Kayah Li script

Infobox Writing system
name=Kayah Li
time=1962–present
languages=Kayah languages
fam1=Proto-Canaanite alphabet
fam2=Phoenician alphabet
fam3=Aramaic alphabet
fam4=Brāhmī
type=Abugida
unicode= [http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UA900.pdf U+A900–U+A92F]
iso15924=Kali

The Kayah Li script is used to write the Kayah languages Eastern Kayah Li and Western Kayah Li, which are members of Karenic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. They are also known as Red Karen and Karenni. Eastern Kayah Li is spoken by about 360,000 people, and Western Kayah Li by about 210,000 people, mostly in the Kayah and Karen states of Myanmar, but also by people living in Thailand.

Kayah Li script was devised by Htae Bu Phae in March 1962, in part in response to the appearance of Latin-based orthographies which had appeared after 1950. It is taught in schools in refugee camps in Thailand. Kayah Li’s relation to Brahmic scripts can be seen in its ordering and the shapes of some of its letters, although the shapes of most of them were developed independently. At least nine of its characters bear a relation to characters in the Myanmar script.

Kayah Li in Unicode

The Unicode range for Kayah Li is U+A900 .. U+A92F.

ee also

*Kayah languages

References

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