Sanskrit phonetic typing refers to a method of typing Sanskrit text using a standard English keyboard layout, where the characters typed phonetically represent the corresponding Sanskrit characters. This approach allows users who are more familiar with typing in English to input Sanskrit text without needing to learn the specific Sanskrit keyboard layout.
The Sanskrit script refers to the writing systems used to represent the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest Indo-European languages and the liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Sanskrit has been traditionally written in several scripts, with the most prominent ones being Devanagari, Grantha, and Siddham.
Devanagari Script: This is the most widely used script for writing Sanskrit today. It is an abugida script, meaning each character represents a consonant with an inherent vowel sound (usually 'a'), and other vowel sounds and consonant modifications are indicated using diacritics. Devanagari is also used to write other Indian languages such as Hindi, Marathi, and Nepali.
Grantha Script: Grantha script is an ancient script primarily used for writing Sanskrit and Tamil. It is an alphasyllabary script, which means each character represents a consonant-vowel syllable. Grantha script is particularly important for writing Sanskrit texts in South India.
Siddham Script: Siddham script, also known as Siddhamatrka, is an ancient script used primarily in East Asia for writing Sanskrit and Buddhist texts. It originated in India and was later adopted in countries like Japan, Korea, and China. Siddham script is known for its elegant and angular characters.