Syriac alphabet
Type	Abjad
Spoken languages	Syriac, Aramaic, Arabic (Garshuni)
Time period	~200 B. An Abjad is a type of Writing system in which each symbol stands for a Consonant; the reader must supply the appropriate Vowel. See Syriac (disambiguation for other uses Syriac (syr ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ leššānā Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language Aramaic is a Semitic language with Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Garshuni or Karshuni are Arabic language writings that use the Syriac alphabet. 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 (Syriac) Syre (Esṭrangelā variant) Syrj (Western variant) Syrn (Eastern variant)
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. The Proto-Canaanite alphabet is a consonantal alphabet of twenty-two acrophonic glyphs found in Levantine texts of the Late Bronze Age (from ca The Phoenician alphabet is a continuation of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, by convention taken to originate around 1050 BC The Aramaic alphabet is an Abjad, a Consonantal Alphabet, used for writing Aramaic. The Sogdian alphabet was originally used for the Sogdian language, which belongs to the Iranian family The Old Turkic script (also Göktürk script, Orkhon script, Orkhon-Yenisey script; Turkish: Orhun Yazıtları, 鄂爾渾文字 The Old Hungarian script, also known as rovásírás (rovásírás hu ''székely rovásírás'' ( or simply hu ''rovás'' is a type of Writing system used The classic vertical Mongolian script (ɣɣul bičig, cyrillic: Монгол бичиг Mongol bichig) was the first of many writing systems created The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing several languages of Asia and Africa such as Arabic, Persian, and Urdu. The Georgian alphabet (ქართული დამწერლობა is the writing system currently used to write the Georgian language and other South Caucasian ISO 15924, Codes for the representation of names of scripts, defines two sets of codes for a number of Writing systems (scripts In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's

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. A writing system is a type of Symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in Language. See Syriac (disambiguation for other uses Syriac (syr ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ leššānā Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. It is one of the Semitic abjads directly descending from the Proto-Canaanite alphabet. The Semitic languages are a Language family whose living representatives are spoken by more than 467 million people across much of the Middle East, An Abjad is a type of Writing system in which each symbol stands for a Consonant; the reader must supply the appropriate Vowel. The Proto-Canaanite alphabet is a consonantal alphabet of twenty-two acrophonic glyphs found in Levantine texts of the Late Bronze Age (from ca

General remarks

Syriac is written from right to left. It is a cursive script where some, but not all, letters connect within a word. For the indie rock band see Cursive (band. Cursive is any style of handwriting that is designed for writing down notes and 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. In the spelling of Hebrew and some other Semitic languages, Matres lectionis ( Latin "mothers of reading" singular form mater lectionis ’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. is the reconstructed name of the first letter of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, continued in descended Semitic alphabets as Phoenician This article is about the sound in spoken language For the letter see Glottal stop (letter. The letter Waw (ܘ) is the consonant w, but can also represent the vowels o and u. Waw ( also spelled vav or vau) (In Hebrew Vav) is the sixth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic Likewise, the letter Yōdh (ܝ) represents the consonant y, but it also stands for the vowels i and e. Yodh (also spelled Yud or Yod) is the tenth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew

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. The system of Hebrew numerals is a quasi-decimal alphabetic Numeral system using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. ʹ the numeral sign redirects here For the accent ´ see Acute accent.

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. Leiden University (Universiteit Leiden located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest University in The Netherlands. The name 'Peshitta' The name 'Peshitta' is derived from the Syriac mappaqtâ pšîṭtâ (ܡܦܩܬܐ ܦܫܝܛܬܐ literally meaning 'simple version' 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. A manuscript is any Document that is Written by hand as opposed to being printed or reproduced in some other way Epigraphy (ἐπιγραφολογία from Greek ἐπιγραφή — "inscription" is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs engraved or H̱et (also spelled Khet, Kheth, Chet, Cheth, Het, or Heth) is the reconstructed name of the eighth letter Lunate is a term meaning crescent or moon-shaped In the specialized terminology of Lithic reduction, a lunate flake is a small crescent-shaped flake Mem (also spelled Meem or Mim) is the thirteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew

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. A Chancery hand confusingly signifies two very different styles of historical handwriting. From the eighth century, the simpler Sertā style came into fashion, perhaps because of its more economical use of parchment. The 8th century is the period from 701 to 800 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Parchment is a thin material made from Calfskin, Sheepskin or goatskin. The Nabatean alphabet (which gave rise to the Arabic alphabet) was based on this form of Syriac handwriting. The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing several languages of Asia and Africa such as Arabic, Persian, and Urdu. 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'),
• H (capital eta) represents ī (ܚܒܨܐ, 'Ḥḇāṣā),
• and a combined symbol of Υ (capital upsilon) and ο (lowercase omicron) represents ū (ܥܨܨܐ, '‘Ṣāṣā'). Epsilon (uppercase Ε, lowercase ε; Έψιλον is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding phonetically to a Close-mid front unrounded Eta (uppercase &Eta, lowercase η Ήτα) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet. Upsilon (uppercase &Upsilon, lowercase υ Ύψιλον is the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet. Omicron or Omikron (uppercase Ο, lowercase ο, literally "small o": Όμικρον o mikron, micron meaning 'small' in contrast

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 Gospel of John (literally According to John; Greek, Κατὰ Ἰωάννην Kata Iōannēn) is the fourth Gospel in the canon

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 Hebrew alphabet (אָלֶף-בֵּית עִבְרִי alephbet ’ivri) consists of 22 letters used for writing the Hebrew language. Nestorius Nestorius (c  386 &ndashc  451) was a pupil of Theodore of Mopsuestia in Antioch in Syria (modern Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia 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').

It is thought that the Eastern method for representing vowels influenced the development of the Niqqud markings used for writing Hebrew. In Hebrew Orthography, niqqud or nikkud ( is the system of Diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations

When Arabic began to be the dominant spoken language in the Fertile Crescent, texts were often written in Arabic with the Syriac script. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The Fertile Crescent is a Crescent -shaped region in the Middle East, originally incorporating the Levant and Ancient Mesopotamia, and often These writings are usually called Karshuni or Garshuni (ܓܪܫܘܢܝ). Garshuni or Karshuni are Arabic language writings that use the Syriac alphabet. 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 Kāp̄, 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	Numerical value	Pronunciation
	Normal form	Final connected	Final unconnected	Normal form	Final connected	Final unconnected
’Ālap̄					1		ܐ	1	ʔ (glottal stop) or silent
Bēṯ							ܒ	2	hard: b (voiced bilabial plosive) soft: v (voiced labiodental fricative) or w (labial-velar approximant)
Gāmal							ܓ	3	hard: g (voiced velar plosive) soft: ɣ (voiced velar fricative)
Dālaṯ							ܕ	4	hard: d (voiced alveolar plosive) soft: ð (voiced dental fricative)
Hē							ܗ	5	h (voiceless glottal fricative)
Wāw							ܘ	6	consonant: w (labial-velar approximant) mater lectionis: u (close back rounded vowel) or o (close-mid back rounded vowel)
Zayn							ܙ	7	z (voiced alveolar fricative)
Ḥēṯ							ܚ	8	ħ (voiceless pharyngeal fricative) or x (voiceless velar fricative)
Ṭēṯ							ܛ	9	tˁ (pharyngealized voiceless alveolar plosive)
Yōḏ							ܝ	10	consonant: j (voiced palatal approximant) mater lectionis: i (close front unrounded vowel) or e (close-mid front unrounded vowel)
Kāp̄							ܟ	20	hard: k (voiceless velar plosive) soft: x (voiceless velar fricative)
Lāmaḏ							ܠ	30	l (alveolar lateral approximant)
Mīm							ܡ	40	m (bilabial nasal)
Nūn							ܢ	50	n (alveolar nasal)
Semkaṯ					/		ܣ / ܤ	60	s (voiceless alveolar fricative)
‘Ē							ܥ	70	ʕ (voiced pharyngeal fricative)
Pē							ܦ	80	hard: p (voiceless bilabial plosive) soft: f (voiceless labiodental fricative) or w (labial-velar approximant)
Ṣāḏē							ܨ	90	sˁ (pharyngealized voiceless alveolar fricative)
Qōp̄							ܩ	100	q (voiceless uvular plosive)
Rēš							ܪ	200	r (alveolar trill)
Šīn							ܫ	300	ʃ (voiceless postalveolar fricative)
Taw							ܬ	400	hard: t (voiceless alveolar plosive) soft: θ (voiceless dental fricative)

¹ In the final position following Dālaṯ or Rēš, ’Ālap̄ takes the normal form rather than the final form. is the reconstructed name of the first letter of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, continued in descended Semitic alphabets as Phoenician Bet, Beth, or Vet is the second letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Gimmel redirects here for the musical group see Gimmel (music group. Dalet ( also spelled Daleth or Daled) is the fourth letter of many Semitic alphabets including Phoenician, Aramaic He is the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac ܗ and Arabic Waw ( also spelled vav or vau) (In Hebrew Vav) is the sixth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic Zayin (also spelled Zain or Zayn) is the seventh letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician 𐤆 Aramaic, Hebrew or H̱et (also spelled Khet, Kheth, Chet, Cheth, Het, or Heth) is the reconstructed name of the eighth letter (also Teth, Tet) is the ninth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Tet, Yodh (also spelled Yud or Yod) is the tenth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Kaph (also spelled Kap or Kaf) is the eleventh letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Lamed or Lamedh is the twelfth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Lamed and Arabic Mem (also spelled Meem or Mim) is the thirteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Nun is the fourteenth letter of many Semitic Abjads including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet ar ن (in Samekh or Simketh is the fifteenth letter in many Semitic alphabets including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic, representing /s/ For the village in Azerbaijan see Əyin. or is the sixteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Pe is the seventeenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Pei, Persian alphabet Pe pr Tsade (also spelled Ṣādē or Tzadi or Sadhe or Tzaddik) is the eighteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Qoph or Qop (In modern Hebrew Kuf, Arabic Qāf) is the nineteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic for the town in Nepal see Resh Nepal Resh is the twentieth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician Shin (also spelled Šin or Sheen) is the twenty-first letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Taw or Tav is the twenty-second and last letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Tav This article is about the sound in spoken language For the letter see Glottal stop (letter. The voiced bilabial plosive is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that The voiced labiodental fricative is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The voiced labiovelar (actually labialized velar) approximant is a type of Consonantal sound used in certain spoken Languages including The voiced velar plosive is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that The voiced velar fricative is a type of Consonantal sound used in various spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The voiced alveolar plosive is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that The voiced dental non-sibilant fricative is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The voiceless glottal transition, commonly called a " fricative " is a type of sound used in some spoken Languages which often behaves like a The voiced labiovelar (actually labialized velar) approximant is a type of Consonantal sound used in certain spoken Languages including 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 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 The voiced alveolar fricatives are Consonantal sounds The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents these sounds depends on whether a Sibilant The voiceless pharyngeal fricative is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The voiceless velar fricative, informally known as the hard ch, is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the Pharyngealization is a Secondary articulation of Consonants or Vowels by which the Pharynx or Epiglottis is constricted during the articulation The voiceless alveolar plosive is a type of Consonantal sound used in many spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The palatal approximant is a type of Consonantal sound used in many spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents 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 Close-mid front unrounded vowel The close-mid front unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the The voiceless velar plosive is a type of Consonantal sound used in many spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The voiceless velar fricative, informally known as the hard ch, is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the The alveolar lateral approximant is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents 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 The alveolar nasal is a type of Consonantal sound used in numerous spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents The voiceless alveolar fricatives are Consonantal sounds The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents these sounds depends on whether a The voiced pharyngeal approximant/fricative is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The voiceless bilabial plosive is a type of Consonantal sound used in many spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The voiceless labiodental fricative is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The voiced labiovelar (actually labialized velar) approximant is a type of Consonantal sound used in certain spoken Languages including Pharyngealization is a Secondary articulation of Consonants or Vowels by which the Pharynx or Epiglottis is constricted during the articulation The voiceless alveolar fricatives are Consonantal sounds The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents these sounds depends on whether a The voiceless uvular plosive is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages It is pronounced like, except that the tongue makes contact not The alveolar trill is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental The voiceless palato-alveolar fricative or domed postalveolar fricative ( IPA) is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The voiceless alveolar plosive is a type of Consonantal sound used in many spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The voiceless dental non-sibilant fricative is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic

Ligatures

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

Letter alterations

In modern usage, some alterations can be made to represent phonemes not present in classical orthography. The phoneME project is Sun Microsystems reference implementation of Java virtual machine and associated libraries of Java ME with source licensed under the GNU A mark, called majliyana (similar in appearance to a tilde), is placed either above or below a letter in the Madnḥāyā variant of the alphabet to change its phonetic value (see also: Geresh):

• Added to Gāmal: [ɡ] to [dʒ]
• Added to Kāp̄: [k] to [tʃ]
• Added to Zayn: [z] to [ʒ]
• Added to Šīn: [ʃ] to [ʒ]

In addition to foreign sounds, a marking system is used to distinguish qūšāyā (ܩܘܫܝܐ, 'hard' letters) from rūkāxā (ܪܘܟܟܐ, 'soft' letters). The tilde (~ (/ˈtɪldə/ is a Grapheme with several uses The name of the character comes from Spanish, from the Latin titulus Geresh (" ׳ " Hebrew: גֵרֵשׁ or medieval) is a sign in Hebrew writing The letters Bēṯ, Gāmal, Dālaṯ, Kāp̄, Pē, 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.

Syriac in Unicode

The Syriac Unicode range is U+0700 . Canadian Aboriginal syllabic writing', or simply syllabics, is a family of Abugidas {dubious}} used to write a number of Aboriginal Canadian Nearly all the segmental scripts (loosely " Alphabets " but see below for more precise terminology used around the globe appear to have derived from the In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's . . U+074F.

HTML code table

’Ālap̄ Bēṯ

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