Editing Gupta script (section)

==Origins and classification==
The Gupta script was descended from the Ashokan [[Brahmi script|Brāhmī script]], and is a crucial link between Brahmi and most other [[Brahmic scripts]], a family of alphasyllabaries or [[abugida]]s. This means that while only consonantal phonemes have distinct symbols, vowels are marked by diacritics, with {{IPA|/a/}} being the implied pronunciation when the diacritic is not present. In fact, the Gupta script works in exactly the same manner as its predecessor and successors, and only the shapes and forms of the graphemes and diacritics are different.

Through the 4th century, letters began to take more cursive and symmetric forms, as a result of the desire to write more quickly and aesthetically. This also meant that the script became more differentiated throughout the Empire, with regional variations which have been broadly classified into three, four or five categories;<ref name=anupama>Srivastava, Anupama. ''The Development of Imperial Gupta Brahmi Script''. New Delhi: Ramanand, 1998</ref><ref>[[Steven Roger Fischer|Fischer, Steven Roger]]. ''A History of Writing''. UK: Reaktion, 2004</ref> however, a definitive classification is lacking, because even in a single inscription, there may be variation in how a particular symbol is written. In this sense, the term Gupta script should be taken to mean any form of writing derived from the Gupta period, even though there may be a lack of uniformity in the scripts.
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