Database of Handwritten Bangla Compound
Characters
The Bangla writing system, like many other Indic scripts, is descended from
the ancient Brahmi script. These scripts are often referred to as alphasyllabic
since, although they are alphabetic with distinct signs for consonants and
vowels, the basic element of Indic writing is the syllable.
Perhaps, the most complex aspect of writing Bengali and several other Indic
scripts is probably the shaping of consonant conjuncts. These occur when two or
more consonants characters join together forming a compound character. It is normal,
in the writing of such Indian languages, for such combinations to form conjunct
ligatures that they often depart radically from the shape of the original consonant
characters. It is this aspect of Indic scripts that pose a great challenge to
typography as well as their automatic recognition. In the below, a few examples
of joining two consonant characters (same or different) of Bangla forming a
compound character are shown.
E + O = k ; O
+ O = v ; b
+ O = r
Ka + Tta = Ka_tta Tta + Tta = Tta_tta Ssa + Tta = Ssa_tta
As seen from the above, part of a consonant character or its some modified shape is often used to form a compound character. Due to the presence of such compound characters the total number of different symbols in the Bangla character set exceeds the mark 500. In fact, initially, more than five hundred typing letters were required, but the number had been gradually reduced. Even today, the existing Bengali code of signs in the foundry type consists of 448 to 536 characters. Lino-type provides for 292 characters of which 260 are good enough for the ordinary job. Monotype composition provides for 319 characters.
Download
a small sample set of handwritten Bangla compound characters
NB: This database
of handwritten Bangla compound characters will soon be made available
free of cost for academic purposes.
