Arwi

Arwi (لسان الأروي, lisān-ul-arwī or lisān al-arwi, lit. "the Arwi tongue";[1] அரவி-தமிழ், aravi-tamil or Aravo-Tamil) is a written register of the Tamil language that uses an Arabic alphabet.[2] It typically has extensive lexical influences from the Arabic language.[1] Arwi was used extensively by the Muslim minority of Tamil Nadu state of India and Sri Lanka.[1] The majority of Madrasas still teach the basics of Arwi as part of their curricula.

Arwi
Type
LanguagesArwi
Parent systems
DirectionRight-to-left
ISO 15924Arab, 160
Unicode alias
Arabic
Arwi letters not found in Arabic
Arwi Arabic script in a tombstone at Kilakarai in one of the oldest mosques of India, the Old Jumma Masjid of Kilakarai

History

Arwi was an outcome of the cultural synthesis between seafaring Arabs and Tamil-speaking Muslims of Tamil Nadu. This language was enriched, promoted and developed in Kayalpattinam. It had a rich body of work in jurisprudence, sufism, law, medicine and sexology, of which little has been preserved. It was used as a bridge language for Tamil Muslims to learn Arabic.[3] The patrons of Arwi seem to have been the Nawab of the Carnatic, they were Islamic and were part of the Mughal Empire. Many hadith manuscripts have been found. Most of the fiqh books, particularly those of Imaam Shaafi and Imaam Abu Hanifa, have been found in Arwi.

There was also a translation of the Bible into Arwi in 1926.

Arwi still has a place among the more traditional Indian Tamil Muslim and Sri Lankan Moor families.

Script

The Arwi alphabet is the Arabic alphabet with thirteen additional letters, used to represent the Tamil vowels e and o and several Tamil consonants that could not be mapped to Arabic sounds.[1]

Arwi vowels arranged according to the Tamil order (right to left)
ஔஓஒஐஏஎஊஉஈஇஆஅ
اَواواٗاَیایࣣااُواُاِیاِآاَ
auōoaiēeūuīiāa
Arwi
Arwi letters arranged according to the Arabic hijā’ī order
ள்ஷ்ஸ்ஃஜ்ர்ற்ட்ட்ட்த்ச்ச்ஜ்த்த்ஆ
ضصٜصشسزڔرذڍڊدخحچجثتبا
ḍLṣshszrRdhTDdkhḥchjthtbā
ய்வ்ஹ்ஞ்ண்ந்,ன்ம்ல்க்க்க்ப்ஃப்ங்ழ்
يوهݧڹنملࢴكقڣفغࢳعظطۻ
ywhgnNnmlgkqpfghng‘ẓṭzh
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References
  1. Torsten Tschacher (2001). Islam in Tamilnadu: Varia. (Südasienwissenschaftliche Arbeitsblätter 2.) Halle: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg. ISBN 3-86010-627-9. (Online versions available on the websites of the university libraries at Heidelberg and Halle: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/savifadok/volltexte/2009/1087/pdf/Tschacher.pdf and http://www.suedasien.uni-halle.de/SAWA/Tschacher.pdf).
  2. R. Cheran, Darshan Ambalavanar, Chelva Kanaganayakam (1997) History and Imagination: Tamil Culture in the Global Context. 216 pages, ISBN 978-1-894770-36-1
  3. 216 th year commemoration today: Remembering His Holiness Bukhary Thangal Sunday Observer – January 5, 2003. Online version Archived 2012-10-02 at the Wayback Machine accessed on 2009-08-14
  • Shu’ayb, Tayka. Arabic, Arwi and Persian in Sarandib and Tamil Nadu. Madras: Imāmul 'Arūs Trust, 1993.
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