Sunuwar Jenticha script, Kõits script
Script type	Alphabet/abugida
Creator	Krishna Bahadur Jenticha
Created	1942
Period	1942 to present
Direction	Left to right
Official script	Yes
Region	Nepal,Sikkim
Language	Sunuwar language
Related scripts
Parent systems	Original invention Sunuwar
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Sunu(274), ​Sunuwar
Unicode
Unicode alias	Sunuwar
Unicode range	U+11BC0–U+11BFF
This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

TheSunuwar alphabet (previously theJenticha script, occasionallyKõits script) is analphabet developed byKrishna Bahadur Jentich in 1942,^[1] to write theSunwar language, a member of theKiranti language family spoken in EasternNepal, as inSikkim. It is recognised in Sikkim and used as an official writing system.^[2] The alphabet has 33 letters, 10 numerals and 1 'auspicious sign'.^[1]

It is agrammatological isolate,^[3] though some symbols bear recognition to theLimbu andLatin scripts.^[4] The script is written left to right. The writing system currently has no official standard.

When first created, the script was a pure alphabet, and has come to include a default non written /a/, giving it a feature of anabugida.

WhenJentich first created the alphabet, it was limited to 22 letters, in addition to the 10 digits. Vowel length was not written, letters could also represent theirretroflex consonant equivalent, andaspirated consonants were written asdigraphs, using the letterhamso. The letterna was used to represent bothnasal consonants andvowel nasalisation, also through the use of digraphs. The velar nasal [ŋ] was shown with a digraph of the consonantsna andgil, as in English /ng/. Tones were also not shown in theorthography, despiteSunwar being atonal language. The lettersecha was used to show both thevoiceless postalveolar fricative [ʃ] and thevoiceless alveolar sibilant [s].

During the tail end of the 20th century, users of the language added a further 11 letters into the script:

• aal - borrowed fromLimbu to write /a/ with long vowel length
• kloko - to write theGlottal stop /ʔ/
• ṭentu, ṭhele, ḍonga - to improve clarity by having separate symbols for retroflexive consonants
• kha, chhelap, phar, thari - to improve clarity by having separate symbols for aspirated consonants
• sheyer - a letter for /ʃ/, to replace the digraph (sh)
• ngar - a letter for /ŋ/ to replace the digraph (ng)
• laissi - a character to denoteVowel length

Due to the lack of a set standard, the orthography can be vague, with digraphs still being used occasionally, and consonants still being used to denote retroflexives.^[1]

Soon after the creation of the script, conferences were held in villages inDolakha District, to promote it, and help shape its future.^[5]

Image	Letter	Name	Transcription	IPA	Devanagari	Non-original?
	𑯈	appho	a	[ə]	अ
	𑯖	aal	aa	[a]	आ	Yes
	𑯃	imar	i	[i]	इ
,	𑯅	utthi	u	[u]	उ
	𑯂	eko	e	[e]	ए
	𑯑	otthi	o	[o]	ओ
,	𑯆	kik	k	[k]	क
	𑯛	kha	kh	[kʰ]	ख	Yes
	𑯊	gil	g	[ɡ]	ग
	𑯚	ngar	ng	[ŋ]	ङ	Yes
,	𑯌	carmi	c	[tʃ]	च
	𑯝	chelap	ch	[tʃʰ]	छ	Yes
	𑯏	jyah	j	[dʒ]	ज
	𑯞	tentu	tt	[ʈ]	ट	Yes
,	𑯟	thele	tth	[ʈʰ]	ठ	Yes
,	𑯗	donga	dd	[ɖ]	ड
	𑯁	tasla	t	[t], [ʈ]	त, ट
	𑯘	thari	th	[tʰ]	थ	Yes
	𑯀	devi	d	[d], [ɖ]	द, ड
	𑯍	nah	n	[n]	न, ण
	𑯉	pip	p	[p]	प
	𑯙	phar	ph	[pʰ]	फ	Yes
	𑯎	bur	b	[b]	ब
	𑯕	ava	bb	[ɓ]	ब
	𑯇	ma	m	[m]	म
	𑯔	yat	y	[j]	य
	𑯄	reu	r	[r], [ɽ]	र, ड़
	𑯐	loacha	l	[l], [ɭ]	ल
	𑯓	varca	v	[v]	व
,	𑯒	shyele	s	[s], [ʃ]	स
	𑯜	shyer	sh	[ʃ]	श, ष	Yes
	𑯋	hamso	h	[h]	ह
	𑯠	kloko	'	[ʔ]	अ्	Yes

Thelaissi symbol /:/ (or /ː/ when using the IPA symbol instead of the generic colon punctuation) is used to extend vowel length. It is a non-original character. A colon may also be used as punctuation; if it occurs after a word ending with a vowel letter it will typically be preceded by a space in order to remove ambiguity.^[6]

The symbolpvo is used to mark theVoiceless bilabial implosive /ɓ̥/. It is referred to as an 'auspicious symbol'. In spoken Sunuwar, the consonant is often said twice, and is often found in salutations and well wishes.

Sunuwar uses a set of ten numerals, inbase 10, derived fromArabic numerals. They were also created by Jentrich.

Sunuwar numerals

Name	ka	niashi	san	le	nga	raku	chani	sasi	yan	sum
Image
Character	𑯱	𑯲	𑯳	𑯴	𑯵	𑯶	𑯷	𑯸	𑯹	𑯰
Arabic	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
Devanagari	१	२	३	४	५	६	७	८	९	०

The Sunuwar alphabet was added to theUnicode Standard in September, 2024 with the release of version 16.0.

The Unicode block for Sunuwar is U+11BC0–U+11BFF:

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