Devanagari script
- noun
- /ˌdeɪvəˈnɑːɡəri skrɪpt/
- Specialized
:
escritura devanagari
- Many ancient Hindu scriptures were originally written in Devanagari script.
Examples
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The Devanagari script is used in many Indian languages.
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The Sanskrit language uses the Devanagari script for most of its classical texts.
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Learning the Devanagari script is essential for reading and writing in Hindi.
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I learned to write in Devanagari script last year.
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Many Indian languages, including Hindi and Sanskrit, are written using the Devanagari script.
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In his research, he focused on how the Devanagari script preserves the phonetic characteristics of Sanskrit.
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Schools in India teach students to read and write in the Devanagari script as part of their language curriculum.
Synonyms
A writing system for languages like Hindi and Sanskrit
A writing system used for Hindi and Sanskrit that uses symbols for syllables and a horizontal line above the symbols
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositional: 'Devanagari' names a particular writing system and 'script' denotes a set of characters for writing, so the meaning 'the Devanagari writing system' is directly derivable from the parts. This noun+noun naming pattern (e.g. Latin script, Arabic script) is cross-linguistically common and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Devanagari script comes from two Sanskrit words, deva meaning 'god' and nagari meaning 'city'. One popular story says it was seen as a 'script of the gods' and so was used for religious and official writing, which is why it is used for languages like Sanskrit and Hindi today.
