(, ; variant spellings include , ) is a family of stylistic variants of the Tibetan alphabet used for both calligraphy and shorthand. The name means "headless" and refers to its distinctive feature: the absence of the horizontal guide line ('head') across the top of the letters. Between syllables, the mark () often appears as a vertical stroke, rather than the shorter 'dot'-like mark in some other scripts.
() or (), is the most common form of Umê that people in the Tibetan region use as an informal shorthand for notes and personal correspondence. It is extremely cursive, with free-flowing, distorted glyph forms. It remains unstandardised and is difficult to decipher because of its divergent shapes.
The other main style of the Tibetan script is the upright block form, (; ). The name of the block form, means "with a head", corresponding to the presence of the horizontal guide line. This script is the standard formal variant of the script, used for official and religious purposes.
Styles
scripts span from formal calligraphy to highly informal shorthand with context-specific styles. Besides , there are (broadly) five main styles of writing:
(), used for writing documents. (), used for writing scriptures. () shortened, abbreviated variant traditionally used for commentaries. () used for novice scribes to improve handwriting and familiarity with the script. It is elegant with vertically elongated glyphs. () a hybrid style designed to be written quickly without losing the form.
See also Tibetan script Uchen script Tibetan calligraphy
References