The Sambalpuri script, from Western Odisha in India, is reported to have been invented in the year 2005 by Hemakanta Sahu, a government schoolteacher in profession as well as a linguistic researcher . He started the invention process in 1998 and after a number of experiments he presented his work in the form of a book, hεmə bərən ɖəɳhia (“the first primer in this script”), complete with a complete character set of alphabet, plus numerical symbols.
Traditionally, inscriptions and literary works from the Western Odisha region used the Odia script, as far back as 1268 CE.
The Sambalpuri language, like many in India, has generally been perceived by those in the Sambalpur community as a separate and distinct language; outsiders, however, have considered it a dialect of Odia. A language movement has been campaigning for its inclusion into the 8th schedule of the Indian constitution–and once again as is not unknown in India, the creation of a script may help to buttress its claim to be independent and autonomous.
A website has been created to introduce, explain, and promote the script as an aspect of Sambalpuri culture.
We apologize for not knowing more about this script than we do, and we hope anyone with solid first-hand information about its current usage will get in touch through the Contact function on this site.
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