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Origin
The Burmese script was adapted from the Mon script, a
distant relative of the Brahmi script of
ancient India. The earliest known inscriptions in the Burmese script date
from the 12th century.
Notable Features
- Like many other Indian and South East Asian alphabets, the Burmese
alphabet is a syllabic alphabet: each letter has an inherent vowel [a].
Other vowels sounds are indicated using separate letters or diacritics
which appear above, below, in front of, after or around the
consonant.
- The rounded appearance of letters, described by some as 'mating
bubbles', is a result of the use of palm leaves as the traditional
writing material. Straight lines would have torn the leaves. The Burmese
name for the script is ca-lonh 'round script'.
- Burmese is a tonal language with three main tones (high, low and
creaky) and two other tones (stopped and reduced). The tones are
indicates in writing using diacritics or special letters.
Used to write:
Burmese, a member of the Burmese-Lolo group of
the Sino-Tibetan language spoken by about 21 million people in Burma
(Myanmar).
The Karen languages, a group of languages which are related to
Burmese and which are are spoken by around 4 million people in Burma and
Thailand.
Mon, a member of the Mon-Khmer group of the Austroasiatic
languages spoken by something like 200,000 people in Burma and
Thailand.
Consonants
Vowels and vowel diacritics
Numerals
Sample Text
Translation
From Me'-za mountain's jungle
foothills,
Washed by the circling river constantly,
My heart,
against my will, yearns for the Golden City
by Let-wè Thondará (1723-1800)
Links
Free Burmese fonts
http://www.faxtoon.com/docs/bur_font/bur_font.htm
http://www.nandawon.demon.co.uk/burmese-fonts
English > Burmese dictionary
http://www.salika.co.jp/buruseword.html
Radio Free Burma - Burmese internet radio station
users.imagiware.com/wtongue/dvb2.html | 
