Syriac alphabet
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Syre (Esá¹rangelÄ variant)
Syrj (Western variant)
Syrn (Eastern variant)
- Note: This article contains special characters.
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.
Contents
[edit] General remarks
Syriac is written from right to left. It is a cursive 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. ’Ālaph (Ü), the first letter, represents a glottal stop, but it can also indicate a vowel at the beginning or the end of a word. The letter Waw (ܘ) is the consonant w, but can also represent the vowels o and u. Likewise, the letter YÅdh (Ü) represents the consonant y, but it also stands for the vowels i and e.
In addition to the sounds of the language, the letters of the Syriac alphabet can be used to represent numbers in a system similar to Hebrew and Greek numerals.
[edit] Forms of the Syriac alphabet
There are three major variants of the Syriac alphabet. The oldest and classical form of the alphabet is Esá¹rangelÄ (ÜÜ£Ü›ÜªÜ¢Ü“Ü Ü; the name is derived from the Greek description στÏονγυλη, strongylÄ“, 'rounded'). Although EstrangelÄ is no longer used as the main script for writing Syriac, it has received some revival since the tenth century. It is often used in scholarly publications (for instance, the Leiden University version of the Peshitta), in titles and inscriptions. In some older manuscripts and inscriptions it is possible for any letter to join to the left, and older Aramaic letter forms (especially of Ḥeth and the lunate Mem) are found.
The West Syriac dialect is usually written in the Será¹Ä (Ü£ÜªÜ›Ü 'line') form of the alphabet, also known as the Maronite or the Jacobite script (although the term Jacobite is considered derogatory). Most of the letters are clearly derived from EstrangelÄ, but are simplified, flowing lines. A cursive, chancery hand is evidenced in the earliest Syriac manuscripts, but important works were written in EstrangelÄ. From the eighth century, the simpler SertÄ style came into fashion, perhaps because of its more economical use of parchment. The Nabataean alphabet (which gave rise to the Arabic alphabet) 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:
The East Syriac dialect is usually written in the MadnḥÄyÄ (ܡܕܢܚÜÜ '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 EstrangelÄ more closely than the Western script, being somewhat a midway point between the two. The Eastern script uses a system of dots above or below letters, based on an older system, to indicate vowels:
It is thought that the Eastern method for representing vowels influenced the development of the Niqqud markings used for writing Hebrew.
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 (ܓܪܫܘܢÜ). Garshuni is often used by Assyrians and Chaldeans today in nonverbal communication such as in letters and fliers.
[edit] Short table
The Syriac alphabet consists of the following letters. Some letters have a different form used at the ends of words: these are shown in the table below the normal form. When isolated, the initial forms of the letters KÄpÌ„, MÄ«m, and NÅ«n are usually shown connected to their final form (see below).
Note that the table arranges the letters in order from left to right.
[edit] Letters of the Syriac alphabet
character Numerical
value Pronunciation
form Final
connected Final
unconnected Normal
form Final
connected Final
unconnected
Ü’ 2 hard: /b/ (voiced bilabial plosive)soft: /v/ (voiced labiodental fricative) or /w/ (labial-velar approximant)
ܘ 6 consonant: /w/ (labial-velar approximant)mater lectionis: /u/ (close back rounded vowel) or /o/ (close-mid back rounded vowel)
ܚ 8 /ħ/ (voiceless pharyngeal fricative), /x/ (voiceless velar fricative), or /χ/ (voiceless uvular fricative)
Ü 10 consonant: /j/ (voiced palatal approximant)mater lectionis: /i/ (close front unrounded vowel) or /e/ (close-mid front unrounded vowel)
ܦ 80 hard: /p/ (voiceless bilabial plosive)soft: /f/ (voiceless labiodental fricative) or /w/ (labial-velar approximant)
1 In the final position following DÄlaṯ or RÄ“Å¡, ’ĀlapÌ„ takes the normal form rather than the final form.
[edit] Ligatures
character Description
form Final
connected Final
unconnected Normal
form Final
connected Final
unconnected
LÄmaḠand 'Ä€lapÌ„ combinedat end of word
/ 
Taw and 'Ālap̄ combinedat end of word
HÄ“ and YÅḠcombinedat end of word
[edit] Letter alterations
In modern usage, some alterations can be made to represent phonemes not present in classical orthography. A mark, called majliyana (similar in appearance to a tilde), is placed either above or below a letter in the MadnḥÄyÄ variant of the alphabet to change its phonetic value (see also: Geresh):
In addition to foreign sounds, a marking system is used to distinguish qÅ«Å¡ÄyÄ (ܩܘܫÜÜ, 'hard' letters) from rÅ«kÄxÄ (ܪܘܟܟÜ, 'soft' letters). The letters Bēṯ, GÄmal, DÄlaṯ, KÄpÌ„, PÄ“, and Taw, all plosives ('hard'), are able to be spirantized into fricatives ('soft'):
The degree to which letters can be spirantized varies from dialect to dialect. Spirantization depends on the letter's position within a word (initial or final), location relative to other letters and vowels, and other factors.
[edit] Syriac in Unicode
The Syriac Unicode range is U+0700 ... U+074F.
[edit] HTML code table
[edit] ’Ālap̄ Bēṯ
[edit] Vowels and unique characters
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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