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The Syriac alphabet is a writing system
Writing system

A writing system is a type of symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language....
 primarily used to write the Syriac language
Syriac language

Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from the 4th to the 8th centuries, the classical language of Edessa, Mesopotamia, preserved in a large body of Syriac literature....
 from around the 2nd century BC. It is one of the Semitic
Semitic languages

File:Amarna Akkadian letter.pngThe Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 467 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa....
 abjad
Abjad

An abjad is a type of writing system in which each symbol stands for a consonant; the reader must supply the appropriate vowel. It is a term suggested by Peter T....
s directly descending from the Proto-Canaanite alphabet
Proto-Canaanite alphabet

The Proto-Canaanite alphabet is a consonantal alphabet of twenty-two Acrophony glyphs, found in Levantine texts of the Late Bronze Age , by convention taken to last until a cut-off date of 1050 BC, after which it is called Phoenician alphabet....
 and shares similarities with the Phoenician
Phoenician alphabet

The Phoenician alphabet is a continuation of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, by convention taken to originate around 1050 BC. It was used for the writing of Phoenician language, a Northern Semitic languages language, used by the civilization of Phoenicia....
, Aramaic
Aramaic alphabet

The Aramaic alphabet has been called an abjad--that is, a consonantal alphabet -- used for writing Aramaic language. It is adapted from the Phoenician alphabet, and became distinctive from it by the eighth century BCE....
, and Hebrew
Hebrew alphabet

The Hebrew alphabet consists of 22 letters used for writing the Hebrew language. Five of these letters have a different form when appearing as the last letter in a word....
 alphabets.

ac is written from right to left. It is a cursive
Cursive

Cursive is any style of penmanship that is designed for writing down notes and letters quickly by hand. In the Arabic, Latin languages, and Cyrillic writing systems, the letters in a word are connected, making a word one single complex stroke....
 script where some, but not all, letters connect within a word. The alphabet consists of 22 letters, all of which are consonants.






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The Syriac alphabet is a writing system
Writing system

A writing system is a type of symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language....
 primarily used to write the Syriac language
Syriac language

Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from the 4th to the 8th centuries, the classical language of Edessa, Mesopotamia, preserved in a large body of Syriac literature....
 from around the 2nd century BC. It is one of the Semitic
Semitic languages

File:Amarna Akkadian letter.pngThe Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 467 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa....
 abjad
Abjad

An abjad is a type of writing system in which each symbol stands for a consonant; the reader must supply the appropriate vowel. It is a term suggested by Peter T....
s directly descending from the Proto-Canaanite alphabet
Proto-Canaanite alphabet

The Proto-Canaanite alphabet is a consonantal alphabet of twenty-two Acrophony glyphs, found in Levantine texts of the Late Bronze Age , by convention taken to last until a cut-off date of 1050 BC, after which it is called Phoenician alphabet....
 and shares similarities with the Phoenician
Phoenician alphabet

The Phoenician alphabet is a continuation of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, by convention taken to originate around 1050 BC. It was used for the writing of Phoenician language, a Northern Semitic languages language, used by the civilization of Phoenicia....
, Aramaic
Aramaic alphabet

The Aramaic alphabet has been called an abjad--that is, a consonantal alphabet -- used for writing Aramaic language. It is adapted from the Phoenician alphabet, and became distinctive from it by the eighth century BCE....
, and Hebrew
Hebrew alphabet

The Hebrew alphabet consists of 22 letters used for writing the Hebrew language. Five of these letters have a different form when appearing as the last letter in a word....
 alphabets.

General remarks

Syriac is written from right to left. It is a cursive
Cursive

Cursive is any style of penmanship that is designed for writing down notes and letters quickly by hand. In the Arabic, Latin languages, and Cyrillic writing systems, the letters in a word are connected, making a word one single complex stroke....
 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. ’Alaph
Aleph (letter)

' is the reconstructed name of the first letter of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, continued in descended Semitic alphabets as Phoenician alphabet ' , Syriac alphabet ' , Hebrew alphabet Aleph , and Arabic alphabet ' ....
 , the first letter, represents a glottal stop
Glottal stop

The glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound which is used in many Speech communication languages....
, but it can also indicate a vowel at the beginning or the end of a word. The letter Waw
Waw (letter)

Waw is the sixth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician alphabet, Aramaic alphabet, Hebrew alphabet, Syriac alphabet, and Arabic alphabet ....
  is the consonant w, but can also represent the vowels o and u. Likewise, the letter Yodh
Yodh

Yodh is the tenth letter of many Semitic History of the alphabet, including Phoenician language, Aramaic language, Hebrew language Yud , Syriac alphabet and Arabic alphabet ....
  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
Hebrew numerals

The system of Hebrew numerals is a quasi-decimal alphabetic numeral system using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.In this system, there is no notation for 0 , and the numeric values for individual letters are added together....
 and Greek numerals
Greek numerals

Greek numerals are a numeral system using letters of the Greek alphabet. They are also known by the names Milesian numerals, Alexandrian numerals, or alphabetic numerals....
.

Forms of the Syriac alphabet

There are three major variants of the Syriac alphabet. The oldest and classical form of the alphabet is (; the name is thought to derive from the Greek description , strongyle, 'rounded'). Although Estrangela 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
Leiden University

Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Oldest Universities by Region university in the Netherlands....
 version of the Peshitta
Peshitta

The Peshitta is the standard version of the Christian Bible in the Syriac language.The Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated from the Hebrew , probably in the second century....
), in titles and inscriptions. In some older manuscript
Manuscript

A manuscript is any document that is written by hand, as opposed to being printed or reproduced in some other way. The term may also be used for information that is hand-recorded in other ways than writing, for example inscriptions that are chiselled upon a hard material or scratched as with a knife point in plaster or with a stylus on a wa...
s and inscriptions
Epigraphy

Epigraphy is the study of wikt:inscriptions or wikt:epigraphs engraved into stone or other durable materials, or cast in metal, the science of classifying them as to cultural context and date, elucidating them and assessing what conclusions can be deduced from them....
 it is possible for any letter to join to the left, and older Aramaic letter forms (especially of
Heth

Heth may refer to:* Heth , a letter in many Semitic alphabets* Children of Heth, a Canaanite nation in the Hebrew Bible, purportedly named after Heth, son of Canaan, son of Ham, son of Noah...
 and the lunate
Lunate

Lunate is a term meaning crescent or moon-shaped. In the specialized terminology of lithic reduction, a lunate flake is a small, crescent-shaped lithic flake removed from a stone tool during the process of pressure flaking....
 Mem
Mem

Mem is the thirteenth letter of many Semitic languages abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Aramaic alphabet, Hebrew alphabet and Arabic alphabet ....
) are found.

The West Syriac dialect is usually written in the ( 'line') form of the alphabet, also known as the ( 'simple'), 'Maronite', or the 'Jacobite' script (although the term Jacobite is considered derogatory). Most of the letters are clearly derived from Estrangela, but are simplified, flowing lines. A cursive, chancery hand
Chancery hand

A Chancery hand confusingly signifies two very different styles of Paleography.A chancery hand was at first a form of handwriting for business transactions that developed in the Apostolic Chancery of the thirteenth century, then spread to France, notably through the Avignon Papacy, and to England after 1350 ....
 is evidenced in the earliest Syriac manuscripts, but important works were written in Estrangela. From the eighth century, the simpler Serta style came into fashion, perhaps because of its more economical use of parchment
Parchment

Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or Goatskin . Its most common use is as the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is not tanned, but stretched, scraped, and dried under tension, creating a stiff white, yellowish or translucent animal skin....
. The Nabataean alphabet (which gave rise to the Arabic alphabet
Arabic alphabet

The Arabic alphabet is the writing system used for writing several languages of Asia and Africa, such as Arabic language, Persian language, and Urdu language....
) 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:
  • ? (capital alpha
    Alpha

    Alpha may refer to:...
    ) represents a (),
  • a (lowercase alpha
    Alpha

    Alpha may refer to:...
    ) represents a (; pronounced as an o in the West Syriac dialect),
  • e (lowercase epsilon
    Epsilon

    Epsilon is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding phonetically to a close-mid front unrounded vowel /e/. It is also the primary letter used in Real Analysis....
    ) represents both e and e (),
  • H (capital eta
    ETA

    or ETA , is an illegal and armed Basque nationalist and separatist organisation. Founded in 1959, it evolved from a group advocating traditional cultural ways to a paramilitary group demanding Basque independence....
    ) represents i (),
  • and a combined symbol of ? (capital upsilon
    Upsilon

    Upsilon is the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 400. It is derived from the phoenecian alphabet Waw ....
    ) and ? (lowercase omicron
    Omicron

    Omicron is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 70. It is rarely used in mathematics because it is indistinguishable from the Latin alphabet letter O and easily confused with the Numerical digit 0 ....
    ) represents u ().
The East Syriac dialect is usually written in the ( 'Eastern') form of the alphabet. Other names for the script include ( 'contemporary'), 'Assyrian' (not to be confused with the traditional name for the Hebrew alphabet
Hebrew alphabet

The Hebrew alphabet consists of 22 letters used for writing the Hebrew language. Five of these letters have a different form when appearing as the last letter in a word....
), 'Chaldean', and, inaccurately, 'Nestorian
Nestorianism

Nestorianism is the doctrine that Christ exists as two ,persons the man Jesus and the divine Son of God, or Jesus Christ the Logos, rather than as two natures of one divine essence....
', a term that was originally used to disparage Christians
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
 living in the Persian Empire
Persian Empire

The 'Persian Empire' was a series of successive Iranian or Persianization empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland, and beyond in Southwest Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus....
. The Eastern script resembles Estrangela 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:

  • A dot above and a dot below a letter represent a (),
  • Two diagonally-placed dots above a letter represent a (),
  • Two horizontally-placed dots below a letter represent e (; often pronounced i in the East Syriac dialect),
  • Two diagonally-placed dots below a letter represent e (),
  • A letter Yo? with a dot beneath it represents i (),
  • A letter Waw with a dot below it represents u or u (),
  • A letter Waw with a dot above it represents o or o ().


It is thought that the Eastern method for representing vowels influenced the development of the Niqqud
Niqqud

In Hebrew language orthography, niqqud or nikkud is the system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of consonants of the Hebrew alphabet....
 markings used for writing Hebrew.

When Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
 began to be the dominant spoken language in the Fertile Crescent
Fertile Crescent

The Fertile Crescent is a region in the Near East, incorporating the Levant and Mesopotamia, and often extended to Lower Egypt. Mesopotamia is considered the Cradle of civilization and saw the development of the earliest human civilizations and is the History_of_writing#Bronze_Age_writing and Wheel#History....
, texts were often written in Arabic with the Syriac script. These writings are usually called Karshuni or Garshuni
Garshuni

Garshuni or Karshuni are Arabic language writings that use the Syriac alphabet.Garshuni originated in the seventh century AD, when Arabic was becoming the dominant spoken language in the Fertile Crescent, but Arabic script was not yet fully developed and widely read....
 . Garshuni is often used by Assyrians and Chaldeans today in nonverbal communication such as in letters and fliers.

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 Kap¯, Mim, and Nun are usually shown connected to their final form (see below).

Note that the table arranges the letters in order from left to right.

Letters of the Syriac alphabet

Letter (classical) (eastern)Unicode
character		Numerical
value		Pronunciation
Normal
form		Final
connected		Final
unconnected		Normal
form		Final
connected		Final
unconnected
Aramaic Alap
  
Syriacalaph
Syriacalaph2
1		 ?1glottal stop
Glottal stop

The glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound which is used in many Speech communication languages....
)
or silent
Aramaic Beth
Aramaic Beth C
 
Syriacbeth
Syriacbeth2
 ?2voiced bilabial plosive
Voiced bilabial plosive

The voiced bilabial plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is b....
)
soft: (voiced labiodental fricative
Voiced labiodental fricative

The voiced labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is v....
) or (labial-velar approximant)
Gamal
Aramaic Gamal
Aramaic Gamal C
 
Syriacgamal
Syriacgamal2
 ?3voiced velar plosive
Voiced velar plosive

The voiced velar plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is g....
)
soft: (voiced velar fricative
Voiced velar fricative

The voiced velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in various Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , not to be confused with , the IPA symbol for a close-mid back unrounded vowel), and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is G....
)
Aramaic Daleth
  
Syriacdalath
  ?4voiced alveolar plosive
Voiced alveolar plosive

The voiced alveolar plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents voiced dental consonant, alveolar consonant, and postalveolar consonant stop consonant is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is d....
)
soft: (voiced dental fricative
Voiced dental fricative

The voiced dental non-sibilant fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound, eth, is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is D....
)
He
Aramaic Heh
  
Syriache
  ?5voiceless glottal fricative
Voiceless glottal fricative

The voiceless glottal transition, commonly called a "Fricative consonant", is a type of sound used in some Speech communication languages which often behaves like a consonant, but sometimes behaves more like a vowel, or is indeterminate in its behavior....
)
Waw
Aramaic Waw
  
Syriacwaw
  ?6mater lectionis: (close back rounded vowel
Close back rounded vowel

The close back rounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is u....
) or (close-mid back rounded vowel
Close-mid back rounded vowel

The close-mid back rounded vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is o....
)
Zayn
Aramaic Zain
  
Syriaczayn
  ?7voiced alveolar fricative
Voiced alveolar fricative

The voiced alveolar fricatives are consonantal sounds. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents these sounds depends on whether a sibilant or non-sibilant fricative is being described....
)
Aramaic Kheth
Aramaic Kheth C
 
Syriackheth
Syriackheth2
 ?8voiceless pharyngeal fricative
Voiceless pharyngeal fricative

The voiceless pharyngeal fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is h with stroke , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is X....
), (voiceless velar fricative
Voiceless velar fricative

The voiceless velar fricative, informally known as the hard ch, is a type of consonantal sound used in some Speech communication languages....
), or (voiceless uvular fricative
Voiceless uvular fricative

The voiceless uvular fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is X....
)
Aramaic Teth
Aramaic Teth C
 
Syriacteth
Syriacteth2
 ?9voiceless alveolar plosive
Voiceless alveolar plosive

The voiceless alveolar plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents voiceless dental consonant, alveolar consonant, and postalveolar consonant stop consonant is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is t....
)
Aramaic Yodh
Aramaic Yodh C
 
Syriacyodh
Syriacyodh2
 ?10mater lectionis: (close front unrounded vowel
Close front unrounded vowel

The close front unrounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is i....
) or (close-mid front unrounded vowel
Close-mid front unrounded vowel

Close-mid front unrounded vowelThe close-mid front unrounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is e....
)
Aramaic Kap
Aramaic Kap C
Aramaic Kap F
Syriackaph
Syriackaph2
Syriackaph3
?20voiceless velar plosive
Voiceless velar plosive

The voiceless velar plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is k....
)
soft: (voiceless velar fricative
Voiceless velar fricative

The voiceless velar fricative, informally known as the hard ch, is a type of consonantal sound used in some Speech communication languages....
)
Aramaic Lamadh
Aramaic Lamadh C
 
Syriaclamadh
Syriaclamadh2
 ?30alveolar lateral approximant
Alveolar lateral approximant

The alveolar lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental consonant, alveolar consonant, and postalveolar consonant lateral consonant approximant consonant is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is l....
)
Mim
Aramaic Meem
Aramaic Meem C
 
Syriacmeem
Syriacmeem2
 ?40bilabial nasal
Bilabial nasal

The bilabial nasal is a type of consonantal sound used in almost all spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is m....
)
Nun
Aramaic Noon
Aramaic Noon C
Aramaic Noon F
Syriacnun
Syriacnun2
Syriacnun3
?50alveolar nasal
Alveolar nasal

The alveolar nasal is a type of consonantal sound used in numerous spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental consonant, alveolar consonant, and postalveolar consonant nasal consonant is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is n....
)
Aramaic Simkath
Aramaic Simkath C
 
Syriacsimkath
Syriacsimkath2
/
Syriacsimkath3
 ? / ?60voiceless alveolar fricative
Voiceless alveolar fricative

The voiceless alveolar fricatives are consonantal sounds. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents these sounds depends on whether a sibilant or non-sibilant fricative is being described....
)
‘E
Aramaic Ain
Aramaic Ain C
 
Syriac'e
Syriac'e2
 ?70voiced pharyngeal fricative
Voiced pharyngeal fricative

The voiced pharyngeal approximant/fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents it is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is ?....
)
Pe
Aramaic Payin
Aramaic Payin C
 
Syriacpe
Syriacpe2
 ?80voiceless bilabial plosive
Voiceless bilabial plosive

The voiceless bilabial plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is p....
)
soft: (voiceless labiodental fricative
Voiceless labiodental fricative

The voiceless labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is f....
) or (labial-velar approximant)
Aramaic Tsade
  
Syriacsadhe
  ?90voiceless alveolar fricative
Voiceless alveolar fricative

The voiceless alveolar fricatives are consonantal sounds. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents these sounds depends on whether a sibilant or non-sibilant fricative is being described....
)
Aramaic Qoph
Aramaic Qoph C
 
Syriacqop
Syriacqop2
 ?100voiceless uvular plosive
Voiceless uvular plosive

The voiceless uvular plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. It is pronounced like [k], except that the tongue makes contact not on the soft palate but on the uvula....
)
Reš
Aramaic Resh
  
Syriacresh
  ?200alveolar trill
Alveolar trill

The alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental consonant, alveolar consonant, and postalveolar consonant trill consonant is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r....
)
Šin
Aramaic Sheen
Aramaic Sheen C
 
Syriacsheen
Syriacsheen2
 ?300voiceless postalveolar fricative
Voiceless postalveolar fricative

The voiceless palato-alveolar fricative or domed postalveolar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages....
)
Taw
Aramaic Taw
  
Syriactaw
  ?400voiceless alveolar plosive
Voiceless alveolar plosive

The voiceless alveolar plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents voiceless dental consonant, alveolar consonant, and postalveolar consonant stop consonant is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is t....
)
soft: (voiceless dental fricative
Voiceless dental fricative

The voiceless dental non-sibilant fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is T....
)


1 In the final position following Dala? or Reš, ’Alap¯ takes the normal form rather than the final form.

Ligatures

Name (classical) (eastern)Unicode
character(s)		Description
Normal
form		Final
connected		Final
unconnected		Normal
form		Final
connected		Final
unconnected
Aramaic Lamadh Alap
  
Syriaclamadhalaph3
  ??at the end of a word
Aramaic Taw Alap
  
Syriacalaph
Syriactaw
Syriactawalaph
Syriactawalaph2
/
Syriactawalaph3
??Taw and 'Alap¯ combined
at the end of a word
   
Syriacheyodh
  ??He and Yo? combined
at the end of a word


Letter alterations

In modern usage, some alterations can be made to represent phoneme
Phoneme

In human language, a phoneme is the smallest posited linguistically distinctive unit of sound. Phonemes carry no semantic content themselves. In theoretical terms, phonemes are not the physical segment s themselves, but cognitive abstractions or categorizations of them....
s not present in classical orthography. A mark, called majliyana (similar in appearance to a tilde
Tilde

The tilde is a grapheme with several uses. The name of the character comes from Spanish language, from the Latin wikt:titulus meaning a title or superscription, though the term ?tilde? has evolved in that language and now has a different meaning in Linguistics....
), is placed either above or below a letter in the Madn?aya variant of the alphabet to change its phonetic value (see also: Geresh
Geresh

Geresh is a sign in Hebrew writing. It has two meanings.1. An apostrophe-like sign placed after a letter. It is used:Usage...
):

  • Added to Gamal: to
  • Added to Kap¯: to
  • Added to Zayn: to
  • Added to Šin: to


In addition to foreign sounds, a marking system is used to distinguish qušaya ('hard' letters) from rukaxa ('soft' letters). The letters Be?, Gamal, Dala?, Kap¯, Pe, and Taw, all plosives ('hard'), are able to be spirantized into fricatives ('soft'):

Name Plosive IPA Spirant IPA Notes
Be? or The voiced labiodental fricative
Voiced labiodental fricative

The voiced labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is v....
  is not found in most modern dialects.
Gamal  
Dala?  
Kap¯  
Pe or or The voiceless labiodental fricative
Voiceless labiodental fricative

The voiceless labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is f....
  is not found in most modern Eastern dialects. Instead, it appears as a labial-velar approximant after vowels. Pe is the only letter in the Eastern variant of the alphabet that is spirantized by the addition of a semi-circle instead of a single dot.
Taw  


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 (initial or final), location relative to other letters and vowels, and other factors. Foreign words do not follow the rules for spirantization.

Syriac in Unicode

The Syriac Unicode
Unicode

Unicode is a computing industry standard allowing computers to consistently represent and manipulate Character expressed in most of the world's writing systems....
 range is U+0700 ... U+074F.

  0123456789ABCDEF
700 ????????????????
710 ????????????????
720 ????????????????
730 ????????????????
740 ????????????????


HTML code table


’Alap¯ Be?

????
ܕܓܒܐ
????
ܚܙܘܗ
?????
ܠܟܝܛ
??????
ܥܤܢܡ
????
ܪܩܨܦ
??
ܬܫ


Vowels and unique characters

??
ܲܵ
??
ܸܹ
??
ܼܿ
¨?
̰̈
??
݂݁
??
܀܂
??
܄݇


See also

  • Abjad
    Abjad

    An abjad is a type of writing system in which each symbol stands for a consonant; the reader must supply the appropriate vowel. It is a term suggested by Peter T....
  • Alphabet
    Alphabet

    An alphabet is a standardized set of letter basic written symbols each of which roughly represents a phoneme, a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past....
  • Aramaic alphabet
    Aramaic alphabet

    The Aramaic alphabet has been called an abjad--that is, a consonantal alphabet -- used for writing Aramaic language. It is adapted from the Phoenician alphabet, and became distinctive from it by the eighth century BCE....
  • Aramaic language
    Aramaic language

    Aramaic is a Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. It has been the language of administration of empires and the language of divine worship....
  • Mandaic language
    Mandaic language

    The Mandaic language is the liturgical language of the Mandaeism religion. Classical Mandaic is used by a section of the Mandaean community in liturgical rites....
  • Syriac language
    Syriac language

    Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from the 4th to the 8th centuries, the classical language of Edessa, Mesopotamia, preserved in a large body of Syriac literature....
  • History of the alphabet
    History of the alphabet

    The history of the alphabet begins in Ancient Egypt, more than a millennium into the history of writing. The first pure alphabet emerged around 2000 BCE to represent the language of Semitic workers in Egypt , and was derived from the alphabetic principles of the Egyptian hieroglyphs....
  • List of writing systems
    List of writing systems

    This is a list of writing systems , classified according to some common distinguishing features.The usual name of the script is given first ; the name of the language in which the script is written follows , particularly in the case where the language name differs from the script name....

External links