Beginners lessons

in reading and
writing GUJARATI
Facilitator: Piyush Ramesh Shah

Introduction
This course is about learning to read and
write Gujarati using the Gujarati script

We will not be covering Gujarati grammar

i.e. the set of rules that explain how words
are used in a language

Introduction
Gujarati is part of the greater Indo-European
family of languages and is a regional
language of India
It is spoken mainly in the state of Gujarat and
the adjacent areas of Maharashtra as well as
in Lower Punjab and Sind in Pakistan
In the diaspora Persian Gulf, East Africa,
Britain and North America

Introduction
Official language of the state of Gujarat and
one of the 23 official languages of India
It has over 60 million speakers 26th most
spoken native language in the world
It is spoken mainly in the state of Gujarat and
the adjacent areas of Maharashtra as well as
in Lower Punjab and Sind in Pakistan
In the diaspora Persian Gulf, East Africa,
Britain and North America

Introduction
Principal varieties and dialects:
Standard Gujarati Ahmedabad/Vadodara
Surati south eastern Gujarat
Kathiawari peninsula of Saurashtra
Charotari central Gujarat
Patani northern Gujarat
Kachchhi western Gujarat
East African most distinctive variant outside

Introduction
Stages of development:
12th to 15th century Old Gujarati
15th to 18th century Middle Gujarati
18th century present Modern Gujarati
Main differences in the 3 stages are phonological
system of sounds
Oldest document is the Bharateshvara Bahubali,
a narrative poem by Jain monk Shalibhadrasuri in
1185CE.

Introduction
Gujarati language has evolved from Sanskrit
through Prakrits/Apabhramshas
It has its own script Gujarati lipi derived
ultimately from Brahmi
It is a variant of the Devanagari script
differentiated by the loss of the
characteristic horizontal line running above
the letters and by a small number of
modifications in the remaining characters

Introduction
Gujarati script is an alphasyllabary a
segmental writing system in which
consonant - vowel sequences are written as
a unit
Each unit is based on a consonant and vowel
notation is secondary
This contrasts with a full alphabet in which
vowels have equal status to consonants

Introduction
Gujarati has:
12 basic vowels (thats why we call the
alphabet the barakhadi (a corruption of
barakshari)) and
34 consonants
There is one additional vowel but this is
rarely used
The total number of letters is therefore 47

Introduction
Gujarati alphabets are pronounced by the five
organs of the mouth. They are the:
- Throat
- Palate
- Roof of the mouth
- Teeth
- Lips

Points of articulation

Grouping
Consonants (vyajana) are grouped in
accordance with the traditional, linguistically
based Sanskrit scheme of arrangement, which
considers the place of articulation during
their pronunciation

Vowels (Svara)

a
aa
i
ee
u
oo

e
ai
o
au
am
ah

ri
am

Vowels
The vowel may be pronounced by
different people in different ways ri, ru or
ra. It is used in the name Krishna which
some may pronounce either Krushna or
Krashna
The symbols and are not used in
standard Gujarati but may be used and have
tremendous value to achieve correct
transliteration/pronunciation of foreign

Vowels
Each vowel has a stand alone letter and has
an attached symbol - except for the vowel
(a) which has a stand alone form but no
symbol
The vowel does not have a symbol as it is
inherently embedded in the consonant

Vowels - Symbols

Consonants (Vyanjana)
Velar
(guttural)
Palatals
Retroflex (crerebrals)
Dental
Labials
Glides and liquids (semi vowels)
Fricatives (sibilants)
Glottal and Retroflex liquid
Conjuncts

Consonants (Vyanjana)

ka
cha
Ta
ta
pa
ya
sha
ha
kSha

kha
chha
Tha
tha
pha
ra
Sha
La
tra

ga
ja
Da
da
ba
la
sa
jnya

gha
jha
Dha
dha
bha
va

nga
nya
Na
na
ma

Consonants
The last three letters are not pure
consonants but are actually conjuncts of 2
separate consonants but they have
traditionally been included as part of the
alphabet
The last letter is traditionally pronounced
as gna in Gujarati

Consonants
The 5 letters in the last column are called the
nasal consonants
The nasal consonants and are
infrequently used and in fact they have been
removed from many modern Gujarati
alphabet charts
They have however been included here for
completeness and because they are still in
use

Consonants
The nasal consonants are generally replaced
by a dot at the top
Each nasal consonant is used with the
letters of its series

Consonants
The sounds fa and za are not native to Gujarati
and therefore do not have specific consonants.
However in practice the letters for pha and jha
are equated to fa and za in practice
Letter

Actual sound

Pronounced

pha
jha

pha/fa
jha/za

Consonants
Certain consonants are sometimes modified by
a dot at the bottom to represent non-native
Gujarati sounds (mainly urdu origin words):
Letter

sound

example

qa
kha
gha
fa
zha

qatil
khoon
gham
fareb
pleasure

Consonants
The letter sha has an alternative form which
is used in combination with certain consonants
particularly when combined with cha, na, ra
and va

, ,

Complete alphabet arranged based on plac

of articulation of sound for each letter

Combining vowels and consonants

Each consonant character contains an
inherent vowel (called a schwa) the vowel
(a)
The other vowels are added as accents or
diacritics on to the consonant characters
Every pure consonant has a nether stroke at
the bottom (halant) which is removed
when a vowel is added or when combined
with another consonant i.e. in a conjunct

Combining vowels and consonants

As an example the maximum possible
combinations of the consonant (ka) with
vowels is as per the table in the next slide

Combining vowels and consonants

+
=
+
=
+ =

k
ka

+ =
+ =

kri
ke

kaa + =

kai

ki

=
kee
ku

koo

ko

+ =
+ =
+ =

+ =
+ =
+ =

kau
kam
kah

Combining vowels and consonants

All consonants and vowels will combine in
the manner shown in the previous table
consonant + respective vowel sign
Only three combinations have irregular
forms and these are:

+ = jee

+ = roo
+
hri

Conjuncts
A conjunct is a combination of 2 or more
consonants and is presented as a single
ligature
This will be tackled further on

Note on pronunciation
Gujarati has the concept of schwa deletion or
schwa syncope
Final schwa is generally not pronounced e.g.
is transliterated as Raama but pronounced
as Raam - an exception occurs when a word
ends in a conjunct
Sometimes an inherent vowel is not pronounced
despite its implicit presence there is no rule
which can predict this phenomenon with
absolute accuracy

Identify the vowels

Identify the following vowels:

Identify the vowels

Identify the following vowels:

Identify the vowels

Identify the following vowels:

Identify the vowel symbols

Identify the following vowel symbols:

Identify the vowel symbols

Identify the following vowel symbols:

Combining vowels and consonants

Identify the following vowel symbols:

Identify the consonants

Identify the following consonants:

Identify the consonants

Identify the following consonants:

Identify the consonants

Identify the following consonants:

Identify the consonants

Identify the following consonants:

Identify the conjunct consonants

Identify the following conjunct consonants:

Identify the consonants

Identify the following consonant-vowel
combinations with the half-consonant

Forming simple words

Word

No.
2
4
2
3
2
2
3

Forming simple words

Word

No.
3
4
2
2
2
2
3

Forming simple words

Word

No.
2

3
2

2
2

Forming simple words

Word

No.
3
3
3
2
3
3

Forming simple words

Word

No.
2

2

3

Forming simple words

Word

Trans.
oona

Pron.
oon

Mean.
wool

karavata karvat saw

aaga

aag

fire

jagata

jagat

world

nakha

nakh

nail

eka

ek

one

magara

magar croc.

Forming simple words

Word

Trans.
Pron.
Mean.
auShadha auShadh medicine
ajagara

ajgar

python

ghara

ghar

house

chhala

chhal

deceit

rNa

riN

debt

dhana

dhan

wealth

faraja

faraj

duty

Forming simple words

Word

Trans.
geetaa

Pron.
geetaa

Mean.
geetaa

kiraNa

kiraN

ray

sheela

sheel

character

seemaa

seemaa

boundary

rNa

riN

debt

dhana

dhan

wealth

upakaara

upkaar

duty

Forming simple words

Word

Trans.
abhaya

Pron.
abhay

Mean.
fearless

asara

asar

effect

umara

umar

age

jaina

jain

jain

sharama

sharam

shame

kaagaLa

kaagaL

paper

saphaLataa saphaLtaa success

Forming simple words

Word

Trans.
pakShee

Pron.
pakShee

Mean.
bird

doora

door

far

pavitra

pavitra

holy

najeeka

najeek

near

kShamaa

kShamaa

forgiveness

khaalee

khaalee

empty

vijnyaana

vignaan

science

The bindu/anusvaar
The dot on top of a letter ( ) has the following
uses in Gujarati:
Nasalization of a vowel (bindu)
Representing a half nasal consonant when
the half nasal consonant precedes a
consonant of its series (anusvaar) this has
special rules
It is also used in conjunction with other
consonants (anusvaar)

Nasalization of vowels
All vowels in Gujarati can be nasalized, except for
Nasalization is indicated by either the symbol " "
(bindu) or by the symbol " " (chandrabindu). The
bindu is used when part or all of the vowel symbol
extends above the horizontal line. The chandrabindu
is used when no part of the vowel symbol extends
above the horizontal line.
The bindu is more common is modern written
Gujarati, and may even be used exclusively.

Nasalization of vowels - examples

The nasalization has been
represented by capital M below:
Word

Split

Trans.

Meaning

+,
huM, meM I
+
, +, + tuM, teM you
+ aapNuM our

The nasals
The nasals are the last letters in each of the
first five series of consonants
These are:

nga nya

Na

na

ma

Conjunct consonants
A conjunct is a combination of 2 or more
consonants and is presented as a single ligature
One or more preceding consonants are in their
half form and the last consonant is in its full
form. A half form consonant lacks a vowel
sound at the end
There are hundreds of conjuncts, but most are
easily recognizable

Use of anusvaar
Anusvaar is used when we have conjuncts
formed using a nasal consonant
If a nasal consonant is a first member of a
conjunct it can be written using either its half
form (to be covered later) or with an anusvaar
( ) this dot on top has special pronunciation
rules when representing nasal consonants
The anusvaar in this case is articulated in the
same location in the mouth as the consonant
that follows.

Anusvaar rules
In the case of the first five series of five
letters each the anusvaar (nasal dot)
replaces the nasal consonant of its series
when it precedes and combines with any
other letter of the respective series
The anusvaar, when replacing a nasal
consonant, is therefore pronounced as per
its place of articulation.

Anusvaar rules
So, based on the above, the anusvaar (nasal
dot) replaces:
when combined with or
when combined with or
when combined with or
when combined with or
when combined with or

Anusvaar rules
The anusvaar in must represent which
is a dental nasal consonant, since , the
following consonant, is a dental consonant
The ansusvaar in must represent which
is a retroflex nasal consonant, since , the
following consonant, is a retroflex consonant
The above is applicable for each of the first
five series of consonants

nsusvaar examples nasal consonants

Anusvaar rules
If the nasal dot is followed by the following
consonants it is pronounced as (aM)

Examples:

saMyam
saMvaad
aMsh
haMs

Conjuncts again!
Like in any language, two or more consonants can
be combined and pronounced together
e.g. in the English word "fact" the consonants "c"
and "t" and pronounced together. In "Alp"
consonants "l" and "p" and pronounced together
and in "plethora" consonants "p" and "l" and
pronounced together
In English we just write consonants one after other
and to indicate their combination there is no vowel
between the consonants

Conjuncts again!

In Gujarati we do not just write consonants one after

the other when forming conjuncts. There is a little
change done in the form of first consonant which is
to be pronounced half.
With some exceptions, conjuncts are formed by
some simple rules
In the vast majority of conjuncts the half form of the
first consonant which is easily recognizable and
formed is used

Conjuncts again!

Conjuncts can be formed by writing the first

consonant of the conjunct using its full form
modified by the downward slant below the consonant
() to remove the inherent vowel sound
However this is not conventional and is generally
used when some typewriters or keyboards are not
fully and properly designed to incorporate the
conjunct shapes that are generally used

Types of conjuncts

Horizontal conjuncts
Vertical conjuncts

Conjuncts with nasal consonants (partly

covered earlier)
Conjuncts with the consonant (r)
Special conjunct forms