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The Tai Tham script (Tham meaning "scripture") is an artificial ethnonym given to an abugida writing system used mainly for a group of Southwestern Tai languages i.e., Northern Thai, Tai Lü, Khün and Lao; as well as the liturgical languages of Buddhism i.e., Pali and Sanskrit. It is historically known as Tua Tham (​ᨲ᩠ᩅᩫᨵᨾ᩠ᨾ᩼​ or ᨲ᩠ᩅᩫᨵᩢᨾ᩠ᨾ᩼). In Thailand and Myanmar, the script is often referred to as Lanna script (Thai: อักษรธรรมล้านนา RTGS: Akson Tham Lan Na; Burmese: လန်နအက္ခရာ RTGS: Lanna Akara) in relation to the historical kingdom of Lan Na situating in the Northern region of modern day Thailand and a part of Shan state in Myanmar.[4] Local people in Northern Thailand also call the script as Tua Mueang (ᨲ᩠ᩅᩫᨾᩮᩥᩬᨦ, Northern Thai pronunciation: [tǔa.mɯ̄aŋ] listen) in parallel to Kam Mueang, a local name for Northern Thai language.[4] In Laos and Isan region of Thailand, a variation of Tai Tham script, often dubbed Lao Tham, is also known by the locals as To Tham Lao (Northeastern Thai: โตธรรมลาว /toː˩.tʰam˧˥.laːw˧/, cf. Lao: ໂຕທຳ/ໂຕທັມ BGN/PCGN to tham) or Yuan script.[5] Tai Tham script is traditionally written on a dried palm leaf as a palm-leaf manuscript.[4]

Tai Tham ᨲ᩠ᩅᩫᨵᩢᨾ᩠ᨾ᩼, Tua Tham
Script type	Abugida
Time period	c. 1300–present
Direction	left-to-right
Languages	Northern Thai, Tai Lü, Khün, Isan and Lao
Related scripts
Parent systems	Proto-Sinaitic alphabet[a] Phoenician alphabet[a] Aramaic alphabet[a] Brāhmī Tamil-Brahmi Pallava alphabet[1] Old Mon script[1][2][3] Tai Tham
Child systems	New Tai Lue, Tham Lao
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Lana (351), ​Tai Tham (Lanna)
Unicode
Unicode alias	Tai Tham
Unicode range	U+1A20–U+1AAF
[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

The Northern Thai language is a close relative of (standard) Thai. It is spoken by nearly 6 million people in Northern Thailand and several thousand in Laos of whom few are literate in Lanna script. The script is still read by older monks. Northern Thai has six linguistic tones and Thai only five, making transcription into the Thai alphabet problematic. There is some resurgent interest in the script among younger people, but an added complication is that the modern spoken form, called Kam Muang, differs in pronunciation from the older form.[6]

There are 670,000 speakers of Tai Lü, some of those born before 1950 are literate in Tham, also known as Old Tai Lue.^{[citation needed]} The script has also continued to be taught in the monasteries. The New Tai Lue script is derived from Tham. There are 120,000 speakers of Khün for which Lanna is the only script.

History

The Tai Tham script shows a strong similarity to the Mon script used by the Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya around the 13th century CE, in the present-day Lamphun Province of Northern Thailand. The oldest known document containing the Tai Tham script is dated to 1376 CE and was found in Sukhothai. The document is a bilingual inscription on a gold folio, containing one line of Pali written in the Tai Tham script, while the vernacular is written in the Siamese language, using the Sukhothai script. The Tai Tham script was adapted to write vernacular languages not later than the 15th century CE, most probably in Chiang Mai, in the Lan Na Kingdom.[7] The script spread from Lan Na to surrounding areas such as modern day Laos, Isan, Shan State and Sipsong Panna. Numerous local variants developed, such as the Lue variant (Sipsong Panna), the Khuen variant (Shan State) and the Tham Lao variant (Laos and Isan). The variants differ only slightly in appearance, and the system of writing has remained the same.[8] As the name suggests, the use of the Tham (Dharma) script in Lao was restricted to religious literature, either used to transcribe Pali, or religious treatises written in Lao intended solely for the clergy. Religious instructional materials and prayer books dedicated to the laity were written in Tai Noi instead. As a result, only a few people outside the temples were literate in the script. In Isan, evidence of the script includes two stone inscriptions, such as the one housed at Wat Tham Suwannakhuha in Nong Bua Lamphu, dated to 1564, and another from Wat Mahaphon in Maha Sarakham from the same period.[9]

Most of the script is recorded on palm-leaf manuscripts, many of which were destroyed during the 'Thaification' purges of the 1930s; contemporaneously this period of Thai nationalisation also ended its use as the primary written language in Northern Thailand.[10] Although no longer in use in Isan, the alphabet is enjoying a resurgence in Northern Thailand, and is still used as the primary written script for the Tai Lü and Tai Khün languages spoken in the 'Golden Triangle' where Thailand, Laos, Burma and southern China meet. Its use is rather limited to the long-term monks in Laos and most materials published today are in the modern Lao script.[10]

Brahmic scripts
The Brahmic script and its descendants
Northern Brahmic Gupta Sharada Laṇḍā Gurmukhi Khojki Khudabadi Multani Mahajani Takri Dogri Siddhaṃ Nāgarī Devanagari Gujarati Modi Canadian Syllabics Inuktitut Cree Nandinagari Kaithi Sylheti Nagri Gaudi Bengali–Assamese Bengali Assamese Tirhuta Odia Nepalese Bhujimol Ranjana Soyombo Pracalit Tibetan Meitei Lepcha Limbu Khema ʼPhags-pa Zanabazar square Marchen Marchung Pungs-chen Pungs-chung Drusha Kalinga Bhaiksuki Tocharian
Southern Brahmic Tamil-Brahmi Pallava Tamil Grantha Malayalam Tigalari Dhives Akuru Saurashtra Khmer Khom Thai Proto-Tai script? Sukhothai Thai Fakkham Thai Noi Lao Tai Viet Dai Don Lai Tay Lai Pao Cham Kawi Balinese Batak Buda Javanese Old Sundanese Sundanese Lampung Lontara Makasar Rencong Rejang Baybayin Buhid Hanunuo Tagbanwa Kulitan Mon-Burmese Burmese Chakma S'gaw Karen Shan Tanchangya Lik-Tai scripts Ahom Khamti Tai Le Modern Mon Tai Tham New Tai Lue Pyu Vatteluttu Kolezhuthu Malayanma Sinhala Bhattiprolu Kadamba Telugu-Kannada Kannada Goykanadi Telugu
v t e

Characteristics

Although both the ancient forms of the Mon and Khmer script are different, they are both abugidas that descend from the Brahmic scripts introduced via contacts with South Indian traders, soldiers, merchants and Brahmans. As a Mon-derived script, Tai Tham has many similarities with the writing systems for Burmese, Shan, Rakhine and modern Mon and rounder letter forms compared to the angled letters of Khmer.[10] Letters can be stacked, sometimes with special subscript forms, similar to 'ຼ' which was used in Tai Noi and also in modern Lao as the subscript version of 'ຣ' /r/ or 'ລ' /l/ as in Lao: ຫຼວງພຼະບາງ/ຫລວງພຣະບາງ. Letters also are more circular or rounded than the typically angled style of Khmer.[9]

Consonants

There are 43 Tai Tham consonants. They are divided into three groups: categorized consonants (ᨻ᩠ᨿᩢᨬ᩠ᨩᨶᨶᩲᩅᩢᨣ᩠ᨣ᩼, payanjana​ nai wak), non-categorized consonants (ᨻ᩠ᨿᩢᨬ᩠ᨩᨶᩋᩅᩢᨣ᩠ᨣ᩼, payanjana awak), and additional consonants (ᨻ᩠ᨿᩢᨬ᩠ᨩᨶᨲᩮᩬᩥ᩵ᨾ, payanjana tueam). Categorized consonants and non-categorized consonants are those derived from Old Mon script used for Pali and Sanskrit languages. Similar to Devanagari, Pallava script, and Burmese script, categorized consonants are divided into 5 subgroups called wak (ᩅᩢᨣ᩠ᨣ᩼) i.e., wak ka (ᨠ), wak ja​ (ᨧ), wak rata (ᨭ), wak ta (ᨲ), and wak pa (ᨷ). The additional consonants are the consonants invented to write Tai sounds that are originally not found in Pali. In a dictionary, letter ᩂ​ and ᩄ are often put in the consonant list following the letter ᩁ and ᩃ respectively. However, they are a syllabary (also a vowel) and not a consonant letter.

Consonant chart

There are 25 categorized consonants, 10 non-categorized consonants, and 8 additional consonants. Similar to Khmer, Tai Tham also has a subjoined form called haang (ᩉᩣ᩠ᨦ), tua joeng (ᨲ᩠ᩅᩫᨩᩮᩥ᩠ᨦ), or tua hoy (ᨲ᩠ᩅᩫᩉᩬ᩠ᨿ᩶). In the Unicode input method, sakot sign (U1A60) (◌᩠) is used to trigger the subjoined forms.[5][11] The additional consonants are shown in yellow. These consonants have the characteristics of lacking the subjoined form. Similar to Thai script and Lao script, consonants in Tai Tham can be classified into high, mid, and low classes regarding to the tone rules.

Group	Letter		Subjoined form	Name		Transliteration		IPA		Tone Class
				Translit.	IPA	Initial	Final	Initial	Final
1. Wak Ka	ᨠ		◌᩠ᨠ	ka	[kǎ]	k	k	[k]	[k̚]	high
	ᨡ		◌᩠ᨡ	xa, kha	[xǎ], [kʰǎ]	x, kh	k	[x], [kʰ]	[k̚]	high
	ᨢ[lower-alpha 1]		—	xa, kha	[xǎ]	x, kh	—	[x]	[k̚]	high
	ᨣ		◌᩠ᨣ	ka	[ka᷇]	k	k	[k]	[k̚]	low
	ᨤ[lower-alpha 1]		—	xa, kha	[xa᷇]	x, kh	—	[x]	[k̚]	low
	ᨥ		◌᩠ᨥ	xa, kha	[xa᷇], [kʰa᷇]	x, kh	k	[x], [kʰ]	[k̚]	low
	ᨦ		◌᩠ᨦ	nga	[ŋa᷇]	ng	ng	[ŋ]	[ŋ]	low
2. Wak Ja	ᨧ		◌᩠ᨧ	ja, ca	[t͡ɕǎ]	j, c	t	[t͡ɕ]	[t̚]	high
	ᨨ		-᩠ᨨ	sa, cha	[sǎ], [t͡ɕʰǎ]	s, ch	—	[s], [t͡ɕʰ]	—	high
	ᨩ		-᩠ᨩ	ja, ca	[t͡ɕa᷇]	j, c	t	[t͡ɕ]	[t̚]	low
	ᨪ[lower-alpha 1]		—	sa	[sa᷇]	s	t	[s]	[t̚]	low
	ᨫ	,	-᩠ᨫ	sa, cha	[sa᷇], [t͡ɕʰa᷄]	s, ch	t	[s], [t͡ɕʰa᷄]	[t̚]	low
	ᨬ		-᩠ᨬ	nya	[ɲa᷇]	ny, y	n	[ɲ], [j][lower-alpha 2]	[n]	low
3. Wak Rata	ᨭ		-᩠ᨭ	rata	[lǎ.tǎ]	t	t	[t]	[t̚]	high
	ᨮ	,	-᩠ᨮ , -ᩛ	ratha	[lǎ.tʰǎ]	th	t	[tʰ]	[t̚]	high
	ᨯ		-᩠ᨯ	da	[dǎ]	d, th[lower-alpha 3]	t	[d], [tʰ][lower-alpha 3]	[t̚]	mid
	ᨰ		-᩠ᨰ	ratha	[lǎ.tʰa᷇]	th	t	[tʰ]	[t̚]	low
	ᨱ		-᩠ᨱ	rana	[lǎ.na᷇]	n	n	[n]	[n]	low
4. Wak Ta	ᨲ		-᩠ᨲ	ta	[tǎ]	t	t	[t]	[t̚]	high
	ᨳ		-᩠ᨳ	tha	[tʰǎ]	th	t	[tʰ]	[t̚]	high
	ᨴ		-᩠ᨴ	ta	[ta᷇]	t	t	[t]	[t̚]	low
	ᨵ		-᩠ᨵ	tha	[tʰa᷇]	th	t	[tʰ]	[t̚]	low
	ᨶ		-᩠ᨶ	na	[na᷇]	n	n	[n]	[n]	low
5. Wak Pa	ᨷ		-᩠ᨷ , -ᩝ	ba	[bǎ]	b	p	[b][lower-alpha 4]	[p̚]	mid
			-᩠ᨷ	pa[lower-alpha 5]	[pǎ]	p	p	[p][lower-alpha 5][12][13]	[p̚]	high[13][12]
	ᨸ[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 6]		–	pa	[pǎ]	p	p	[p]	[p̚]	high
	ᨹ		-᩠ᨹ	pha	[pʰǎ]	ph	–	[pʰ]	–	high
	ᨺ[lower-alpha 1]		–	fa	[fǎ]	f	–	[f]	–	high
	ᨻ		-᩠ᨻ , -ᩛ	pa	[pa᷇]	p	p	[p]	[p̚]	low
	ᨼ[lower-alpha 1]		–	fa	[fa᷇]	f	p	[f]	[p̚]	low
	ᨽ		-᩠ᨽ	pha	[pʰa᷇]	ph	p	[pʰ]	[p̚]	low
	ᨾ		-᩠ᨾ , -ᩜ	ma	[ma᷇]	m	m	[m]	[m]	low
6. Awak	ᨿ		-᩠ᨿ	nya	[ɲa᷇]	ny, y	–	[ɲ], [j][lower-alpha 2]	–	low
	ᩀ[lower-alpha 1]		–	ya	[jǎ]	y	–	[j]	–	mid
	ᩁ		-᩠ᩁ , -ᩕ	ra, la	[la᷇]	r,[lower-alpha 7] l, h	n	[r],[lower-alpha 3] [l],[lower-alpha 3] [h]	[n]	low
	ᩃ		-᩠ᩃ​ , -ᩖ	la	[la᷇]	l	n	[l]	[n]	low
	ᩅ		-᩠ᩅ	wa	[wa᷇]	w	–	[w]	–	low
	ᩆ		-᩠ᩆ	sa	[sǎ]	s	t	[s]	[t̚]	high
	ᩇ		-᩠ᩇ	sa	[sǎ]	s	t	[s]	[t̚]	high
	ᩈ		-᩠ᩈ , -ᩞ	sa	[sǎ]	s	t	[s]	[t̚]	high
	ᩉ		-᩠ᩉ	ha	[hǎ]	h	–	[h]	–	high
	ᩊ		-᩠ᩊ	la	[la᷇]	l	n	[l]	[n]	low
	ᩋ	,	-ᩬ	a	[ʔǎ]	–	–	[ʔ]	–	mid
	ᩌ[lower-alpha 1]		–	ha	[ha᷇]	h	–	[h]	–	low

Notes

Consonant combinations and ligatures

Consonant digraph with Ha

Certain consonants in the low-class group lack their high-class counterpart. These consonants are sometimes called the single low-class consonants. Their high-class counterparts are created by the combination with letter high Ha (ᩉ) as a digraph, called Ha Nam (ᩉ​ ᨶᩣᩴ).[14]

Letter	Name		Transliteration		IPA		Tone Class
	Translit.	IPA	Initial	Final	Initial	Final
ᩉ᩠ᨦ	nga	[ŋǎ]	ng	–	[ŋ]	–	high
ᩉ᩠ᨶ	na	[nǎ]	n	–	[n]	–	high
ᩉ᩠ᨾ	ma	[mǎ]	m	–	[m]	–	high
ᩉ᩠ᨿ	nya	[ɲǎ]	ny	–	[ɲ], [j][lower-alpha 1]	–	high
ᩉᩕ	ra, la, ha	[rǎ], [lǎ], [hǎ]	r,[lower-alpha 2] l, h	–	[r],[lower-alpha 3] [l],[lower-alpha 3] [h]	–	high
ᩉᩖ​, ᩉ᩠ᩃ	la	[lǎ]	l	–	[l]	–	high
ᩉ᩠ᩅ	wa	[wǎ]	w	–	[w]	–	high

Notes

Special letters

Letter		Name			Phonetic value (IPA)	Comments
		Tham	Translit.	IPA
ᩓ	, [lower-alpha 1]	ᩃᩯᩡ,​ ᩃᩯ	lae	[lɛ̄ː]	[lɛʔ], [lɛ̄ː]	Ligature of letter ᩃ (la) and superscript vowel sign ᩮ​ (e).
ᨶᩣ		ᨶᩣ	naa	[nāː]	[nāː]	Ligature of letter ᨶ (na) and vowel sign ᩣ (a).
ᨬ᩠ᨬ		ᨬᨬ	nya nya	[ɲa᷇ʔ ɲa᷇ʔ]	[n.ɲ]	Ligature of letter ᨱ​ (rana) and ᨬ​ (nya), used in lieu of double ᨬ.
ᩔ		ᩈ​​​ ᩈᩬᨦᩉᩬ᩶ᨦ	sa song hong	[sǎː sɔ̌ːŋ hɔ᷇ːŋ]	[t̚.s], [s̚.s]	Ligature of double ᩈ​​ (high sa).
ᩕ		ᩁᩁᩰᩫ᩠ᨦ	rarong, rahong	[la᷇.hōːŋ]	[r], [l], [ʰ]	Subjoined form of letter ᩁ (ra) for a consonant cluster such as ᨷᩕ​ (pra) ᨻᩕ​ (pra) as opposed to the subjoined form -᩠ᩁ​​ used as a final consonant. Traditionally considered as a special letter.

Notes

Vowels

Vowel characters come in two forms: as stand-alone letters for writing initial vowels or as diacritics that can be attached to all sides of the consonant letters. However, Lanna excels in terms of the number of diacritics used. Some vowel sounds can be written with a combination of as many as four diacritics: one on each side of the consonant.[15][16]

Dependent vowels

Short vowels[lower-alpha 1] (with consonant ᨠ)				Long vowels (with consonant ᨠ)
IPA	No final consonant	With final consonant (ᨦ)[lower-alpha 2]		IPA	No final consonant	With final consonant (ᨦ)[lower-alpha 2]
Simple vowels
/a/	ᨠ​, ᨠᩡ	ᨠᩢ᩠ᨦ		/aː/	ᨠᩣ[lower-alpha 3]	ᨠᩣ᩠ᨦ
/i/	ᨠᩥ	ᨠᩥ᩠ᨦ		/iː/	ᨠᩦ	ᨠᩦ᩠ᨦ
/ɯ/	ᨠᩧ	ᨠᩧ᩠ᨦ		/ɯː/	ᨠᩨ	ᨠᩨ᩠ᨦ
/u/	ᨠᩩ	ᨠᩩᨦ,​ ᨠᩩᨦ᩼		/uː/	ᨠᩪ	ᨠᩪᨦ,​ ᨠᩪᨦ᩼
/e/	ᨠᩮᩡ, ᨠᩮᩬᩡ	ᨠᩮᩢ᩠ᨦ, ᨠᩮᩬᨦᩡ		/eː/	ᨠᩮ	ᨠᩮ᩠ᨦ
/ɛ/	ᨠᩯᩡ, ᨠᩯᩬᩡ	ᨠᩯᩢ᩠ᨦ,​​ ᨠᩯᩬᨦᩡ		/ɛː/	ᨠᩯ	ᨠᩯ᩠ᨦ
/o/	ᨠᩰᩡ	ᨠᩫ᩠ᨦ		/oː/	ᨠᩰ,​ ᨠᩮᩣ[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4]	ᨠᩰᩫ᩠ᨦ,​ ᨠᩰ᩠ᨦ
/ɔ/	ᨠᩰᩬᩡ	ᨠᩬᩢᨦ,​ ᨠᩬᨦᩡ		/ɔː/	ᨠᩬᩴ, ᨠᩳ[lower-alpha 5]	ᨠᩬᨦ, ᨠᩬᨦ᩼
/ɤ/	ᨠᩮᩬᩥᩡ	ᨠᩮᩥᩢ᩠ᨦ,​ ᨠᩮᩥ᩠ᨦᩡ		/ɤː/	ᨠᩮᩬᩥ	ᨠᩮᩥ᩠ᨦ
Diphthongs
/iaʔ/	ᨠ᩠ᨿᩮᩡ	ᨠ᩠ᨿᩢᨦ, ᨠ᩠ᨿᨦᩡ		/ia/	ᨠ᩠ᨿᩮ	ᨠ᩠ᨿᨦ
/ɯaʔ/	ᨠᩮᩬᩥᩋᩡ	ᨠᩮᩬᩥᩢᨦ,​ ᨠᩮᩬᩥᨦᩡ		/ɯa/	ᨠᩮᩬᩥᩋ	ᨠᩮᩬᩥᨦ
	ᨠᩮᩬᩨᩋᩡ	ᨠᩮᩬᩨᩢᨦ,​ ᨠᩮᩬᩨᨦᩡ			ᨠᩮᩬᩨᩋ	ᨠᩮᩬᩨᨦ
/uaʔ/	ᨠ᩠ᩅᩫᩡ	ᨠ᩠ᩅᩢᨦ,​ ᨠ᩠ᩅᨦᩡ		/ua/	ᨠ᩠ᩅᩫ	ᨠ᩠ᩅᨦ,​ ᨠ᩠ᩅᨦ᩼
Phonetic diphthongs[lower-alpha 6]
/au/	ᨠᩮᩢᩣ,[lower-alpha 3] ᨠᩳ[lower-alpha 7]	-
/aj/	ᨠᩱ, ᨠᩲ, ᨠᩱ᩠ᨿ, ᨠᩱᨿ᩠ᨿ, ᨠᩮᨿ᩠ᨿ,[17] ᨠᩢ᩠ᨿ[13]	-
				/ɔːj/	ᨠᩭ,[lower-alpha 5] ᨠᩬ᩠ᨿ	-
Extra vowels
/aŋ/	ᨠᩴ,[lower-alpha 4] ᨠᩘ[lower-alpha 4]	—
/am/	ᨠᩣᩴ[lower-alpha 3]	—
/lɯ/	ᩂ	-		/lɯː/	ᩂ,[lower-alpha 8] ᩄ[lower-alpha 9][13]	-
Notes Short vowels are followed by a glottal stop /ʔ/ if they are followed by another consonant. Hypothetical spelling for demonstrating the consonant and vowel positions. Symbol ◌ᩤ may be used instead for narrow consonants such as ᨣ​ ᨧ​ ᨵ​ ᨰ​ ᨴ​ ᨷ​ ᩅ to increase legibility. Only used for Pali words. Used in Khuen and Lue spelling conventions. Only shows the diphthongs with special diacritic symbols. Used in Lanna spelling convention, called Mai Kao Ho Nueng (ᨾᩱ᩶ᨠᩮᩢᩣᩉᩬᩴ᩵ᩉ᩠ᨶᩧ᩶ᨦ) Equivalent to Thai script ฤๅ. Equivalent to Thai script ฦๅ.

Independent vowels

Independent vowels are mainly reserved for writing Pali words, except for ᩐᩣ /ʔau/ which is used as a special vowel sign and not for Pali words.[18]

Tai Tham
	ᩋ	ᩋᩣ	ᩍ	ᩎ	ᩏ	ᩐ	ᩑ	ᩒ	ᩐᩣ
IPA	/ʔáʔ/	/ʔāː/	/ʔíʔ/	/ʔīː/	/ʔúʔ/	/ʔūː/	/ʔēː/	/ʔōː/	/ʔau/

Tone marks

Tone marks		Name			Comments
		Tham	Transliteration	IPA
᩵		ᨾᩱ᩶ᩀᩢ᩠ᨠ,[13]ᨾᩱ᩶ᩀᩰᩬᩡ[13]	mai yak, mai yo	/máj.jǎk/, /máj.jɔ́ʔ/
᩶		ᨾᩱ᩶ᨡᩬᩴᨩ᩶ᩣ᩠ᨦ,[13]ᨾᩱ᩶ᨪᩢ᩠ᨯ[19]	mai kho jang, mai sat	/máj.xɔ̌ː.t͡ɕáːŋ/, /máj.sát/
᩷		ᨾᩱ᩶​ᨠᩳ​ᩉ᩠ᨶᩮᩬᩥᩋ[20]	mai ko nuea	/máj.kɔ̌.nɯa̯/	Invented for Khuen language, shape like vowel sign -ᩳ (mai ko).[19]
᩸		ᨾᩱ᩶​ᩈᩬᨦᩉ᩠ᨶᩮᩬᩥᩋ[20]	mai song nuea	/máj.sɔ̌ːŋ.nɯa̯/	Invented for Khuen language, shape like ᪂​ (Hora digit 2).[19]
᩹		ᨾᩱ᩶​ᩈᩣ᩠ᨾ​ᩉ᩠ᨶᩮᩬᩥᩋ[20]	mai sam nuea	/máj.sǎːm.nɯa̯/	Invented for Khuen language, shape like ᪃ (Hora digit 3).[19]
๋		-	-	-	Borrowed from Thai script "Mai Chattawa" into Khuen language. Interchangeable with mai song nuea.[19]
้		-	-	-	Borrowed from Thai script "Mai Tho" into Khuen language. Interchangeable with mai sam nuea.[19]

Numerals

Lanna has two sets of numerals. The first set, Lek Nai Tham, is reserved for liturgical purposes. The other set, Lek Hora, is used in everyday life.[21]

Arabic numerals	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Hora digits	᪀	᪁	᪂	᪃	᪄	᪅	᪆	᪇	᪈	᪉
Tham digits	᪐	᪑	᪒	᪓	᪔	᪕	᪖	᪗	᪘	᪙
Thai numerals	๐	๑	๒	๓	๔	๕	๖	๗	๘	๙
Lao numerals	໐	໑	໒	໓	໔	໕	໖	໗	໘	໙
Burmese numerals	๐	၁	၂	၃	၄	၅	၆	၇	၈	၉
Khmer numerals	០	១	២	៣	៤	៥	៦	៧	៨	៩

Relation with other scripts

Tai Tham is very similar in shape to Burmese script since both are derived from Old Mon script. New Tai Lue is a descendant of Tai Tham with its shape simplified and many consonants are removed. Thai script looks distinctive to Tai Tham but covers all equivalent consonants including the 8 additional consonants as Thai is the closest sister language to Northern Thai, Khuen, and Lue languages. A variation of Thai script (Sukhothai script) called Fakkham script was also used in Lan Na to write Northern Thai, Khuen, and Lue during the 14th century, influencing the development of the modern Tai Tham script.[22][4]

Group	Tai Tham		Burmese	New Tai Lue	Khmer	Thai	Lao
	Unicode	Lanna style
1. Wak Ka	ᨠ		က	ᦂ	ក	ก	ກ
	ᨡ		ခ	ᦃ	ខ	ข	ຂ
	ᨢ		–	–	–	ฃ	–
	ᨣ		ဂ	ᦅ	គ	ค	ຄ
	ᨤ		–	ᦆ	–	ฅ	–
	ᨥ		ဃ	–	ឃ	ฆ	(modern: ຄ)
	ᨦ		င	ᦇ	ង	ง	ງ
2. Wak Ja	ᨧ		စ	ᦈ	ច	จ	ຈ
	ᨨ		ဆ	–	ឆ	ฉ	(modern: ສ)
	ᨩ		ဇ	ᦋ	ជ	ช	ຊ
	ᨪ		–	ᦌ	–	ซ	–
	ᨫ		ဈ	–	ឈ	ฌ	(modern: ຊ)
	ᨬ		ည	–	ញ	ญ	(modern: ຍ)
3. Wak Rata	ᨭ		ဋ	–	ដ	ฏ	(modern: ຕ)
	ᨮ		ဌ	–	ឋ	ฐ	(modern: ຖ)
	ᨯ		ဍ	ᦡ	ឌ	ฑ, ฎ, ด	(modern: ທ, ດ)
	ᨰ		ဎ	–	ឍ	ฒ	(modern: ທ)
	ᨱ		ဏ	–	ណ	ณ	(modern: ນ)
4. Wak Ta	ᨲ		တ	ᦎ	ត	ต	ຕ
	ᨳ		ထ	ᦏ	ថ	ถ	ຖ
	ᨴ		ဒ	ᦑ	ទ	ท	ທ
	ᨵ		ဓ	ᦒ	ធ	ธ	(modern: ທ)
	ᨶ		န	ᦓ	ន	น	ນ
5. Wak Pa	ᨷ		ပ	ᦢ	ប	บ	ບ
	ᨸ		–	ᦔ	–	ป	ປ
	ᨹ		ဖ	ᦕ	ផ	ผ	ຜ
	ᨺ		–	ᦚ	–	ฝ	ຝ
	ᨻ		ဗ	ᦗ	ព	พ	ພ
	ᨼ		–	ᦝ	–	ฟ	ຟ
	ᨽ		ဘ	ᦘ	ភ	ภ	(modern: ພ)
	ᨾ		မ	ᦙ	ម	ม	ມ
6. Awak	ᨿ		ယ	ᦍ	យ	ย	ຍ
	ᩀ		–	ᦊ	–	อย	ຢ
	ᩁ		ရ	ᦣ	រ	ร	ຣ (modern: ລ)
	ᩃ		လ	ᦟ	ល	ล	ລ
	ᩅ		ဝ	ᦞ	វ	ว	ວ
	ᩆ		ၐ (modern: သ)	–	ឝ (modern: ស)	ศ	(modern: ສ)
	ᩇ		ၑ (modern: သ)	–	ឞ (modern: ស)	ษ	(modern: ສ)
	ᩈ		သ	ᦉ	ស	ส	ສ
	ᩉ		ဟ	ᦠ	ហ	ห	ຫ
	ᩊ		ဠ	–	ឡ	ฬ	(modern: ລ)
	ᩋ		အ	ᦀ	អ	อ	ອ
	ᩌ		–	–	–	ฮ	ຮ
7. Special	ᩂ		ၒ	–	ឫ	ฤ	–
	ᩄ		ၔ	–	ឭ	ฦ	–

Sanskrit and Pali

The Tai Tham script (like all Indic scripts) uses a number of modifications to write Pali and related languages (in particular, Sanskrit). When writing Pali, only 33 consonants and 12 vowels are used.

Pali consonants in Tai Tham script

	Voiceless plosive		Voiced plosive		Nasal	Approximant		Frictive
	Unaspirated	Aspirated	Unaspirated	Aspirated		Central	Lateral
Velar	[ka]	[kha]	[ga]	[gha]	[ṅa]
Palatal	[ca]	[cha]	[ja]	[jha]	[ña]	[ya]
Retroflex	[ṭa]	[ṭha]	[ḍa]	[ḍha]	[ṇa]	[ra]	[ḷa]
Dental	[ta]	[tha]	[da]	[dha]	[na]		[la]	[sa]
Labial	[pa]	[pha]	[ba]	[bha]	[ma]	[va]
Glottal								[ha]

Sanskrit consonants in Tai Tham script

Phonetics →	Plosive				Nasal	Approximant	Frictive
Voicing →	Voiceless		Voiced		Voiced	Voiced	Voiceless
Aspiration →	Unaspirated	Aspirated	Unaspirated	Aspirated	Unaspirated	Unaspirated	Aspirated
Guttural	[ka]	[kha]	[ga]	[gha]	[ṅa]	[ha]
Palatal	[ca]	[cha]	[ja]	[jha]	[ña]	[ya]	[śa]
Retroflex	[ṭa]	[ṭha]	[ḍa]	[ḍha]	[ṇa]	[ra]	[ṣa]
Dental	[ta]	[tha]	[da]	[dha]	[na]	[la]	[sa]
Labial	[pa]	[pha]	[ba]	[bha]	[ma]	[va]

Unicode block

Tai Tham script was added to the Unicode Standard in October, 2009 with the release of version 5.2.

The Unicode block for Tai Tham is U+1A20–U+1AAF:

Tai Tham[1][2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

A

B

C

D

E

F

U+1A2x

ᨠ

ᨡ

ᨢ

ᨣ

ᨤ

ᨥ

ᨦ

ᨧ

ᨨ

ᨩ

ᨪ

ᨫ

ᨬ

ᨭ

ᨮ

ᨯ

U+1A3x

ᨰ

ᨱ

ᨲ

ᨳ

ᨴ

ᨵ

ᨶ

ᨷ

ᨸ

ᨹ

ᨺ

ᨻ

ᨼ

ᨽ

ᨾ

ᨿ

U+1A4x

ᩀ

ᩁ

ᩂ

ᩃ

ᩄ

ᩅ

ᩆ

ᩇ

ᩈ

ᩉ

ᩊ

ᩋ

ᩌ

ᩍ

ᩎ

ᩏ

U+1A5x

ᩐ

ᩑ

ᩒ

ᩓ

ᩔ

ᩕ

ᩖ

ᩗ

ᩘ

ᩙ

ᩚ

ᩛ

ᩜ

ᩝ

ᩞ

U+1A6x

᩠

ᩡ

ᩢ

ᩣ

ᩤ

ᩥ

ᩦ

ᩧ

ᩨ

ᩩ

ᩪ

ᩫ

ᩬ

ᩭ

ᩮ

ᩯ

U+1A7x

ᩰ

ᩱ

ᩲ

ᩳ

ᩴ

᩵

᩶

᩷

᩸

᩹

᩺

᩻

᩼

᩿

U+1A8x

᪀

᪁

᪂

᪃

᪄

᪅

᪆

᪇

᪈

᪉

U+1A9x

᪐

᪑

᪒

᪓

᪔

᪕

᪖

᪗

᪘

᪙

U+1AAx

᪠

᪡

᪢

᪣

᪤

᪥

᪦

ᪧ

᪨

᪩

᪪

᪫

᪬

᪭

Notes 1.^ As of Unicode version 15.0 2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

Fonts

Supports for Tai Tham Unicode font in Microsoft Windows and Microsoft office are still limited[23] causing the widespread use of non-Unicode fonts. Fonts published by the Royal Society of Thailand and Chiang Mai University are also non-Unicode due to this problem and to maximize the ability to transcribe and display the ancient Tai Tham text, which frequently contains various special ligatures and symbols not supported by Unicode.[24][25] Non-Unicode fonts often use a combination of Thai script and Latin Unicode ranges to resolves the incompatibility problem of Unicode Tai Tham in Microsoft office. However, these fonts may encounter a display problem when used on web browsers as the text can be encoded as an unintelligible Thai text instead. In recent years, many Tai Tham Unicode fonts have been developed for web display and communications via smart phones. Google's Noto Sans Tai Tham becomes the default font for Tai Tham on Mac OS and iOS.[26] However, the current version of this font still fails to display Tai Tham text correctly. The table below gives a list of publicly available Tai Tham fonts.

Font name	Supports		Script Style	Font family	Publisher (with page link)
	Unicode[lower-alpha 1]	Non-Unicode[lower-alpha 2]
A Tai Tham KH New V3	Yes	No	Khün	Sans-serif	Arloka
A Tai Tham LN	Yes	No	Lanna	Serif	Arloka
Chiangsaen Alif	Yes	No	Lanna	Sans-serif	Alif Silapachai
CR Insom Lanna	Yes	Yes	Lanna	Serif	Worawut Thanawatanawanich
Hariphunchai	Yes	No	Lanna	Serif	TragerStudio, Richard Wordingham
Kotthabun	Yes	No	Lao Tham	Serif	Theppitak Karoonboonyanan
Lanna Alif	Yes	No	Lanna	Sans-serif	Alif Silapachai
Lamphun	Yes	No	Lanna	Serif	Richard Wordingham
LN Mon Saen	No	Yes	Khün	Serif	Chiang Mai University (page link), Pichai Saengboon
LN Tilok	No	Yes	Lanna	Serif	Chiang Mai University (page link), Pichai Saengboon
LN Wat Inda	No	Yes	Khün	Serif	Chiang Mai University (page link), Pichai Saengboon
Noto Sans Tai Tham	Yes	No	Khün	Sans-serif	Google Fonts
Pali-Kotthabun	Pali only	Yes	Lao Tham	Serif	Worawut Thanawatanawanich, Theppitak Karoonboonyanan
Pali-Tilok	Pali only	Yes	Lanna	Serif	Worawut Thanawatanawanich, Pichai Saengboon
RST-ISAN	No	Yes	Lao Tham	Serif	Royal Society of Thailand (page link)
RST-LANNA	No	Yes	Lanna	Serif	Royal Society of Thailand (page link)
VS Tham Lanxang	Yes	Yes	Lao Tham	Serif	Worawut Thanawatanawanich

Note

References

Further reading

• Khamjan, Mala(มาลา คำจันทร์). Kham Mueang Dictionary(พจนานุกรมคำเมือง). Chiang Mai: bookworm, 2008. ISBN 978-974-8418-55-1.
• "Lanna script". Complete information from traditional sources. Sky Knowledge. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
• Owen, R. Wyn. 2017. A description and linguistic analysis of the Tai Khuen writing system. Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society 10.1, 140-164.
• Trager, Ed. (2014). Hariphunchai Tai Tham Font Project.
• Wordingham, Richard. Lamphun glyphs (A page with specimen of the font Lamphun). Retrieved 15 May 2019.

• Alan Wood's Tai Tham test page

External links

• ISO/IEC 10646:2003/Amd.5:2008 Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set (UCS) -- Amendment 5: AMENDMENT 5: Tai Tham, Tai Viet, Avestan, Egyptian Hieroglyphs, CJK Unified Ideographs Extension C, and other characters

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