Syriac alphabet

Syriac alphabet
Type	Abjad
Languages	Syriac, Aramaic, Arabic (Garshuni)
Time period	~200 B.C. to the present
Parent systems	Proto-Canaanite alphabet  → Phoenician alphabet   → Aramaic alphabet    → Syriac alphabet
Child systems	Sogdian   →Orkhon (Turkic)     →Old Hungarian   →Uyghur     →Mongolian Nabataean   → Arabic Georgian (disputed)
ISO 15924	Syrc
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

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.

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 (ܐ), 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 Yōdh (ܝ) 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.

Forms of the Syriac alphabet

11th century book in Syriac Serto.

There are three major variants of the Syriac alphabet. The oldest and classical form of the alphabet is Esṭrangelā (ܐܣܛܪܢܓܠܐ; 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 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 Serṭā (ܣܪܛܐ '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 Estrangelā, but are simplified, flowing lines. A cursive, chancery hand is evidenced in the earliest Syriac manuscripts, but important works were written in Estrangelā. From the eighth century, the simpler Sertā style came into fashion, perhaps because of its more economical use of parchment. The Nabatean 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:

• Α (capital alpha) represents a (ܦܬܚܐ, 'Pṯāḥā'),
• α (lowercase alpha) represents ā (ܙܩܦܐ, 'Zqāp̄ā'; pronounced as an o in the West Syriac dialect),
• ε (lowercase epsilon) represents both e and ē (ܪܒܨܐ, 'Rḇāṣā'),
• Ι (capital iota) represents ī (ܚܒܨܐ, 'Ḥḇāṣā),
• and a combined symbol of Υ (capital upsilon) and ο (lowercase omicron) represents ū (ܥܨܨܐ, '‘Ṣāṣā').

The opening words of the Gospel of John written in Sertā, Madnhāyā and Estrangelā (top to bottom) — brēšîṯ îṯau[hy]-[h]wâ melṯâ, 'in the beginning was the word'.

The East Syriac dialect is usually written in the Madnḥāyā (ܡܕܢܚܝܐ '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, 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 (ܦܬܚܐ, 'Pṯāḥā'),
• Two diagonally-placed dots above a letter represent ā (ܙܩܦܐ, 'Zqāp̄ā'),
• Two horizontally-placed dots below a letter represent e (ܙܠܡܐ ܦܫܝܩܐ, 'Zlāmā pšīqā'; often pronounced i;; in the East Syriac dialect),
• Two diagonally-placed dots below a letter represent ē (ܙܠܡܐ ܩܫܝܐ, 'Zlāmā qašyā'),
• A letter 'Yōdh' with a dot beneath it represents ī (ܚܒܨܐ, 'Ḥḇāṣā'),
• A letter 'Waw' with a dot below it represents ū (ܥܨܨܐ ܐܠܝܨܐ, '‘Ṣāṣā allīṣā'),
• A letter 'Waw' with a dot above it represents ō (ܥܨܨܐ ܪܘܝܚܐ, '‘Ṣāṣā rwīḥā').

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.

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 Kāph, Mīm, and Nūn 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	Esṭrangelā (classical)			Madnḥāyā (eastern)			Unicode character	Pronunciation
	Normal form	Final connected	Final unconnected	Normal form	Final connected	Final unconnected
’Ālap̄							ܐ	ʔ (glottal stop) or silent
Bēṯ							ܒ	hard: b (voiced bilabial plosive) soft: v (voiced labiodental fricative) or w (labial-velar approximant)
Gāmal							ܓ	hard: g (voiced velar plosive) soft: ɣ (voiced velar fricative)
Dālaṯ							ܕ	hard: d (voiced alveolar plosive) soft: ð (voiced dental fricative)
Hē							ܗ	h (voiceless glottal fricative)
Waw							ܘ	consonant: w (labial-velar approximant) mater lectionis: u (close back rounded vowel) or o (close-mid back rounded vowel)
Zain							ܙ	z (voiced alveolar fricative)
Ḥēṯ							ܚ	ħ (voiceless pharyngeal fricative) or x (voiceless velar fricative)
Ṭēṯ							ܛ	tˁ (pharyngealized voiceless alveolar plosive)
Yōḏ							ܝ	consonant: j (voiced palatal approximant) mater lectionis: i (close front unrounded vowel) or e (close-mid front unrounded vowel)
Kāp̄							ܟ	hard: k (voiceless velar plosive) soft: x (voiceless velar fricative)
Lāmaḏ							ܠ	l (alveolar lateral approximant)
Mīm							ܡ	m (bilabial nasal)
Nūn							ܢ	n (alveolar nasal)
Semkaṯ					/		ܣ / ܤ	s (voiceless alveolar fricative)
‘Ē							ܥ	ʕ (voiced pharyngeal fricative)
Pē							ܦ	hard: p (voiceless bilabial plosive) soft: f (voiceless labiodental fricative) or w (labial-velar approximant)
Ṣāḏē							ܨ	sˁ (pharyngealized voiceless alveolar fricative)
Qōp̄							ܩ	q (voiceless uvular plosive)
Rēš							ܪ	r (alveolar trill)
Šīn							ܫ	ʃ (voiceless postalveolar fricative)
Taw							ܬ	hard: t (voiceless alveolar plosive) soft: θ (voiceless dental fricative)

Ligatures

Name	Esṭrangelā (classical)			Madnḥāyā (eastern)			Unicode character	Description
	Normal form	Final connected	Final unconnected	Normal form	Final connected	Final unconnected
								Lāmaḏ and 'Ālaf combined at end of word
						/		Taw and 'Ālaf combined at end of word
								Hē and Yōḏ combined at end of word

Syriac in Unicode

The Syriac Unicode range is U+0700 ... U+074F.

HTML code table

Alaph Bet

Vowels and unique characters

See also

• Abjad
• Alphabet
• Aramaic alphabet
• Aramaic language
• Mandaic language
• Syriac language
• History of the alphabet
• List of writing systems

External links

• The Syriac alphabet
• Download Syriac fonts
• Unicode Entity Codes for the Syriac Script

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