Tikamuli

Tikamuli is one of two scripts used specifically for writing the Sunuwar language spoken in Nepal and Sikkim. Tikamuli is used primarily in Nepal, and Jenticha is used primarily in Sikkim. In both places, Sunuwar can also be written in the Devanagari script.

Tikamuli is named after its inventor, Tikaram Mulicha. It is not genetically related to any other scripts, although some letters appear to have been based on the shapes of Limbu and Lepcha letters.

The script is an abugida; every consonant contains an inherent vowel, which can be modified by appending vowel diacritics to the consonant or silenced by adding a virama below the consonant. There is also one independent vowel letter which represents /ə/. Word-initial vowels are written with this letter and a vowel diacritic if appropriate.

Vowel length marks are also used. Any written consonant can carry up to one vowel diacritic and one vowel length mark.

Tikamuli uses script-specific digits from 0-9, and Latin punctuation.

This script is not currently recognized by the  ISO 15924 standard, but is included in ScriptSource for research purposes. If you have any information on this script, please add the information to this site. Your contributions can be a great help in refining and expanding the ISO 15924 standard. The  Script Encoding Initiative is working to support the inclusion of this script in the standard, and contributions here will support their efforts.