Learn

to
Write
Aramaic
a step-by-step approach
to the historical
and modern scripts

Joshua Rudder
 L earn to W r it e A r a m a ic
A step-by -step a p p r o a c h to w riting the Aramaic scripts

Joshua R u d d er
© C o p y rig h t 2011 by Josh u a R udder.

First edition in 2011.

www.nativlang.com

This work may be purchased and distributed for educational and promotional use.

All rights reserved. Illustration and design by Joshua Rudder. All translations from Aramaic to English are
the work ot the author. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without prior
permission of the author except in conventional citations and reviews.
 Co n t e n t s

IN T R O D U C T IO N 1

CO M PA R ISO N OF A R A M A IC SCRIPTS 5

THE ]U D E O -A R A M A IC SQ UARE SCRIPT 9

L etters 10
Th e A li’h a b e t 32
P u t t in g L etters T o g e t h e r in t h e Sq u a r e S c r ip t 34
W r it in g W o r d s in t h e S q u a r e S c ript 36
W r it in g S e n t e n c e s in t h e S q u a r e Sc r ip t 57

THE ESTRANGELA CURSIVE SCRIPT 59

Le x e r s 60
The A lphabet 82
P u t t in g L etters T o g e t h e r i n t h e C u r siv e S c r ip t 84
W r it in g W o r d s in t h e C u r siv e S c r ipt 86
W r it in g S e n t e n c e s in t h e C u r siv e S c r ip t 112

THE EARLY A R A M A IC SCRIPT 115

W r it in g W o r d s a n d P h r a s e s in t h e Ea r l y A r a m a ic S c r ip t 127

TH E IM PE R IA L SC R IPT 129

W r it in g W o r d s a n d P h r a s e s in t h e Im p e r ia l S c r ip t 141

THE H E R O D IA N SCRIPT 143

W ri™ ، ^ o r d s a d P h r a s e s i n t h e H e r o d i a n S c r ip t 155

THE HEBREW CURSIVE SCRIPT 157

W r it in g W o r d s a n d P h r a s e s i n t h e H eb r e w C u r siv e S c r ip t 172

THE WESTERN SERTO SCRIPT 173

W r it in g W o r d s a n d P h r a s e s in t h e S er to S c r ip t 187

THE EASTERN (M A D N H A Y A ) SCRIPT 191

W r it in g W o r d s a n d P h r a s e s in t h e E a s t e r n S c r ip t 205

P R O N U N C IA T IO N G U ID E 207

AN SW ER S TO THE EXERCISES 211

INDEX 215
 I n t r o d u c t io n

The A ram aic lan g u a g e h as been w ritten c o n tin u o u sly for o v er 3,000 y ears in a w id e ran g e ٠ ‫؛‬
scripts. D espite the a m o u n t o‫ ؛‬v ariation in the w ritten language, you can ease y o u rse l‫ ؛‬into
w ritin g A ram aic w ith o u t m u ch tro u b le for tw o reasons. First, every form ٥ ‫ ؛‬w ritte n A ram aic
u ltim ately d erives ‫؛‬rom th e sam e early script, so all A ram aic scripts sh a re m an y com m on
features. Second, w e can sim p li‫؛‬y the situ a tio n by classi‫؛‬y ing the A ram aic scripts into three basic
types: th e early script, th e sq u a re scrip t a n d the cu rsive script.

This w orkbook eases you in to the com plexities of w ritin g A ram aic in a step -b y -step ‫؛‬ashion.
O v er th e course of th is book, you will learn to w rite th e basic versio n s of th e sq u a re scrip t and
the cu rsive script. You w ill a p p ro a c h these tw o scripts in m an ag eab le chunks. For starters, you
will learn to w rite in d iv id u a l letters. T hen, you w ill learn to m odify those letters an d b u ild
syllables o u t of them . Finally, you will p u t syllables to g eth e r in w o rd s, p h rases, a n d sim ple
sentences.

A fter learn in g th e basic sq u a re a n d cu rsiv e scripts, you w ill have th e o p p o rtu n ity to s tu d y
an d practice th e early A ram aic script. You w ill also m eet historical v ersions of the scripts. This
u n iq u e experience w ill give you direct access to specific scripts th ro u g h o u t h istory a n d allow
you to identify a n d a p p ro a c h historical m an u sc rip ts a n d inscriptions.

W ithin each section, I keep m y ex p la n a tio n s sh o rt a n d p ro v id e clear A ram aic exam ples. A
line beside o r b e n e ath each A ram aic ex am p le allow s y o u to co p y the text for practice. Exercises
accom pany m an y e x p la n a tio n s a n d p ro v id e sim p le experience rele v an t to the topic ju st learned.

Fractice p a g e s are fo u n d th ro u g h o u t th e w orkbook. T hese pages offer in fo rm a tio n a b o u t

each letter, in clu d in g th e lette r's nam e, tta n slite ra tio n a n d p ro n u n c ia tio n in IPA. They also
in d icate the n u m b e r a n d direction of pen stto k e s th a t co m p o se each character. Each practice
p ag e also offers ru le d a n d boxed w ritin g space to copy letters o v e r an d again u n til you g et them
ju st ri^ h t

Layout

Follow ing this in tro d u ctio n , you will find a ch art c o m p a rin g th e v ario u s A ram aic scripts in this
w orkbook. B eyond th at, th e b u lk of the book d iv id e s its a tte n tio n b etw een the A ssy rian A ram aic
c u rsiv e scrip t a n d th e Jew ish A ram aic sq u a re script. T he b re a k d o w n ‫؛‬s far from arb itrary , since
the p rinciples covered for the sq u a re an d cu rsiv e scrip ts a p p ly to the o th er varieties of the script.
 A fter in tro d u cin g the sq u a re and cu rsiv e scripts, th e w o rk b o o k teaches o th er w ays of
w ritin g A ram aic. F u rth e r practice sections cover the Early A ram aic script, the Im perial A ram aic
script, the H ero d ian script, H eb rew cu rsiv e an d the W estern (Serto) a n d E astern A ssyrian scripts.

A ssu m in g you d o n o t p la n to co m plete th is e n tire course an d learn ev ery script, I can

su g g e st tw o p a th w a y s th ro u g h the book. P ath ‫ ل‬: once you le a m th e classical sq u a re script, you
are p re p a re d for the H e b re w cursive, H e ro d ia n , Im p erial A ram aic an d Early A ram aic scripts.
P ath 2: once you leam the classical cu rsive script, you can tackle the m o d e m Serto a n d Eastern
scripts. You w ill also find th a t the basic cu rsiv e an d sq u a re scrip ts sh are m u ch com m on g ro u n d .

The first ap p e n d ix contains a h a n d y p ro n u n cia tio n g u id e, an d the second offers a n sw e rs to

the exercises. I h a v e also in clu d ed a sh o rt index at the en d of th e book.

Varieties ofW ritten Aramaic

٢١١ ^ term "A ram aic" covers a b e w ild e rin g n e tw o rk of dialects th a t sp a n a long stretch of history.
W hile ev en a m o d est o v erv iew of the histo ry an d d iffusion of A ram ic is beyond th e scope of this
book, th e follow ing brief su m m a ry of w ritte n A ram aic m ay suffice.

A ram aic sp eak ers b o rro w e d th eir a lp h a b e t from th e P hoenicians, th em selves fellow Sem itic
speakers. E xtant Early Aram aic sto n e in scrip tio n s testify to th e extensive u se of this A ram aic
a lp h a b e t m o re th an 3000 y ears ago. T he lan g u a g e s p re a d to M eso p o tam ia a t a n early d ate, an d a
h ighly s ta n d a rd iz e d Im perial Aram aic becam e th e lan g u ag e of th e A chaem enid o r Persian
E m pire m ore th an 2500 y ears ago.

A ram aic th e n sp re a d th ro u g h o u t th e M id d le East as a w ritte n a n d sp o k en lingua franca.

H e b re w sp eak ers b o rro w e d Im p erial A ram aic a n d its ev o lv in g square script. T h at sq u a re script
took m any form s over the centuries, in clu d in g the n o te w o rth y H erodian script of th e R om an
p erio d . The sq u a re scrip t is still u se d to w rite b o th H e b re w a n d Jew ish A ram aic, an d b irth e d a
p o p u la r H eb rew cursive script in m o d e m tim es.

S eparately, a d istin ct version of A ram aic lettering a p p e a re d in Syrian m o n u m e n ts m ore than

2000 y ears ago. This v a ria n t quickly d e v e lo p e d into the u n iq u e Estrangela cursive script attested
in n u m e ro u s early Syrian C h ristian m a n u sc rip ts. The cu rsive scrip t in tu rn d e v e lo p e d into the
W estern Serto a n d E astern M adnhaya scripts u se d by A ssyrian C h ristian s from the M id d le A ges
to th e present.

T he d iv ersity sketched above p rese n ts a challenge for th e p re s e n t w orkbook, w hose aim it is

to in tro d u c e ،he m ajor v arieties of w ritte n A ram aic from the earliest in scriptions to th e present.
In this m an u al, 1 sim plify th e m atte r by u sin g th e u n d i‫؛‬feren tiated term "A ram aic", an d only
2 ‫ﺇ‬ /،«»'« tit Write Aramaic
a p p ly a m ore precise a ttrib u te like M o d e rn A ram aic, Jew ish N eo-A ram aic or W estern A ssyrian
A ram aic w hen th e d istinction m akes a difference to the b eg in n in g learn er of a p a rticu la r script.

E xam ples w ith in each section p re se n t only w o rd s an d p h rase s n ativ e to th e sc rip t being
tau g h t. You will n o t find Syriac w o rd s w ith in the section teach in g you to w rite the s q u a re script,
n o r will you see T argum ic an d Jew ish N eo-A ram aic w o rd s w ritten in th e E strangela script.
H o w ever, the e x am p les d ra w ind iscrim in ately from both an cient a n d m o d ern form s of A ram aic.
T hat is, you will m eet T argum ic an d Jew ish N eo-A ram aic w o rd s w ritte n in th e sq u a re script.
You will likew ise see C lassical Syriac a n d A ssyrian N eo-A ram aic exam ples in th e cu rsive script.

M ost A ram aic ex am p les in the s q u a re scrip t section com e from th e classical language, an d
m ay be checked ag a in st M arcus Ja stro w 's Dictionary ofTargum im , Talmud and Midrashic Literature.
W o rd s in the cu rsiv e section h a v e d iv erse origins. C lassical Syriac w o rd s m ay be fo u n d in a
th o ro u g h lexicon like E. P ayne S m ith 's ٨ Compedious Syriac Dictionary, while' m any m o d e m item s
can be found in the A ssociation A ssy ro p h ile de F ran ce's online Sureth Dictionary. I d o n ot take
tim e to explain th e differences b e tw e en an cien t and m o d ern w o rd s, as th ese ex am p les offer
fo d d e r for practice ra th e r th a n a th o ro u g h ex p osition of A ram aic v o cabulary a n d g ram m ar.

T h at said, th is w o rk b o o k does p re s e n t a th o ro u g h in tro d u c tio n to th e intricacies of the

w ritin g system . A fter co m p letin g all the copy practice sheets an d activities in th is w orkbook, the
lea rn er of A ram aic can expect a stro n g fo u n d atio n for fu tu re studies.

W riting Aramaic h a s an online c o m p o n e n t a t w w w .n a tiv la n g .co m /a ra m a ic -la n g u a g e . V isit

th e w ebsite to h e a r A ram aic letter n a m e s p ro n o u n ce d alo u d a n d see th e a lp h a b e t w ritten by
h a n d in each script.
C o m p a ris o n o f A ram aic Scripts
 Aram aic A lphabets

square scripts cursive scripts

٧١
Early Im perial H erodian Square H ebrew Estrangela Serto M adnhaya
(classical) cursive (classical)
(p. 115) (p. 129) (p. 143) (p. 9) (p. 157) (p. 59) (p. 173) (p. 191)
’ ‫ب‬ ч К ‫א‬ С К‫׳‬ ‫ت‬

b ‫و‬ ‫ر‬ ‫גג‬ ‫ב‬ ‫د‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ﺩ‬

g Λ ‫ر‬ Λ ‫ג‬ ‫ﺍ‬ -к ‫ح‬ Λ
‫ﻝ‬ ٠١ ،1 ‫ד‬ ٩ ‫ג‬ ١ ‫ב‬

١٦ ‫و‬ и\ ٢١ ‫ה‬ ‫(ר‬ CD ٠١ Cl

w 1 7 ٦ ٦ ‫ا‬ О ٠ ٥

z I ١ ١ ٢ ‫د‬ ١ ٠ ١
h ‫ة‬ * ‫ת‬ ٨ ٨ ‫ﻟﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﺲ‬ ‫م‬
‫أ‬ ® ،‫צ‬ ‫ﺣﺎ‬ ‫ט‬ G ‫ﻣﺬ‬ ‫ي‬ Λ
У г * А ٦ *> > ‫ى‬ ‫ف‬
к 1 ٦ ‫ل‬ ‫כ‬ ‫כ‬ ‫ح‬ ‫ح‬ ‫ح‬
‫ا‬ i ‫ا‬ ‫إ‬ ‫ל‬ ‫ء‬ Λ ‫ذ‬ Λ
١٦٦ ‫ל‬ ‫آل‬ ‫מ‬ N ‫ح‬ ‫ﻫﺖ‬ ‫ﻫﺪ‬

η ‫ל‬ ) ‫ل‬ ‫נ‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ﺩ‬ ‫د‬ ‫د‬

s ‫ي‬ ١ ‫ﻩ‬ ‫ס‬ ‫ﻩ‬ ٠٠ ‫ص‬ ‫م‬
٠ V
У ‫ע‬ ‫ح‬ ‫ذ‬ ‫د‬
p ‫ר‬ ‫כ‬ ‫פ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ح‬ ‫ه‬ ‫د‬
s ۴ г у ‫צ‬ 3 ‫?׳‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ء‬
٩ T ‫ﺀ‬ р ‫ק‬ ? ‫م‬ ‫م‬ ،0

r ٠٩ ‫ר‬ ٦ ‫ר‬ ٦ ٦ ‫؛‬ ‫ذ‬

sh W V V ‫ש‬ ٠ ‫ع‬ ‫م‬ ‫ع‬
t ‫م‬ ‫م‬ ‫ת‬ ‫ת‬ ٨ ‫ج‬ ‫ﺍ‬ ،S

،١ ‫ا‬ ،
to W rite A ram aic
‫أ׳رﺀاﻣﺎ‬
 V o w els

Square Estrangela Serto M adnhaya

a ‫ב‬
e ‫ב‬
‫ة‬ ‫ב‬
У
a ‫و‬ ‫غ‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ف‬
‫ﺀ‬
‫ة‬ ‫ב‬ ‫ث‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ث‬

e ‫ב‬ ‫ح‬ ‫ق‬ ‫د‬

‫ة‬ ‫ב‬ ‫ح‬ ‫د‬

i ‫ב‬

‫آ‬ ‫בי‬ ‫ﻟﺞ‬ ‫ﻗﺲ‬ ‫ص‬

‫ه‬ ‫ב‬
‫ة‬ ‫בו‬ ‫ﺗﺎﺀ‬ ‫ﻟﺬ‬

и ‫و‬
‫ة‬ ‫ם‬ ‫ﺗﻪ‬ ‫ﻓﻪ‬ 03

Vowels marked on the ‫؛ﺀﺀ‬،‫ﺀ‬ ‫ ت־? ב‬beth)(.

D istinct Final C o nsonant Form s

H eb rew
Square Estrangela Serto M adnhaya
cursive
‫أ‬ ‫ي‬
к ٦ p ٧١ r ‫ ا‬٠١
١ ‫خ‬
т □ ‫ا‬0 -p ‫در‬ ·β
١١ ٦ ١ X ^ ٣ ‫ا‬ ٢ %

s ٩٠
‫م‬
p ‫ף‬ i
s ‫ץ‬ ‫ﺀ‬
t ‫ح‬
The J u d e o -A ra m a ic Square Script
 L etters

‫א‬
‫אלף‬
alaph

transliteration

pronunciation
/‫ ؟‬/

<- copy direction

I,earn to Write Arnmaic

 ‫ריח‬
beth

transliteration
b

pronunciation
M

he ludeo-A ram ak: Souare Scriot

 ‫גמל‬
gatnmel

transliteration

pronunciation
/g /

Learn 10 Write Aramaic

 ‫דלת‬
dalath

transliteration
d

pronunciation
/ ‫ه‬/

The Judt'o-A ram ak:‫؛‬X‫؛‬ua14> Script

 ‫ה‬
‫הא‬
he

transliteration ٦
h

pr©nun €‫؛‬at ‫؛‬،{n V Ψ

‫ה‬

14 earn),‫)؛‬١ Write Aramaic

 ‫וו‬
waw

transliteration
w or V

pronunciation
/w /

T'hc Judeo-A ram aic Square Script

 ‫זין‬
zayin

transliteration
z

pronunciation
/z /

16 Learn 10 Write Aramaic

 ،‫؛؛‬,
heth

transliteration
h or kh or ch

pronunciation
/h /~ /x /

The Judeo-A ram aic S quare Script

 д,
teth

transliteration
‫أ‬

pronunciation
/‫ﺀ‬/

18 ‫أ‬ \лтп 10 Write Aramaic

 ٦

‫יוד‬
yudh

transliteration
У

pronun€iation
‫اال‬

■Judeo-A ram aic Square Script 19 ‫أ‬

 ‫ي‬
kaph

transliteration
к

pronunciation
/к/

‫؛‬،،‫»׳‬٢ ٢ ١ Write.Aramaic 10
 ‫ל‬
‫למד‬
lammadh

transliteration
‫ﺍ‬

pronunciation
/ ‫ﺍ‬/

e judeo-A ram aic Square Script‫؛‬ ‫أ‬ ‫ات‬

 ‫מ‬
□‫מי‬
mini

transliteration
m

pronun€iation
/ ١٦٦ /

2‫ל‬ '‫ﺱ‬ to Write Amman:

 ‫נון‬
nun

transliteration
η

pronunciation
/٨ /

The Judco-A ram aic Square Script

 ‫סמכת‬
sernkath

transliteration
s

p r o n u n € ia tio n
/s/

24 l.earn to W rite .Aramaic

 ‫ע‬
‫עין‬
ayin

transliteration

pronunciation
/‫؟‬/

،.' Judeo-A ram aic Square Script 23 ‫ا‬

 ‫ئ‬
ре

transliteration
p

pronunciation
/р /

26 ,،‫»׳‬٢ ‫<>؛‬ « Animate

Write
 ‫צ‬
‫צדי‬
sadhe

transliteration
s or ts or tz

pronunciation
/s‫؟‬/ ~ / s /

‫ ر ؛‬adeo-A ram aic Square Script

 4
qoph

transliteration
٩ ٥٢ ‫ﺇ‬

pronunciation
/٩/

28 Learn 10 Write Am man‫׳‬.

 ‫ריש‬
resh

transliteration
٢

pronunciation
/ ٢/
 ‫ש‬
‫שין‬
shin

transliteration
sh or s

pronunciation
///

Learn to Wri te Aramaic

 ‫ת‬
‫תו‬
taw

transliteration
t

^ o n u n c ia tio n
N

The Judeo-A ram aic Square Script

 T he A lph abet

T he A ram aic nlaph-bcth (alphabet) serves as a valu ab le s tu d y aid, b u t it also has im m ense
historical and cu ltu ral significance. T he A ram aic sq u a re scrip t long ago rep laced the earlier
P aleo-H ebrew as the scrip t o£ choice ‫؛‬or w ritin g H ebrew , a n d h as since becom e the sta n d a rd
sc rip t o ‫] ؛‬ew ish lan g u ag es such as Y iddish, L adino a n d N eo-A ram aic.

T he letters o ‫ ؛‬th e a lp h a b e t rep re sen t consonants, w hile vow els are tra d itio n ally inferred.
C o p y th e e n tire alp h a b e t six tim es to learn the tra d itio n al o rd e r of the 22 A ram aic letters. Pay
a tte n tio n to pen strokes a n d th e co m position of each ch aracter as you practice.

‫א‬ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

‫ב‬ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

‫ג‬ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

‫ד‬ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _____ _ _ _ _ _

‫ה‬

٢
‫ח‬

‫ט‬

_ _ ‫כ‬

_ _ ‫ל‬

_ _ ‫מ‬

_ _ ‫נ‬

‫ס‬ _ _
32 ‫ﺃ‬ Learn to W rite Aramaic
T'ho Ju d e o -A ra m a ic S q u a re Script
 P utting Letters T© gether in t h e Square Script

□irection of Writing

A ram aic letters are w ritten and read fto m rig h t to left.
‫ه‬ ٠
midrash (s h -r-d -m ) school ‫מדר ש‬

bar (r-b) s on ‫בר‬

N otice th a t tra n slite ra tio n s w ritte n in th e R om an a lp h a b e t are still read fto m left to right.
►
midrash ‫מדר ש‬

Syllables

A ram aic scripts revolve a ro u n d consonants. T he basic A ram aic syllable co n tain s o n e c o n so n an t
p lu s one vow el, or cv. W o rd s often e n d in co n so n an ts, h a v in g a final syllable of th e ty p e cvc.
The sq u a re scrip t indicates only c o n so n an ts in its basic form . In o th er w o rd s, you m u st infer
v ow els because th scrpt ‫ ة‬w rttn ths wy.

m id r^ h ‫מדר ש‬

A ram aic d istin g u ish e s b etw een th e v ow els a, e, /, 0 a n d u.

bar ‫בר‬ sleq ‫סלק‬

to leave ____

migdal ‫מג ד ל‬

turret

koi ^ ‫בו‬ kulab ‫ב^לב‬

all axe _____

A ram aic h as b o th long a n d sh o rt vow els. S hort v ow els like a differ ftom long vow els like a.

34 ‫أ‬ l£«rn to Write Amman:

 gesheni body ‫גשם‬ ‫! ؛ ؛‬٩) ‫ ؛‬to leave ‫סלק‬

T w o c o n so n an ts m ay occur side by side, as in a syllable of the ty p e ccv. In these cases, w e infer

no vow el w h a tso ev e r b e tw e en th e m u ltip le co n so n an ts.

tMigd;>1 _______ ‫מג ד ל‬

Exercise 1
Practice rea d in g a n d w ritin g A ram aic w o rd s in th e sq u a re script. Each w o rd o n the left
tra n slite ra te s one sq u a re scrip t w o rd on th e right. M atch each sq u a re sc rip t w o rd w ith its
c o rre sp o n d in g tra n slite ra tio n . O nce you h a v e finished m atch in g , take th e tim e to rew rite each
w o rd on the b lan k lines p ro v id e d .

1. madbaq welding ‫לב ש‬

2. hadas Edessa ‫טלל‬

3· srar ‫؛‬٠ tie up ‫מדבק‬

4. ptaq ‫؛‬٠ throw ‫על‬

5. ntal ‫؛‬٠ ،:»٢٢١/ ‫נטל‬

6- hagag to feast ‫צרר‬

7. tlal to cover ‫חגג‬

‫ة‬ shnaq to strangle

‫·ﻭ‬ al (up)on ‫הד ם‬

10. lbesh ‫؛‬٠ be dressed ‫שנ ק‬

 W riting ‫؟‬ ١ ٧ ٥^^ IN T H E S q u a r e S c r i p t

Special Letter Forms

T he sq u a re script has special final form s w h en certain letters ‫؛‬all a t th e end ‫؛ه‬ a w o rd . For
exam ple, co m p are th e tw o ‫؛‬o rm s ٠ ‫ ؛‬th e letter ‫ כ‬.kaph b e lo w

to write ktab ‫כתב‬ l?ash©k ‫؛‬٠ be dark ‫ח שו ך‬

T here are five co n so n an ts w ith u n iq

inal‫؛‬
u.‫؛‬oe rm s

F in a l ‫ د‬kaph hashok ‫؛‬٠ be dark ‫ח שו ך‬

Final ‫ מ‬m ini klam ‫؛‬٠ be shamed ‫כל ם‬

Final ‫ נ‬n u n qrun read (it)! ‫ק רון‬

Final ‫ פ‬pe qtap to pluck ‫קטף‬

F inal ‫ צ‬sadhe dus ‫؛‬٠ dance ‫דו ץ‬

O v e r ^ e next ‫؛‬ive pages, practice w ritin g th e d istin ct final ‫؛‬o rm s of these letters. N otice th a t
m o st final form s co n tain one long d o w n w a rd stroke th a t d ip s below the w ritin g line.

Vrile Aramaic
 ٦
final kaph

transliteration
к

p ro n u n c ia tio n
/к/

The Judeo-A ram aic Square Script 37 ‫أ‬

 final mint

transliteration
m

pronunciation
/ ٨٦/

earn.,٤ ‫ ؛؛‬Write Aramaic

 final nun

transliteration
n

pronunciation
/П /

‫»آء؛‬.· judeo-A ram aic Square Script

 ‫ף‬
final ре

transliteration
р

pronunciation
/р/

40 ‫أ‬ Learn to Write Aramaic

 ‫ץ‬
final sadhe

transliteration

pronunciation
/sV~/s/
Vowels Represented by Letters
T here are tw o w ays to rep resen t vow els ‫؛‬٨ the sq u a re script. The first is essential to the correct
sp ellin g of w ords, an d em p lo y s the c o n so n an ts ‫ א‬alaph, ‫ ו‬waw and ‫ י‬yudh to rep re sen t (m ostly
long) vow els. These helpful vow el letters are called matres lectionis, Latin for mothers o f reading.

‫א‬ a kar ‫כאר‬

ability ________

‫י‬ ‫ ﺀ‬or ‫ז‬ ziza ‫זי ז א‬

projection

zcta

olive

٦ 0 o r II zabona ‫ז בונ א‬

buyer/merchant

dukna ‫דו כנ א‬

lectern

A t th e e n d of a w o rd , the m atres ‫ א‬alaph, ‫ ה‬he, ٦ waw a n d ‫ י‬yudh u su a lly rep re sen t a final vow el,

fin a l ‫ א‬alaph (o fte n a) kalba ‫כלבא‬

dog

final ‫ ה‬he (often ،?; also a) miswa !‫מצוד‬

duty

final ‫ י‬yudh (often ё o r t) bcti ‫ﺑﺂي‬

m y house

final ٦ waw (٠ o r u)
Vowels Represented by Special Marks
T he second w ay to r e ^ e s e n t vow els is o p tio n al b u t extrem ely h elp fu l for learners. A system of
d o ts a n d d ash es placed below , beside o r above in d iv id u al letters allow s you to s u p p ly th e exact
vow el w h en re a d in g o r w ritin g the script. T his su p p le m e n ta l system is k n o w n as vowel pointing.
The basics of this system are p resen ted below . (The capital letter с rep re sen ts an y consonant.)

Ca (bar below) bar ‫בד‬

son

Ca (dow n tack below) yam a ‫ימא‬

ocean

Ce (three dots below) geshem

body _____

(two dots below) sleqCe ‫סלק‬

‫؛‬٠ leave

Ci (one d o t below) min ‫מן‬

from ____^

Cl (one dot below + yod) mdinta ‫מ ךינ ת א‬

city ______

Co (waw w ith d ot above) olam ‫עו ל ם‬

world ______

Си (waw w ith dot beside) ٩٢٧١١ ‫ק רון‬

read!

M o d e m A ram aic w rite rs rou tin ely spell я as ‫ א‬alaph in the m id d le of n a tiv e w o rd s, b u t n o t
w ith in w o rd s recently b o rro w ed from H ebrew .
 olam ‫עולאם‬ midrash ‫מדרש‬

w o r ld school

W h en a co n so n an t is follow ed by no vow el w h atsoever, tw o vertical do ts are placed below th at

co nsonant. This usefu l sym bol is called a sh w a .

С (tw© vertical dots bel©w) malka ‫מלכא‬

k in g

mdlnta ‫ ת א‬5 ‫^? ך י‬

c ity

In som e cases, a sp e ak e r m ay p ro n o u n ce a sh w a ra th e r th an leave it ab solutely silent. A n a u d ib le

sh w a is p ro n o u n ce d like the a ‫؛‬٨ the E nglish w ord a b o ve an d tran sliterated by the sym bol Э.

shwa ‫׳‬ shawa ‫קזו א‬

A sh w a so m etim es a p p e a rs directly to th e rig h t of a n o th e r vow el m ark. In these cases, the shw a

d o ts in d icate th a t th e vow el is " h u rrie d " or p ro n o u n ce d very short.

hashok ‫ק שו ך‬ ’cguza ‫؟؛גוז א‬

to be d a rk ‫ﺱ‬ _ _ nut

W h en a w o rd e n d s in a co n sonant, the final c o n so n an t is typically w ritte n w ith o u t a sh w a. A

clear exception is final ‫ ך‬kaph, w h o se oblig ato ry sh w a a p p e a rs to the left in stead of below .

hashok ‫ןז שו ך‬ geshem ‫وﻣﺠﺂه‬

U se th e follow ing pages to practice w ritin g vow el p o in tin g on th e A ram aic co n so n an ts ‫ ש‬sh in
a n d ‫ נ‬n u n . N otice th a t vow el p o in tin g occurs alo n g w ith a n d n o t in ste a d o f m atres lectionis. A lso
n o te th a t vow el m ark s co m p rise the last stroke(s) of a character.

44 ‫ﺃ‬ l.earn to W rite A m m an:

 sh w a

transliteration
‫ و‬o r (nothing)

pronunciation
(silent)

‫ש‬
‫؛‬

hateph Sdghol

transliteration
e

pronunciation
/£/
Modern Aramaic: / е /
 hateph pathah

transliteration
a

pronunciation
/ ‫ أآ‬/
Modern Aramaic: / ‫ﻩ‬/

hateph qames

transliteration
о

pronunciation
hi
Modern Aramaic: / о /

46 l,earrt to Write Aramaic

 hireq

tra n s lite ra tio n

i

p ro n u n c ia tio n
/‫؛‬/

hireq male

transliteration

pronunciation
/‫؛‬:/

‫ני‬
 sere

transliteration
ё

pronunciation
/е:/

saghol

transliteration
e

pronunciation
/ε/~ /ε:/
Modern ٨٢«»،«/،:.·/е/

٠٠
٠

Learn to Write Amman:

 pathah

transliteration
a

pronunciation
/а/

qames

transliteration
‫ة‬

pronunciation
/a :/~ /3 :/
Modern Aramaic: /a:،

Judeo-А г а т ш с Square
‫؛؛‬€٢
 holem

transliteration
‫ة‬ or ‫ﻩ‬

pronunciation
/о :/
Modern ‫ﺀ' ﺀسﺀﺀه‬: /о/

Note: holem male (below) is preferred and more common.

holem male

transliteration
‫ة‬ or ‫ﻩ‬

pronunciation
10:1

M odern Aram aic: /о / ٠٢ 10:1

 qubbus

tr a n s lite r a tio n
٧

p r o n u n c ia tio n
/и :/~ /и /

Note: shureq (below) is preferred and more common.

shureq

tr a n s lite r a tio n
й or и

^ o n u n c ia tio n
/ ٧ :/
Modern Aramaic: /и / or /и :/
Exercise 2
U se the w o rd s ‫؛‬١٦ this activity to cu ltiv ate y o u r u n d e rs ta n d in g of A ram aic vow els. In the first half
of th e exercise, copy a n d tra n slite ra te each w o rd w ritten in th e sq u a re script. P ay close atten tio n
to th e vow els in y o u r tran sliteratio n s.

‫בי ת א‬ house transliteration:

١ ·

2. ‫؟ עי ם‬ ‫؛‬٠ taste transliteration:

3·
‫זונו־ א‬ belt transliteration:

4. ‫בו ע ת א‬ abscess transliteration:

5. [‫؟‬ ٦١٨ п о и т lambs transliteration:

6. ‫א ה כ דין‬ be shown false transliteration:

T he second half of this exercise p rese n ts tra n slite ra te d A ram aic w o rd s. W rite each tran sliterated
w o rd tw ice in the sq u a re script. In clu d e vow el p o in tin g in y o u r tran sliteratio n s.

7. sl'a to assist

8. ‫ﺓﺍ׳ﺅﺓ׳ﺅ‬ hedgehog

9. barzsla /٢٠»

10. 'atak to be old

11. qlqelta ruins

12. suqta distress

Modified Consonants Represented by Special Marks
A ram aic has tw o ty p es of consonants: soft c o n so n an ts an d hard consonants. H a rd co n so n an ts are
p ro n o n n ce d as stops, soft co n so n an ts as fricatives. A d o t k n o w n as dagesh placed inside a letter
rep re sen ts the h a rd p ro n u n ciatio n .

2 b ^٧ / v / in veer ‫ ﺁ ﻩ‬/ w / in w in e

* £ ‫ג‬ gh / у / l i k e a v o ic e d h ( m o s t m o d e r n : s a m e as ‫) ג‬

T d ‫ד‬ dh /5 / in this ( m o s t m o d e r n : s a m e a s ‫) ד‬

Э к ‫כ‬ kh / х / in loch ( a n h s o u n d a t t o p o f t h r o a t )

‫ﺀﻭ‬ ‫פ‬ ph / t / i n fair

n t ‫ת‬ th / 0 / in thing

Soft c o n so n an ts m ay be tran sliterated w ith an h after th e n o rm a l c o n so n an t letter (th, ph an d so

on) o r a line b e n e ath (t, ‫ﺋ ﺈ‬etc.).1 h av e u sed this con v en tio n in letter n a m e s like kaph and qoph,
but our exam p les h a v e so far failed to d istin g u ish b etw een th e soft a n d h a rd p ro n u n cia tio n of
consonants. N ow w e can re p re se n t th em in th e sc rip t a n d in tran sliteratio n s.

b c th a ‫؟ ב ב‬ ‫בי ת א‬ ١٢^

house to saw

D o u b le co n sonants occur in th e m id d le of som e w o rd s. D o u b le c o n so n an ts are p ro n o u n c e d long

b u t w ritten as a single co n sonant.

abba ‫א ב א סנו כ ה‬ ‫ةﺳﺎةاأ‬

‫»؛‬/
‫’ ﻢ‬،
‫أ آﻟ‬ Hanukkah

W hen u sin g dagesh, a d o t is placed in sid e d o u b led consonants.

abba ‫אבא‬ hanukka 0 1‫ ت؛‬1‫ت؛‬

M o d e m A ram aic p rin te rs som etim es m ark a soft c o n so n an t by placin g a sm all d o t above it.
 bctha ‫בי ת א‬

house

Som etim es p rin ted A ram aic in clu d es a sm all d o t on the u p p e r rig h t of the letter ‫ ש‬shin. This d o t
serves to d ifferentiate shin from th e H eb rew letter ‫ ש‬sin (w ith d o t on th e left side), w hich is
p ro n o u n ce d /s/ ju st like ‫ ס‬semkath. T he letter ‫ ש‬shin is n ativ e to A ram aic; ‫ ש‬sin is not.

s o la w ٦^ s h la m a ‫קז ל מ א‬

quail (Hebrew) peace

Practice w ritin g c o n so n an t diacritics in th e copy section below , th en co m plete the exercise th at

follow s. N otice th a t a diacritic d o t c o m p rises the last pen stro k e of the letter.

daghesh qal

transliteration
(harp consonant)

pronunciation
(stop consonant)

Note: only fo u n d on plosives b, d, g, p, t, к

Learn to Write Aramaic

 daghesh hazaq

transliteration
(d o u b led consonant)

pronunciation
(d o u b led consonant)

‫ ש‬/‫ש‬
shin / sin

transliteration
sh/s

pronunciation
/// v e rsu s /s/

‫ש‬
1.C Judeo-A ram aic Square Script ‫وة‬
Exercise 3
A ram aic w o rd s from the last exercise are m ixed w ith new w o rd s, all of them tran sliterated
below . The tra n slite ra tio n s now in clu d e in fo rm atio n a b o u t h a rd , soft a n d d o u b le consonants.
R ew rite every w o rd tw ice in the sq u a re script. U se vow el a n d c o n so n an t diacritics.

1. ’ithkadcn be proved wrong

2. qiqelta ruins

3. bctha house _____________________ _____________________

4. hurpha young lamb

5. dsma blood (Classical)

6. dsmma blood (Modern)

7. yallolin monsters

8. ١٤٤٧٤٤١٦ white

9. hashakh be reduced

10. bu'atha abscess

 W r i t i n g S e n t e n c e s i n T i l ،‫ ث‬S q u a r e S c r i p t

You h a v e seen h o w to read a n d w rite w o rd s in the sq u are script. You h a v e also learned to
re p re se n t specific vow els a n d h a rd , soft and d o u b led c o n so n an ts in th is script. You can now
begin to build p h rase s an d sentences o u t ٥ ‫ ؛‬w ords. Like letters, w o rd s are read from rig h t to left.
In d iv id u a l A ram aic w o rd s are se p a ra te d from one an o th e r by a b lan k space, a tech n iq u e used in
w ritte n A ram aic since an cient tim es.

Tttta u-gavra ‫؛ג؟ ר א‬1‫אי؟ ת א‬

woman and man

In tra d itio n al d o cu m en ts, A ram aic does n o t em p lo y p u n c tu a tio n to clarify th e s tiu c tu re of a text.

‫ששת ואמרי לה רב יוסי‬ ‫הונא אין לווין על שער שבשוק אמר ליה רב יוסף בר חמא לרב‬
‫הני בני בי רב‬ ‫הונא‬ ‫בר אבא לרב ששת ומי אמר רב הונא הכי והא בעימיניה מרב‬
‫בשי‬ ‫בהיני והא חיטי‬ ‫הא חיטי‬ ‫אמר להו‬ ‫דיז^י בתשרי ופרעי בטבת שרי או אסיר‬
‫רשמעה להא ראמר רב‬ ‫הונא אין לוין כיון‬ ‫אי בעי זבני ופרעי ליה מעיקרא סבר רב‬

٨ block ،</‫؛‬،‫ ؛*׳‬excerpted from the Babylonian Talmud. Notice the lack ،‫ﺀ‬/ ‫ م‬،‫’؛ﺀ اﺀ‬،
‫ﺀ‬،،‫ ر؛'ا؛ي‬.‫أ ا‬

M ed iev al a n d m o d e rn texts, p a rticu larly th o se of religious significance, freq u en tly m ak e u se of

):( H e b re w p u n c tu a tio n a n d a com plex sy stem of cantillation m arks. Sym bols in clu d e soph pasuq
to m a rk the e n d of a sentence o r verse, maqqeph ) ‫ (־‬to link or h y p h e n a te w o rd s, geresh (') to
a b b re v iate w o rd s an d gershayim (") to in d icate an acronym o r d istin g u ish w o rd s ,

‫ לא‬:‫שקדמו לא בטיל לענין אחריות‬

‫ניתן ליכתב ־ מאחר שנתנו כבר‬
‫ ועל כרחו כתבו ליה זה؛ להא‬,‫במתנה‬
‫ נימא לא ניתן ליכתב‬:‫ ררבא‬- ‫שמעתא‬

Commmtary on ‫ ’ ﺀ‬Talmud
‫ ا ﻟ ﻢ‬، with soph pasuq ‫؛‬٠ mark verse boundaries,

‫גי מ ״ ל‬ ‫ג׳‬

Gimmel abbreviated with geresh to represent ‫؛‬٨ ،‫׳‬number 3 vs. distinguished by gershayim as a /،‫؛؛׳‬،‫׳‬٢ .name

T he g eresh can also signal a "foreign" o r b o rro w ed p ro n u n c ia tio n re p re se n te d b y a n ativ e

A ram aic letter. Especially com m on are th e m odifications ‫ ג׳‬, u se d to re p re se n t b o th th e s o u n d of
" ‫ ز‬w o rd "‫س ' ر‬
a n d‫ ا‬th e so u n d "ch" in chance, a n d ‫ ׳‬٢ , w hich sta n d s for the so u n d of "s" in leisure ,
M o d e rn A ram aic uses fam iliar W estern p u n c tu a tio n m ark s instead of th e soph pasuq. The period,
q u estio n m ark, exclam ation m ark and com m a m ay all a p p e a r in a strin g of A ram aic text.

yalunke mad ’amrittu la g5zi b-khabrokh!+ ‫? ב כ ב ר ו ך ؛ י לו נ כי‬٦ ^‫מ א ד א מ ר ת ו ל א‬

Children, whatever you tell them, do ٠«‫ ؛‬listen to your words!

N otice th a t special final letter form s are w ritte n at the e n d of a w o rd ev en w h e n th a t w o rd falls

in the m id d le of a sentence. The final form s are word final, n o t absolutely final.

: ‫ש ק ד מ ו ל א ב ט י ל ל עניו א ח ר י ו ת‬

Excerpt from ‫؛ﺀاﻟﻢ‬

Talmud commmtary mentioned above. Notice thefinalform of nun within ‫؛ﺀاﻟﻢ‬
.s e n d e e

A lso notice th a t A ram aic m ay he w ritte n w ith or w ith o u t th e diacritics. C o n so n a n t an d vow el

,diacritics occur freq u en tly in learn in g resources an d im p o rta n t texts. O u tsid e of these contexts
M o d ern A ram aic is very rarely w ritte n w ith vow el a n d c o n so n an t diacritics. T he follow ing
.ex am p le of Jew ish N eo-A ram aic w ith diacritics is th erefo re aty p ic al

yalunke mad ’amrittu la gozi b-khabrokh! ‫ כ י מ א ד א מ ר ת ו ל א ג ו ז י ؟ כ ב ר ו ן ז ﺃ‬3‫؛‬1‫י ל‬

‫ ا‬Yona Sabar gives this phrase (in transliteration only) as a typical example of M odem Aramaic syntax in
A ‫أﺀا'ااة‬،‫ اا‬Neo-Aramaic Dictionary (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2002), 54. The transliteration has been
modified and the square script supplied by the author.
58 ‫ﺍ‬ [,earn to W rite A m n im c
The E stra n g ela Cursive Script
 Letters

‫ب‬

’alap

transliteration

pronunciation
/‫ ؟‬/

،‫ص‬ 'to Write Aramaic

 bet

transliteration
b

pronunciation
M

‫د‬
 -к
‫^ ﻧ ﺎ ط‬
gamrnal

transliteration

pronunciation
/g/

i.,eam to Write .Aramaic

 ‫؛‬гЛл
dalat

transliteration
d

pronunciation
/ ‫ه‬/

١ ‫؛‬١ ٠ E stran g ed Cursi'vc Scnpi ·

 СП

г^сп
he

transliteration
١٦

pronunciation
/ ١٦/

‫درأ‬

: "

Learn 10 Write Aramaic

 ‫ه‬

ιυαιυ

tr a n s lite r a tio n
w

p r o n u n c ia tio n
/w /

‫؛‬١،' IZshangela Cursive N'T

 zayin

t r a n s lite r a tio n
z

p r o n u n c ia tio n
/z /

,‫'؛‬،’‫؛‬
١٢ ‫؛‬Write
» .Amman 0
 ‫ﺗ ﻌ ﻌ ﺎ خ‬
het

tr a n s lite r a tio n
h or kh

p r o n u n c ia tio n
/h /~ /x /

The Estrangela C ursive SCT

t،‫ ا<؛‬،١ ?
 ‫ﻣ ﺬ‬
‫ﻣ ﺸ ﻂ‬
tet

tr a n s lite r a tio n

p r o n u n c ia tio n
/ ‫ء‬/

‫؛‬,،،'»
٢ ٢ ‫؛‬،١ ‫؟‬Write Aramaic
 -
٦ ٨
yud

tr a n s lite r a tio n
У

p r o n u n c ia tio n
‫اال‬
 ‫ح‬
‫ﺣ ﺢ‬
кар

t r a n s lite r a tio n
к ‫جم‬

p r o n u n c ia tio n
/к/

Learn ίο Wri.Se Amman:

 Λ
‫ﻟ ﺺ‬
lammad

transliteration
١

pronunciation
/1/

The Estrangela C ursive $€T‫؛‬p t

 я‫؛‬
‫ﺣ ﻌ ﻢ‬
mini

transliteration —
1141
!٦٦

‫'ح‬
pronunciation
/Ш/

л а т to Wriie Arnmau
 ‫ب‬
‫ﻟ ﻲ‬
nun

transliteration
η

pronunciation
/ ١٦ /
 ^ o n u n c ia tio n
/s /

74 ‫أ‬ l-£arn to Write Amman:

 ‫م‬
ayin

transliteration

p ro n u n c ia tio n
/‫؟‬/
 ‫ص‬
ре

tra n s lite ra tio n

p

pronunciation
/р/

76 .,earn to Write Amman:

 ‫و‬
‫و ך׳؛יז‬
saae

transliteration
‫ و‬or s

pronunciation
/s V ~ /s /

‫ي‬

The Estrangela C ursive Script ١ 77

 ‫م‬
‫ﺻﺎﺀح‬

qop

transliteration
q or к

pronunciation
/٩/

78 ‫أ‬ Learn to Write Amman:

 ‫أ ع‬
resh

transliteration
٢

pronunciation
/ ٢/

Fhe Estrangeia C ursive Script 79

 ‫ع‬
‫م‬
shin

transliteration
sh ،١٢ ‫ة‬

pronunciation
///

Learri to Write Arnrnmc

 ‫م‬
taw

transliteration
t

pronunciation
N
 T he A lph a bet

T he A ssyrian abgad o r a lp h a b e t is b o th a v aluable learn in g tool and a significant c u ltu ral artifact.
Syriac sp eak ers h a v e used the E strangela scrip t to w rite A ssyrian A ram aic for m ore th an tw o
m illennia. E strangela is also the source of the m o d ern Eastern an d W estern A ssy rian scripts, an d
is still u sed alo n g sid e both.

T he letters of the a lp h a b e t re p re se n t consonants, w hile vow els are tra d itio n ally inferred.
C o p y th e e n tire a lp h a b e t six tim es to learn the tra d itio n al o rd e r of the 22 A ram aic letters. Pay
a tte n tio n to p en stro k es a n d the co m position of each ch aracter as you practice.

‫م‬

‫ت‬

‫إ‬

СП

‫أ‬ .,earn to Write Aramaic

iLstrangela C u rsiv e
 P utting Le t t e r s T o g e t h e r in t h e C ursive Script

Direction of W riting

A ram aic letters are w ritten and read from rig h t to left.
‫ه‬ —>
,( d - g - b - ) alphabet abgad ‫ ﺒ ﺎ ت‬r>‫׳‬
‫ﻳ‬

bar (r-b) son ‫ﺗﺂ‬

N otice th a t tra n slite ra tio n s w ritten in th e R om an a lp h a b e t are still read from left to right.
►
'abgad ‫ﺑ ﺮ ﻳ ﺒ ﺄ‬

Syllables

A ram aic scripts revolve aro u n d consonants. The basic syllable in A ram aic contains one
c o n so n an t p lu s one vow el, o r cv. W o rd s often e n d in consonants, h av in g a final syllable of the
ty p e cvc. In its basic form , the cu rsiv e sc rip t in d icates only consonants. In o th e r w o rd s, you
m u st infer v ow els b ecau se th scrpt s w rttn ths WIJ. - ·

,abgad ‫ﺑﺮﻳﻠﻞ‬

A ram aic d istin g u ish e s betw een the v ow els a, e, i, 0 a n d u.

ra ‫؟ ﺁ ﻡ‬ s le q лУдр

stubborn to leave ____

di >‫ג‬

my

ho ٠^ kill ^‫ﺣﻪ‬

wait! all _ _

,،‫’»׳‬،
٢ ‫؛‬،١ Write.Aramaic
«
A ram aic has both long a n d sh o rt vow els. S hort vow els like a differ from long vow els like a.

raq stubborn ‫أ ﺀ‬ sag healthy ‫ا‬ ‫خ‬-

Tw o co n so n an ts m ay occur sid e by side, as in a syllable of the ty p e ccv. In these cases, w e infer

no vow el w h a tso ev e r b etw een the m u ltip le consonants.

’abgad

Exercise 4
Practice rea d in g a n d w ritin g A ram aic w o rd s in th e E strangela script. Each w o rd on th e left
tra n slite ra te s one cu rsive scrip t w o rd on the right. M atch each cursive scrip t w o rd w ith its
c o rre sp o n d in g tran sliteratio n . O nce y o u h a v e finished m atching, take the tim e to rew rite each
w o rd on the blank lines p ro v id e d .

1. bas seeing as

2. adab gentle ‫ط‬

3. ser mystery ‫ﺻ ﻚ‬

4. ktab to write ‫ﺑ ﺮ أ ب‬

5. shal shawl ‫מנך ذ‬

\ ٢٢‫׳‬

amret you think so ‫\י־ץ‬

6-

7. ■٨١ (up)on Cn—\

‫ة‬ tba' tofollow ‫ط‬

‫· و‬ to leave

10. lbesh to put on (clothes) ‫ﻣﺘ ﺚ‬

 W riting ‫؟‬ ١ ٧ ٥^^ IN T H E C u r s i v e S c r i p t

Ligatures

In th e E strangela cursive script, m o st letters n o t only sit sid e by side b u t also connect to each
oth er. These connections b etw een letters are kn o w n as ligatures. L igatures are a reg u la r p a rt of
E strangela an d follow strict ru les - each letter e ith e r connects or does n o t connect w ith the
follow ing letter.

A letter m ay connect to o th er letters w ith in th e sam e w o rd . C o n sid er the sh a p e of th e letter

Λ lammadh at the beg in n in g versus in the m id d le of a w ord.

lap ■°A sle ‫؟ ﺻ ﻚ‬

totally to leave

M ore th an half of the E strangela letters connect on th eir rig h t and left sides. These letters e n d in a
final stroke along the w ritin g line, m u ch like cursive form s of the R om an alp h ab et.

asheq ЛТ4. lbesh T~‫־‬A

in love to put on

Ees^ th a n half of th e E strangela letters connect on th eir rig h t sid e only. T hese letters tend to end
‫؛‬٨ a cu rv e o r vertical stro k e on their left side, like ٠ waw, or sim p ly d o n o t en d on the w riting
line, like ٦ ‫ ة ﺔ ־ﺀ‬.‫ ﻓ‬A sm all gap ‫؛‬alls b etw een th e left sid e of su ch letters an d th e follow ing letter. For
exam ple, rfalap, ΛάαΙαί an d ‫ ج‬taw d o n o t connect to a follow ing letter.

‫ة‬،‫ﻃﺔا‬ ktab ‫ﺣﺎ ذت‬

gentle to write

L etters th a t begin w ith a d o w n stro k e towards the w ritin g line are w ritte n w ‫؛؛‬h an u p stro k e away
from th e w ritin g line w ^ e n they connect to a p rev io u s letter.

‫\ةﻗﺌﻢ‬

tba' tofollow lbesh to put on

،‫»׳‬٢« to Write Annum :

? ra ctice linking letters by co p y in g the list ٠ ‫ ؛‬w o rd s below . Every letter of the a lp h a b e t a p p e‫؛‬
b etw een letters th a t w o u ld connect if possible. This list accounts for all basic ligatures.

Letter Example Notes on ligatures

‫ﺿ ﻢﺿ ﻢ‬ ‫ﻛ ﻢ‬ R ight only. Slight b a c k tu m from w ritin g line on first st r oke: .‫أل‬

‫ﺻ ﺘ ﻢ‬ ‫ت‬ R ight & left. F irst stro k e becom es an u p w a rd stroke.

-‫ﻳ ﺜ ﻤ ﺤ ﻢ‬ ‫آ‬ R ight & left. M a d e w ith one c o n tin u o u s stroke.

‫ا ص‬ ‫أ‬ R ight only. First stro k e becom es an u p w a rd stroke.

CD K‫ ׳‬orut. R ight only. First stro k e becom es an u p w a rd stroke,

о ‫ح ﺀد‬ R ight only. Initial u p w a rd stroke, th en counterclockw ise circle.

‫ض‬ ‫آ‬ ١ R ig h t only. E n d s ‫ ط‬d o w n w a rd s t r o k e d .

» ‫ﺳ ﻢ‬ R ight & left. M ad e w ith one c o n tin u o u s stroke.

‫ﻣ ﺬ‬ гД p R ight & left. Lift p e n for d o w n w a rd stroke: < \5~ .

> ‫ﺳ ﻢ‬ Right & left w ith a c o n tin u o u s stroke. S horter th a n o th er letters.

‫ﺻ ﻢ‬ ‫ح‬ R ight & left. T op curve first, th en bo tto m line.

Λ ‫ﻃ ﻤ ﺤ ﻢ‬ R ight & left. A c o n tin u o u s stro k e or lift pen for d o w n w a rd stroke.

‫ﻟ ﻬ ﺘ ﻤ ﺤ ﻢ‬ ‫ح‬ R ight & left. Initial stro k e becom es u p w a rd : ٢ ‫ _ ل‬, th en cu rv ed tail.

‫ﻫ ﻢ‬ ‫د‬ R ight & left in a single stroke. Do n o t confuse w ith yud or ayin.

CD ‫ﺻ ﺺ‬ R ight & left. Line from p rev io u s letter to m id d le, then as usual.

‫ﻣ ﻢ‬ ‫ح‬ R ight & left. D iagonal stro k e first, th en b o tto m line.

‫ﺗ ﺼ ﻘ ﻤ ﺤ ﻢ‬ ‫ه‬ R ight & left. Initial u p w a rd stroke, sem icircle, th en bo tto m line.

‫ﺣ ﻮ م‬ ‫و‬ R ight only. O n e c o n tin u o u s stroke.

‫م‬ κ 'τ η ΐ R ight ‫ ه‬left. Initial u p w a rd stroke, ro u n d‫ ׳‬box, th en connecting tail

٦ ri ‫ﻣ ﻠ ﻲ ׳‬ R ight only. Initial stro k e tu rn s u p w a rd , th en to p bar, then dot.

‫ﻣ ﻤ ﺾ‬ ‫ع‬ R ight & left. Initial u p w a rd stroke, to p line, th en connecting tail.

)s\ ‫ذد ا د‬ R ight only. Initial stro k e becom es an u p w a rd stroke.

88 ‫ﺃ‬ l,earn ίο Write Amman

Regular F‫؛‬nal Letter Forms

Final form s of A ram aic letters are fo u n d a t th e e n d of a w o rd . D ifferent letters h a v e differen t

final form s.

Final letters th a t e n d on the w ritin g line h a v e a sh o rt tail. C o m p a re the w ay ‫ د‬lammadh looks at

th e m id d le of a w o rd v e rsu s th e e n d of a w o rd , w h ere it takes a slig h t u p tu rn .

sleq ‫ﺻ ﻠ ﻢ‬ kill ^‫ﺣ ﻪ‬

to leave all

In th eir final form , th e letters , yud, ‫ م‬qop a n d ‫ ع‬shin h a v e sm all tails th a t slig h tly d ip below the
w ritin g line.

rish nay ‫ﻟ ﻢ‬

head flu te

sleq ‫ﺻ ﻠ ﻢ‬

‫؛‬٠ leave

Som e callig rap h ers extend final lines o r lig a tu re lines. This rep re sen ts an aesthetic technique.

ktab ‘

to write

T etters th a t n e v e r co nnect o n th eir left side d o n o t h a v e se p ara te final form s. These letters alw ays
reta in their basic shape.

barat rish ‫ﺀ‬، ‫آ‬

a check head

Unique Final Letter Forms

T hree cursive scrip t letters h av e u n iq u e final form s th at do n o t m atch the practices m en tio n ed
above. C o m p are the form s of the letters ‫ ح‬кар, ‫ מ؛‬mini, ‫ث‬nun a n d 0‫ ק‬semkat below .

Uangela C:·'>‫־‬
uv<i‫؛‬
rs‫؛؛'׳‬
‫ا’إ؛ ا‬ ‫أ‬ 89
 ٧٠١ кар kul ^ ‫ﻪ‬ ‫ﺣ‬ tak ^ /‫\ ^ ץ‬

all alone

-μ пит mu ،‫נענג‬ ‫רד>בך‬

what? likewise

» ١،« nay ‫ﻟﺮ‬ men ‫د و ي‬

flute from

Ф semkat kasad лсп‫\־‬ bas go- ‫ר‬

deficit since

T he final form s can all connect to a p rev io u s letter. A ll of th em retain the sam e sh a p e in lig atu res
a p a rt from final ‫ ح‬nun. Final ‫ ه‬h a s a longer, m ore h o riz o n tal tail w h e n it c a n n o t connect to the
p re v io u s letter.

enun v C U ri‫׳‬ men

‫م‬

they from

U se the follow ing practice p ag es to fam iliarize y o u rse lf w ith the u n iq u e final form s of these
letters.

90 ‫أ‬ Learn 10 Write /٩٢‫»?؛‬.»‫׳)'؛‬

 ٧١
final кар

transliteration
к

pronunciation
/к/

The Estrangela C ursive Script ‫أ‬ ‫او‬

 7‫נ‬
final mini

transliteration
١٦٦

pronunciation
/т /

92 ‫أ‬ Learn to Write Arnntaic:

 final ηιιη

tra n s lite ra tio n

n

p ro n u n c ia tio n
Ini
‫ب‬

(' Estrange!!.! C u rsiv e Script

١ ١١ 93
 final sinikat

transliteration
s

pronunciation
/$/

94 '.,،‫»׳‬٢ «to Write Aramaic

Vowels Represented by Letters
T here are tw o w ay s to rep re sen t vow els ‫؛‬٨ the cu rsiv e script. The first w ay involves spelling
v ow els w ith the letters K‫ ׳‬alap, a w a w an d ٠ 1/ud. These h elpful d u a l-u se letters are called matres
lectionis, Latin for mothers of reading, w h en they stan d for vow els.

n‫׳؛‬ m ainly a dayim

constantly

юте rish ‫ا ־ مﺀ‬

head

bet ‫ﻟ ﻌ ﻂ‬

house of...

0 or и qop ‫ه‬،‫ﻫﺈ‬

qop (letter) ____

kill ‫ح ﺀذ‬

all

A t th e en d of a w o rd , the m atres ٢٢‫' ׳‬alap, ‫ ه‬ιυαιυ and , yud m ain ly re p re se n t a final vow el,

fin a l K‫ ׳‬alaph (a, e o r e) kalba ‫ﺣ ﻜ ﻢ‬

dog

‫ وﻃ ﺔ‬1‫ﺟ ﻮال‬ r^ ia ln r.

to be hurt

fin a l, yudh (/) di

my

final ٥ waw (٠ or u) ho ٠®

wait!
 mu ‫ئ ﺀ‬
‫و‬

what?

It is rare to find in stances of ٠ an d и n o t rep re sen te d by th e m ate r ο ιυαιυ.

kul ‫ط‬ ٠٢ kul ‫صﺀد‬

all all

Final ‫ ط‬taw + ‫ م‬alapli an d ‫ د‬lammadh + r،‫ ׳‬alaph m ay com bine to form u n iq u e ligatures.

hekemta ‫ﻣ ﻤ ﺤ ال ه‬ or hckemta ‫ﺳ ﺘ ﺤ ال ب ﺀ‬

wisdom wisdom

la ‫ﺧ ﻢ‬ or la ‫ض‬

no «٠

Sim ilarly, letters w ith a left loop like cnhe m ay com bine to form a u n iq u e lig atu re w ith final ,y u d .

tay ‫ط‬ ٠٢ tay

an equal an equal ٠

V ow els R epresented by Special Marks

T he second w ay to rep re sen t v ow els is o p tio n al b u t extrem ely h elp fu l for learners. A system of
d o ts above an d below in d iv id u al letters allow s you to read or w rite a specific vo w el in th e script.
T his su p p le m e n ta l system is k n o w n as vowel pointing. T he basics of this system are p resen ted
below . (The capital letter с rep resen ts any consonant.)

Ca ( d o t b e lo w a n d d o t a b o v e ) bar \p

son ‫ﺱ‬

Ca ( tw o d o ts a b o v e ) yama ‫ﻧ ﻠ ﻤ ﺤ ﻤ ﺤ ﻢ‬

ocean

96 ‫أ‬ Learn to Write Aramaic

 Ce (tw o d o t s ^ ) r i z o n t a l l y b e lo w ) sleq ‫ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ ﻢ‬

to leave

Ce (two dots diagonally below) bet ‫ﺣ ﻂ‬

ought

Ci (one dot below) rich Т-.Л

head

Co (umw w ith d ot above) ho осп

wait!

Си (waw w ith dot below) suret ‫ﻣ ﻤ ﻬ־ ﺎأ ذ‬

Syriac

C o n so n an ts follow ed by no vow el w h a tso ev e r are w ritte n w ith o u t vow el po in tin g . T his ap p lies
to c o n so n an ts im m ed iately follow ed by a n o th e r c o n so n an t a n d co n so n an ts at th e e n d of a w o rd .

С (no vowel diacritics) malka ‫ﺧ ﻠ ﺺ‬

king _ ____

ktab ‫ﺗ ال ل‬

‫ ه؛‬write

N otice th a t vow el m ark s occur along with th e m atres letters. T he m atres lectionis are p a rt of the
basic sp ellin g of w o rd s, then vow el diacritics are a d d e d as a seco n d ary layer to the spelling.

di ho ‫د‬

my wait!

Also n o te th a t ‫ ג‬dalat a n d ٦ resh are w ritten w ith a final dot, w hich they retain w h e n vow el
p o in tin g is a d d e d , tt is essential to read the d o t as p a rt of th e co n so n an t and n o t a vow el m ark.
 dawe ‫ך ؟׳ > ז‬ rab ‫آ د‬

mister

In com m on w ritings, vow el p o in tin g is u sed m ainly to clarify th e rea d in g of a letter. C onsistent,
w id e sp re a d vow el p o in tin g is restricted to im p o rta n t texts an d reference m aterials.

malka ‫ﺧ ﻠ ﺺ‬ melka ‫ﺣ ﻠ ﻢ‬

king advice

V ow el p o in ts are n o t the only w ay to d istin g u ish w ords. W h en it com es to h o m o g ra p h s (distinct

w o rd s w ith the sam e spelling), w riters m ay instead place a p o in t above v e rsu s below w o rd s to
differentiate them .

malka ‫ﺧ ﻠ ﺺ‬ melka ‫ﺣ ﻠ ﺺ‬

king advice

Sana гс‫؛‬ш ? sna ‫وﻣ ﺺ‬

‫؛‬٠ stand ‫؛‬٠ hate

A sm all h o rizo n tal line m ay be placed below a co n so n an t w h e n m u ltip le c o n so n an ts are

clu stered together. This line indicates th a t th e c o n so n an t is p ro n o u n ce d w ith a sh o rt vow el.

hckemta ‫ﻣﺪﺣﻬﺚ\؛ﺋمك‬ hckmta

wisdom wisdom

U se th e follow ing ^ ag es to practice w ritin g vow el p o in tin g on the A ram aic c o n so n an ts Λ lammad
a n d cn he as well as the u n iq u e lig a tu re s in tro d u ced above. C o n sid e r th a t th e diacritics com prise
th e last stroke(s) of a character.

98 ‫أ‬ Learn to Write Aramaic

 pthaha

transliteration
a

pronunciation
/а/

m
٠

‫د‬

zqaph

transliteration

pronunciation
/a :/

‫ص‬

he iishangeia C ursive Scrip ‫ أ ؛‬99

 zlatna pshiqa

transliteration
e

pronunciation
/е/

CO

\
٠٠

zlama qashi/a

transliteration
ё

pronunciation
/e:/

СП
٠٠

‫د‬

٠٠

‫ا؛أاا‬ ‫أ‬ L,earn to Write ٨ ٢ ،‫««؛»’־‬

 hvasa

tra n s lite ra tio n

‫ آ‬or ‫؛‬

p ro n u n c ia tio n
/‫؛‬:/-/‫؛‬/

٨
rw a h a

tra n s lite ra tio n

‫ ة‬،١٢ о

p ro n u n c ia tio n
/ о :/ ~ /о /
 о
'sasa

transliteration
‫» ة‬٢ и

pronunciation
/и:/~/и/

single point above

transliteration
(none)

pronunciation
(d istin g u ish es w o rd s w ith the
sam e spelling)

102 ‫إ‬ [..earn to Write Aramaic

с η

CD

Λ —
 ‫م ض‬
final ligatures with alap

tra n s lite ra tio n

ta, etc.

pronunciation
/ta/, etc.

final ligatures with yud

transliteration
‫ ؛‬٦‫؛‬, etc.

pronunciation
/‫؛‬١٦/, etc.

/.،‫»׳‬٢ »to Write Aramaic

Exercise 5
U se the w o rd s in this activity to cu ltiv ate y o u r u n d e rs ta n d in g ٥ ‫ ؛‬A ram aic vow els. In the first ‫ ؛‬١١^
٦
of th e exercise, copy a n d tra n slite ra te each w o rd w ritten in E strangela. P ay close a tte n tio n to the
vow els in y o u r tran sliteratio n s.

1. ‫ئ‬ famih/ transliteration:

2. myrrh transliteration:

3. unclean transliteration:

4. ‫׳>ﺃﻱ‬ which ones? transliteration:

5. ‫ﻗﺆﺑﺺ‬ to be glad transliteration:

6. ٢٢٠‫ﻏﺎﻟﺘﻪ\؛ﻕ‬ kingdom transliteration:

The second half of this exercise p rese n ts tra n slite ra te d A ram aic w o rd s. W rite each tra n slite ra te d
w o rd tw ice in the cu rsiv e script. In clu d e vow el p o in tin g in y o u r tran sliteratio n .

7. dukta place

pak pure

berza land

10. la'ota swearer

٦٦ aziza ferocious

12. silah quietude

Modified Consonants Represented by Speeial Marks
A ram aic has tw o ty p es of consonants: soft c o n so n an ts a n d hard consonants. Six h a rd co nsonan ts
are p ro n o u n ced as stops, six soft co n so n an ts as fricatives. A d o t above th e letter rep re sen ts the
fam iliar h a rd p ro n u n cia tio n , w hile a d o t below the letter m ark s soft p ro n u n ciatio n .

‫ض‬ b ‫ﺣﻢ‬ b !™‫ ﺍ‬in wine or /v/ in veer

‫ه‬ ‫ﺀ‬ g /у/ like voiced /х/

‫ג‬ ‫ل‬ ‫أ‬ d / ‫ ة‬/ in this

‫י‬-‫א׳‬ к v\ к /х/ in loch (an h sound at top of throat)

‫خ‬ р ‫ج‬ ‫ﺀ‬ / i / i n fair

‫خ‬ t ‫ج‬ ‫إ‬ /0 / in thing

Soft co n sonants m ay he tra n slite ra te d w ith an h after the n o rm al co n so n an t letter (th, ‫ أرم‬and so
on) or a line b e n e ath ( ‫؛‬, ‫ ﺋﺄ‬etc.). © ٧٢ e x am p les h a v e so far failed to d istin g u ish b etw een th e soft
an d h a rd p ro n u n cia tio n of con so n an ts. N o w w e can re p re se n t th em in th e scrip t an d in
tran sliteratio n .

k ta b a ‫ﺧﺎ ال ﺟﻲ‬ b a y ta ‫ﺿ إل م‬

book house

H a rd and soft d o ts m ay be w ritte n alo n g w ith vow el p oints. This com plicates the text, so even
learn in g m aterials refrain from p rin tin g b o th vow el a n d co n so n an t diacritics on every applicable
letter.

k ta b a ‫خ\ةص‬ b a y ta ‫ﻳﺎإق׳ﻳﻢ‬

book house

bakta ‫ﺗﺘﺄﻡ‬ or bakta ‫ﺫﺝ\؛ﻗمك‬

wife wife

D ou b le co n so n an ts occur in the m id d le of som e w o rd s in C lassical an d E astern Syriac, b u t n o t in

W estern dialects. D ouble c o n so n an ts are p ro n o u n ce d long b u t w ritte n as a single consonant.

106 ٠
aim!..,
‫ ؛‬Write Aramtiic
 Icbba ‫ﻟﺾ‬ gadda ‫م‬

heart luck

Both h ard a n d soft c o n so n an ts m ay be d o u b led ,

lebba r d ‫־‬A abba ٨ ‫^؛؛؛‬

heart father

A ram aic w o rd s m ay co n tain silen t c o n so n an ts as a resu lt of historical spelling. A n u p p e r b ar

m a rk s an u n p ro n o u n c e d consonant. O u r tra n sc rip tio n s w ill e ith e r italicize o r d ro p silen t letters.

‫ ؟‬asha ‫׳*ذص‬ a/it ‫׳ ﺀﻣﺪا؛ة‬

‫ ﻩ؛‬cool off you

S ilent co nsonants m ay in stead be indicated by a d o w n w a rd slash above th e letter.

qasha rC 'iriW 'at ‫׳> ﻣﺪاﻣﺢ‬

‫؛‬٠ cool off you

A n u p p e r bar m ay also be u se d to m ark a c o n so n an t im m ed iately follow ed b y a n o th e r

c o n so n an t (rath er th an a vow el).

ktaba kataba

book writer

Som e Syriac co n so n an ts can rep re sen t m u ltip le p honem es. The letter ‫إ‬ gammal also sta n d s for
/ ‫ ول‬/ as in jam, ٧٠١кар for /tjy as in ‫ ا <ﺳﻠﻢﺀ‬an d ‫ ﻩ‬pe for /f/ as in /«/ ٢. These se co n d a ry p ro n u n ciatio n s
are signaled by an u p w a rd slash below th e letter.

chay ‫ص‬ afarin

tea bravo!

P ractice w ritin g co n so n an t diacritics ‫]؛‬٦ the copy section below , th e n com plete th e exercise th a t
follow s. C o n sid er th a t diacritic m ark s co m p rise the last p en strokes of the letter.
 qushshaya

transliteration
b, g, d, k, p, t

pronunciation
/b /,/g /,/d /,/k /,/p /,/t/

ruqqakha

transliteration
b g d k p t

pronunciation
/ ٧ / / γ/ / б/ /X/ / 0 / / ‫؛‬/

‫ة‬

Learn 10 Wrilc ٨ ٢» ‫ » ؛‬، ■ ‫ ' ; ؛‬، ‫־‬

 marhetana

tra n s lite ra tio n

(none)

pro n u n cia tio n

(silent c©ns©nant ٠٢· consonant
followed by anothec consonant)

‫ب‬
jammal

t r a n s lit e r a t i o n
g ٥٢ ‫إ‬

p ro n u n cia tio n
‫ﺍﻭﺩﺍ‬
 ٧١
chap

t r a n s lit e r a t io n
с or c h

p ro n u n cia tio n
/tJ7

‫ح‬
fe

tr a n s li t e r a t io n

pro n u n cia tio n

It/

‫ح‬
X

‫ﻟﻞ‬.}‫ر‬ ‫ا‬ Learn to Write Aramaic

Exercise 6
T he tra n slite ra tio n s now include inform ation a b o u t h ard , soft, silent and d o u b le consonants.
R ew rite every w o rd tw ice in the cursive sc rip t u sin g vow el an d c o n so n an t diacritics.

1. sawta voice

2. mellaw/7y his words

3. '‫ﺍﺁﺁ)ﺃﺍﺍﺍﺍﺃ‬ all of you

4. jarchl town crier

5. demma blood

6. malkuta kingdom

7. hade this (feminine)

8. hwara white

9. gappe threats

10. tanpata unclean ones

The Estrangela CScript

ursiv،‫ا؛‬ ١ ١ ١
 W riting Sentences in t h e Cursive Script

You h av e seen how to read an d w rite w o rd s ‫؛‬٨ the E strangela script. ¥ ٠٧ h a v e also learned to
re p re se n t specific vow els a n d c o n so n an ts ‫؛‬٨ th is script. You can n o w begin to read p h rase s and
sentences. Like letters, w o rd s are read from rig h t to left. In d iv id u a l w o rd s are se p ara te d from
o ne a n o th e r by a b lan k space, a tech n iq u e u sed in w ritte n A ram aic since an cien t tim es.

‫ﺟﺞ‬ 0 ‫ﺧﻬﺘﺖ‬ ‫آد‬ Хм ‫ب ﺣإلص‬ \ух ‫ﻟﻨﻲ‬

man damshal?l}ar lak rmla had zel 'ammeh trcn
he that compels you to walk one mile, go with him two

W ritten Syriac has e m p lo y e d a com plex system of p u n c tu a tio n an d cantillation m ark s

th ro u g h o u t its history. T rad itio n al texts like the P eshitta m ay m ark the e n d of p a ra g ra p h or
verse w ith the sym bol ❖. Som e m a n u sc rip tso also
r sk ew
u seedtwd o tsvertical
a n d .·d otots‫؛‬
rep re sen t a sh o rt b rea k (so m e w h a t like a com m a or a p e rio d (.

‫م‬: ‫ال ﻧﻴﻢ‬ 0 ‫ ﺧﻪﺀت‬Л \ Ллз ‫مخل‬

‫ﺧﻴﻤﺎﺩﺗﺘﻌﻨ‬ Л у н ‫ﻟﻨﻲ‬
man damshahhar lak mila had zel 'ammeh tren

M any texts w ritten in E strangela place tw o h orizontal d o ts o v er a first o r m id d le co n so n an t in

so m e w o rd s. K now n as syame, this an cient co n v ention d istin g u ish e s the p lu ra l form of a w ord
from th e singular.

malka ‫ﺗﺘﺘﻠﺨﻤﺤﻢ‬ та1кё ‫حمﺘﻠﻀﻢ‬

king kings

M o d e rn A ram aic w riters often use fam iliar W estern p u n c tu a tio n m arks. T he p erio d , q u estio n
m ark, exclam ation m ark a n d com m a m ay all a p p e a r in a strin g of A ram aic text. T he sym bol ❖
signals the en d of a p a ra g ra p h .

aykanna shmak? ‫ﺱ‬ ‫ﻡ؟‬

W hat is ،/(١ ٧٢ name? (Classical)

Lines of Syriac text are right justified. Also, final letter form s are w ritten a t the end of a w ord
ev en in the m id d le of a sentence. The final form s are word final, not absolutely final.

·>‫ﺍ ﺀ ﺹ‬ ‫ﺪ‬Л\ ‫ﺊﺤ ﺼملﺜ ﻢ ﺣ ﺎ‬

‫ﻳ ﺗ ﺑ‬ ‫مل‬

Above excerpt from Peshitta reprinted. Notice the justification, the

syame on / ٠٢ "two” andfinalforms of nun and кар within the sentence.

N otice th a t A ram aic m ay be w ritten w ith or w ith o u t diacritics (vow el po in tin g , syam e an d so
on). The diacritics occur infrequently o u tsid e of learn in g resources and im p o rta n t texts.
The Early A ra m a ic Script
 le tte r‫ ؛‬٠٢٨١
‫ب‬

u{valents‫؟‬
e
‫م א‬

le tte r form
‫يف‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫دل‬

116 ‫ا‬ Learn 10 Write Aramaic

le tte r form
Λ

equivalents
‫_ ג‬N^
 letter ™‫ذ‬
‫و‬

equivalents
п <m ‫ﺹ‬
‫־‬٠ ٠ ٦

letter form
1

equivalents
٦ ٥

IIS ‫ا‬ ]...earn to Write Arm m ic

le tte r form
I

e q u iv a le n ts
٢١
‫ﺳﻪ‬

le tte r io rm

e q u iv a le n ts
П ‫ﻣﺪ‬

rhe Early A ram aic Script 119 ‫ا‬

 le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts

le tte r form
‫آ‬

e q u iv a le n ts

120 ‫ا‬ L,enrn to Write Aramaic

letter form
1

equivalents
‫ ت‬٧١١

letter form
i

equivalents
‫צל‬
 le tte r form
‫ל‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫נל מ‬

le tte r iorm
‫ל‬

e q u iv a le n ts

122 ‫ا‬ l,earn So Write Aramaic

letter form ١

equiva!ents
‫ ס‬00
١f
 le tte r form
٢

e q u iv a le n ts

124' ‫ا‬ enrn to Write Aramaic!.

 le tte r‫ ؛‬٠٢١١١
٢
с р
e q u iv a le n ts
‫ﺀ م‬

١٧

le tte r form
‫ه‬

e q u iv a le n ts
٦٩
le tte r form
w

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ﺀئ‬

w
 W riting ‫؟‬ ١ ٧ ٥^^ AN^ P h r a s e s in t h e £ a r l y A r a m a i c S c r i p t

٢١٦!^ early sc rip t a p p e are d ‫؛‬٨ stone in scrip tio n s o v er 3,000 y ears ago. Early A ram aic e p ig ra p h y
follow s the sam e basic practices in tro d u ced for the sq u a re a n d cursive scripts above. L etters are
w ritte n and read from rig h t to left.

mlek ' /‫آل ﺙ‬ sh m ^ ‫أل إل‬ ‫ﺏ‬

king _ _ _ _ _ _ _ your name

A ram aic in scrip tio n s inclu d e w o rd breaks, often a d o t o r a vertical b ar placed betw een
in d iv id u a l w ords.

w 064 ١‫ ﻭ آل ﻡ‬١7 ‫ آلﺙ‬١M l ١‫ ל‬w

^ ٨١^
١١ zakir ٨١١^ hamat u‫־‬la'ash

(The) name (is) Zakir, King o f Nam(][ and La'ash.

T he early e p ig ra p h ic scrip t a lre ad y em p lo y ed matres lectionis, b u t vow el p o in tin g and

p u n c tu a tio n w ere n o t yet in tro d u c ed into th e script.
The Im perial Script
 le tte r form
4

e ‫ ؟‬u{valents
‫م א‬

le tte
‫©؛‬r ٢٥١
‫ر‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫دل‬

!-,earn !0 Write Aramaic

le tte r form
‫ر‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ג‬

The Im perial Script ١ 31‫؛‬

le tte r form
‫׳‬A

e q u iv a le n ts
П сп

le tte r form
‫ל‬

e q u iv a le n ts
lo
le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts

le tte r form
‫ا‬1

e q u iv a le n ts
п и

‫ال‬

The im perial Scrip ‫ ا ؛‬133

 letter form

к
‫الﺍجب‬
equivalents
٦٠ ٢

'1.34 ‫ا‬ Learn to Write Aramaic

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ ت‬١٦

le tte r form
‫ﺍ‬

e q u iv a le n ts
VA

‫ا‬

he im perial Scrip ، ‫ا‬ 'I١ ٦

 le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts

'136 ‫ا‬ Ix’tirn ip Write Aramaic

le tte r form
١

e q u ‫؛‬v a le n ts
D ٢٠

le tte r form
V

e q u iv a le n ts
‫د ע‬

‫ ا‬١١ ،· Im perial Script

 le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts

le tte r form
V

e q u iv a le n ts

‫ﺀ ت‬

38 ‫ﺍ‬ Ixiiirn to Write Aramaic

le tte r form
‫ﺀ‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ק‬ ‫ﺀ‬
 le tte r form
V

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ ﺹ‬-۴

le tte r form
‫م‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ת‬

140 ‫ا‬ L,earn to Write Aramaic

 W riting W ords and P h r a s e s in t h e Imperial Script

T he Im perial Script dev elo p ed as the a d m in istra tiv e w ritin g system of th e P ersian E m pire m ore
th an 2,500 y ears ago. F am ously a ttested in th e E lep h an tin e p ap y ri. Im perial A ram aic follow s the
sam e basic practices in tro d u ced for the sq u a re and cursive scrip ts above. L etters are w ritten and
read from rig h t to left.

malka shmak ‫ﺭ ال ﻭﺃ‬

king your name

O fficial w ritin g s inclu d e clear w o rd b reak s in the form of a b lan k space b etw een in d iv id u al
w o rd s

npaq u-’azal 'al malka ‫ ﺍ‬١ ‫ﺯﺃﺀﺃ‬

?^

He left and went to the king.

Like th e later sq u a re a n d cu rsive scripts, A chaem enid A ram aic u sed certain c o n so n an ts as matres
lectionis. H ow ever, n o system of vow el p o in tin g or form alized p u n c tu a tio n y e t existed.
The H e r o d ia n Script
 letter form
К

equivalents
‫ א‬к‫׳‬

letter ‫ذ‬ ™

equivalents
‫دل‬

144 ‫ا‬ Learn to Write Aramaic

The H ero d ian Script 145 ‫ا‬
 le tte r form
‫ז‬1

e q u iv a le n ts
П от

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
la

146 ١ L.carn to Write Aramaic

le tte r form
١

e q u iv a le n ts

le tte r form
٢٦

e q u iv a le n ts
П ‫ﻋﺪ‬

( he Herodian. Script 147: ‫ا‬

 le tte r form
٠

le tte r form
A

148 ‫ﺍ‬ Learn to Write Aramaic

le tte r form
‫ل‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ ت‬٧١

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ ל‬л
 le tte r form
‫ود‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫□ל מ‬

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts

‫(او ل‬ ‫ا‬ earn 10 Write Aramaic!--.

le tte r form
С

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ ם‬00

le tte r form
‫ر‬

e q u iv a le n ts
S7 ‫ث‬
 le tte r form
‫כ‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ﺽ פ‬

le tte r form
У

e q u iv a le n ts

52 ‫ﺍ‬ Learn to Write Aramaic

le tte r ‫ ؛‬٠٢١١١
Г

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ק‬ ‫ﺹ‬

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
‫דר‬

Tire H erodian Script 153 ‫ا‬

 le tte r form
V

e q u iv a le n ts

le tte r form
‫ת‬

e q u iv a le n ts
٨ ‫ط‬

154 ‫ا‬ !.earn to V\!riie. Aramaic

 W riting W ords and P hrases in t h e H erodian Script

D u rin g the h eig h t of the R om an E m pire, th e sq u a re scrip t began to take its fam iliar shape. The
D ead Sea Scrolls and R om an-era in scrip tio n s attest to its d e v e lo p m en t. T he sam e principles
in tro d u c ed for the sq u a re scrip t a p p ly to th is w ay of w ritin g A ram aic. L etters are w ritten and
rea d from rig h t to left.

malka sh m ^ ‫ﺭ ال ﻭﺃ‬

king your name

C ertain letters in this sc rip t can look very sim ilar in h u rrie d texts an d ro u g h tran scrip tio n s. For
instance, the letters waw a n d yudh m ay b o th a p p e a r as a vertical line. Also, careful m an u scrip ts
in clu d e spaces b etw een w o rd s, w h ile com m on in scrip tio n s tend to leave th em out. The
controversial in scrip tio n rep ro d u c e d below exem plifies b o th of these features.

ya'akob bar y©se£ 'al^uy d-yeshua y w \ ٩ !’ №٩ ‫ ه‬1‫ظ ا‬ ‫' م مض‬

Ya ’akov, son o f Yoseph, brother of Yeshua

Li^e th e later sq u a re an d cu rsive scripts, th e H e ro d ia n sc rip t u ses ’«/«‫ أرم‬, he, waw a n d yudh as
matres lectionis. H o w ev er, no system of vow el p o in tin g o r form alized p u n c tu a tio n yet existed.
The H e b r e w Cursive Script
 le tte r form
1C

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ א‬K‫׳‬

le tte r form
‫כ‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫د ت‬

158 ١ L.enrn to Write Агштйс

le tte r form
L

le tte r form
?

e q u iv a le n ts
‫דל‬

The H ebrew C ursive Script 159' ‫؛‬

 le tte r form
‫؟‬١

e q u iv a le n ts
Tien

le tte r form
‫ا‬

e q u iv a le n ts
٦٥

160 ‫ﺍ‬ l..earn to Write Aramait

le tte r form
‫د‬

e q u iv a le n ts

le tte r form
٨

e q u iv a le n ts
٢ ٦JJ

‫ ־‬H ebrew ‘‫ا‬

‫اا ا’ ا‬ ‫ ؛‬- Script ‫׳‬
‫ا ا ﺑﻢ!اا‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ل‬ 6‫إ‬
 letter form
6

letter form
‫ר‬

eq u ivalen ts

162 ١ Learn to Write Aramaic

l et t er f o r m

‫و‬
eq u ivalen ts
‫ ר‬,Λ
 letter form
;

eq u ivalen ts

letter form
N

equ ivalen ts
‫ه‬ ‫נע‬

164 ‫ا‬ earn to Write Aramaic!...

letter form

eq u ivalen ts

‫׳اا‬,< H ebrew C ursive Scrip ، ‫ ا‬165

 letter form
‫ا‬

equ ivalen ts

letter form

equ ivalen ts
‫ס‬ CO

66 ‫ا‬ earn to Write Aramaic!.

letter iorm

equ ivalen ts
‫ע‬ ‫ﺡ‬

letter form

equ ivalen ts

T'he H ebrew C ursive Script ‫ا‬ ‫أر؛ ا‬

 letter form
‫ﺀ‬

equ ivalen ts

letter form
‫ت‬

equ ivalen ts

168 ‫ا‬ earn to Write Aramaic!...

letter ‫©؛‬٢٨١
?

equivalents

٣ *

letter form
‫ק‬

equivalents
‫ﺀ م‬
 letter form
٦

equivalents
1 \

letter form
٠ ■

equivalents
‫ﺹ‬

170 ‫ا‬ Learn to Write Aramaic

letter form
٨

equ ivalen ts
ЛЬ

‫؛‬٦ ١ H eb rew C ursive Script ،‫ ا؛‬171

 W riting W ords and PHRAS£S in t h e H ebrew C ursive Script

T he m o d ern H e b re w cu rsive scrip t m ay be used to w rite Jew ish A ram aic. T he ru le s p rese n ted
p rev io u sly for the s q u a re scrip t also a p p ly to this script. The letters are w ritten a n d read from
rig h t to left.

malka СЭ £n nehre ‫ע؟ ר(ו‬

king rivers

Like the s ta n d a rd sq u a re script, th e H e b re w cu rsive scrip t h a s u n iq u e final form s of kaph,

lammedh, rnirn, nun, pe an d sadhe. These final form s are in clu d e d in the practice sheets.

0 ‫ةا‬،‫اا‬ Oicftf qriwin ‫קר׳יון‬

world soon

T his scrip t includes spaces betw een w o rd s a n d W estern-style p u n c tu a tio n m ark s flip p ed left-to-
right, in clu d in g the com m a an d q u estio n m ark.

!‫כ כ כ ר ו ק‬ ‫ دآل‬1‫ة‬ tS \n 1 N C 1C N ‫תונכי‬

yalunkc mad 'amrittu la gozi b-khabrokh ! ‫ا‬

Children, whatever you tell them, do not listen ‫؛‬٠ your words!

N otice th a t this cu rsiv e scrip t also uses matres lectionis. H o w ev er, since th is is n o t a carefully
p rin te d script, it av o id s vow el p o in tin g a n d only occasionally in clu d es c o n so n an t diacritics.

+Yona Sabar, A Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dictionary (Wiesbaden: Harrass،}witz, 2002), 54.

'172 ‫! ا‬.e a rn ίο W rite٨ ٢ »« )»،‫־‬
The W e s t e r n Serto Script
 le tte r form
I

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ א‬Г‫׳؛‬

le tte r form
‫ت‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫دن ت‬
^ ‫י״‬ ^

174 ‫ا‬ Learn to Write Aramaic

letter form
‫ح‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ג‬

‫ج‬

‫ح‬
<‫د م‬

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
٦١

‫؛‬٦ ١٧ W estern Serto Script

 letter iorm
0‫ﺍ‬

e q u iv a le n ts
ri СП

٠١
.

le tte r form
٠

e q u iv a le n ts
٦ ٠

76 ‫ا‬ Learn 10 Write Aramaic

letter form

e q u iv a le n ts
٦١

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
٢٦ ‫ﻣﺪ‬

The W estern Serto Script 77 ‫أ‬ ‫ا‬

 le tte r form
ί

E q u iv a le n ts
‫ﻣﻦ ט‬

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ر آ‬

‫ى‬

78 ‫ﺍ‬ earn to Write Aramaic!,

letter form
‫د‬

eq u ivalen ts
‫د ل‬

‫ح‬

letter form
٢

The W estern SiH'to‫؛ رإ؛־ ا־ ال‬

 le tte r form
‫أ‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ح‬
‫ ל‬-‫ﺍ‬

le tte r form
‫ﻫ ﺪ‬

‫م‬ —

e q u iv a le n ts
‫מ‬ ‫ﻣ ﺪ‬
.NT)

Ja

80 ‫ا‬ earn to Write Aramaic!..

le tte r form
‫ו‬°

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ﻡ ם‬

‫ﻗ ﻪ‬
/‫إ‬

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ت ع‬

’h e W estern Serto Script 18.1 ‫أ‬

 letter iorm

e q u iv a le n ts
١ ^

le tte r form
.r e

e q u iv a le n ts
D ٢ ٠

182 ‫ا‬ Learn to Write Aramaic

le tte r form
‫م‬

equiv^ ents
‫ﺡ ال‬

le tte r form
‫ه‬

e q u iv a le n ts
0 ‫ه‬
 letter iorm
‫ل‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫و ال‬

‫ل‬

'184 ‫ا‬ Learn to Write Aramaic

letter form

e q u iv a le n ts
٦٩

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ﺀ ى‬ ‫ص‬

The W estern Serto Script

 letter form

e q u iv a le n ts
n h

186 ‫ﺍ‬ !..earn to Write. Aramaic

 W riting W ords and P h r a s e s in THE S e r t o S c r i p t

T he Serto scrip t d e v e lo p e d d u rin g the M id d le A ges to w rite W estern Syriac. W estern A ssyrian
A ram aic w ritin g s a p p e a r in the Serto sc rip t to this day. W estern speakers p ro n o u n ce th e n am e of
th e classical scrip t Estrangelo, w hich m ay also be u sed to w rite W estern Syriac.

T he sam e prin cip les in tro d u c e d ‫؛‬o r E strangelo a p p ly to Serto. L etters are w ritten and read
from rig h t to left.

malko ‫ﻃ ﺎ‬ bar ‫ﺣ ﺎ‬

king son

T he Serto scrip t includes spaces b etw een w o rd s.

shlom(o) 11 ‫ﻣﻨﻖ ץ‬ ‫ ﻗﻪ‬ч а \ ж

peace be upon you (to male)

T he Serto sc rip t m akes use of the sam e matres lectionis an d c o n so n an t diacrih cs found in
E strangelo. M o d e m w riters ٢١١m
١١ ^ a rk soft c o n so n an ts an d silent consonants. T he classical
p u n c tu a tio n of th e cursive scrip t also applies.

shlom leky maryam. ‫ﻋ ﻨ ﻘ ﺮ‬ ‫ﺛ ﻲ ﻫ ﺪﺀإ ﻣ ﻢ؛ م‬

Hail, Mary.

N o te th a t m o d e m sp e ak e rs use fam iliar p u n c tu a tio n m arks, albeit flip p ed right-to-left. Eor

exam ple, the q u estio n m ark is w ritten "‫"؟‬. T he sym bol ·‫ ׳؛‬n o w m ark s the e n d of a p a ra g ra p h .

Medial and Final Letter Forms

S erto m ain tain s the lig atu res in tro d u c ed for th e E strangelo script. The .same letters join to their
lett. A lso as in E sttangelo, joining letters ten d to h a v e a tail w h e n w ritten alone or at the end of a
w o rd .

sleq ‫ﺻ ﻪ‬ gabro !‫ﻣ ﻴ ﺨ ﺒ ﻤ ﺠ ﺎ‬

he left man
T he letters teth an d taw h av e u n iq u e form s w h en they join to a p rev io u s letter. T he letter teth
connects as ‫ ي‬an d taw as к .

|‫ﺣ ﻬ ﻬ ﺐ‬ ‫ﺄ ا‬- ‫ﻫ ﺴ ﻤ‬ ktab ‫حﻣ ﺞ‬

to the mountain he wrote

U n iq u e final form s of the letters kaph, mini a n d nun a p p e a r in the Serto script.

shmo^ ‫م‬ men ‫ﻫ ﺐ‬

your name from __

T he letters lomadh an d ey(n) also h a v e u n iq u e final form s: 4‫؛؛‬Ka n d ‫ م‬. T heir initial an d m edial
form s contain a single diag o n al line in stead of tw o parallel lines.

shlomo ‫ﻋ ﺬ ﻧ ﻤ ﺎ‬ 'ayno ‫ﺳ ﺎ‬

peace eye _ _ _ _ _

T he letters olaph a n d lomadh form u n iq u e ligatures. W hen 'olaph p reced es lomadh, they are
w ritte n as tw o parallel d iag o n al lines. W h en lomadh p reced es olaph, th ey are w ritten as tw o
parallel vertical lines.

’aloho | ‫ﻫ ﻪ‬ lo ‫ال‬

God no

N o te th at W estern Syriac sp e ak e rs n o t p ro n o u n ce d o u b le consonants.

abo ‫(ﺣ ﺎ‬

father

W estern Vow els

W estern Syriac h as a se p ara te vow el system . The d o ts ty p ical of E astern vow el p o in tin g are
replaced by sm all vow el letters d e riv e d from G reek.
 о (originally a) yamo ‫ﺷﺎ‬

_____ ocean

sleqe ‫ﺻ ﺨ ﺜﺪ‬

leaveto _____

‫ت؛ص‬
$ i risho ‫ ﻋﺎ‬،‫ث‬

head

и suretο ό ‫< ﺗﻬﺎ ا‬

Syriac

W estern vow els m ay a p p e a r below letters instead ٠ ‫ ؛‬consistently above. In th ese cases, the vow el
diacritics are flipped 180°. T his h a p p e n s w ith tall letters like lomadh and taw, b u t m ay occur w ith
o th e r letters.

1-‫ذ ؤ ه ؛ ا‬ ‫ﻫ ﺂ الأ‬ ktab ‫ﻣ ﺆ ت‬

to the mountain he wrote

W estern vow els are n o t restricted to th e Serto script. Syriac m ay be w ritten in E strangelo w ith
w e stern vow el m arks.
The E a ste rn ( M a d n h a y a ) Script
letter form

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ א‬к‫׳‬

le tte r form
‫د‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫د ت‬

·‫؛ ﺀ‬::‫؛؛‬
‫ﻣﺤﻲ‬
‫ﺫ‬.‫ﺱ‬ ,‫■ ﻩ‬
le tte r form
Λ

e q u iv a le n ts
‫\ ג‬

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ך ד‬
 le tte r form
٠

e q u iv a le n ts
П 00

le tte r form
٥

e q u iv a le n ts

‫آ‬ 94 .earn to Write Aramaic

letter form

e q u iv a le n ts

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
٢٦ ‫ﺑﻊ‬

The Eastern ‫؛‬.Madn.haya) Script ‫ا‬ '19‫י؛‬

 le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts

'196 ‫ا‬ l.earn io Write Aramaic

letter form

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ذ‬

le tte r form
٩

e q u iv a le n ts
٦ ٦

I،.‘ Eastern (M adnhaya) Script ‫ا‬ ‫أو؛‬

 le tte r form
‫ﺩ‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ ל‬л

le tte r form
‫م‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫מ‬ ‫م‬

/..،?‫■؛‬
٤٢ ‫»ﺀ؛‬Write Aramaic
le tte r form
‫בר‬

e q u iv a le n ts
٥ ٣

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
3*

‫ﺍ’ﺍﺁﻝ‬ E astern (M a d n h a y a ) S crip ‫ﺍ ؛؛‬ ‫ﻭﻭﻝ‬

 letter form

e q u iv a le n ts

le tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ס‬ CD

200 ‫ﺃ‬ .‫'؛‬,،‫׳‬،،

٢ / ٤«٢‫؛‬٧ ٨ '‫;؛؛‬ ٨ ٢ )'’»‫«؛‬،?‫؛‬
le tte r form
‫ﺩ‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ע‬ ‫ﺡ‬

le tte r form
Δ

e q u iv a le n ts
3 ‫ﻩ‬

‫ه‬

The Eastern (M adnhaya) Script 201 ‫ا‬

 le tte r form
٢

e q u iv a le n ts

le tte r form
‫ﻟ ﺪ‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ﺀ م‬

Learn to Write Aramaic

le tte r form
‫ذ‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫ו ר‬

ie tte r form

e q u iv a le n ts
٦٥
 le tte r iorm
‫ه‬

e q u iv a le n ts
‫״؛ ת‬

‫خ‬

204 ‫ﺍ‬ ί,αιτη to virile Aramaic

 W r itin g W ords and PHRAS£S in t h e Eastern Script

T he M ad n h ay a (E astern) scrip t d e v e lo p e d d u rin g the M id d le A ges to w rite E astern Syriac.

E astern A ssyrian A ram aic a p p e a rs in this script to th is day. The sam e principles previously
in tro d u ced for E strangela a p p ly to M ad n h ay a. L etters are w ritte n and read from rig h t to left.

malka ? л \у > ‫؛ اال ا ا ا‬/‫ ة‬, ‫ﺟ ﻪ» ص‬

king truth

T he E astern sc rip t includes spaces b etw een w ords.

shlama lok ( ^ n \v . ‫ﺗ ﻠ ﻤ ﺄ‬

peace be upon you (to male)

T he E astern scrip t m akes use of the matres lectionis a n d co n so n an t an d vow el diacritics found in
E strangela. M o d e m sp e ak e rs use fam iliar p u n c tu a tio n m ark s flipped right-to-left. For exam ple,
th e question m ark is w ritte n T he sym bol ·:· m ark s the en d of a p a ra g ra p h o r verse.

shlama 'lok. ‫< م‬

‫ﻃ ﺨ ﺔ ﺣذ ﺔ ﺑ ﻢ ؛‬

Peace be upon you.

T he Eastern scrip t m ain ta in s the lig atu res in tro d u c ed for the E strangela script. The sam e letters
join to their left. The sam e letters m ay also form u n iq u e lig atu res. A s in E strangela, joining letters
ten d to begin in an u p stro k e rath e r th a n a d o w n stro k e a n d h a v e a tail w h e n w ritten alone o r at
the end of a w o rd .

risha ‫ﻧﻌﺜﺮ‬ ktab ‫دﺣﺐ‬

head he wrote

U n iq u e final form s of th e letters кар, mim a n d nun a p p e a r in the E astern script.

shmak ‫ﺗ ﺨ ﻨ ﻲ‬ men ‫ﻫ ﺘ ﻢ‬

your name from

A w avy line tu rn s Л, a n d ٩ in to ‫ ي‬jammal a n d ‫ و‬chap. A h alf rin g t u r n ^ into ‫ ك‬/ ‫ ﺀ‬.

'T'ho Eastern (.Madnhaya) Scrip، 205 ‫ﺍ‬

P r o n u n c i a t i o n Guide
A ram aic w o rd s are tra n slite ra te d th ro u g h o u t this w o rk b o o k to facilitate p ro n u n ciatio n . The
In te rn atio n a l P honetic A lp h ab et (IPA) is also used from tim e to tim e for clarification. The
follow ing g u id e will help you p ro n o u n c e these s o u n d s m ore accurately and consistently.

Consonants

1PA T ra n slite ra tio n E xam ple

/?/ uhzoh ("catch" in throat)
/ь / b book
/g/ g go
/d/ d do
/h / h happy
/w/ ١٧ w ick
/z / z zebra
N h /h / w h ile p u sh in g root of to n g u e ag a in st p h a ry n x
/tv ‫أ‬ Л/ w h ile p u sh in g root of to n g u e ag a in st p h ary n x
1)1 У ‫وءئ‬
/1/ ‫ا‬ late
/т / m meal
In i η not
/s/ s sake
/‫؟‬/ as voiced /h /
/?/ p space
/ ‫ﻣﺢ‬
/ s /si w h ile p u sh in g root of to n g u e ag a in st p h ary n x
/٩/ ٩ /к / w ith to n g u e fu rth e r b ack (against u v u la, n o t soft palate)
/г/ ٢ trilled ٢
/ ٢/ sh shake
N t stay
/X/ h like Scottish loch (back of to n g u e ag a in st soft palate)
/X/ h like Scottish loch (back of to n g u e ag a in st uvula)
/tJ7 ch chain
/ ‫إء‬3 ‫ا‬ lam
‫ل‬

S o ft C o nsonants
/V/ ‫ظ‬٠٢٧ vain o r w ine
/у / £٥٢ gh as voiced /х/
/б / d or dh this
/х /~ /х / ‫ظ‬،١٢kh see /х / a n d /х / above
/£/ ‫ ج‬٠٢ ph fin e
/0 / t o r th thing

208 ‫ا‬ earn to Write Aramaic!...

Vowels
IP A T ra n slite ra tio n E xan^e
/Э / ‫و‬ about
/а / a like father but closer to Spanish casa
/a:/ ‫ﺓ‬ a s / а / but held long
/е / e sets or shortened theу
/е:/ ‫ﺓ‬ as /е/ but held long
/‫؛‬/ i sit or shortened sing
/ ‫؛‬:/ ‫ﺁ‬ as
I'll but held long
/ o /~ / o : / ‫ه‬ so but shortened for /о / or held long for / o:/
/и /~ /и : / и soon but shortened for /и / or held long for /и:/

Pronunciation
Answ ers to t h e Exercises
Exercise 1

1. madbaq welding ‫מדבק‬

2. hadas Edessa ‫הדם‬
3. srar to tie up ‫צרר‬
4. ptaq to throw ‫פתק‬
5. ntal to earn/ ‫נטל‬
6. hagag tofeast ‫חגג‬
7. tlal to cover ‫טלל‬
8. shnaq to strangle ‫שנ ק‬
9. al (up)on ‫על‬
10. lbesh to be dressed ‫לב ש‬

Exercise 2

٦· ‫בי ת א‬ house transliteration: beta

2. ‫?ז עי ם‬ ‫؛‬٠ taste transliteration: ts'em

3. ‫ר א‬тт‫ז ו נ‬ belt transliteration: zonara

4. ‫בו ע ת א‬ abscess transliteration: bu'ata

5. ٦^٦٩٨ young lambs transliteration: hurpan

6. ‫א מ כ דין‬ be shown false transliteration: itkaden

7. si'a ‫؛‬٠ assist ‫סי ע‬

8. yayla hedgehog

9. barzgla iron ‫ב רז ל א‬

10. 'atak ‫؛‬٥ be old ‫ע תק‬

٦٦ qiqelta ruins ‫קי ? ؛ ל ת א‬

12. suqta distress ‫צו ק ת א‬
Exercise 3

‫■آ‬ ithkadcn be proved wrong ‫אהכדין‬

2. qlqclta ruins ‫קי ?؛ ל ת א‬

3. betha house ‫בי ת א‬

4. hurpha young lamb ‫חון פ א‬

5. dsma blood (Classical) ‫דמא‬
6. dsrnma blood (Modern) ‫דמא‬

7 yallolin monsters ‫ילולין‬

8. lavan white ‫לבן‬
9. hashakh be reduced ‫ןזשןז‬
10. bu'atha abscess ‫שלבין‬

Exercise 4
1· bas seeing as on —‫ו‬

2. ’adab gentle

3. ser mystery Л£0

4. ktab to write ‫ﺣﺎ ذت‬

5. shal shawl ‫ط‬

6. ’amret you think so

7. 'al (up)on ‫ط‬

8. tba' tofollow ‫اذ ﺑﺢ‬

9. sleq to leave ‫ﻋر ﻠ ﺺ‬

10. lbesh to put on (clothes) у —Λ

Exercise 5

1. 1 3 K‫׳‬ fam ily transliteration: ayl

2. ‫ﺫﻙ‬ myrrh transliteration: mora

3. ‫و د ث \ ة م‬ unclean transliteration: tanepta

A nsw ers to thi Exercises
213 ‫؛‬
4. which ones? transliteration: aylC'n

5. ‫ص‬ ‫ﻗ ﺆ‬ to be glad transliteration: psaha

6. kingdom transliteration: malkuta

7. dukta place

8. рак pure ‫ﻳ ﺎ‬

9. bcrza land

10. ‫ة أ ه ' ة ا‬ swearer ‫ﻤ ﺤ ﻢ‬0‫ﻣ ﺤ ﻢ ﻳ‬

11. aziza ferocious ‫ﺑ ﺎ ﺑ ﺂ م‬

12. silah quietude )‫^ « '\ח‬

Exercise 6

٦ sawta voice ‫ ؤم‬، ‫ؤل‬

2. mellaw/7y his words }Ojol'vj

3. алИоп all of you

4. jarchi town crier ‫ﻳ ﻤ ﺎ م‬

5. demma blood

6. malkuta kingdom ‫دﻳ ﺎ ^ ﻫ ﺂة م‬

7 this (feminine) ‫ ג׳ >ז‬0 ‫נ‬

8. hwara white к 'л о о о

9. gappe threats

10. tanpata unclean ones

214 ‫ا‬ earn{..

‫ء‬،‫ ئ‬Write Aramaic
 Index
alphabet m edial letter forms
com parative c h a rt 6 cursive sc rip t................................................................... 87
cursive s c rip t 82 Serto sc rip t......................................................................187
sq uare s c rip t 32 n iq q u d ..................................................... See vowel pointing
consonants p ro n u n c ia tio n .................................................................... 207
cursive hard vs. soft 106 p unctuation
pro n u n ciatio n 208 cursive sc rip t................................................................. 112
soft consonants 208 square sc rip t.................................................................... 57
sq uare hard vs. s o f t 53 s c h w a ......................................................................................44
cursive (Estrangela) sc rip t 59 sentences
d agesh (consonant d o t) 53 cursive sc rip t................................................................. 112
D ead Sea Scrolls script..................... See H erodian script square sc rip t.................................................................... 57
Early A ram aic scrip t 115 Serto s c rip t.......................................................................... 173
Eastern scrip t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..‫ ﺀﺀ و‬M adnhaya script soft c o n so n an ts.................................................................. 208
E lephantine script..............................■Set Im perial script cursive s c rip t................................................................. 106
epigraphic sc rip t.......................See Early A ram aic script square sc rip t.................................................................... 53
final letter forms square sc rip t............................................................................9
com parative c h a rt 7 syllables
cu rsiv،.'script 89 cursive sc rip t................................................................... 84
Estrangela cursive sc rip t 89 square sc rip t.................................................................... 34
H ebrew cursive s c rip t 172 vow el pointing
M adnhaya sc rip t 205 cursive sc rip t................................................................... 96
Serto sc rip t 187 square sc rip t.................................................................... 43
sq uare sc rip t 36 vow els
h ard consonants com parative ch art.............................................................7
cursive s c rip t 106 cursive (Eastern) p o in tin g ............................................96
sq uare s c rip t 53 cursive m a tre s................................................................. 95
H ebrew cursive s c rip t 157 cursive s c rip t................................................................... 84
H erodian sc rip t 143 M adnhaya scrip t...........................................................205
Im perial scrip t 129 pron u n ciatio n ................................................................ 209
joining letter fo rm s See ligatures s c h w a ................................................................................ 44
ligatures Serto (W estern) p o in tin g ............................................188
basic cursive lig a tu re s 86 Serto scrip t......................................................................188
M adnhaya sc rip t 205 square (H ebrew ) p o in tin g ........................................... 43
m edial letter ‫ﻟﻪ؛‬ 87 square m a tres.................................................................. 42
Serto sc rip t 187 sq u are sc rip t.................................................................... 34
M adnhaya sc rip t 191 w riting direction
m atres lectionis cursive sc rip t................................................................... 84
cursive s c rip t 95 square sc rip t.................................................................... 34
square s c rip t 42
 Made in the USA
43095435R00123 Lexington. KY
18 Ju l y 2 0 1 5
LANGUAGE

Learn to ١٧٨ '^ the major Aramaic scripts in this practical workbook tor beginners.
From the early alphabet to the standard square and Christian cursive
scripts, this handy guide contains everything you need to master the foundations
of identifying; reading and writing the various Aramaic scripts-

Learn to write individual letters and see how to modify those letters with
vowel and consonant diacritics. Build on this knowledge as you write words and
phrases in the copy exercises and transliteration activities. All along the way, the
w orkbook offers ample space and opportunity to practice writing the language-

A range of exercises and copy sheets cover all of the letter forms and diacritics
required to read and write Aramaic. Copy sheets provide Aramaic names of
letters and characters, pronunciation and transliteration, and the number and
direction of pen strokes needed to com pose each character.

The content of the book focuses on the J d e o -A ra m a ic square script and the
Estrangela cursive script, then covers the Early Aramaic, Imperial Aramaic,
Nerodian, Nebrew cursive. Western Serto and Eastern Assyrian scripts. These
materials are backed up by a com parative chart of Aramaic alphabets, a
pronunciation guide, an index and answers to the exercises.

w w .n a tiv la n g .c o m