| A (Malayalam) | |
|---|---|
| അ | |
 | |
| Usage | |
| Writing system | Malayalam script |
| Type | Abugidaic |
| Language of origin | Malayalam language |
| Sound values | [ɐ] |
| In Unicode | U+0D05 |
| Lexicographic position | 1 |
| History | |
| Development | 𓃾
|
| Time period | since c. 830 CE |
| Sisters | |
| Other | |
| Writing direction | Left-to-right |
അ is the first letter of the Malayalam script.[1][2] It is an independent vowel letter that represents the near-open central vowel /ɐ/.[3] In the Malayalam abugida, അ is classified as a laghu (short vowel), a category that influences metrical rules in poetry and grammatical sandhi.[4]
As the inherent vowel of the script, the sound /ɐ/ is implied in every consonant letter unless otherwise indicated by a diacritic. For example, the consonant letter ക (ka) represents the sound /kɐ/.[4]
References
- Steever, Sanford B. (2015). The Dravidian Languages. Routledge.
- Unicode Consortium (2025). "The Unicode Standard, Version 17.0: Malayalam Code Chart (U+0D00–U+0D7F)" (PDF).
- Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge University Press.
- Varma, A. R. Raja Raja (1896). കേരളപാണിനീയം.