Typography Resources & Technical Reference Library.
An authoritative compendium of letterform anatomy, typesetting heuristics, OpenType specifications, and professional handoff checklists—grounded in real typographic engineering.
Showing 189 verified typographic concepts:
Baseline
/ˈbeɪs.laɪn/The foundational invisible horizontal line upon which letterforms sit and vertical metrics are benchmarked.
Mean Line (Midline)
/miːn laɪn/The invisible horizontal line marking the top boundary of standard lowercase letters without ascenders.
x-Height
/ˈɛks.haɪt/The vertical distance between baseline and mean line, determining apparent font size.
Cap Height
/kæp haɪt/The height of flat capital letters (such as H, I, E) measured from the baseline.
Ascender
/əˈsɛn.dər/The upward vertical stroke of lowercase letters extending above the mean line.
Descender
/dɪˈsɛn.dər/The portion of a lowercase letter that extends downward beneath the baseline.
Ascender Line
/əˈsɛn.dər laɪn/The horizontal guide line marking the highest reach of lowercase ascenders.
Descender Line
/dɪˈsɛn.dər laɪn/The horizontal guide line marking the lowest reach of lowercase descenders.
Stem
/stɛm/The primary vertical or diagonal structural stroke providing main architectural weight.
Stroke
/stroʊk/Any single linear or curved mark that constitutes a component of a glyph.
Bowl
/boʊl/The curved stroke that fully or partially encloses a rounded internal counter.
Counter
/ˈkaʊn.tər/The enclosed or semi-enclosed negative space (white space) inside a letterform.
Open Counter
/ˈoʊ.pən ˈkaʊn.tər/A negative internal space that is only partially enclosed by strokes, opening outward.
Closed Counter
/kloʊzd ˈkaʊn.tər/A negative internal space entirely enclosed by strokes with no outward opening.
Aperture
/ˈæp.ər.tʃər/The opening or gap into an open counter (such as in c, e, s, and a).
Shoulder
/ˈʃoʊl.dər/The curved arching stroke springing upward and outward from a stem in letters like h, m, and n.
Crossbar (Bar)
/ˈkrɔːs.bɑːr/The horizontal stroke connecting two vertical stems or crossing a main stroke.
Arm
/ɑːrm/A horizontal or upward-slanting stroke projecting outward from a stem, unattached at one end.
Leg
/lɛɡ/The downward-sloping or horizontal stroke attached at only one end, as in K, k, and R.
Spine
/spaɪn/The main central curved stroke of the capital and lowercase letter S.
Terminal
/ˈtɜːr.mɪ.nəl/The end of a stroke that does not conclude in a serif.
Ball Terminal
/bɔːl ˈtɜːr.mɪ.nəl/A circular or teardrop-shaped swelling concluding a stroke in certain serif typefaces.
Finial
/ˈfɪn.i.əl/A curved, tapered non-serif terminal concluding a stroke, as in lowercase e, a, or c.
Spur
/spɜːr/A small, sharp projection off a main stroke or curve, as on capital G or lowercase b.
Beak
/biːk/A sharp, triangular spur-like projection concluding horizontal arms in capital letters like E, F, T, and Z.
Apex
/ˈeɪ.pɛks/The uppermost point where two diagonal strokes meet, as at the top of capital A.
Vertex
/ˈvɜːr.tɛks/The lowest point where two downward-converging diagonal strokes meet, as at the base of V and W.
Crotch
/krɑːtʃ/The acute internal angle formed where two strokes intersect, as inside V, Y, or K.
Junction (Joint)
/ˈdʒʌŋk.ʃən/The point where a curved or diagonal stroke meets a primary stem, as in p, b, or R.
Ear
/ɪər/A small decorative or functional projection stemming from the upper right of a lowercase g bowl.
Eye
/aɪ/The enclosed inner counter space specifically inside the lowercase letter e.
Loop (Lobe)
/luːp/The enclosed or open lower bowl forming the descender in a two-storey lowercase g.
Link (Neck)
/lɪŋk/The small connecting stroke joining the upper bowl and lower loop of a two-storey lowercase g.
Tail
/teɪl/A descending stroke projecting downward from capital Q, or the decorative trailing stroke of R.
Swash
/swɑːʃ/An exaggerated, calligraphic flourish or extension replacing a normal terminal or serif.
Tittle (Dot)
/ˈtɪt.əl/The small distinctive dot placed above the lowercase letters i and j.
Serif
/ˈsɛr.ɪf/A small decorative or structural projection concluding the main stroke of a letter.
Bracket (Fillet)
/ˈbræk.ɪt/The curved transitional corner connecting a serif to the main stem.
Hairline
/ˈhɛər.laɪn/The thinnest stroke in a typeface with modulated stroke contrast.
Axis (Angle of Stress)
/ˈæk.sɪs/The angle of inclination running through the thinnest parts of curved letters like O and o.
Stress
/strɛs/The distribution of weight and stroke thickness variations across curved letterforms.
Stroke Contrast
/stroʊk ˈkɑːn.træst/The ratio of thickness between the widest and narrowest strokes within a glyph.
Optical Overshoot
/ˈoʊ.vər.ʃuːt/The deliberate drawing of curved or pointed letters slightly past baseline and cap lines.
Point (pt)
/pɔɪnt/The standard typographical unit of measure; 1 PostScript point equals 1/72 of an inch.
Pica (pc)
/ˈpaɪ.kə/A traditional typesetting unit equal to 12 points, or 1/6 of an inch.
Pixel (px)
/ˈpɪk.səl/The fundamental digital screen unit; in CSS, 1px is defined as 1/96 of an inch.
Em
/ɛm/A relative unit equal to the current font size of the element.
Rem (Root Em)
/rɛm/A relative unit anchored strictly to the font size of the root <html> element.
Percentage (%)
/pərˈsɛn.tɪdʒ/A relative unit expressing scale as a proportion of parent or root metric.
Units Per Em (UPM)
/ˌjuː.piːˈɛm/The coordinate resolution of the imaginary em square in a digital font binary.
Font Size
/fɑːnt saɪz/The overall vertical height of the font’s em square, not the visible height of any single glyph.
Advance Width
/ədˈvæns wɪdθ/The total horizontal distance the cursor advances after placing a glyph.
Sidebearing
/ˈsaɪd.bɛər.ɪŋ/The built-in horizontal white space on either side of a glyph’s outline.
Left Sidebearing (LSB)
/lɛft ˈsaɪd.bɛər.ɪŋ/The horizontal distance between the glyph origin point and the leftmost vector coordinate.
Right Sidebearing (RSB)
/raɪt ˈsaɪd.bɛər.ɪŋ/The horizontal distance between the rightmost vector coordinate and the advance width marker.
Glyph Bounding Box (BBox)
/ɡlɪf ˈbaʊn.dɪŋ bɑːks/The smallest rectangle that completely encloses all vector contours of a glyph.
Line Box
/laɪn bɑːks/The rectangular area created by the browser to contain an inline line of text.
Line Height
/laɪn haɪt/The vertical height allocated to a line of text in CSS layout.
Leading
/ˈlɛd.ɪŋ/ (rhymes with heading)The vertical distance between the baselines of consecutive lines of text.
Tracking (Letter Spacing)
/ˈtræk.ɪŋ/The uniform adjustment of space across an entire selection or block of text.
Letter Spacing
/ˈlɛt.ər ˈspeɪ.sɪŋ/The CSS property that applies uniform horizontal tracking to text.
Kerning
/ˈkɜːr.nɪŋ/The adjustment of space between two specific adjacent characters to achieve optical balance.
Word Spacing
/wɜːrd ˈspeɪ.sɪŋ/The horizontal space inserted between individual words.
Measure (Line Length)
/ˈmɛʒ.ər/The horizontal width of a block or column of text, benchmarked in characters per line.
Baseline Grid
/ˈbeɪs.laɪn ɡrɪd/A repeating series of horizontal guide lines that align all typographic elements on a page.
Vertical Rhythm
/ˈvɜːr.tɪ.kəl ˈrɪð.əm/The predictable, harmonious vertical spacing cadence established by consistent font sizes and line heights.
Optical Size
/ˈɑːp.tɪ.kəl saɪz/The variation in letterform proportions tailored for specific reproduction sizes.
Typographic Hierarchy
/ˈhaɪ.ə.rɑːr.ki/The intentional organization of type elements to guide the reader’s eye through content in order of importance.
Text Alignment
/əˈlaɪn.mənt/The horizontal positioning of text lines relative to margins.
Flush Left (Ragged Right)
/flʌʃ lɛft/Text aligned along the left margin with an organic, uneven right edge.
Flush Right (Ragged Left)
/flʌʃ raɪt/Text aligned along the right margin with an uneven, ragged left edge.
Centered Text
/ˈsɛn.tərd tɛkst/Text where every line is symmetrically centered along a vertical midpoint.
Justification (Justified Text)
/ˌdʒʌs.tə.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/Text aligned flush along both the left and right margins simultaneously.
Rag
/ræɡ/The uneven vertical silhouette formed by line endings in un-justified text.
Widow
/ˈwɪd.oʊ/A very short line or single isolated word stranded at the end of a paragraph.
Orphan
/ˈɔːr.fən/The opening line of a paragraph stranded alone at the bottom of a page or column.
Hyphenation
/ˌhaɪ.fəˈneɪ.ʃən/The division of words at syllable boundaries across line breaks.
Paragraph Spacing
/ˈpær.ə.ɡræf ˈspeɪ.sɪŋ/The vertical white space placed between consecutive paragraphs.
Paragraph Indentation
/ˌɪn.dɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/The horizontal inset on the first line of a paragraph to signal a new thought.
Hanging Punctuation
/ˈhæŋ.ɪŋ ˌpʌŋk.tʃuˈeɪ.ʃən/Placing quotation marks and punctuation outside the text margin to maintain a clean vertical edge.
Optical Margin Alignment
/ˈɑːp.tɪ.kəl ˈmɑːr.dʒɪn/Slightly protruding curved letters and punctuation outside the column margin for visual straightness.
Column
/ˈkɑː.ləm/A vertical band of typesetting bounded by margins and gutters.
Gutter
/ˈɡʌt.ər/The empty white space separating adjacent columns of text.
Typographic Grid
/ɡrɪd/A two-dimensional framework of columns, baselines, and modules organizing content.
Margin
/ˈmɑːr.dʒɪn/The negative space surrounding the content area of a page or screen.
Text Frame (Text Box)
/tɛkst freɪm/The bounded container holding a block of text in layout software or CSS.
Copyfitting
/ˈkɑː.pi.fɪt.ɪŋ/The craft of adjusting font size, tracking, leading, or wording to fit an exact allocated space.
Legibility
/ˌlɛdʒ.əˈbɪl.ə.ti/How easily one individual letterform can be distinguished from another.
Readability
/ˌriː.dəˈbɪl.ə.ti/How comfortably, effortlessly, and rapidly extended blocks of text can be read.
Typographic Contrast
/ˈkɑːn.træst/The perceptual difference in weight, scale, or color between typographic elements and background.
Visual Density
/ˈvɪʒ.u.əl ˈdɛn.sə.ti/The concentration of textual information relative to surrounding white space.
Typographic Colour (Texture)
/ˌtaɪ.pəˈɡræf.ɪk ˈkʌl.ər/The overall apparent darkness or lightness of a block of text on the page.
White Space (Negative Space)
/waɪt speɪs/The unmarked open space surrounding and separating typographic marks.
Serif (Roman)
/ˈsɛr.ɪf/Typefaces characterized by small finishing strokes or feet projecting from main stems.
Sans Serif
/sænz ˈsɛr.ɪf/Typefaces without serifs, characterized by clean, simplified stroke terminations.
Slab Serif (Egyptian)
/slæb ˈsɛr.ɪf/Typefaces featuring thick, block-like, heavy rectangular serifs with minimal bracketing.
Old Style (Garalde / Venetian)
/oʊld staɪl/Serif typefaces based on 15th–17th century Renaissance calligraphy with an inclined axis.
Transitional (Realist)
/trænˈzɪʃ.ən.əl/18th-century serif typefaces bridging Old Style warmth and Modern geometric precision.
Didone (Modern Serif)
/dɪˈdoʊn/Late 18th-century serif typefaces with extreme stroke contrast and unbracketed hairline serifs.
Humanist Sans Serif
/ˈhjuː.mə.nɪst/Sans-serif typefaces whose proportions and stroke modulation are derived from classical Roman capitals and calligraphy.
Grotesque (Early Sans)
/ɡroʊˈtɛsk/The earliest 19th-century commercial sans-serif typefaces, characterized by idiosyncratic proportions.
Neo-Grotesque (Swiss Style)
/ˌniː.oʊ.ɡroʊˈtɛsk/Mid-20th-century refined sans-serifs characterized by neutral, objective, and uniform construction.
Geometric Sans Serif
/ˌdʒiː.əˈmɛt.rɪk/Sans-serif typefaces constructed from pure geometric shapes: circle, triangle, and square.
Script Typeface
/skrɪpt/Typefaces mimicking fluid, connected, or semi-connected handwriting and calligraphy.
Blackletter (Gothic / Textura)
/ˈblækˌlɛt.ər/Historical European typefaces modeled on medieval northern European manuscript hands.
Display Typeface
/dɪˈspleɪ/Typefaces designed specifically for large sizes (18pt and above), prioritizing personality and punch over small-text legibility.
Decorative (Novelty)
/ˈdɛk.ər.ə.tɪv/Expressive typefaces incorporating illustration, texture, themes, or unusual stylistic treatments.
Monospaced (Fixed-Width)
/ˌmɑː.noʊˈspeɪst/Typefaces where every single character shares the exact same advance width.
Proportional Typeface
/prəˈpɔːr.ʃən.əl/Typefaces where each glyph has an advance width proportional to its natural visual width.
Pixel Font (Bitmap Font)
/ˈpɪk.səl fɑːnt/Fonts designed on a rigid pixel matrix, rendering crisp rectangular dots at specific sizes without anti-aliasing.
Variable Font (OpenType Font Variations)
/ˈvɛər.i.ə.bəl fɑːnt/A single font binary containing continuous, infinite variation axes (weight, width, slant, etc.).
Superfamily (Type System)
/ˈsuː.pərˌfæm.ə.li/A comprehensive typographic system spanning multiple structural classifications (serif, sans, slab, mono) sharing identical skeletal proportions.
Typeface Family
/ˈtaɪp.feɪs ˈfæm.ə.li/The complete collective range of weights, widths, and styles derived from a single core typeface design.
Typeface
/ˈtaɪp.feɪs/The underlying visual and artistic design of a cohesive set of letterforms.
Font
/fɑːnt/The physical or digital mechanism (binary file or metal case) that delivers a typeface.
Glyph
/ɡlɪf/A specific visual representation of a character within a font.
Character
/ˈkær.ək.tər/An abstract semantic unit of text, language, or information.
Unicode Code Point
/koʊd pɔɪnt/The unique numerical integer assigned to a character within the Unicode universal standard.
Grapheme Cluster
/ˈɡræf.iːm ˈklʌs.tər/A sequence of one or more Unicode code points that a user perceives as a single indivisible letter or symbol.
Glyph ID (GID)
/ɡlɪf aɪˈdiː/The internal 16-bit sequential integer identifying a glyph within a font binary.
Character Map (cmap table)
/siː mæp/The critical OpenType font table mapping Unicode code points to internal Glyph IDs.
Unicode
/ˈjuː.nɪ.koʊd/The international character encoding standard providing a unique code point for every character across all world scripts.
OpenType (OTF)
/ˈoʊ.pən.taɪp/The modern cross-platform digital font format developed by Microsoft and Adobe.
TrueType (TTF)
/ˈtruː.taɪp/A digital outline font standard developed by Apple and Microsoft in the late 1980s.
Compact Font Format (CFF / PostScript)
/ˌsiː.ɛfˈɛf/A compact binary format for storing cubic Bézier glyph outlines in OpenType fonts.
Font Table
/fɑːnt ˈteɪ.bəl/A discrete, named data structure within an SFNT digital font file.
Font Hinting (Grid Fitting)
/fɑːnt ˈhɪnt.ɪŋ/Mathematical instructions embedded in a font to align outlines with the pixel grid at small screen sizes.
Font Rasterization
/fɑːnt ˌræs.tər.əˈzeɪ.ʃən/The process of converting continuous vector Bézier outlines into discrete screen pixels.
Bézier Curve
/ˈbɛz.i.eɪ kɜːrv/A parametric curve defined by on-curve anchor points and off-curve control handles.
Quadratic Curve (2nd Order Bézier)
/kwɑːˈdræt.ɪk kɜːrv/A Bézier curve segment governed by two on-curve points and a single off-curve control point.
Cubic Curve (3rd Order Bézier)
/ˈkjuː.bɪk kɜːrv/A Bézier curve segment governed by two on-curve points and two independent off-curve control handles.
Contour (Path)
/ˈkɑːn.tʊər/A closed sequence of connected on-curve and off-curve points defining an outline or counter.
Node (Anchor Point)
/noʊd/A fixed coordinate point along a vector contour where curve segments meet.
Control Point (Handle)
/kənˈtroʊl pɔɪnt/An off-curve coordinate point that pulls and shapes the curvature of a Bézier segment.
Component Glyph
/kəmˈpoʊ.nənt ɡlɪf/A reusable glyph outline referenced by composite glyphs to reduce file size and maintain consistency.
Composite Glyph
/kəmˈpɑː.zɪt ɡlɪf/A glyph constructed by assembling multiple component glyphs and transformation coordinates.
Anchor Point (OpenType Anchor)
/ˈæŋ.kər/A coordinate point placed inside a glyph defining where diacritic marks or secondary glyphs attach.
Mark Positioning (mark / mkmk)
/mɑːrk pəˈzɪʃ.ən.ɪŋ/An OpenType GPOS feature that dynamically positions diacritics onto base glyphs and stacks accents.
Glyph Substitution (GSUB)
/ɡlɪf ˌsʌb.stəˈtuː.ʃən/The OpenType mechanism that replaces one or more input glyphs with an alternate glyph.
Glyph Positioning (GPOS)
/ɡlɪf pəˈzɪʃ.ən.ɪŋ/The OpenType mechanism that repositions glyphs in 2D space without altering their visual identities.
Complex Text Shaping (HarfBuzz)
/ˈʃeɪ.pɪŋ/The process of translating a stream of Unicode characters into properly positioned and substituted glyphs.
Font Subsetting
/fɑːnt ˈsʌbˌsɛt.ɪŋ/The practice of removing unused glyphs and tables from a font file to reduce download size.
Font Embedding (Webfonts)
/fɑːnt ɛmˈbɛd.ɪŋ/Including font binaries inside digital documents or web pages so users do not need the font pre-installed on their machine.
GSUB (Glyph Substitution Table)
/dʒiː sʌb/The primary OpenType table governing glyph substitutions.
GPOS (Glyph Positioning Table)
/dʒiː pɑːs/The primary OpenType table governing 2D glyph positioning and kerning.
GDEF (Glyph Definition Table)
/dʒiː dɛf/The OpenType table classifying glyphs into functional categories for layout engines.
Ligature
/ˈlɪɡ.ə.tʃʊər/A single unified glyph formed by joining two or more adjacent letters.
Standard Ligature (liga)
/ˈstæn.dərd ˈlɪɡ.ə.tʃʊər/Mandatory or standard aesthetic ligatures designed to prevent awkward letter collisions (fi, fl, ff, ffi, ffl).
Discretionary Ligature (dlig)
/dɪˈskrɛʃ.ə.nɛr.i ˈlɪɡ.ə.tʃʊər/Decorative, optional ligatures designed for artistic flair (st, ct, sp, Th).
Contextual Alternate (calt)
/kənˈtɛks.tʃu.əl ˈɔːl.tər.nət/An OpenType feature that dynamically selects alternate glyphs based on neighboring characters.
Stylistic Alternate (salt)
/staɪˈlɪs.tɪk ˈɔːl.tər.nət/An OpenType feature providing alternative aesthetic designs for specific letters.
Stylistic Set (ss01–ss20)
/staɪˈlɪs.tɪk sɛt/Grouped packages of coordinated alternate glyphs (up to 20 sets in a font).
Small Capitals (Small Caps / smcp)
/smɔːl ˈkæp.ɪ.təlz/Capital letterforms drawn at the optical height and stroke weight of lowercase letters.
Oldstyle Figures (onum)
/oʊld staɪl ˈfɪɡ.jərz/Numbers designed with varying heights and ascenders/descenders, harmonizing with lowercase body text.
Lining Figures (lnum)
/ˈlaɪ.nɪŋ ˈfɪɡ.jərz/Numbers that share a uniform height matching uppercase capital letters.
Tabular Figures (tnum)
/ˈtæb.jə.lər ˈfɪɡ.jərz/Numbers where every digit (0–9) shares an identical advance width.
Proportional Figures (pnum)
/prəˈpɔːr.ʃən.əl ˈfɪɡ.jərz/Numbers where each digit has a customized advance width scaled to its natural width (e.g. "1" is narrow, "8" is wide).
Superior Figures (sups / Superscript)
/suːˈpɪər.i.ər ˈfɪɡ.jərz/Specially drawn miniature numbers positioned above the cap height for footnote callouts and mathematical exponents.
Subscript (sinf / Inferior Figures)
/ˈsʌb.skrɪpt/Specially drawn miniature numbers positioned below the baseline for chemical formulas and mathematical indices.
Weight Axis (wght)
/weɪt ˈæk.sɪs/The registered variable font axis governing continuous stroke thickness from 1 to 1000.
Width Axis (wdth)
/wɪdθ ˈæk.sɪs/The registered variable font axis governing horizontal expansion and contraction from Ultra-Condensed to Ultra-Expanded.
Optical Size Axis (opsz)
/ˈɑːp.tɪ.kəl saɪz ˈæk.sɪs/The registered variable font axis that automatically adjusts letterform proportions for specific rendering sizes.
Slant Axis (slnt)
/slænt ˈæk.sɪs/The registered variable font axis governing oblique mechanical slanting angle.
Italic Axis (ital)
/ɪˈtæl.ɪk ˈæk.sɪs/The registered variable font axis that morphs upright roman forms into true cursive italic designs.
Named Instance
/neɪmd ˈɪn.stəns/A predefined, named coordinate position along variable font axes stored in the font’s fvar table.
Interpolation
/ɪnˌtɜːr.pəˈleɪ.ʃən/The mathematical calculation of intermediate vector shapes between two or more master outlines.
Master Font (Font Master)
/ˈmæs.tər/A fully drawn extreme coordinate font source used to anchor interpolation in a variable design space.
Design Space
/dɪˈzaɪn speɪs/The multi-dimensional coordinate arena defined by all available variation axes in a variable font.
Axis Mapping (avar Table)
/ˈæk.sɪs ˈmæp.ɪŋ/The OpenType table that maps linear coordinate sliders to non-linear human perceptual changes.
Shirorekha (Headstroke)
/ʃiː.roʊˈreɪ.kʰɑː/The continuous horizontal top hanging line uniting characters in Devanagari and Bengali scripts.
Matra (Vowel Sign)
/ˈmɑː.trɑː/A dependent vowel sign in Indic scripts attached above, below, before, or after a base consonant.
Conjunct (Samyuktakshara)
/kənˈdʒʌŋkt/A fused typographic ligature formed when two or more consonants combine without an intervening vowel.
Akshara (Syllabic Unit)
/ˈʌk.ʃə.rə/The fundamental syllabic building block in Indic abugida writing systems.
Nukta
/ˈnʊk.tɑː/A small diacritic dot placed beneath certain Indic consonants to modify their phonetic sound.
Reph
/reɪf/The special superscript hook representing the consonant "ra" when it precedes another consonant.
Half Form (Ardha-Rupa)
/hæf fɔːrm/The truncated version of an Indic consonant stripped of its primary vertical stem, used in horizontal conjuncts.
Ligature Formation (Indic & Complex)
/ˈlɪɡ.ə.tʃʊər fɔːrˈmeɪ.ʃən/The algorithmic synthesis of complex multi-part glyphs in abugida and cursive writing systems.
Bidirectional Text (BiDi)
/ˌbaɪ.dɪˈrɛk.ʃən.əl tɛkst/Text containing a mixture of right-to-left (Arabic, Hebrew) and left-to-right (Latin, numbers) scripts.
Right-to-Left Shaping (RTL)
/raɪt tuː lɛft ˈʃeɪ.pɪŋ/The dynamic visual connection of Arabic and Hebrew scripts flowing from right to left.
Combining Mark (Diacritic)
/kəmˈbaɪ.nɪŋ mɑːrk/A character intended to be positioned graphically in combination with an adjacent base character.
Script Shaping
/skrɪpt ˈʃeɪ.pɪŋ/The script-specific linguistic rules required to transform raw text codes into grammatically correct typographic glyphs.
Devanagari Script
/ˌdeɪ.vəˈnɑː.ɡə.ri/The northern Indian abugida writing system used for Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit, Nepali, and Maithili.
Gujarati Script
/ˌɡʊ.dʒəˈrɑː.ti/The western Indian abugida writing system used for the Gujarati language.
Bengali Script (Bangla)
/bɛŋˈɡɔː.li/The eastern Indic writing system used for Bengali and Assamese.
Tamil Script
/ˈtæm.ɪl/The southern Dravidian writing system used for the classical Tamil language.
Telugu Script
/ˈtɛl.ʊ.ɡuː/The southern Dravidian abugida writing system used in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Kannada Script
/ˈkɑː.nə.də/The southern Dravidian writing system used for the Kannada language in Karnataka.
Malayalam Script
/ˌmæl.əˈjɑː.ləm/The southern Dravidian writing system used in Kerala and Lakshadweep.
Gurmukhi Script (Punjabi)
/ˌɡʊərˈmʊk.i/The northern Indic writing system used for the Punjabi language.
Editorial Integrity & Primary Sources
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