Department of Linguistics, University of Texas at Austin, 1996. p. 288. "... The influence of Bengali was so strong that Meithei Mayek, the Gupta Brahmi script originally used for writing Meithei, was replaced with the Bengali alphabet. ..."
    —Singh, K. S.. The Scheduled Castes. India: Oxford University Press (in collaboration with The Ohio State University), 1995. p. 81. "The total number of scripts in use returned in the People of India project are twenty five. Scripts like Hingna, U-Chhen, and U-Med are the variants of either the Bodhi or the Tibetan scripts. Meitei-Mayak is a variety of the Gupta Brahmi script, and is used in Manipur in addition to other scripts like Bengali and Roman. ..."
    —Saha, R. N.. The Origin of the Alphabet and Numerals. India: Printed at the Indian Press, 1931. p. 10. "The Mani-puri Nagri alphabet is of 32 letters and is only a variety of Brahma-Bhat..."
    —Anthropological Linguistics. United States: Department of Anthropology, Indiana University (in collaboration with University of California), 2005. p. 170. "Pamheiba mandated the use of the Bengali script over Meithei Mayek, the Gupta Brahmi script used for writing Meithei in pre-Hindu times."
    —Nilakanta Singh, Elangbam. Aspects of Indian Culture. India: Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, 1982. p. 45. "... Manipur (about 700 square miles) has been exposed to various cultural waves. The people have a rich and ancient cultural heritage with their own alphabets (probably allied to Brahmi scripts of Southern School). The old writings spread over thousands of manus-cripts in Manipuri have palm leaves and wood pieces, which are being examined at the moment."
    —The Journal of Industry & Trade. India: Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India., 1977. p. 58. "... The Manipuris have also their own script which is very old and supposidly [supposedly] allied to Brahmi script, even though Assamese-Bengali script is now adopted on an official level. ..."
    —Kesavan, Bellary Shamanna., Venkatachari, Prathivadibayangaram Narasimha. History of Printing and Publishing in India: Origins of printing and publishing in the Hindi heartland. India: National Book Trust, India, 1984. p. 81. "... Scripts like Hingna , U - Chhen , and U - Med are the variants of either the Bodhi or the Tibetan scripts . Meitei - Mayak is a variety of the Gupta Brahmi script , and is used in Manipur in addition to other scripts like Bengali and Roman ..."
  7. ↑ "Meithei". languagesgulper.com. Retrieved 2026-08-09. ... Meithei Mayek is very ancient being attested already in the 8th century CE; it derives from a variety of the Brāhmī script developed during the Gupta period. ...
  8. ↑ LaPolla Faha 羅仁地, Randy (2000-04-01). "Review of A Grammar of Meithei - Shobhana L. Chelliah, (Mounton Grammar Library, 17). Berlin: Mounton de Gruyter, 1997. XXV + 539 pp". Lingua. 110. doi:10.1016/S0024-3841(99)00037-6. ... the two writing systems used for Meithei are discussed. Both are Devanagari-based, one being a modified version of the Bengali script, the other (Meithei Mayek) deriving from the Gupta Brahmi script. ...
  9. ↑ Singh, Dr Th Suresh (2014-06-02). The Endless Kabaw Valley: British Created Visious Cycle of Manipur, Burma and India. Quills Ink Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 978-93-84318-00-0. According to Jhaljit⁴⁷, Manipuri script is a descendent of some form of Brahmi Script available in the middle of Gangatic Valley.
  10. ↑ Beckwith, Christopher (2002-01-01). Medieval Tibeto-Burman Languages: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the IATS, 2000. Volume 6. BRILL. pp. 59, 60. ISBN 978-90-474-0130-8. The original Brahmi script was modified to ac-commodate the phonemic distinctions of Meithei. Like other Brahmi scripts, Meithei Mayek is syllabic.
  11. ↑ Kirti Singh, Moirangthem. Recent Researches in Oriental Indological Studies: Including Meiteilogy. India: Parimal Publications, 1998. p. 99, 109, 114. "... Meitei script is a modification of Brahmi script or a modification to be kutila style prevalent in North India being in itself a development of the earlier Pan Indian Brahmi Script ...
  12. ↑ Singh, K. S.., Manoharan, S.. Languages and Scripts. India: Anthropological Survey of India (in collaboration with University of Michigan), 1993. p. 27, 28. "... the old Manipuri script, known as Meitei-Mayak, developed from Gupta Brahmi. ... minor scripts which have been returned are: Baital Nagari, Balti, Bodhi, Burmese, Hingna, Meitei-Mayak, Mon, Takri/Tankri, Tana/Thana, Tibetan, U-Chhen and U-Med. These minor scripts could be divided into four groups (i) the Tibetan group, based on Gupta Brahmi (Kutilya) script, which consists of Tibetan, Balti, Hingna, U-Chhen, U-Med, and Meitei-Mayak (which has been modified to accommodate the sounds of this language); (ii)..."
  13. ↑ Report of the Superintendent, Archaeological Survey, Burma, for the Year Ending ...: Praññʻ Thoṅʻ Cu Mranʻ Mā Nuiṅʻ Ṅaṃ Toʻ Kampaññʻʺ Kyokʻ Cā Vanʻ E* ... Khu ʼa Tvakʻ Nhacʻ Khyupʻ ʼa Cī Raṅʻ Khaṃ Cā. Praññʻ thoṅʻ cu Mranʻ mā nuiṅʻ ṅaṃ toʻ ʼa cuiʺ ra, Cā puṃ Nhipʻ reʺ nhaṅʻʹ Cā reʺ Kiriyā Ṭhāna. 1907. p. 11.
  14. ↑ Ethnicity, Movement and Social Structure: Contested Cultural Identity. India: Rawat Publications, 2007. p. 277. "... The old Manipuri script resembles the old Myanmarese script that belongs to the Brahmi family like the Thai script ..."
  15. ↑ Contributions to Nepalese Studies. Nepal: Institute of Nepal and Asian Studies, Tribhuvan University (in collaboration with University of Michigan), 1993. p. 171. "The use of writing systems in T-B seems to be very restricted. Newari is one of four T-B languages with an old written tradition (the other three being Tibetan, Burmese and Manipuri) and the only member of the Himalayan group with such a tradition. ..."
  16. ↑ —Yumpu.com. "88 Vijñānanidhi: m a n". yumpu.com.
    —"National Mission for Manuscripts". namami.gov.in.
    —"Why Meiteilon deserves its rightful place in India classical pantheon By Abul Khair". e-pao.net.
    —"Cultural history of the peoples of India". Academia.
    —"Why Meiteilon deserves its rightful place in India's classical pantheon". www.thesangaiexpress.com.