The Tibetan script is a segmental writing system, or abugida, derived from Brahmic scripts and Gupta script, and used to write certain Tibetic languages, including Tibetan, Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Ladakhi, Jirel and Balti. It was originally developed c. 620 by Tibetan minister Thonmi Sambhota for King Songtsen Gampo. [5] [6]