Suriyani Malayalam
Suriyani Malayalam (സുറിയാനി മലയാളം, ܣܘܼܝܲܢܝܼ ܡܲܠܲܝܵܠܲܡ), also known as Karshoni or Syriac Malayalam, is a dialect of Malayalam written in a variant form of Syriac script 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 East 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 many problems in writing Malayalam using the script of Syriac, a Semitic language. Only 22 letters were available from East Syriac orthography to render over 53 phonemes of Malayalam. These problems were overcome by creating additional letters.[5] The additional letters have been approved for inclusion in a future version of the Unicode Standard.[6]
Basic Syriac ʾĀlap̄ Bēṯ based on Maḏnḥāyā 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 |
Loanwords
Over the centuries, the Malayalam language borrowed several East Syriac words. A few of them are given below:
Original Syriac | Suriyani Malayalam | Meaning |
---|---|---|
Emma[1][7] | Amma | Mother |
Aba | Appan | Father |
Nasraya, Nasrani | Nasrani | Christian |
Pesħa[4] | Pesaha | Passover |
Malakha[3] | Malakha | Angel |
Qudasha[3] | Kudasha | Sacrament |
Mamoditha[3][4] | Mamodisa | Baptism |
Sliva | Sliva | Cross |
Isho'[3] | Isho | Jesus |
Qurbana[3] | Qurbana | Eucharist (for Holy Mass) |
M'shiħa[3][4] | Mishiha | Anointed |
Dukhrana | Dukrana | Remembrance |
Qasisha | Kathanar/Kasnar | Syrian priest |
Mar | Mar | Lord, Sir |
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]
See also
References
- ^ a b "City Youth Learn Dying Language, Preserve It". The New Indian Express. May 9, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
- ^ a b c Suriyani Malayalam, Nasrani Foundation
- ^ a b c d e f g A sacred language is vanishing from State, The Hindu
- ^ a b c d Prayer from the Past, India Today
- ^ "Proposal to Encode Syriac Letters for Garshuni Malayalam" (PDF).
- ^ "Proposed New Characters: Pipeline Table". Unicode Consortium. 2015-11-20. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
- ^ Mar Thomma Margam by Fr. Varghese Pathikulangara