Syriac alphabet

The Syriac alphabet ( Template:Efn) is a writing system primarily used to write the Syriac language since the 1st century. It is one of the Semitic abjads descending from the Aramaic alphabet through the Palmyrene alphabet, and shares similarities with the Phoenician, Hebrew, Arabic and Sogdian, the precursor and a direct ancestor of the traditional Mongolian scripts.

Syriac is written from right to left in horizontal lines. It is a cursive script where most—but not all—letters connect within a word. There is no letter case distinction between upper and lower case letters, though some letters change their form depending on their position within a word. Spaces separate individual words.

All 22 letters are consonants (called Template:Script/Mdnh, ). There are optional diacritic marks (called Template:Script/Mdnh, ) to indicate the vowel (Template:Script/Mdnh, ) and other 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 to Hebrew and Greek numerals.

Apart from Classical Syriac Aramaic, the alphabet has been used to write other dialects and languages. Several Christian Neo-Aramaic languages, from Turoyo to the Northeastern Neo-Aramaic language of Suret, once vernaculars, primarily began to be written in the 19th century. The variant has explicitly been adapted to write Western Neo-Aramaic, previously written in the square Maalouli script, developed by George Rizkalla (Rezkallah), based on the Hebrew alphabet. Besides Aramaic, when Arabic began to be the dominant spoken language in the Fertile Crescent after the Islamic 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 called Karshuni or Garshuni (Template:Script/Western Syriac). In addition to Semitic languages, Sogdian was also written with Syriac script, as well as Malayalam, which form was called Suriyani Malayalam.

Alphabet forms

File:SyriacJohn.svg

The opening words of the Gospel of John written in , and (top to bottom) — , 'in the beginning was the word'.

There are three major variants of the Syriac alphabet: , and .

Classical

File:Estrangela.jpg

A 9th century manuscript of John Chrysostom's Homily on the Gospel of John.

File:Syriac NT Lectionary, Borgia Syriac Ms 13.jpg

A 17th century liturgical manuscript from the Vatican Library. Note the title written in .

File:Early Syriac alphabet form of the name of Jesus.svg

Yəšūʿ or ʾĪšōʿ, the Syriac name of Jesus in the script.

The oldest and classical form of the alphabet is Template:Efn (). The name of the script is thought to derive from the Greek adjective strongýlē (, 'rounded'), though it has also been suggested to derive from (, 'gospel character'). 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 the Leiden University version of the Peshitta), in titles, and in 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 and the lunate ) are found. Vowel marks are usually not used with , because it is the oldest form of the script and arose before specialized diacritics were developed.

East Syriac

The East Syriac dialect is usually written in the (Template:Script/Mdnh, 'Eastern') form of the alphabet. Other names for the script include (Template:Script/Mdnh, 'conversational' or 'vernacular', often translated as 'contemporary', reflecting its use in writing modern Neo-Aramaic), (Template:Script/Mdnh, 'Assyrian', not to be confused with the traditional name for the Hebrew alphabet), (Template:Script/Mdnh, 'Chaldean'), and, inaccurately, "Nestorian" (a term that was originally used to refer to the Church of the East in the Sasanian Empire). The Eastern script resembles ʾEsṭrangēlā somewhat more closely than the Western script.

Vowels

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:

• (File:East Syriac vowel a Ftoho alone.svg) A dot above and a dot below a letter represent , transliterated as a or ă (called Template:Script/Mdnh, ), (sometimes a dot above only)
• (File:East Syriac vowel o Zqofo alone.svg) Two diagonally-placed dots above a letter represent , transliterated as ā or â or å (called Template:Script/Mdnh, ),
• (File:East Syriac vowel e Rboso alone.svg) Two horizontally-placed dots below a letter represent , transliterated as e or ĕ (called Template:Script/Mdnh, or Template:Script/Mdnh, ; often pronounced and transliterated as i in the East Syriac dialect),
• (File:Syriac dotted Zlama angular (Madnhaya form).svg) Two diagonally-placed dots below a letter represent , transliterated as ē (called Template:Script/Mdnh, or Template:Script/Mdnh, ),
• (Template:Script/Mdnh) The letter waw with a dot below it represents , transliterated as ū or u (called Template:Script/Mdnh, or Template:Script/Mdnh, ),
• (Template:Script/Mdnh) The letter with a dot above it represents , transliterated as ō or o (called Template:Script/Mdnh, or Template:Script/Mdnh, ),
• (Template:Script/Mdnh) The letter yōḏ with a dot beneath it represents , transliterated as ī or i (called Template:Script/Mdnh, ),
• (File:East Syriac vowel i Hboso.svg) A combination of (usually) followed by a letter yōḏ represents (possibly * in Proto-Syriac), transliterated as ē or ê (called Template:Script/Mdnh, ).

It is thought that the Eastern method for representing vowels influenced the development of the niqqud markings used for writing Hebrew.

In addition to the above vowel marks, transliteration of Syriac sometimes includes ə, e̊ or superscript ^e (or often nothing at all) to represent an original Aramaic schwa 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.

West Syriac

File:Nouveau Testament Syriaque 1540 btv1b53110173d 156.jpg

A 16th century Sertā manuscript of the New Testament Epistle of James.

File:Paris BN Syr 65 f 230 v.jpg

An example of Garshuni: a 16th-century Arabic-language manuscript written in the Syriac script.

The West Syriac dialect is usually written in the or (Template:Script/Serto, 'line') form of the alphabet, also known as the (Template:Script/Serto, 'simple'), 'Maronite'. Most of the letters are clearly derived from ʾEsṭrangēlā, but are simplified, flowing lines. A cursive chancery 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 of parchment.

Vowels

The Western script is usually vowel-pointed, with miniature Greek vowel letters above or below the letter which they follow:

• (File:Syriac Pthaha below (Serto form).svg) Capital alpha () represents , transliterated as a or ă (Template:Script/Serto, ),
• (File:Syriac Zqapha above (Serto form).svg) Lowercase alpha () represents , transliterated as ā or â or å (Template:Script/Serto, ; pronounced as and transliterated as o in the West Syriac dialect),
• (File:Syriac Rbasa above (Serto form).svg) Lowercase epsilon () represents both , transliterated as e or ĕ, and , transliterated as ē (Template:Script/Serto, ),
• (File:Syriac Serto vowel i Hboso alone.svg) Capital eta () represents , transliterated as ī (Template:Script/Serto, ),
• (File:Syriac Serto vowel u Csoso.svg) A combined symbol of capital upsilon () and lowercase omicron () represents , transliterated as ū or u (Template:Script/Serto, ),
• Lowercase omega (), used only in the vocative interjection (Template:Script/Serto, 'O!').

Summary table

Template:Sidebar with collapsible lists The Syriac alphabet consists of the following letters, shown in their isolated (non-connected) forms. When isolated, the letters , , and are usually shown with their initial form connected to their final form (see below). The letters , , , , , , and (and, in early ʾEsṭrangēlā manuscripts, the letter ) 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.				Latin (1930)	Cyrillic (pre-1929, 1938)	Unicode (typing)	Transliteration	IPA
*	*Template:Efn	File:Syriac Estrangela alap.svg	File:Syriac Eastern alap.svg	File:Syriac Serta alap.svg	a, ə	ə, a		or null mater lectionis:	Template:IPAblink or ∅ mater lectionis: Template:IPAblink	1	𐤀‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela bet.svg	File:Syriac Eastern bet.svg	File:Syriac Serta bet.svg	b, v	б, в		hard: soft: (also , or )	hard: Template:IPAblink soft: Template:IPAblink or Template:IPAblink	2	𐤁‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela gamal.svg	File:Syriac Eastern gamal.svg	File:Syriac Serta gamal.svg	g, x/h, ç	г, h, dж		hard: soft: (also , , or )	hard: Template:IPAblink soft: Template:IPAblink	3	𐤂‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
*	*	File:Syriac Estrangela dalat.svg	File:Syriac Eastern dalat.svg	File:Syriac Serta dalat.svg	d	d		hard: soft: (also , or )	hard: Template:IPAblink soft: Template:IPAblink	4	𐤃‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
*	*	File:Syriac Estrangela he.svg	File:Syriac Eastern he.svg	File:Syriac Serta he.svg	h	h		mater lectionis: (or )	Template:IPAblink mater lectionis: Template:IPAblink	5	𐤄‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
*	*	File:Syriac Estrangela waw.svg	File:Syriac Eastern waw.svg	File:Syriac Serta waw.svg	v, o, u	в, o, у		consonant: mater lectionis: or (also or )	consonant: Template:IPAblink mater lectionis: Template:IPAblink or Template:IPAblink	6	𐤅‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
*	*	File:Syriac Estrangela zayn.svg	File:Syriac Eastern zayn.svg	File:Syriac Serta zayn.svg	z	з			Template:IPAblink	7	𐤆‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela het.svg	File:Syriac Eastern het.svg	File:Syriac Serta het.svg	x	x		(also , , or )	Template:IPAblink, Template:IPAblink or Template:IPAblink	8	𐤇‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela tet.svg	File:Syriac Eastern tet.svg	File:Syriac Serta tet.svg	ţ	t		(also or )	Template:IPAblink	9	𐤈‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela yod.svg	File:Syriac Eastern yod.svg	File:Syriac Serta yod.svg	j, ij/ьj	j, иj/ыj		consonant: mater lectionis: (also )	consonant: Template:IPAblink mater lectionis: Template:IPAblink or Template:IPAblink	10	𐤉‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela kap.svg	File:Syriac Eastern kap.svg	File:Syriac Serta kap.svg	k, x, c	q, x, ч		hard: soft: (also or )	hard: Template:IPAblink soft: Template:IPAblink	20	𐤊‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela lamad.svg	File:Syriac Eastern lamad.svg	File:Syriac Serta lamad.svg	l	l			Template:IPAblink	30	𐤋‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela mim.svg	File:Syriac Eastern mim.svg	File:Syriac Serta mim.svg	m	м			Template:IPAblink	40	𐤌‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela nun.svg	File:Syriac Eastern nun.svg	File:Syriac Serta nun.svg	n	н			Template:IPAblink	50	𐤍‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela semkat.svg	File:Syriac Eastern semkat.svg	File:Syriac Serta semkat.svg	s	c			Template:IPAblink	60	𐤎‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela 'e.svg	File:Syriac Eastern 'e.svg	File:Syriac Serta 'e.svg	a	ə			Template:IPAblinkTemplate:Efn	70	𐤏‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela pe.svg	File:Syriac Eastern pe.svg	File:Syriac Serta pe.svg	p, f	п, ф		hard: soft: (also , , or )	hard: Template:IPAblink soft: Template:IPAblink	80	𐤐‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
*	*	File:Syriac Estrangela sade.svg	File:Syriac Eastern sade.svg	File:Syriac Serta sade.svg	s	c		(also or )	Template:IPAblink	90	𐤑‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela qop.svg	File:Syriac Eastern qop.svg	File:Syriac Serta qop.svg	q	к		(also )	Template:IPAblink	100	𐤒‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
*	*	File:Syriac Estrangela res.svg	File:Syriac Eastern res.svg	File:Syriac Serta res.svg	r	p			Template:IPAblink	200	𐤓‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
		File:Syriac Estrangela sin.svg	File:Syriac Eastern sin.svg	File:Syriac Serta sin.svg	ş, ƶ	ш, ж		(also )	Template:IPAblink	300	𐤔‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic
*	*	File:Syriac Estrangela taw.svg	File:Syriac Eastern taw.svg	File:Syriac Serta taw.svg	t	т		hard: soft: (also or )	hard: Template:IPAblink soft: Template:IPAblink	400	𐤕‎	Template:Script/Aramaic	Template:Script/Hebr	Template:Script/Arabic

Contextual forms of letters

Letter name	(classical)			(eastern)
	Unconnected final	Connected final	Initial or unconnected medial	Unconnected final	Connected final	Initial or unconnected medial
			File:Aramaic alap.svg		File:SyriacAlaph2.pngTemplate:Efn	File:SyriacAlaph.png
		File:Aramaic beth c.png	File:Aramaic beth.png		File:SyriacBeth2.png	File:SyriacBeth.png
		File:Aramaic gamal c.png	File:Aramaic gamal.png		File:SyriacGamal2.png	File:SyriacGamal.png
			File:Aramaic daleth.png			File:SyriacDalath.png
			File:Aramaic heh.png			File:SyriacHe.png
			File:Aramaic waw.png			File:SyriacWaw.png
			File:Aramaic zain.png			File:SyriacZayn.png
		File:Aramaic kheth c.png	File:Aramaic kheth.png		File:SyriacKheth2.png	File:SyriacKheth.png
		File:Aramaic teth c.png	File:Aramaic teth.png		File:SyriacTeth2.png	File:SyriacTeth.png
		File:Aramaic yodh c.png	File:Aramaic yodh.png		File:SyriacYodh2.png	File:SyriacYodh.png
	File:Aramaic kap f.png	File:Aramaic kap c.png	File:Aramaic kap.png	File:SyriacKaph3.png	File:SyriacKaph2.png	File:SyriacKaph.png
		File:Aramaic lamadh c.png	File:Aramaic lamadh.png		File:SyriacLamadh2.png	File:SyriacLamadh.png
		File:Aramaic meem c.png	File:Aramaic meem.png		File:SyriacMeem2.png	File:SyriacMeem.png
	File:Aramaic noon f.png	File:Aramaic noon c.png	File:Aramaic noon.png	File:SyriacNun3.png	File:SyriacNun2.png	File:SyriacNun.png
		File:Aramaic simkath c.png	File:Aramaic simkath.png		File:SyriacSimkath2.png / File:SyriacSimkath3.png	File:SyriacSimkath.png
		File:Aramaic ain c.png	File:Aramaic ain.png		File:Syriac'E2.png	File:Syriac'E.png
		File:Aramaic payin c.png	File:Aramaic payin.png		File:SyriacPe2.png	File:SyriacPe.png
			File:Aramaic tsade.png			File:SyriacSadhe.png
		File:Aramaic qoph c.png	File:Aramaic qoph.png		File:SyriacQop2.png	File:SyriacQop.png
			File:Aramaic resh.png			File:SyriacResh.png
		File:Aramaic sheen c.png	File:Aramaic sheen.png		File:SyriacSheen2.png	File:SyriacSheen.png
			File:Aramaic taw.png			File:SyriacTaw.png

Ligatures

Letter name	(classical)			(eastern)			Unicode character(s)	Description
	Unconnected final	Connected final	Initial or unconnected medial	Unconnected final	Connected final	Initial or unconnected medial
	File:Aramaic lamadh alap.png			File:Lamadh-alaph.svg			ܠܐ	and combined at the end of a word
	File:Aramaic taw alap.png			File:SyriacTawAlaph2.png / File:SyriacTawAlaph3.png	File:SyriacTawAlaph.png	File:SyriacAlaph.png File:SyriacTaw.png	ܬܐ	and combined at the end of a word
					File:SyriacHeYodh.png		ܗܝ	and combined at the end of a word
					File:Tawyodh.svg		ܬܝ	and combined at the end of a word

Letter alterations

Matres lectionis

File:Adam in Syriac in the Xian Nestorian Stele.jpg

The name of the monk "Adam" in Syriac in the 781 CE Xi'an Nestorian Stele, China.

Three letters act as matres lectionis: rather than being a consonant, they indicate a vowel. (), the first letter, represents a glottal stop, but it can also indicate a vowel, especially at the beginning or the end of a word. The letter waw () is the consonant w, but can also represent the vowels o and u. Likewise, the letter () represents the consonant y, but it also stands for the vowels i and e.

In modern usage, some alterations can be made to represent phonemes not represented in classical phonology. A mark similar in appearance to a tilde (~), called majlīyānā (Template:Script/Mdnh), is placed above or below a letter in the Maḏnḥāyā variant of the alphabet to change its phonetic value (see also: Geresh):

• Added below : to (voiced palato-alveolar affricate)
• Added below : to (voiceless palato-alveolar affricate)
• Added above or below : to (voiced palato-alveolar sibilant)
• Added above : to

and

In addition to foreign sounds, a marking system is used to distinguish (, 'hard' letters) from (, 'soft' letters). The letters , , , , , and , all stop consonants ('hard') are able to be 'spirantized' (lenited) into fricative 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)	‎	b		Bēṯ rakkīḵtā	‎	ḇ	or	has become in most modern dialects.
Gāmal (qšīṯā)	‎	g		Gāmal rakkīḵtā	‎	ḡ		Usually becomes [j], [ʔ], or is not pronounced in modern Eastern dialects.
Dālaṯ (qšīṯā)	‎	d		Dālaṯ rakkīḵtā	‎	ḏ		is left unspirantized in some modern Eastern dialects.
Kāp̄ (qšīṯā)	‎	k		Kāp̄ rakkīḵtā	‎	ḵ
Pē (qšīṯā)	‎	p		Pē rakkīḵtā	‎ or ‎	p̄	or	is not found in most modern Eastern dialects. Instead, it either is left unspirantized or sometimes appears as . 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)	‎	t		Taw rakkīḵtā	‎	ṯ		is left unspirantized in some modern Eastern dialects.

The mnemonic () 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 dotsTemplate:Efn above a letter within a word, similar in appearance to diaeresis, called (, literally 'placings', also known in some grammars by the Hebrew name [], 'plural'), to indicate that the word is plural. 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 word (, 'king') is consonantally identical to its plural (, 'kings'); the above the word () clarifies its grammatical number and pronunciation. Irregular plurals also receive even though their forms are clearly plural: e.g. (, 'house') and its irregular plural (, 'houses'). Because of redundancy, some modern usage forgoes points when vowel markings are present.

There are no firm rules for which letter receives ; the writer has full discretion to place them over any letter. Typically, if a word has at least one , then are placed over the that is nearest the end of a word (and also replace the single dot above it: ). Other letters that often receive are low-rising letters—such as and —or letters that appear near the middle or end of a word.

Besides plural nouns, are also placed on:

• plural adjectives, including participles (except masculine plural adjectives/participles in the absolute state);
• the cardinal numbers 'two' and the feminine forms of 11–19, though inconsistently;
• and certain feminine plural verbs: the 3rd person feminine plural perfect and the 2nd and 3rd person feminine plural imperfect.

Syriac uses a diacritic line, called (, literally 'concealer', also known by the Latin term linea occultans in some grammars), to indicate a silent letter that can occur at the beginning or middle of a word. In Eastern Syriac, this line is diagonal and only occurs above the silent letter (e.g. Template:Script/Mdnh, 'city', pronounced , not *, with the over the , assimilating with the ). The line can only occur above a letter , , , , , , , or (which comprise the mnemonic , 'the works of light'). In Western Syriac, this line is horizontal and can be placed above or below the letter (e.g. Template:Script/Serto, 'city', pronounced , not *).

Classically, was not used for silent letters that occurred at the end of a word (e.g. , '[my] lord'). In modern Turoyo, however, this is not always the case (e.g. Template:Script/Serto , '[my] lord').

Latin alphabet and romanization

In 1930, a Latin alphabet for Syriac was developed with some material promulgated. 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 the Assyrian diaspora is in Europe and the Anglosphere, where the Latin alphabet is predominant.

In Syriac romanization, some letters are altered and would feature diacritics and macrons to indicate long vowels, schwas and diphthongs. The letters with diacritics and macrons are mostly upheld in educational or formal writing.

Soviet Latin alphabet

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)

Soviet Cyrillic alphabet (some Latin letters are used)

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 to transliteration from the Syriac script to Latin:

Transliterated Syriac-Latin alphabet

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

• Ā is used to denote a long "a" sound or [ɑː] as heard in "car".
• Ḏ is used to represent a voiced dental fricative [ð], the "th" sound as heard in "that".
• Ē is used to denote a long close-mid unrounded vowel, [eː].
• Ĕ is to represent an "eh" sound or [ɛ], as heard in Ninwĕ
• Ḥ represents a voiceless pharyngeal fricative ([ħ]), only upheld by Turoyo and Chaldean speakers.
• Ō represents a long "o" sound or [ɔː].
• Š is a voiceless postalveolar fricative ([ʃ]), the English digraph "sh".
• Ṣ denotes an emphatic "s" or "thick s", [sˤ].
• Ṭ is an emphatic "t", [tˤ], as heard in the word ṭla ("three").
• Ū is used to represent an "oo" sound or the close back rounded vowel [uː].

Sometimes additional letters may be used and they tend to be:

• Ḇ may be used in the transliteration of biblical Aramaic to show the voiced bilabial fricative allophone value ("v") of the letter Bēṯ.
• Ī denotes a schwa sound, usually when transliterating biblical Aramaic.
• Ḵ is utilized for the voiceless velar fricative, [x], or the "kh" sound.
• Ṯ is used to denote the "th" sound or the voiceless dental fricative, [θ].

Unicode

The Syriac alphabet was added to the Unicode 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.

Blocks

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 1.^ Template:Unicode version 2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

The Syriac Abbreviation (a type of overline) can be represented with a special control character called the Syriac Abbreviation Mark (U+070F).

The Unicode block for Suriyani Malayalam specific letters is called the Syriac Supplement block and is U+0860–U+086F:

HTML code table

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

Vowels and unique characters

ܲ	ܵ
ܲ	ܵ
ܸ	ܹ
ܸ	ܹ
ܼ	ܿ
ܼ	ܿ
̈	̰
̈	̰
݁	݂
݁	݂
܀	܂
܀	܂
܄	݇
܄	݇

Comparison of scripts

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.

See also

• Abjad
• Alphabet
• Aramaic alphabet
• Mandaic alphabet
• Mongolian script
• Sogdian alphabet
• Syriac language
• Syriac Malayalam
• Old Uyghur alphabet
• History of the alphabet
• List of writing systems

Sources

• Coakley, J. F. (2002). Robinson's Paradigms and Exercises in Syriac Grammar (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. Template:ISBN.
• Hatch, William (1946). An Album of Dated Syriac Manuscripts. Boston: The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, reprinted in 2002 by Gorgias Press. Template:ISBN.
• Kiraz, George (2015). The Syriac Dot: a Short History. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. Template:ISBN.
• Michaelis, Ioannis Davidis (1784). Grammatica Syriaca.
• Nestle, Eberhard (1888). Syrische Grammatik mit Litteratur, Chrestomathie und Glossar. Berlin: H. Reuther's Verlagsbuchhandlung. [translated to English as Syriac grammar with bibliography, chrestomathy and glossary, by R. S. Kennedy. London: Williams & Norgate 1889].
• Nöldeke, Theodor and Julius Euting (1880). Kurzgefasste syrische Grammatik. Leipzig: T.O. Weigel. [translated to English as Compendious Syriac Grammar, by James A. Crichton. London: Williams & Norgate 1904. 2003 edition: Template:ISBN].
• Phillips, George (1866). A Syriac Grammar. Cambridge: Deighton, Bell, & Co.; London: Bell & Daldy.
• Robinson, Theodore Henry (1915). Paradigms and Exercises in Syriac Grammar. Oxford University Press. Template:ISBN.
• Rudder, Joshua. Learn to Write Aramaic: A Step-by-Step Approach to the Historical & Modern Scripts. n.p.: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011. 220 pp. Template:ISBN Includes the Estrangela (pp. 59–113), Madnhaya (pp. 191–206), and the Western Serto (pp. 173–190) scripts.
• Segal, J. B. (1953). The Diacritical Point and the Accents in Syriac. Oxford University Press, reprinted in 2003 by Gorgias Press. Template:ISBN.
• Thackston, Wheeler M. (1999). Introduction to Syriac. Bethesda, MD: Ibex Publishers, Inc. Template:ISBN.

External links

• The Syriac alphabet at Omniglot.com
• The Syriac alphabet at Ancientscripts.com
• Unicode Entity Codes for the Syriac Script
• Meltho Fonts for Syriac
• How to write Aramaic – learn the Syriac cursive scripts
• Aramaic and Syriac handwriting Template:Webarchive (classical)
• Learn Assyrian (Syriac-Aramaic) OnLine (eastern)
• GNU FreeFont Unicode font family with Syriac range in its sans-serif face.
• Learn Syriac Latin Alphabet on Wikiversity