Suriyani Malayalam

Suriyāni Malayalam alphabet
Suriyāni Malayalam alphabet;
Script type	Abjad
Languages	Aramaic (Classical Syriac), Malayalam (Syro-Malabarica),
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian hieroglyphs Proto-Sinaitic script Phoenician alphabet Aramaic alphabet Syriac alphabet Suriyāni Malayalam alphabet; ; ; ; ;
Unicode
Unicode range	U+0700–U+074F Syriac; U+0860–U+086F Syriac Supplement;
	This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Suriyāni Malayalam
Suriyāni Malayalam
Geographic; distribution	South India
Linguistic classification	Dravidian Southern Southern I Tamil–Kannada Tamil–Kota Tamil–Toda Tamil–Irula Tamil–Kodava–Urali Tamil–Malayalam Malayalamoid Malayalam Suriyāni Malayalam; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Language codes

Suriyani Malayalam (സുറിയാനി മലയാളം, ܣܘܪܝܢܝ ܡܠܝܠܡ), also known as Karshoni, Syro-Malabarica or Syriac Malayalam, is a dialect 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 system

There were numerous problems in writing Malayalam using the Syriac script, which was designed for a Semitic language. Only 22 letters were available from the East Syriac alphabet to render 53 or so phonemes of Malayalam. This problem were overcome by adopting letters from the Malayalam script.^[5] Basic Syriac ʾĀlap̄ Bēṯ based on form with corresponding Malayalam letters.

ദ്	ഗ്	ബ്, വ്	അ
ܕ	ܓ	ܒ	ܐ
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

Augmented letters from Malayalam script

ട്	ഞ്	ജ്	ങ്


ര്	ഭ്	ഩ*	ണ്

	ഷ്	ഴ്	ള്

* Malayalam alveolar nasal encoded as U+0D29 for scholarly purposes.

Vowels

ഒ, ഓ	ഏ	എ	ഉ, ഊ	ഇ, ഈ	ആ	അ
ܘ݁	ܹ	ܸ	ܘ݂	ܝ݂	ܵ	ܲ
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 1.^ As of Unicode version 16.0 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:

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 1.^ As of Unicode version 16.0 2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

Loanwords

Over the centuries, Malayalam borrowed Eastern Syriac words. A few of them are given below:

Original Syriac	Suriyani Malayalam	Meaning
Immā^[1]^[6]	Umma or Amma	Mother
Avā	Appan, Aavan or Bava	Father
Ar’ā	Aram	Earth, foundation
‘almāyā	Almayar, Almayan	Laity
Nāṣrāyā	Nasrani	Follower of Nazareth Christ
Kna'nāyā	Knānāya	Canaanite
Piṣḥā^[4]	Pesaha	Passover
Petturta	Pethurtha	First Sunday of Great Lent
Mala’ḵā^[3]	Malakha	Angel
Maḏbḥā	Madbaha	Altar
Metran	Metran	Metropolitan
Malpānā	Malpan	Teacher (ecclesiastical)
Quddāšā^[3]	Kudasha	Sacrament
Qaddīšā	Qandisha, Qandishan	The Holy one
Rabban	Ramban, Rambachan	Monk
Mšammšānā/Šammāšā	Shammashan, Shammachan	Deacon
Ma’mōḏīṯā^[3]^[4]	Mamodisa	Baptism
Sāhḏā	Shahada	Martyr
Ṣlīvā	Sliva, Siluva, Sleeba	Cross
Īšō'^[3]	Isho	Jesus
Qurbānā^[3]	Qurbana	Sacrifice/Peace Offering
Mšīḥā^[3]^[4]	Mishiha	Anointed, Christ
Duḵrānā	Dukrana	Remembrance
Qaššīšā	Kathanar/Kasnar	Syrian priest
Mār	Mar	Lord, Saint
Rūḥā	Ruha	Holy Spirit
Yaldā	Eldho, Yeldho	Nativity
Šlīḥā	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] At present the dialect is not in popular usage. However it survives in historical literature of the Saint Thomas Christian denominations. Thomas Koonammakkal is one of the most notable experts in Garshuni Malayalam studies.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b "City Youth Learn Dying Language, Preserve It". The New Indian Express. May 9, 2016. Archived from the original on May 9, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Effect of Coronavirus on the Casino Industry | Nasrani Foundation". Retrieved 2022-07-16.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : A sacred language is vanishing from State". 2008-08-16. Archived from the original on 16 August 2008. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Radhakrishnan, M. G. (August 4, 1997). "Tiny village in Kerala one of the last bastions of Syriac in the world". India Today. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
^ "Proposal to Encode Syriac Letters for Garshuni Malayalam" (PDF).
^ Mar Thomma Margam by Fr. Varghese Pathikulangara
^ Perczel (2014), 266-8.
^ Perczel (2014).