Syriac alphabet

From Open Encyclopedia

The Syriac alphabet is a writing system used to write the Syriac language from around the 2nd century BC. It is one of the Semitic abjads directly descending from the Proto-Canaanite alphabet.

1 General remarks
2 Forms of the Syriac alphabet
3 Syriac Estrangelā script
4 Syriac Madnhāyā (Eastern) script
5 Syriac in Unicode
6 External Links

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General remarks

Syriac alphabet
	ܐ	ܒ	ܓ	ܕ
ܗ	ܘ	ܙ	ܚ	ܛ	ܝ
ܟ	ܠ	ܡ	ܢ	ܣ	ܥ
ܦ	ܨ	ܩ	ܪ	ܫ	ܬ

Syriac is written from right to left. It is a cursive (joined-up) script, where some, but not all, letters connect within a word. The alphabet consists of 22 letters, all of which are consonants. The vowel sounds are supplied by the reader's memory or by pointing (a system of diacritical marks to indicate the correct reading). In fact, three letters act as matres lectionis: rather than being a consonant, they indicate a vowel. The first letter, 'Ālaph, often represents a glottal stop, but it can also indicate a vowel at the beginning or the end of a word. The letter Waw is technically a w, but can also represent the vowels o and u. Likewise, the letter Yōdh represents the consonant y, but it also stands for the vowels i and e.

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Forms of the Syriac alphabet

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History of the Alphabet
Middle Bronze Age 19-15th c. BC Proto-Canaanite 14th c. BC Ugaritic 13th c. BC Phoenician 11th c. BC Samaritan 6th c. BC Aramaic 9th c. BC Brāhmī 6th c. BC Hebrew 3rd c. BC Syriac 2nd c. BC Avestan 3th c. Arabic 4th c. Greek 8th c. BC Old Italic 8th c. BC Latin 7th c. BC Runes 2nd c. Gothic 4th c. Armenian 405 Glagolitic 862 Cyrillic 10th c. Iberian Celtiberian South Arabian 9th c. BC Ge'ez 3rd-4th c.
Meroitic 3rd c. BC
Complete genealogy

There are three major variations of the Syriac alphabet. The oldest and classical form of the alphabet is Estrangelā (the name is derived from the Greek description στρογγυλη, strongylē, 'rounded'). Although Estrangelā is no longer used as the main script for writing Syriac, it has received a bit of a revival. It is often used in scholarly publications (for instance, the Leiden University version of the Peshitta), in titles and inscriptions.

The West Syriac dialect is usually written in the Sertā ('line') form of the alphabet, also known as the Maronite or the Jacobite script. Most of the letters are obviously derived from Estrangelā, but are simplified, flowing lines. The Arabic alphabet was based on the Nabatean alphabet, which was based on this form of Syriac handwriting. The Western script is usually vowel-pointed with miniature Greek vowel letters above or below the letter which they follow: Α (capital alpha) represents a, α (lowercase alpha) represents ā (pronounced as an o), ε (lowercase epsilon) represents e and ē, Ι (capital iota) represents ī, and a combined symbol of Υ (capital upsilon) and ο (lowercase omicron) represents ū.

The East Syriac dialect is usually written in the Madnhāyā ('Eastern') form of the alphabet. Other names for the script include Assyrian (not to be confused with the traditional name for the Hebrew alphabet), Chaldean, and, inaccurately, 'Nestorian', a term that was originally used to disparage Christians living in the Persian Empire. The Eastern script resembles Estrangelā more closely than the Western script. The Eastern script uses a system of dots above or below letters to indicate vowels.

When Arabic began to be the dominant spoken language in the Fertile Crescent, texts were often written in Arabic with the Syriac script. These writings are usually called Karshuni or Garshuni.

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Syriac Estrangelā script

Letter	Normal format	Final connected	Final unconnected	Unicode character	Pronunciation
'Ālaph	Image:Aramaic alap.png			ܐ	ʔ (glottal stop) or silent
Bēth	Image:Aramaic beth.png	Image:Aramaic beth c.png		ܒ	hard: b (voiced bilabial plosive) soft: v (voiced labiodental fricative) or w (labial-velar approximant)
Gāmal	Image:Aramaic gamal.png	Image:Aramaic gamal c.png		ܓ	hard: g (voiced velar plosive) soft: ɣ (voiced velar fricative)
Dālath	Image:Aramaic daleth.png			ܕ	hard: d (voiced alveolar plosive) soft: ð (voiced dental fricative)
Hē	Image:Aramaic heh.png			ܗ	h (voiceless glottal fricative)
Waw	Image:Aramaic waw.png			ܘ	consonant: w (labial-velar approximant) mater lectionis: u (close back rounded vowel) or o (close-mid back rounded vowel)
Zayn	Image:Aramaic zain.png			ܙ	z (voiced alveolar fricative)
Hēth or Khēth	Image:Aramaic kheth.png	Image:Aramaic kheth c.png		ܚ	ħ (voiceless pharyngeal fricative)
Tēth	Image:Aramaic teth.png	Image:Aramaic teth c.png		ܛ	tˁ (pharyngealized voiceless alveolar plosive)
Yōdh	Image:Aramaic yodh.png	Image:Aramaic yodh c.png		ܝ	consonant: j (voiced palatal approximant) mater lectionis: i (close front unrounded vowel) or e (close-mid front unrounded vowel)
Kāph	Image:Aramaic kap.png	Image:Aramaic kap c.png	Image:Aramaic kap f.png	ܟ	hard: k (voiceless velar plosive) soft: x (voiceless velar fricative)
Lāmadh	Image:Aramaic lamadh.png	Image:Aramaic lamadh c.png		ܠ	l (alveolar lateral approximant)
Mīm	Image:Aramaic meem.png	Image:Aramaic meem c.png		ܡ	m (bilabial nasal)
Nūn	Image:Aramaic noon.png	Image:Aramaic noon c.png	Image:Aramaic noon f.png	ܢ	n (alveolar nasal)
Semkath	Image:Aramaic simkath.png	Image:Aramaic simkath c.png		ܣ / ܤ	s (voiceless alveolar fricative)
`Ē	Image:Aramaic ain.png	Image:Aramaic ain c.png		ܥ	ʕ (voiced pharyngeal fricative)
Pē	Image:Aramaic payin.png	Image:Aramaic payin c.png		ܦ	hard: p (voiceless bilabial plosive) soft: f (voiceless labiodental fricative) or w (labial-velar approximant)
Sādhē	Image:Aramaic tsade.png			ܨ	sˁ (pharyngealized voiceless alveolar fricative)
Qōph	Image:Aramaic qoph.png	Image:Aramaic qoph c.png		ܩ	q (voiceless uvular plosive)
Rēš	Image:Aramaic resh.png			ܪ	r (alveolar trill)
Šīn	Image:Aramaic sheen.png	Image:Aramaic sheen c.png		ܫ	ʃ (voiceless postalveolar fricative)
Taw	Image:Aramaic taw.png			ܬ	hard: t (voiceless alveolar plosive) soft: θ (voiceless dental fricative)
	Image:Aramaic lamadh alap.png				Lāmadh and 'Ālaph combined at end of word
	Image:Aramaic taw alap.png				Taw and 'Ālaph combined at end of word

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Syriac Madnhāyā (Eastern) script

Letter	Normal format	Final connected	Final unconnected	Unicode character	Pronunciation
'Ālaph	Image:SyriacAlaph.png	Image:SyriacAlaph2.png		ܐ	ʔ (glottal stop) or silent
Bēth	Image:SyriacBeth.png	Image:SyriacBeth2.png		ܒ	hard: b (voiced bilabial plosive) soft: v (voiced labiodental fricative) or w (labial-velar approximant)
Gāmal	Image:SyriacGamal.png	Image:SyriacGamal2.png		ܓ	hard: g (voiced velar plosive) soft: ɣ (voiced velar fricative)
Dālath	Image:SyriacDalath.png			ܕ	hard: d (voiced alveolar plosive) soft: ð (voiced dental fricative)
Hē	Image:SyriacHe.png			ܗ	h (voiceless glottal fricative)
Waw	Image:SyriacWaw.png			ܘ	consonant: w (labial-velar approximant) mater lectionis: u (close back rounded vowel) or o (close-mid back rounded vowel)
Zayn	Image:SyriacZayn.png			ܙ	z (voiced alveolar fricative)
Hēth or Khēth	Image:SyriacKheth.png	Image:SyriacKheth2.png		ܚ	ħ (voiceless pharyngeal fricative)
Tēth	Image:SyriacTeth.png	Image:SyriacTeth2.png		ܛ	tˁ (pharyngealized voiceless alveolar plosive)
Yōdh	Image:SyriacYodh.png	Image:SyriacYodh2.png		ܝ	consonant: j (voiced palatal approximant) mater lectionis: i (close front unrounded vowel) or e (close-mid front unrounded vowel)
Kāph	Image:SyriacKaph.png	Image:SyriacKaph2.png	Image:SyriacKaph3.png	ܟ	hard: k (voiceless velar plosive) soft: x (voiceless velar fricative)
Lāmadh	Image:SyriacLamadh.png	Image:SyriacLamadh2.png		ܠ	l (alveolar lateral approximant)
Mīm	Image:SyriacMeem.png	Image:SyriacMeem2.png		ܡ	m (bilabial nasal)
Nūn	Image:SyriacNun.png	Image:SyriacNun2.png	Image:SyriacNun3.png	ܢ	n (alveolar nasal)
Semkath	Image:SyriacSimkath.png	Image:SyriacSimkath2.png / Image:SyriacSimkath3.png		ܤ / ܣ	s (voiceless alveolar fricative)
`Ē	Image:Syriac'E.png	Image:Syriac'E2.png		ܥ	ʕ (voiced pharyngeal fricative)
Pē	Image:SyriacPe.png	Image:SyriacPe2.png		ܦ	hard: p (voiceless bilabial plosive) soft: f (voiceless labiodental fricative) or w (labial-velar approximant)
Sādhē	Image:SyriacSadhe.png			ܨ	sˁ (pharyngealized voiceless alveolar fricative)
Qōph	Image:SyriacQop.png	Image:SyriacQop2.png		ܩ	q (voiceless uvular plosive)
Rēš	Image:SyriacResh.png			ܪ	r (alveolar trill)
Šīn	Image:SyriacSheen.png	Image:SyriacSheen2.png		ܫ	ʃ (voiceless postalveolar fricative)
Taw	Image:SyriacTaw.png			ܬ	hard: t (voiceless alveolar plosive) soft: θ (voiceless dental fricative)
	Image:SyriacAlaph3.png				Form of 'Ālaph after Lāmadh
	Image:SyriacAlaph.png Image:SyriacTaw.png	Image:SyriacTawAlaph.png	Image:SyriacTawAlaph2.png / Image:SyriacTawAlaph3.png		Taw and 'Ālaph combined at the end of a word