Buhid script

Surat Buhid is an abugida used to write the Buhid language. As a Brahmic script indigenous to the Philippines, it closely related to Baybayin and Hanunó'o. It is still used today by the Mangyans, found mainly on island of Mindoro, to write their language, Buhid, together with the Filipino latin script. There are efforts to reinvigorate the use of Surat Buhid. Buhid script use varies across Northern (Bansud area) and Southern Buhid (Bongabong) communities. The Buhid script has 18 independent characters; 15 are consonants and 3 vowels. As an abugida, there are additional diacritic vowels. Consonants have an inherent /a/ vowel. The other two vowels are indicated by a diacritic above (for /i/) or below (for /u/) the consonant. Depending on the consonant, ligatures are formed, changing the shape of the consonant-vowel combination. Vowels at the beginning of syllables are represented by their own, independent characters. Syllables ending in a consonant are written without the final consonant. The letter order of Buhid, recorded in Unicode, is based on phonetic principles that consider both the manner and place of articulation of the consonants and vowels they represent. Note: With the proper rendering support, the Buhid syllable ki above (ᝃᝒ) should resemble a plus sign (+). Buhid writing makes use of single (᜵) and double (᜶) punctuation marks. Buhid (Unicode block) Buhid script was added to the Unicode Standard in March, 2002 with the release of version 3.2.