Fakkham script

The Fakkham script (Thai: อักษรฝักขาม, "Tamarind pod-script") or Thai Lanna script is a Brahmic script, used historically in the Lan Na Kingdom. The script was frequently used in Lan Na stone inscriptions.

Fakkham Thai Lanna script
Detail from the Wat Chiang Man inscription (CM1) in Fakkham script
Script type	Abugida
Period	c. 1400 - 1600 CE[1]
Direction	Left-to-right
Languages	Lao, Isan, and others
Related scripts
Parent systems	Proto-Sinaitic alphabet Phoenician alphabet Aramaic alphabet Brāhmī Tamil-Brahmi Pallava Khmer Sukhothai Fakkham
Child systems	Tai Noi,[1] Lai Tay, Thai Nithet
Sister systems	Thai
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.

Origin

The Fakkham script, was derived from the old Sukhothai script (also known as Proto-Thai script), and used extensively in Lan Na between the beginning of the 15th century and the end of the 16th century.^[1] The Fakkham script was possibly introduced to Lan Na by a religious mission from Sukhothai.^[2] The script was named after its similarity to the shape of tamarind pods,^[3] because the letters became elongated and somewhat more angular rather than square and perpendicular like its ancestor the Sukhothai script. Several letters had noticeable "tails" extending above and below the main writing line.^[4]

History

The Fakkham script was used extensively in the territories controlled by the kings of Chiang Mai, the Lan Na kingdom, between the beginning of the fifteenth and the end of the sixteenth centuries.^[5] It has been speculated that the Fakkham script was the official script of Lan Na and other northern kingdoms, since the script was used in diplomatic notes of the Lan Na kingdom sent to China.^[6] The Lan Na kingdom used the Fakkham script as their secular script used for official inscriptions, important letters and other documents, while the Tai Tham script was used for religious texts.^[3]

A number of ancient inscriptions in the script have been discovered in the Bo Kaeo, Luang Nam Tha and Sayabouri provinces of Laos.^[5] The Fakkham script can be found on various royal steles around Vientiane, dating from the beginning of the second quarter of the 16th century.^[1]

The Fakkham script can be considered the prototype for the Lao script.^[1] It has been suggested that the script is the source of the White, Black, and Red Tai writing systems found in eastern Yunnan, northern Laos, and Vietnam.^[4]

• 
  Stone inscription in Fakkham script from Thailand
• 
  The Wat Chiang Man inscription (CM1) in Fakkham script
• 
  The Wat Lam Chang Inscription in Thai Lanna alphabet, 1444.

Characteristics

The Fakkham script has 41 consonants, 22 vowels, 10 numerals and 6 kinds of diacritics. Words are written by adding a final consonant, vowel, diacritic or all three, to an initial consonant.^[7]

Class	Fak Kham letter		Thai equivalent	Lao equivalent	IPA		Tone class
	Normal form	Subjoined form			Initial	Final
Velars (วรรคกะ)			ก	ກ	[k]	[k̚]	High
		[a]	ข	ຂ	[x], [kʰ]	[k̚]	High
			ฃ		[x]	—	High
		[b]	ค	ຄ	[k]	[k̚]	Low
			ฅ		[x]	—	Low
	, ,		ฆ		[x], [kʰ]	[k̚]	Low
			ง	ງ	[ŋ]	[ŋ]	Low
Palatals (วรรคจะ)			จ	ຈ	[t͡ɕ]	[t̚]	High
			ฉ		[s], [t͡ɕʰ]	—	High
			ช	ຊ	[t͡ɕ]	[t̚]	Low
			ซ		[s]	[t̚]	Low
	[c][d]		ฌ		[s], [t͡ɕʰ]	[t̚]	Low
		[e]	ญ		[ɲ]	[n]	Low
Retroflexes (วรรคฏะ)			ฎ		[d]	[t̚]	Mid
			ฏ		[t]	[t̚]	High
		[c], [f]	ฐ		[tʰ]	[t̚]	High
	[g], [c][h]		ฑ		[d], [tʰ]	[t̚]	Low
	[c][i]		ฒ		[tʰ]	[t̚]	Low
			ณ		[n]	[n]	Low
Dentals (วรรคตะ)			ด	ດ	[d]	[t̚]	Mid
			ต	ຕ	[t]	[t̚]	High
		[j]	ถ	ຖ	[tʰ]	[t̚]	High
			ท	ທ	[t]	[t̚]	Low
		, [c][k]	ธ		[tʰ]	[t̚]	Low
		[l]	น	ນ	[n]	[n]	Low
Labials (วรรคปะ)		[c][m]	บ	ບ	[b]	[p̚]	Mid
			ป	ປ	[p]	[p̚]	High
			ผ	ຜ	[pʰ]	—	High
			ฝ	ຝ	[f]	—	High
		[c][n]	พ	ພ	[p]	[p̚]	Low
			ฟ	ຟ	[f]	[p̚]	Low
			ภ		[pʰ]	[p̚]	Low
		[o][p][q]	ม	ມ	[m]	[m]	Low
Miscellaneous consonants (อวรรค)		[c]	ย	ຍ	[ɲ]	—	Low
	[c]	[c][r]	อฺย	ຢ	[j]	—	Mid
		, [c]	ร	ຣ	[r],[s] [l],[s] [h]	[n]	Low
		[t], [u]	ล	ລ	[l]	[n]	Low
	,		ว	ວ	[w]	—	Low
			ศ		[s]	[t̚]	High
		[o]	ษ		[s]	[t̚]	High
			ส	ສ	[s]	[t̚]	High
			ห	ຫ	[h]	—	High
	,		ฬ		[l]	[n]	Low
			อ	ອ	[ʔ]	—	Mid
	No native letter for /h/		ฮ	ຮ	[h]	—	Low

Notes

1. (1) Jom Tham inscription, 1502 CE, line 8, word suk̯kha; (2) Inscription no. 31 (Nn. 238), line 12, word duk̯kha
2. Suntornaram inscription 1, 1615 CE, line 17, word aṅka
3. Borrowed or adapted from Lanna Dhamma script
4. Wat Phra That Lampang Luang inscription 3, 1796 CE, side 1 line 16, word samadejja
5. Suntornaram inscription, 1616 CE, line 5, word paññā
6. Hansadawadi Sri Satyadhithan inscription, c. 1457 CE, side 1 line 14, word satyādhiṭṭhāna
7. Pa Tap Madao inscription, c. 1457 CE, lines 4 & 8, word daṇḍa
8. Wat Phra That Lampang Luang inscription 3, 1796 CE, side 2 line 9, word desadabāna
9. (1) Wat Buppharam inscription, 1529 CE, line 2, word āsāṭha; (2) Wat Sri Suphan inscription, 1509 CE, side 1 line 16, word āsāṭha
10. Suntornaram inscription, 1616 CE, line 1, word titthī
11. Seen in many inscriptions: Wat Phra That Lampang Luang 3 (1796 CE); Suwannaprasat (1804 CE); Buppharam (1529 CE); Sutrarama (1615 CE), etc.
12. Kangsadan inscription, 1860 CE, line 9, word pen
13. Wat Phra That Lampang Luang inscription, 1796 CE, line 5, word trāba
14. (1) Wat Phra That Lampang Luang inscription, 1796 CE, line 8, word theppadā; (2) Wat Chettuphon inscription, 1916 CE, line 19, word krungthep
15. Borrowed or adapted from Thai Nithet script
16. Resembles Khom Thai script
17. (1) Wat Phra That Lampang Luang 3, 1796 CE, side 2 line 5, word kamchū; line 9, word phromma; (2) Suntornaram 1, 1615 CE, line 10, word uttamma
18. Inscription no. 29 (Nn. 237)
19. Influence from standard Thai or Pali-Sanskrit
20. Suwannaram inscription 1, side 1 line 1, word chalū
21. Wat Chettuphon inscription, 1916 CE, line 16, word mūlla

Ho nam consonants (leading-h clusters)

Fak Kham	Thai equivalent	Lao equivalent	IPA	Tone class
	หง	ຫງ	[ŋ]	High
	หน	ຫນ, ໜ	[n]	High
	หม	ຫມ, ໝ	[m]	High
	หญ		[ɲ]	High
	หย	ຫຍ	[ɲ]	High
,	หร	ຫຣ	[r],[a] [l],[a] [h]	High
, , [b]	หล	ຫລ, ຫຼ	[l]	High
	หว	ຫວ	[w]	High

Vowels

Short vowels (with initial ก)				Long vowels (with initial ก)
Vowel	Open syllable	Closed syllable (final ม)[c]		Vowel	Open syllable	Closed syllable (final ม)[c]
Simple vowels
อะ /a/	,	,		อา /aː/
อิ /i/				อี /iː/
อึ /ɯ/				อือ /ɯː/
อุ /u/				อู /uː/
เอะ /e/	–	[d]		เอ /eː/
แอะ /ɛ/	–	–		แอ /ɛː/
โอะ /o/		,,		โอ /oː/
เอาะ /ɔ/	–	–		ออ /ɔː/	,
เออะ /ɤ/	–	–		เออ /ɤː/
Diphthongs
เอียะ /iaʔ/	–	–		เอีย /ia/	,,
เอือะ /ɯaʔ/	–	–		เอือ /ɯa/
อัวะ /uaʔ/	–	–		อัว /ua/	,, ,
Phonemic diphthongs and triphthongs
เอา /aw/	,,[e]			อาว /aːw/
อิว /iw/
เอ็ว /ew/	–			เอว /eːw/
แอ็ว /ɛw/	–			แอว /ɛːw/
				เอียว /iaw/
ไอ /aj/	,,			อาย /aːj/
อึย /ɯj/				อืย /ɯːj/
อุย /uj/				อูย /uːj/
				โอย /oːj/
อ็อย /ɔj/	–			ออย /ɔːj/	,,[f]
				เอย /ɤːj/
				อวย /uaj/
				เอือย /ɯaj/
Special vowel symbols
ฤ, ฦ /lɯ/ (floating)	,,	,,
ฤๅ, ฦๅ /lɯː/ (floating)
ฤ, ฦ /lɯ/ (submerged)	,[g]	,[h]
ฤๅ, ฦๅ /lɯː/ (submerged)
อํ /aŋ/
อำ /am/
อรร /an/	[i]	[j]

Numerals

Fakkham numerals are very similar to both Lanna Tham numerals and modern Lao numerals. The digits 7 and 9 each have two common variant forms that are used interchangeably.^[8]

Fakkham numerals compared with related scripts

Arabic numeral	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		8	9
Fakkham
Thai	๐	๑	๒	๓	๔	๕	๖	๗		๘	๙
Lao	໐	໑	໒	໓	໔	໕	໖	໗		໘	໙
Lanna Tham	᪐	᪑	᪒	᪓	᪔	᪕	᪖	᪗		᪘	᪙

Notes

1. Influence from standard Thai or Pali-Sanskrit
2. Kangsadan inscription, 1860 CE
3. Hypothetical spelling used only to illustrate vowel and final-consonant placement
4. (1) Wat Buppharam inscription, 1529 CE, line 3, word pheṅ; (2) Wat Sri Koet inscription, 1809 CE, side 2 line 7, word hlek; (3) Wat Chettuphon inscription, 1916 CE, word phej (diamond)
5. Wat Chettuphon inscription, 1916 CE
6. Inscription no. 29 (Nn. 237)
7. Hariphunchai inscription, 1500 CE, side 1 line 11, word hṛdaya
8. Hariphunchai inscription, 1500 CE, side 1 line 2, word mṛkaśira; side 2 line 10, word pṛkṣa
9. Wat Phra That Lampang Luang inscription 3, 1796 CE, side 1 line 7, word karralong
10. (1) Hariphunchai inscription, 1500 CE, side 1 line 4, word varddhamāna; multiple instances of dhamma etc.; (2) Wat Sri Suphan inscription, 1509 CE, side 1 line 1, word phipharathamangkala