الكتابة النيبالية

قبل تطوير الكتابة النيبالية، استخدم سكان نيبال ماندالا الكتابات التالية المشتركة في منطقة جنوب آسيا. ^{[ 5 ] [ 6 ]}

• النص البراهمي – فترة أشوكا
• نص Purva Licchavi ^{[ أ ]} – فترة Licchavi السابقة
• كتابة أوتارا ليتشافي ^{[ ب ]} – فترة ليتشافي المتأخرة (القرن السادس - الحادي عشر أو الثاني عشر)

ظهرت الكتابة النيبالية ^{[ 10 ]} في القرن العاشر الميلادي. وأقدم مثال عليها مخطوطة بعنوان " لانكافاتارا سوترا " مؤرخة في عام 908 ميلادي (العام 28 من التقويم النيبالي). ومن الأمثلة المبكرة الأخرى مخطوطة على أوراق النخيل لنص بوذي بعنوان "براجناباراميتا" ، مؤرخة في عام 920 ميلادي (العام 40 من التقويم النيبالي). ^{[ 11 ]} إحدى أقدم مخطوطات رامايانا، التي لا تزال محفوظة حتى اليوم، كُتبت بالكتابة النيبالية عام 1041. ^{[ 12 ]}

The script has been used on stone and copper plate inscriptions, coins (Nepalese mohar), palm-leaf documents and Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts.^[13][14]

Among the famed historical texts written in Nepal Lipi are Gopalarajavamsavali, a history of Nepal, which appeared in 1389 AD,^[15] the Nepal-Tibet treaty of Nepal Era 895 (1775 AD) and a letter dated Nepal Era 535 (1415 AD) sent by Chinese Emperor Tai Ming to Shakti-simha-rama, a feudatory of Banepa.^[16][17]

Besides the Kathmandu Valley and the Himalayan region in Nepal, the Ranjana script is used for sacred purposes in Tibet, China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Bhutan, Sikkim and Ladakh.^[18]

The Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet is ornamented with mantras embossed in Ranjana script, and the panels under the eaves are numbered using Nepal Lipi.^[19]

In 1906, the Rana regime banned Nepal Bhasa, Nepal Era and Nepal Lipi from official use as part of its policy to subdue them, and the script fell into decline. Authors were also encouraged to switch to Devanagari to write Nepal Bhasa because of the availability of moveable type for printing, and Nepal Lipi was pushed further into the background.^[20] However, the script continued to be used for religious and ceremonial purposes till the 1950s.

After the Rana dynasty was overthrown and democracy established in 1951,^[21] restrictions on Nepal Bhasa were lifted. Attempts were made to study and revive the old scripts,^[22] and alphabet books were published. Hemraj Shakyavamsha published an alphabet book of 15 types of Nepalese alphabets including Ranjana, Bhujimol and Pachumol.^[23]

In 1952, a pressman Pushpa Ratna Sagar of Kathmandu had moveable type of Nepal script made in India. The metal type was used to print the dateline and the titles of the articles in Thaunkanhe monthly.^[24]

In 1989, the first book to be printed using a computer typeface of Nepal script, Prasiddha Bajracharyapinigu Sanchhipta Bibaran ("Profiles of Renowned Bajracharyas") by Badri Ratna Bajracharya, was published.

Newar	Rañjanā	Dev.	Rom.
		क	ka
		ख	kha
		ग	ga
		घ	gha
		ङ	ṅa
		ह्ङ	ṅha
		च	ca
		छ	cha
		ज	ja
		झ	jha
		ञ	ña
		ह्ञ्	ñha

Newar	Rañjanā	Dev.	Rom.
		ट	ṭa
		ठ	ṭha
		ड	ḍa
		ढ	ḍha
		ण	ṇa
		ह्ण	ṇha
		त	ta
		थ	tha
		द	da
		ध	dha
		न	na
		ह्न	nha

Newar	Rañjanā	Dev.	Rom.
		प	pa
		फ	pha
		ब	ba
		भ	bha
		म	ma
		ह्म	mha
		य	ya
		र	ra
		ह्र	rha
		ल	la
		ह्ल	lha
		व	va

Newar	Rañjanā	Dev.	Rom.
		श	śa
		ष	ṣa
		स	sa
		ह	ha
		क्ष	kṣa
		त्र	tra
		ज्ञ	jña

The compound letters kṣa, tra and jña are often regarded as separate letters that are taught together with the other letters. Since the Newari language lacks retroflex consonants, the letters ṭa, ṭha, ḍa, ḍha, ṇa and ṣa are used only in loanwords. The same applies to the letter śa. Newari, on the other hand, has a number of sonorant consonants that are pronounced with creaky voice (ṅha, ñha, ṇha, nha, mha, rha and lha). They are written in compound letters consisting of "ha" combined with the letter for the corresponding modal sonorant.^[27]

Contextual forms

Some letters have alternative forms that are used when combined with certain vowel diacritics or included in a consonant cluster.^[28]

• Letter bha and ha changes appearance when combined with any of the vowel diacritics u, ū, ṛ, ṝ, ḷ and ḹ.
• Letter ja and ra forms ligatures together with the vowels u and ū.
• Vowels u changes appearance when combined with the letters ga, ta, bha and śa.

Compound letters

Example of how the letters ka and ya are written together to form the letter kya. When ka is in the initial position and is followed by a letter with two bars, extend ka to the right so that it overlaps the following letter

Consonant clusters are written by writing several consonant letters together in complex ligatures. How they are written depends on the shape of the letters and some letters have alternative shapes that are used depending on their position in the cluster.^[28]

Newar	Rañjanā	Dev.	Rom.
		अ	a
		आ	ā
		इ	i
		ई	ī
		उ	u
		ऊ	ū

Newar	Rañjanā	Dev.	Rom.
		ऋ	ṛ
		ॠ	ṝ
		ए	e
		ऐ	ai
		ओ	o
		औ	au

Newar	Rañjanā	Dev.	Rom.
		अय्	ay
		आय्	āy
		एय्	ey

The vowel ṛ which in Sanskrit stands for syllable forming [ṛ] is used in Newar script to write the syllable ri.

In Newari, the vowels a and ā are pronounced with different vowel qualities. In order to write their long equivalents, some diacritics have been given partially different properties than what is otherwise usual in Brahmic scripts.

Letter		Name		Transcription		Description
Newar	Rañjanā	Sanskrit	Newari	Dev.	Rom.
		visarga	lyuphuti	अः	aḥ	Usually used to indicate that a vowel is followed by an h-sound. In Newari it is used instead of marking a long vowel.
		candrabindu	milaphuti	अँ	am̐	Marks a nasal vowel.
		anusvāra	sinhaphuti	अं	aṃ	In other words, it can be seen as a combination of visarga and chandrabindu.

Vowel diacritics

Newar

تختلف بعض علامات التشكيل الصوتية في مظهرها تبعًا لوجود خط علوي للحرف الساكن أم لا. وهناك سبعة أحرف ساكنة بدون خطوط علوية: ga ، ña ، ṭha ، ṇa ، tha ، dha ، و śa . ^{[ 28 ]}

	أ	أح	أ	آح	أنا	أنا	u	ū	ṛ	ṝ	هـ	الذكاء الاصطناعي	o	أستراليا	أكون	أكون
ka​
جا جا

رانجانا

يمكن أن تتخذ علامات التشكيل الصوتية ثلاثة أشكال مختلفة كحد أقصى، وذلك بحسب الحرف الساكن الذي تُدمج معه. ^{[ 29 ]} وتُطبَّق قواعد حرف "كا" أيضًا على حروف "جا" و "كشا" و "جنا" . كما تُطبَّق قواعد حرف "غا" على حروف "خا " و "نا " و " ثا" و "نا " و "ثا" و"دا " و "شا" . أما قواعد حرف "با" فتُطبَّق على باقي الحروف.

• 
  قواعد क ka
• 
  قواعد لعبة غا
• 
  قواعد با