Sindhi Gs question (in Devanagri Sindhi scripts)

[Gul Agha <agha@CS.UIUC.EDU>]

Mitchell Ginsberg writes:
 > hello Gul Agha,
 >
 > I am appreciating the Sindhi discussion group regularly. Thank
 > you for your participation in it...
 >
 > I have a very small question about Sindhi transcription that
 > perhaps you can answer for me.
 >
 > I have not been able to find anywhere a definitive statement
 > about the form used in devanagari script to represent the
 > implosive G of Sindhi. I have seen the letter used in Perso-
 > Arabic writing, a G with two dots arranged vertically below
 > the letter.
 >
 > I have seen in some old dictionaries (from the 1800s) a
 > nagari G with a small dot just under and to the left of
 > the small circle that is part of that letter, and in some
 > more recent publications the nagari G underlined. I have
 > also seen texts where the letter is simply represented
 > by the nagari G (obviously not distinguishing it from the
 > non-implosive G).
 >
 > What is the present usual or scholarly preference here?
 >
 > Thank you very much for any clarification and resolution
 > of this question for me.
 >
 > in peace,
 > Jinavamsa

I do not know that there is a standard, the dash you mention is what I
have seen used (today).  I am forwarding this message to the list so
that others may share more information.  A bit of background that may
be helpful (probably you are already aware of this).

Devanagri based Sindhi script fell into disuse in the 19th century
with the standardization and adoption of Perso-Arabic based script by
the British.  Subsequent to partition, some Sindhis in India, fearing
for the future of the Sindhi language in India, believed the adoption
of a Devanagri script would help and they petitioned the federal
government for its adoption.  But they were opposed apparently by a
vast majority -- I have read that within weeks of a regulation for
adoption of devanagri script issued by Maulana Azad, the Indian
Minister of Education, over a hundred thousand Sindhis signed a
petition against it, forcing him to rescind the rule.

Just a couple of years ago, I was surprised to find some Sindhis in
India still very emotionally upset with others for having advocated or
promoted the use of Devanagri script.  Two arguments are advanced
against it -- first, that it is not practical in the present
circumstances to reproduce all the Sindhi literature in a new script,
and second and most importantly, it creates an unnecessary schism
between Sindhis in Sindh and those in India.

Today, there remains virtually no modern literature using the
Devanagri script besides a couple of religious texts and a few other
books.  So, the script problem remains a barrier -- rendering many
fluent speakers of the language functionally illiterate in Sindhi, as
many Sindhis do not have access to Sindhi instruction in schools, and
in other cases some Sindhi parents in India hesitate to require their
children to learn four languages and three very different scripts at
school (English, Hindi, the state language such as Gujarati, Marathi
or Tamil, and Sindhi).  Moreover, the Perso-Arabic script is somewhat
harder for novices because as you know, like Hebrew, writing in the
semitic script generally skips short vowels, making for a steeper
learning curve to attain fluency.  Thus, a few Indian schools do use
the Devanagri script for Sindhi instruction, arguing it as a practical
matter for maintaining the interest of younger children (and their
parents).  This is where I have seen the underlining to indicate gg
(implosive g).   I imagine this transcription is adopted for its
simplicity in typesetting.

---
sadaaiin ggaddu,

Gul Agha