Aramaic alphabet

The ancient Aramaic alphabet was used to write the Aramaic languages spoken by ancient Aramean peoples in the Fertile Crescent. Many other groups also began using it, especially when large empires changed their official languages to Aramaic.

The Aramaic alphabet is special because all its letters stand for sounds called consonants. Some letters can also help show long vowels, but it doesn’t mark most vowels. Experts call this kind of writing system an abjad.

This alphabet is very important in history because almost all writing systems used today in the Middle East come from it. This happened because Aramaic became a common language, used by large empires like the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Neo-Babylonian Empire, and the Achaemenid Empire. Today, scripts like the Jewish Hebrew alphabet, Syriac alphabet, Mongolian script, Brahmi, and even the Arabic alphabet all have roots in the Aramaic alphabet.

History

The earliest writings in the Aramaic language used the Phoenician alphabet. By the 8th century BC, this changed into the Aramaic alphabet. It was used by ancient Aramean tribes across the Fertile Crescent and was later used by other groups.

The Assyrians and Babylonians switched from their Akkadian language and cuneiform script to Aramaic. The Jews also adopted Aramaic for writing Hebrew, replacing their older Paleo-Hebrew alphabet. Today’s Hebrew alphabet comes from the Aramaic alphabet, unlike the Samaritan alphabet, which has a different origin.

Achaemenid Empire (The First Persian Empire)

Further information: Imperial Aramaic

Around 500 BC, after the Achaemenid Empire conquered Mesopotamia, they chose Old Aramaic as the official language for communication across their large empire. This version of Aramaic, known as Imperial Aramaic, helped unite many different peoples and languages. It was very consistent and used for many years even after the empire fell.

Imperial Aramaic had two main writing styles: one for carving into stone and a faster, cursive style for everyday use. Over time, the cursive style became more common. The Aramaic writing system also influenced many other scripts, including the ones used for writing Iranian languages and later the Pahlavi writing system.

Aramaic-derived scripts

The Aramaic alphabet gradually influenced many other writing systems. Alphabets in the Mediterranean area, like those used in Greece and Italy, came from the Phoenician alphabet. But alphabets in eastern regions, such as those used in Persia, Central Asia, and India, developed from the Aramaic script used by the Achaemenid Empire.

After the Achaemenid Empire ended, the Aramaic script split into many different forms. The Hebrew and Nabataean alphabets stayed very similar to the old Aramaic style. Over time, a cursive form of Hebrew developed, while the Nabataean script evolved into the Arabic alphabet. Other scripts like Syriac, Palmyrene, and Mandaic also came from Aramaic and influenced scripts used in Central Asia, such as the Sogdian and Mongolian alphabets.

The Old Turkic script may also have origins in Aramaic, possibly through the Pahlavi or Sogdian alphabets. The Brahmi script, used in ancient India, might have been inspired by Aramaic as well. The Brahmic family of scripts includes Devanagari.

Languages using the alphabet

Today, Biblical Aramaic, Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects, and the Aramaic language of the Talmud are written using the modern-Hebrew alphabet. This is different from the Old Hebrew script. In old Jewish literature, this script was called "Ashurit," meaning the ancient Assyrian script. It is thought that during the time when the Assyrians ruled, the Aramaic script and language became official.

Syriac and Christian Neo-Aramaic dialects are now written in the Syriac alphabet. Mandaic is written in the Mandaic alphabet. Because the Aramaic and classical Hebrew alphabets look very similar, Aramaic text is often printed in the standard Hebrew script in academic writing.

Maaloula

Further information: Western Neo-Aramaic

In Maaloula, one of the few places where a Western Aramaic dialect is still spoken, a school was started in 2006 by Damascus University to teach the language and keep it alive. Unlike Syriac, which has many books written in its script, Western Neo-Aramaic was only spoken until 2006 and had never been written down.

Because it had never been written before, the school's leader decided to create a textbook using the Hebrew alphabet. However, in 2010, the school stopped using this because some people thought the special Maalouli-Aramaic letters looked too much like Hebrew letters. The school said they would use the different Syriac-Aramaic alphabet instead, but some people still use the Maalouli letters. A TV program about Western Neo-Aramaic and the villages where it is spoken showed the square script still being used.

Letters

The Aramaic alphabet is a set of letters used to write the Aramaic language. It has 22 letters, all of which are consonants. This alphabet was used in ancient times and influenced many other writing systems.

Unicode

Main articles: Imperial Aramaic (Unicode block) and Syriac (Unicode block)

The Imperial Aramaic alphabet was added to the Unicode Standard in 2009. The Syriac Aramaic alphabet was added to the Unicode Standard in 1999. The Syriac Abbreviation can be shown with a special character called the Syriac Abbreviation Mark.