Syriac script
Origin
The origins of the Syriac script are shrouded in mystery. It was orginally used as the medium for the extensive religious literature of Syrian Christians. In 489 AD there was a schism between the east Syrian followers of Nestorius in Persia and the west Syrian followers of Jacob of Edessa. Over the years, the scripts used by the two groups started to diverge from each other. The Nestorian's script was known as Nestorian while the Jacobite's script was known as Serto (linear) or Jacobite. A version of the Nestorian script is still used for religious writings by Christians in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
Many other scripts developed directly or indirectly from the Syriac scripts, including Nabatean, Palmyran, Mandaic, Parthian, Pahlavi, Sogdian, Avestan and Manichean.
Notable features :wavetowel:
* Written from right to left
* Letter forms change depending on their position in a word.
* There are no symbols for numerals. Instead each letter has a numeric value.
* Syriac scripts are usually written pointed (with vowel diacritics) but can also be written unpointed (without vowel diacritics).
Used to write:
Aramaic, a Semitic language that was the lingua franca of much of the Near East from about 7th century BC until the 7th century AD, when it was largely replaced by Arabic. Classical or Imperial Aramaic was the main language of the Persian, Babylonian and Assyrian empires and spread as far as Greece and the Indus valley.
All Arameans, because they speak "aramaic" :mrgreen:
After Alexander the Great destroyed the Persian Empire, Aramaic ceased to be the official language of any major state, though continued to be spoken widely. It was during this period that Aramaic split into western and eastern dialects.
Aramaic was once the main language of the Jews and appears in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is still used as a liturgical language by Christian communities in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, and is still spoken by small numbers of people in Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Georgia and Syria.
Aramaic has also been written in versions of the Latin, Hebrew and Cyrillic alphabets, though the Syriac is the most widely used script to write Aramaic.
Syriac, an eastern dialect of Aramaic spoken by Christians in the lands in between the Roman and Parthian empires between the 1st and 12th centuries. Syriac is still used used nowadays as ritual and literary language by speakers of Neo-Aramaic in Syria. It is also used for sermons in Syrian churches in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, a diverse group of Eastern Aramaic/Syriac dialects spoken by about 200,000 people mainly in Iraq, Syria, Iran, Armenia, Georgia and Turkey. The Syriac, Latin and Hebrew scripts are all used to write Assyrian Neo-Aramaic.
Estrangelo
They might have wrong numbers....
Western, Jacobite or Serto script
Eastern or Nestorian script
notes
The letters kap and nun have three different forms, the one on the right is used in initial and medial positions, the one in the middle is used in final positions when connected to a previous letter, and the one of the left is used in final positions when unconnected to a previous letter. In Estrangelo the letter kap only has a different shape when in initial position.
The letters meem and simk?th have one form for initial and medial positions (right) and one form for final positions (left).
In the Serto script the letter lam?dh has a different initial form.
The vowel diacritics for ?, ? and ? are always attached to the letters y and w, while other vowels diacritics can be attached to any consonants.
Sample text
Translation
Glory to Him who has glorified and exalted the Syriac language in His holy mouth, and [who] entrusted and handed over His life-giving teachings to His blessed apostles in Syriac; and the renowned forefathers and the skilled teachers of His Church have constituted and composed her beautiful liturgies in Aramaic, and explained and translated the living words of His salvation-bringing Gospel in the same [language].
Translated into English by Dirk Bakker
:clap:
Origin
The origins of the Syriac script are shrouded in mystery. It was orginally used as the medium for the extensive religious literature of Syrian Christians. In 489 AD there was a schism between the east Syrian followers of Nestorius in Persia and the west Syrian followers of Jacob of Edessa. Over the years, the scripts used by the two groups started to diverge from each other. The Nestorian's script was known as Nestorian while the Jacobite's script was known as Serto (linear) or Jacobite. A version of the Nestorian script is still used for religious writings by Christians in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
Many other scripts developed directly or indirectly from the Syriac scripts, including Nabatean, Palmyran, Mandaic, Parthian, Pahlavi, Sogdian, Avestan and Manichean.
Notable features :wavetowel:
* Written from right to left
* Letter forms change depending on their position in a word.
* There are no symbols for numerals. Instead each letter has a numeric value.
* Syriac scripts are usually written pointed (with vowel diacritics) but can also be written unpointed (without vowel diacritics).
Used to write:
Aramaic, a Semitic language that was the lingua franca of much of the Near East from about 7th century BC until the 7th century AD, when it was largely replaced by Arabic. Classical or Imperial Aramaic was the main language of the Persian, Babylonian and Assyrian empires and spread as far as Greece and the Indus valley.
All Arameans, because they speak "aramaic" :mrgreen:
After Alexander the Great destroyed the Persian Empire, Aramaic ceased to be the official language of any major state, though continued to be spoken widely. It was during this period that Aramaic split into western and eastern dialects.
Aramaic was once the main language of the Jews and appears in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is still used as a liturgical language by Christian communities in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, and is still spoken by small numbers of people in Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Georgia and Syria.
Aramaic has also been written in versions of the Latin, Hebrew and Cyrillic alphabets, though the Syriac is the most widely used script to write Aramaic.
Syriac, an eastern dialect of Aramaic spoken by Christians in the lands in between the Roman and Parthian empires between the 1st and 12th centuries. Syriac is still used used nowadays as ritual and literary language by speakers of Neo-Aramaic in Syria. It is also used for sermons in Syrian churches in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, a diverse group of Eastern Aramaic/Syriac dialects spoken by about 200,000 people mainly in Iraq, Syria, Iran, Armenia, Georgia and Turkey. The Syriac, Latin and Hebrew scripts are all used to write Assyrian Neo-Aramaic.
Estrangelo
They might have wrong numbers....
Western, Jacobite or Serto script
Eastern or Nestorian script
notes
The letters kap and nun have three different forms, the one on the right is used in initial and medial positions, the one in the middle is used in final positions when connected to a previous letter, and the one of the left is used in final positions when unconnected to a previous letter. In Estrangelo the letter kap only has a different shape when in initial position.
The letters meem and simk?th have one form for initial and medial positions (right) and one form for final positions (left).
In the Serto script the letter lam?dh has a different initial form.
The vowel diacritics for ?, ? and ? are always attached to the letters y and w, while other vowels diacritics can be attached to any consonants.
Sample text
Translation
Glory to Him who has glorified and exalted the Syriac language in His holy mouth, and [who] entrusted and handed over His life-giving teachings to His blessed apostles in Syriac; and the renowned forefathers and the skilled teachers of His Church have constituted and composed her beautiful liturgies in Aramaic, and explained and translated the living words of His salvation-bringing Gospel in the same [language].
Translated into English by Dirk Bakker
:clap: