| Syriac alphabet | |
|---|---|
 Estrangela-styled alphabet | |
| Script type | Impureabjad |
Period | c. 1st century AD – present |
| Direction | Right-to-left script |
| Languages | Aramaic (Classical Syriac,Western Neo-Aramaic,Sureth,Turoyo,Christian Palestinian Aramaic),Arabic (Garshuni),Malayalam (Karshoni),Sogdian |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | Egyptian
|
Child systems | |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Syrc(135), Syriac
|
| Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Syriac |
| |
| This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. | |
TheSyriac alphabet (ܐܠܦ ܒܝܬ ܣܘܪܝܝܐʾālep̄ bêṯ Sūryāyā[a]) is awriting system primarily used to write theSyriac language since the1st century.[1] It is one of theSemiticabjads descending from theAramaic alphabet through thePalmyrene alphabet,[2] and shares similarities with thePhoenician,Hebrew,Arabic andSogdian, the precursor and a direct ancestor of the traditionalMongolian scripts.
Syriac is written from right to left in horizontal lines. It is acursive script where most—but not all—letters connect within a word. There is noletter case distinction between upper and lower case letters, though some letters change their form depending on their position within a word. Spacesseparate individual words.
All 22 letters are consonants (calledܐܵܬܘܼܬܵܐ,ˀātūṯā). There are optional diacritic marks (calledܢܘܼܩܙܵܐ,nuqzā) to indicate the vowel (ܙܵܘܥܵܐ,zāwˁā) andother features. In addition to the sounds of the language, the letters of the Syriac alphabet can be used to represent numbers in a system similar toHebrew andGreek numerals.
Apart from Classical Syriac Aramaic, the alphabet has been used to write other dialects and languages. Several Christian Neo-Aramaic languages, fromTuroyo to theNortheastern Neo-Aramaic language ofSuret, oncevernaculars, primarily began to be written in the 19th century. TheSerṭā variant has explicitly been adapted to writeWestern Neo-Aramaic, previously written in thesquare Maalouli script, developed by George Rizkalla (Rezkallah), based on theHebrew alphabet.[3][4] Besides Aramaic, whenArabic began to be the dominant spoken language in theFertile Crescent after theIslamic conquest, texts were often written in Arabic using the Syriac script as knowledge of the Arabic alphabet was not yet widespread; such writings are usually calledKarshuni orGarshuni (ܓܪܫܘܢܝ). In addition toSemitic languages,Sogdian was also written with Syriac script, as well asMalayalam, which form was calledSuriyani Malayalam.
There are three major variants of the Syriac alphabet:ʾEsṭrangēlā,Maḏnḥāyā andSerṭā.
The oldest and classical form of the alphabet isʾEsṭrangēlā[b] (ܐܣܛܪܢܓܠܐ). The name of the script is thought to derive from theGreek adjectivestrongýlē (στρογγύλη, 'rounded'),[5] though it has also been suggested to derive fromserṭā ʾewwangēlāyā (ܣܪܛܐ ܐܘܢܓܠܝܐ, 'gospel character').[6] Although ʾEsṭrangēlā is no longer used as the main script for writing Syriac, it has received some revival since the 10th century. It is often used in scholarly publications (such as theLeiden University version of thePeshitta), in titles, and ininscriptions. In some oldermanuscripts and inscriptions, it is possible for any letter to join to the left, and older Aramaic letter forms (especially ofḥeṯ and thelunatemem) are found. Vowel marks are usually not used withʾEsṭrangēlā, because it is the oldest form of the script and arose before specialized diacritics were developed.
The East Syriac dialect is usually written in theMaḏnḥāyā (ܡܲܕ݂ܢܚܵܝܵܐ, 'Eastern') form of the alphabet. Other names for the script includeSwāḏāyā (ܣܘܵܕ݂ܵܝܵܐ, 'conversational' or 'vernacular', often translated as 'contemporary', reflecting its use in writing modern Neo-Aramaic),ʾĀṯōrāyā (ܐܵܬ݂ܘܿܪܵܝܵܐ, 'Assyrian', not to be confused with the traditional name for theHebrew alphabet),Kaldāyā (ܟܲܠܕܵܝܵܐ, 'Chaldean'), and, inaccurately, "Nestorian" (a term that was originally used to refer to theChurch of the East in theSasanian Empire). The Eastern script resembles ʾEsṭrangēlā somewhat more closely than the Western script.
The Eastern script uses a system of dots above and/or below letters, based on an older system, to indicate vowel sounds not found in the script:
) A dot above and a dot below a letter represent[a], transliterated asa oră (calledܦܬ݂ܵܚܵܐ,pṯāḥā),
) Two diagonally-placed dots above a letter represent[ɑ], transliterated asā orâ orå (calledܙܩܵܦ݂ܵܐ,zqāp̄ā),
) Two horizontally-placed dots below a letter represent[ɛ], transliterated ase orĕ (calledܪܒ݂ܵܨܵܐ ܐܲܪܝܼܟ݂ܵܐ,rḇāṣā ʾărīḵā orܙܠܵܡܵܐ ܦܫܝܼܩܵܐ,zlāmā pšīqā; often pronounced[ɪ] and transliterated asi in the East Syriac dialect),.svg)
) Two diagonally-placed dots below a letter represent[e], transliterated asē (calledܪܒ݂ܵܨܵܐ ܟܲܪܝܵܐ,rḇāṣā karyā orܙܠܵܡܵܐ ܩܲܫܝܵܐ,zlāmā qašyā),
) A combination ofrḇāṣā karyā (usually) followed by a letteryōḏ represents[e] (possibly *[e̝] in Proto-Syriac), transliterated asē orê (calledܐܲܣܵܩܵܐ,ʾăsāqā).It is thought that the Eastern method for representing vowels influenced the development of theniqqud markings used for writing Hebrew.
In addition to the above vowel marks, transliteration of Syriac sometimes includesə,e̊ or superscripte (or often nothing at all) to represent an original Aramaicschwa that became lost later on at some point in the development of Syriac. Some transliteration schemes find its inclusion necessary for showing spirantization or for historical reasons. Whether because its distribution is mostly predictable (usually inside a syllable-initial two-consonant cluster) or because its pronunciation was lost, both the East and the West variants of the alphabet traditionally have no sign to represent the schwa.
The West Syriac dialect is usually written in theSerṭā orSerṭo (ܣܶܪܛܳܐ, 'line') form of the alphabet, also known as thePšīṭā (ܦܫܺܝܛܳܐ, 'simple'), 'Maronite' or the 'Jacobite' script (although the termJacobite is considered derogatory). Most of the letters are clearly derived from ʾEsṭrangēlā, but are simplified, flowing lines. A cursivechancery hand is evidenced in the earliest Syriac manuscripts, but important works were written in ʾEsṭrangēlā. From the 8th century, the simpler Serṭā style came into fashion, perhaps because of its more economical use ofparchment.
The Western script is usually vowel-pointed, with miniature Greek vowel letters above or below the letter which they follow:
.svg)
) Capitalalpha (Α) represents[a], transliterated asa oră (ܦܬ݂ܳܚܳܐ,pṯāḥā),.svg)
) Lowercase alpha (α) represents[ɑ], transliterated asā orâ orå (ܙܩܳܦ݂ܳܐ,zqāp̄ā; pronounced as[o] and transliterated aso in the West Syriac dialect),.svg)
) Lowercaseepsilon (ε) represents both[ɛ], transliterated ase orĕ, and[e], transliterated asē (ܪܒ݂ܳܨܳܐ,rḇāṣā),
) Capitaleta (Η) represents[i], transliterated asī (ܚܒ݂ܳܨܳܐ,ḥḇāṣā),
) A combined symbol of capitalupsilon (Υ) and lowercaseomicron (ο) represents[u], transliterated asū oru (ܥܨܳܨܳܐ,ʿṣāṣā),
|
The Syriac alphabet consists of the following letters, shown in their isolated (non-connected) forms. When isolated, the letterskāp̄,mīm, andnūn are usually shown with their initial form connected to their final form (seebelow). The lettersʾālep̄,dālaṯ,hē,waw,zayn,ṣāḏē,rēš andtaw (and, in early ʾEsṭrangēlā manuscripts, the lettersemkaṯ[7]) do not connect to a following letter within a word; these are marked with an asterisk (*).
| Letter | Sound Value (Classical Syriac) | Numerical Value | Phoenician Equivalent | Imperial Aramaic Equivalent | Hebrew Equivalent | Arabic Equivalent | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Translit. | ʾEsṭrangēlā (classical) | Maḏnḥāyā (eastern) | Serṭā (western) | Latin (1930) | Cyrillic (pre-1929, 1938) | Unicode (typing) | Transliteration | IPA | |||||
| *ܐܠܦ | ʾĀlep̄*[c] |  |  |  | a, ə | ə, a | ܐ | ʾ or null mater lectionis:ā | [ʔ] or ∅ mater lectionis:[ɑ] | 1 | 𐤀 | 𐡀 | א | ا |
| ܒܝܬ | Bēṯ |  |  |  | b, v | б, в | ܒ | hard:b soft:ḇ (alsobh,v orꞵ) | hard:[b] soft:[v] or[w] | 2 | 𐤁 | 𐡁 | ב | ب |
| ܓܡܠ | Gāmal |  |  |  | g, x/h, ç | г, h, dж | ܓ | hard:g soft:ḡ (alsog̱,gh,ġ orγ) | hard:[ɡ] soft:[ɣ] | 3 | 𐤂 | 𐡂 | ג | ج |
| *ܕܠܬ | Dālaṯ* |  |  |  | d | d | ܕ | hard:d soft:ḏ (alsodh,ð orẟ) | hard:[d] soft:[ð] | 4 | 𐤃 | 𐡃 | ד | د / ذ |
| *ܗܐ | Hē* |  |  |  | h | h | ܗ | h mater lectionis:ē (ore) | [h] mater lectionis:[e] | 5 | 𐤄 | 𐡄 | ה | ه |
| *ܘܘ | Waw* |  |  |  | v, o, u | в, o, у | ܘ | consonant:w mater lectionis:ū orō (alsou oro) | consonant:[w] mater lectionis:[u] or[o] | 6 | 𐤅 | 𐡅 | ו | و |
| *ܙܝܢ | Zayn* |  |  |  | z | з | ܙ | z | [z] | 7 | 𐤆 | 𐡆 | ז | ز |
| ܚܝܬ | Ḥēṯ |  |  |  | x | x | ܚ | ḥ (alsoH,kh,x orħ) | [ħ],[x] or[χ] | 8 | 𐤇 | 𐡇 | ח | ح / خ |
| ܛܝܬ | Ṭēṯ |  |  |  | ţ | t | ܛ | ṭ (alsoT orţ) | [tˤ] | 9 | 𐤈 | 𐡈 | ט | ظ / ط |
| ܝܘܕ | Yōḏ |  |  |  | j, ij/ьj | j, иj/ыj | ܝ | consonant:y mater lectionis:ī (alsoi) | consonant:[j] mater lectionis:[i] or[ɪ] | 10 | 𐤉 | 𐡉 | י | ي |
| ܟܦ | Kāp̄ |  |  |  | k, x, c | q, x, ч | ܟܟ | hard:k soft:ḵ (alsokh orx) | hard:[k] soft:[x] | 20 | 𐤊 | 𐡊 | כ ך | ك |
| ܠܡܕ | Lāmaḏ |  |  |  | l | l | ܠ | l | [l] | 30 | 𐤋 | 𐡋 | ל | ل |
| ܡܝܡ | Mīm |  |  |  | m | м | ܡܡ | m | [m] | 40 | 𐤌 | 𐡌 | מ ם | م |
| ܢܘܢ | Nūn |  |  |  | n | н | ܢܢ | n | [n] | 50 | 𐤍 | 𐡍 | נ ן | ن |
| ܣܡܟܬ | Semkaṯ |  |  |  | s | c | ܣ | s | [s] | 60 | 𐤎 | 𐡎 | ס | س |
| ܥܐ | ʿĒ |  |  |  | a | ə | ܥ | ʿ | [ʕ][d] | 70 | 𐤏 | 𐡏 | ע | ع / غ |
| ܦܐ | Pē |  |  |  | p, f | п, ф | ܦ | hard:p soft:p̄ (alsop̱,ᵽ,ph orf) | hard:[p] soft:[f] | 80 | 𐤐 | 𐡐 | פ ף | ف |
| *ܨܕܐ | Ṣāḏē* |  |  |  | s | c | ܨ | ṣ (alsoS orş) | [sˤ] | 90 | 𐤑 | 𐡑 | צ ץ | ض / ص |
| ܩܘܦ | Qōp̄ |  |  |  | q | к | ܩ | q (alsoḳ) | [q] | 100 | 𐤒 | 𐡒 | ק | ق |
| *ܪܝܫ | Rēš* |  |  |  | r | p | ܪ | r | [r] | 200 | 𐤓 | 𐡓 | ר | ر |
| ܫܝܢ | Šīn |  |  |  | ş, ƶ | ш, ж | ܫ | š (alsosh) | [ʃ] | 300 | 𐤔 | 𐡔 | ש | ش |
| *ܬܘ | Taw* |  |  |  | t | т | ܬ | hard:t soft:ṯ (alsoth orθ) | hard:[t] soft:[θ] | 400 | 𐤕 | 𐡕 | ת | ت / ث |
| Letter name | ʾEsṭrangēlā (classical) | Maḏnḥāyā (eastern) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unconnected final | Connected final | Initial or unconnected medial | Unconnected final | Connected final | Initial or unconnected medial | |
| ʾĀlep̄ |  |  [e] |  | |||
| Bēṯ |  |  |  |  | ||
| Gāmal |  |  |  |  | ||
| Dālaṯ |  |  | ||||
| Hē |  |  | ||||
| Waw |  |  | ||||
| Zayn |  |  | ||||
| Ḥēṯ |  |  |  |  | ||
| Ṭēṯ |  |  |  |  | ||
| Yōḏ |  |  |  |  | ||
| Kāp̄ |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Lāmaḏ |  |  |  |  | ||
| Mīm |  |  |  |  | ||
| Nūn |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Semkaṯ |  |  |  / |  | ||
| ʿĒ |  |  |  |  | ||
| Pē |  |  |  |  | ||
| Ṣāḏē |  |  | ||||
| Qōp̄ |  |  |  |  | ||
| Rēš |  |  | ||||
| Šīn |  |  |  |  | ||
| Taw |  |  | ||||
| Letter name | ʾEsṭrangēlā (classical) | Maḏnḥāyā (eastern) | Unicode character(s) | Description | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unconnected final | Connected final | Initial or unconnected medial | Unconnected final | Connected final | Initial or unconnected medial | |||
| Lāmaḏ-ʾĀlep̄ |  |  | ܠܐ | Lāmaḏ andʾĀlep̄ combined at the end of a word | ||||
| Taw-ʾĀlep̄ |  |  / |  | | ܬܐ | Taw andʾĀlep̄ combined at the end of a word | ||
| Hē-Yōḏ |  | ܗܝ | Hē andYōḏ combined at the end of a word | |||||
| Taw-Yōḏ |  | ܬܝ | Taw andYōḏ combined at the end of a word | |||||
Three letters act asmatres lectionis: rather than being a consonant, they indicate a vowel.ʾālep̄ (ܐ), the first letter, represents aglottal stop, but it can also indicate a vowel, especially at the beginning or the end of a word. The letterwaw (ܘ) is the consonantw, but can also represent the vowelso andu. Likewise, the letteryōḏ (ܝ) represents the consonanty, but it also stands for the vowelsi ande.
In modern usage, some alterations can be made to representphonemes not represented inclassical phonology. A mark similar in appearance to atilde (~), calledmajlīyānā (ܡܲܓ̰ܠܝܼܵܢܵܐ), is placed above or below a letter in theMaḏnḥāyā variant of the alphabet to change its phonetic value (see also:Geresh):
In addition to foreign sounds, a marking system is used to distinguishqūššāyā (ܩܘܫܝܐ, 'hard' letters) fromrūkkāḵā (ܪܘܟܟܐ, 'soft' letters). The lettersbēṯ,gāmal,dālaṯ,kāp̄,pē, andtaw, allstop consonants ('hard') are able to be 'spirantized' (lenited) intofricative consonants ('soft'). The system involves placing a single dot underneath the letter to give its 'soft' variant and a dot above the letter to give its 'hard' variant (though, in modern usage, no mark at all is usually used to indicate the 'hard' value):
| Name | Stop | Translit. | IPA | Name | Fricative | Translit. | IPA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bēṯ (qšīṯā) | ܒ݁ | b | [b] | Bēṯ rakkīḵtā | ܒ݂ | ḇ | [v] or[w] | [v] has become[w] in most modern dialects. |
| Gāmal (qšīṯā) | ܓ݁ | g | [ɡ] | Gāmal rakkīḵtā | ܓ݂ | ḡ | [ɣ] | Usually becomes [j], [ʔ], or is not pronounced in modern Eastern dialects. |
| Dālaṯ (qšīṯā) | ܕ݁ | d | [d] | Dālaṯ rakkīḵtā | ܕ݂ | ḏ | [ð] | [d] is left unspirantized in some modern Eastern dialects. |
| Kāp̄ (qšīṯā) | ܟ݁ | k | [k] | Kāp̄ rakkīḵtā | ܟ݂ | ḵ | [x] | |
| Pē (qšīṯā) | ܦ݁ | p | [p] | Pē rakkīḵtā | ܦ݂ orܦ̮ | p̄ | [f] or[w] | [f] is not found in most modern Eastern dialects. Instead, it either is left unspirantized or sometimes appears as[w].Pē is the only letter in the Eastern variant of the alphabet that is spirantized by the addition of a semicircle instead of a single dot. |
| Taw (qšīṯā) | ܬ݁ | t | [t] | Taw rakkīḵtā | ܬ݂ | ṯ | [θ] | [t] is left unspirantized in some modern Eastern dialects. |
The mnemonicbḡaḏkp̄āṯ (ܒܓܕܟܦܬ) is often used to remember the six letters that are able to be spirantized (see also:Begadkepat).
In the East Syriac variant of the alphabet, spirantization marks are usually omitted when they interfere with vowel marks. The degree to which letters can be spirantized varies from dialect to dialect as some dialects have lost the ability for certain letters to be spirantized. For native words, spirantization depends on the letter's position within a word or syllable, location relative to other consonants and vowels,gemination,etymology, and other factors. Foreign words do not always follow the rules for spirantization.
Syriac uses two (usually) horizontal dots[f] above a letter within a word, similar in appearance todiaeresis, calledsyāmē (ܣܝ̈ܡܐ, literally 'placings', also known in some grammars by the Hebrew nameribbuy [רִבּוּי], 'plural'), to indicate that the word is plural.[8] These dots, having no sound value in themselves, arose before both eastern and western vowel systems as it became necessary to mark plural forms of words, which are indistinguishable from their singular counterparts in regularly-inflected nouns. For instance, the wordmalkā (ܡܠܟܐ, 'king') is consonantally identical to its pluralmalkē (ܡܠܟ̈ܐ, 'kings'); thesyāmē above the wordmalkē (ܡܠܟ̈ܐ) clarifies its grammatical number and pronunciation. Irregular plurals also receivesyāmē even though their forms are clearly plural: e.g.baytā (ܒܝܬܐ, 'house') and its irregular pluralbāttē (ܒ̈ܬܐ, 'houses'). Because of redundancy, some modern usage forgoessyāmē points when vowel markings are present.
There are no firm rules for which letter receivessyāmē; the writer has full discretion to place them over any letter. Typically, if a word has at least onerēš, thensyāmē are placed over therēš that is nearest the end of a word (and also replace the single dot above it:ܪ̈). Other letters that often receivesyāmē are low-rising letters—such asyōḏ andnūn—or letters that appear near the middle or end of a word.
Besides plural nouns,syāmē are also placed on:
Syriac uses adiacritic line, calledmṭalqānā (ܡܛܠܩܢܐ, literally 'concealer', also known by theLatin termlinea occultans in some grammars), to indicate asilent letter that can occur at the beginning or middle of a word.[9] In Eastern Syriac, this line is diagonal and only occurs above the silent letter (e.g.ܡܕ݂ܝܼܢ݇ܬܵܐ, 'city', pronouncedmḏīttā, not *mḏīntā, with themṭalqānā over thenūn,assimilating with thetaw). The line can only occur above a letterʾālep̄,hē,waw,yōḏ,lāmaḏ,mīm,nūn,ʿē orrēš (which comprise the mnemonicܥܡ̈ܠܝ ܢܘܗܪܐʿamlay nūhrā, 'the works of light'). In Western Syriac, this line is horizontal and can be placed above or below the letter (e.g.ܡܕ݂ܺܝܢ̄ܬܳܐ, 'city', pronouncedmḏīto, not *mḏīnto).
Classically,mṭalqānā was not used for silent letters that occurred at the end of a word (e.g.ܡܪܝmār[ī], '[my] lord'). In modernTuroyo, however, this is not always the case (e.g.ܡܳܪܝ̱mor[ī], '[my] lord').
In 1930, aLatin alphabet for Syriac wasdeveloped with some material promulgated.[10] It was used until around 1938, when it was replaced by a Cyrillic script. Although they did not supplant the Syriac script, the usage of the Latin script in the Syriac community has still become widespread because most of theAssyrian diaspora is inEurope and theAnglosphere, where the Latin alphabet is predominant.
In Syriac romanization, some letters are altered and would featurediacritics and macrons to indicate long vowels, schwas anddiphthongs. The letters with diacritics and macrons are mostly upheld in educational or formal writing.[11]
| A | B | C | Ç | D | E | Ə | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | Ş | T | Ţ | U | V | X | Z | Ƶ | Ь | IJ/ЬJ (digraph) |
| A | Ə | Б | В | Г | Һ | D | E | Ж | З | И | J | К | Q | L | М | Н | O | П | Р | С | Т | t | У | Ф | Х | Ш | Ч | Ы | DЖ (digraph) |
The Latin letters below are commonly used when it comes totransliteration from the Syriac script toLatin:[16]
| A | Ā | B | Ḇ | C | D | Ḏ | E | Ē | Ĕ | F | G | H | Ḥ | I | J | K | Ḵ | L | M | N | O | Ō | P | Q | R | S | Š | Ṣ | T | Ṭ | Ṯ | U | Ū | V | W | X | Y | Z |
Sometimes additional letters may be used and they tend to be:
The Syriac alphabet was added to theUnicode Standard in September, 1999 with the release of version 3.0.Additional letters for Suriyani Malayalam were added in June, 2017 with the release of version 10.0.
The Unicode block for Syriac is U+0700–U+074F:
| Syriac[1][2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
| U+070x | ܀ | ܁ | ܂ | ܃ | ܄ | ܅ | ܆ | ܇ | ܈ | ܉ | ܊ | ܋ | ܌ | ܍ | SAM | |
| U+071x | ܐ | ܑ | ܒ | ܓ | ܔ | ܕ | ܖ | ܗ | ܘ | ܙ | ܚ | ܛ | ܜ | ܝ | ܞ | ܟ |
| U+072x | ܠ | ܡ | ܢ | ܣ | ܤ | ܥ | ܦ | ܧ | ܨ | ܩ | ܪ | ܫ | ܬ | ܭ | ܮ | ܯ |
| U+073x | ܰ | ܱ | ܲ | ܳ | ܴ | ܵ | ܶ | ܷ | ܸ | ܹ | ܺ | ܻ | ܼ | ܽ | ܾ | ܿ |
| U+074x | ݀ | ݁ | ݂ | ݃ | ݄ | ݅ | ݆ | ݇ | ݈ | ݉ | ݊ | ݍ | ݎ | ݏ | ||
| Notes | ||||||||||||||||
The Syriac Abbreviation (a type ofoverline) can be represented with a special control character called theSyriac Abbreviation Mark (U+070F).
The Unicode block for Suriyani Malayalam specific letters is called the Syriac Supplement block and is U+0860–U+086F:
| Syriac Supplement[1][2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
| U+086x | ࡠ | ࡡ | ࡢ | ࡣ | ࡤ | ࡥ | ࡦ | ࡧ | ࡨ | ࡩ | ࡪ | |||||
| Notes | ||||||||||||||||
Note:HTML numeric character references can be in decimal format (&#DDDD;) or hexadecimal format (&#xHHHH;). For example, ܕ and ܕ (1813 in decimal) both represent U+0715 SYRIAC LETTER DALATH.
| ܕ | ܓ | ܒ | ܐ |
| ܕ | ܓ | ܒ | ܐ |
|---|---|---|---|
| ܚ | ܙ | ܘ | ܗ |
| ܚ | ܙ | ܘ | ܗ |
| ܠ | ܟܟ | ܝ | ܛ |
| ܠ | ܟ | ܝ | ܛ |
| ܥ | ܣ | ܢܢ | ܡܡ |
| ܥ | ܤ | ܢ | ܡ |
| ܪ | ܩ | ܨ | ܦ |
| ܪ | ܩ | ܨ | ܦ |
| ܬ | ܫ | ||
| ܬ | ܫ |
| ܲ | ܵ |
| ܲ | ܵ |
|---|---|
| ܸ | ܹ |
| ܸ | ܹ |
| ܼ | ܿ |
| ܼ | ܿ |
| ̈ | ̰ |
| ̈ | ̰ |
| ݁ | ݂ |
| ݁ | ݂ |
| ܀ | ܂ |
| ܀ | ܂ |
| ܄ | ݇ |
| ܄ | ݇ |
Matthew 5:8 (sixth beatitude), using the Urmi dialect:
| Syriac script | Latin script (1930) | Cyrillic script (before 1929, after 1938) | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ܛܘܼܒ̣ܵܐ ܠܐܵܢܝܼ ܕܝܼܢܵܐ ܕܸܟ̣ܝܹ̈ܐ ܒܠܸܒܵܐ: ܣܵܒܵܒ ܕܐܵܢܝܼ ܒܸܬ ܚܵܙܝܼ ܠܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ. | Ţuva l'ənij d'inə dixji b'libbə: səbəb d'ənij bit xəzij l'Ələhə. | Tyвə l'aниj d'инa dиxjи б'lиббa: caбaб d'aниj бит xaзиj l'Alaha. | Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. |
Several years ago, the political leadership in Syria decided to establish an institute where Aramaic could be learned. Rizkalla was tasked with writing a textbook, primarily drawing upon his native language proficiency. For the script, he chose Hebrew letters.
As the villages are very small, located close to each other, and the three dialects are mutually intelligible, there has never been the creation of a script or a standard language. Aramaic is the unwritten village dialect...
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