Inscriptions are words or letters written,
engraved, painted, or otherwise traced on a surface and can appear
in contexts both small and monumental. Coin texts and monumental
carvings on buildings are both included by historians as types of
inscriptions. The study of inscriptions is epigraphy.
Types of inscription
- Abecedarium
- Chronogram
- Epitaph on a headstone
- Epigraph
- Ex libris
- Memento mori
- Monumental inscription
- Rune stone
Earliest Myanmar
Writing |
Myazedi Stone Inscription
The Myanmar or Burmese script developed from the
Mon script, which was adapted from a southern Indian script during
the 8th century. The earliest known inscriptions in the Myanmar
script date from the 11th century.
Notable Features
Like many other Indian and South East Asian alphabets, the Myanmar
script 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 is a result of the use of palm
leaves as the traditional writing material. Straight lines would
have torn the leaves. The Myanmar name for the script is ca-lonh
'round script'.
Myanmar 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.
Prince Rajakumara, son of King Kyansittha
inscribed this stone inscription in AD 1113. Although he missed the
chance of succeeding to the throne because King Kyansittha had
chosen the grandson Alaungsithu as his immediate successor,
Rajakumara was still loyal to his father. Rajakumara harbored no ill
will or grudge against his father. He even showed his filial love
and gratitude. This stone inscription was discovered at the foot of
Myazedi Pagoda near Myinkaba Village to the south of old Bagan. A
similar stone inscription was found in an old building near Myazedi
Pagoda. It is now set up at the southeast corner of the precinct of
Myazedi Pagoda. Both stone pillars have each four faces on which are
inscribed in Pali, Pyu, Mon and Myanmar languages recording the same
subject. The Myazedi stone inscription was one of the earliest
writings discovered so far in the history of Myanmar literature. The
stone pillar measures 55 inches high, 14 inches long and 14 inches
broad.
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Myanmar Language |
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Mon Language |
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Pali Language |
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