Suriyani Malayalam

Suriyani Malayalam (സുറിയാനി മലയാളം, ܣܘܼܪܝܵܢܝܼ ܡܲܠܲܝܵܠܲܡ), also known as Karshoni or Syriac Malayalam, is a version 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

There were numerous problems in writing Malayalam using the Syriac alphabet, which was designed for a Semitic language. Only 22 letters were available from East Syriac orthography to render over 53 phonemes of Malayalam. Both the languages are not related to one another in any way except for religious causes. These problems were overcome by creating additional letters.[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

Additional Malayalam letters

ട്	ഞ്	ജ്	ങ്


ര്	ഭ്	ഩ*	ണ്

ഷ്	ഴ്	ള്

alveolar nasal corresponding to U+OD29

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 13.0 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 13.0 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
Emma[1][6]	Amma - This word would've also originated from the Malayalam word Amma-chi.	Mother
Aba	Appan - The word would've also originated from the Malayalam word Appa-cha.	Father
Nasraya, Nasrani	Nasrani	Christian
Knā'nāya	Knānāya	Canaanite
Pesħa[4]	Pesaha	Passover
Malakha[3]	Malakha	Angel
Qudasha[3]	Kudasha	Sacrament
Mamoditha[3][4]	Mamodisa	Baptism
Sliva	Sliva/Sleeba	Cross
Isho'[3]	Isho	Jesus
Qurbana[3]	Qurbana	Sacrifice/Peace Offering
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] These documents include an alternate set of the Canons of the Synod of Diamper.[7]

References

"City Youth Learn Dying Language, Preserve It". The New Indian Express. May 9, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
Suriyani Malayalam, Nasrani Foundation
A sacred language is vanishing from State, The Hindu
Prayer from the Past, India Today
"Proposal to Encode Syriac Letters for Garshuni Malayalam" (PDF).
Mar Thomma Margam by Fr. Varghese Pathikulangara
Perczel (2014), 266-8.