Suriyani Malayalam
Suriyani Malayalam (സൂരിയാനി 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 | Follower of Jesus |
| 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 Malpan 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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Suriyani Malayalam, Nasrani Foundation
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 A sacred language is vanishing from State, The Hindu
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Prayer from the Past, India Today
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Mar Thomma Margam by Fr. Varghese Pathikulangara
