Suriyani Malayalam
Suriyani Malayalam (സുറിയാനി മലയാളം, ܣܘܼܪܝܵܢܝܼ ܡܲܠܲܝܵܠܲܡ), also known as Karshoni or Syriac Malayalam, is a version of Malayalam written in a variant form of the Syriac alphabet which was popular among the Saint Thomas Christians (also known as Syrian Christians or Nasranis) of Kerala in India.[1][2][3][4] It uses Malayalam grammar, the Maḏnḥāyā or "Eastern" Syriac script with special orthographic features, and vocabulary from Malayalam and East Syriac. This originated in the South Indian region of the Malabar Coast (modern-day Kerala). Until the 19th century, the script was widely used by Syrian Christians in Kerala.
Writing
There were numerous problems in writing Malayalam using the Syriac alphabet, which was designed for a Semitic language. Only 22 letters were available from East Syriac orthography to render over 53 phonemes of Malayalam. Both the languages are not related to one another in any way except for religious causes. These problems were overcome by creating additional letters.[5] Basic Syriac ʾĀlap̄ Bēṯ based on form with corresponding Malayalam letters
ܕ | ܓ | ܒ | ܐ |
ദ് | ഗ് | ബ്, വ് | അ |
---|---|---|---|
ܚ | ܙ | ܘ | ܗ |
ഹ് | സ് | വ് | ഹ് |
ܠ | ܟ | ܝ | ܛ |
ല് | ക്, ക്ക് | യ് | ത് |
ܥ | ܣ | ܢ | ܡ |
അ | സ് | ന് | മ് |
ܪ | ܩ | ܨ | ܦ |
റ് | ഖ് | സ് | പ്, വ് |
ܬ | ܫ | ||
ത്, സ് | ശ് |
Additional Malayalam letters
ട് | ഞ് | ജ് | ങ് |
---|---|---|---|
ര് | ഭ് | ഩ* | ണ് |
ഷ് | ഴ് | ള് |
- alveolar nasal corresponding to U+OD29
Vowels
ܘ݁ | ܹ | ܸ | ܘ݂ | ܝ݂ | ܵ | ܲ |
ഒ, ഓ | ഏ | എ | ഉ, ഊ | ഇ, ഈ | ആ | അ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ܟܘ݁ | ܟܹ | ܟܸ | ܟܘ݂ | ܟܝ݂ | ܟܵ | ܟܲ |
കൊ, കോ | കേ | കെ | കു, കൂ | കി, കീ | കാ | ക |
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 |
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:
Syriac Supplement[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+086x | ࡠ | ࡡ | ࡢ | ࡣ | ࡤ | ࡥ | ࡦ | ࡧ | ࡨ | ࡩ | ࡪ | |||||
Notes |
Loanwords
Over the centuries, Malayalam borrowed Eastern Syriac words. A few of them are given below:
Original Syriac | Suriyani Malayalam | Meaning |
---|---|---|
Emma[1][6] | Amma - This word would've also originated from the Malayalam word Amma-chi. | Mother |
Aba | Appan - The word would've also originated from the Malayalam word Appa-cha. | Father |
Nasraya, Nasrani | Nasrani | Christian |
Knā'nāya | Knānāya | Canaanite |
Pesħa[4] | Pesaha | Passover |
Malakha[3] | Malakha | Angel |
Qudasha[3] | Kudasha | Sacrament |
Mamoditha[3][4] | Mamodisa | Baptism |
Sliva | Sliva/Sleeba | Cross |
Isho'[3] | Isho | Jesus |
Qurbana[3] | Qurbana | Sacrifice/Peace Offering |
M'shiħa[3][4] | Mishiha | Anointed |
Dukhrana | Dukrana | Remembrance |
Qasisha | Kathanar/Kasnar | Syrian priest |
Mar | Mar | Lord, Saint |
Ruħa | Ruha | Holy Spirit |
Shliħa | Shliha | Apostle |
Literature
Vedatharkam written by Kariattil Mar Ousep is one of the famous books written in Suriyani Malayalam.[2] Large number of documents written in Suriyani Malayalam are found among the Saint Thomas Christians or Nasranis of Kerala.[2] These documents include an alternate set of the Canons of the Synod of Diamper.[7]
See also
References
- "City Youth Learn Dying Language, Preserve It". The New Indian Express. May 9, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
- Suriyani Malayalam, Nasrani Foundation
- A sacred language is vanishing from State, The Hindu
- Prayer from the Past, India Today
- "Proposal to Encode Syriac Letters for Garshuni Malayalam" (PDF).
- Mar Thomma Margam by Fr. Varghese Pathikulangara
- Perczel (2014), 266-8.
Further reading
- Perczel, István (2014). "Garshuni Malayalam: A Witness to an Early Stage of Indian Christian Literature". Hugoye: A Journal of Syriac Studies. 17 (2): 263–323.