View source for Social:Aramaic alphabet

{{Short description|Script used to write the Aramaic language}}
{{Infobox writing system
| sample = Stele Salm Louvre AO5009.jpg
| caption = Aramaic inscription from Tayma, containing a dedicatory inscription to the god Salm
 |name = Aramaic alphabet
 |type = Abjad
 |languages=Aramaic (Syriac<ref name="WWS"/> and [[Social:Mandaic language|Mandaic]]), [[Social:Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Social:Edomite language|Edomite]] 
 |time = 800 BC to AD 600
 |direction=right-to-left
 |fam1 = [[Social:Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian hieroglyphs]]
 |fam2 = [[Social:Proto-Sinaitic script|Proto-Sinaitic]]
 |fam3 = [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]
 |children = 
*[[Social:Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]]<ref name="WWS">{{cite book | title=The World's Writing Systems | year=1996 | editor1-first=Peter T. | editor1-last=Daniels | editor1-link=Peter T. Daniels | editor2-last=Bright | editor2-first=William | editor2-link=William Bright | publisher=Oxford University Press, Inc | isbn=978-0195079937 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195079937/page/89 89] | url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195079937/page/89 }}</ref>
**Maalouli<ref>{{cite web |author1=Maissun Melhem |title=Schriftenstreit in Syrien |url=https://www.dw.com/de/schriftenstreit-in-syrien/a-5166405 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |access-date=15 November 2023 |language=German |date=21 January 2010 |quote="Several years ago, the political leadership in Syria decided to establish an institute where Aramaic could be learned. Rizkalla was tasked with writing a textbook, primarily drawing upon his native language proficiency. For the script, he chose Hebrew letters."}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Oriens Christianus |date=2003 |page=77 |language=German |quote="As the villages are very small, located close to each other, and the three dialects are mutually intelligible, there has never been the creation of a script or a standard language. Aramaic is the unwritten village dialect..."}}</ref>
*[[Social:Nabataean alphabet|Nabataean]]<ref name="WWS"/>
**Arabic
*Syriac
**[[Social:Sogdian alphabet|Sogdian]]
***[[Social:Old Uyghur alphabet|Old Uyghur]]
****[[Social:Mongolian script|Mongolian]]
*****Manchu
**Christian Palestinian Aramaic
*[[Social:Palmyrene alphabet|Palmyrene]]<ref name="WWS"/>
*[[Social:Hatran alphabet|Hatran]]<ref name="WWS"/>
*Mandaic<ref name="WWS"/>
*[[Social:Elymaic|Elymaic]]<ref name="WWS"/>
*Pahlavi
*[[Social:Kharosthi|Kharosthi]]
*[[Social:Brahmi script|Brahmi]]{{efn|name=sem|A Semitic origin for the Brāhmī script is not universally accepted.}}
**Gupta
***Sharada
***Siddham
***Tibetan
***Kalinga
***[[Social:Bhaiksuki script|Bhaiksuki]]
**Tamil-Brahmi
***[[Social:Pallava script|Pallava]]
***Vatteluttu
**Bhattiprolu
***[[Social:Kadamba script|Kadamba]]
**Sinhala
**[[Social:Tocharian script|Tocharian]]
 |unicode = [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10840.pdf U+10840–U+1085F]
 |iso15924 = Armi
| footnotes = {{notelist}}
| ipa-note = no

}}{{Special characters|image=Shlama.svg|alt=|link=http://www.bethmardutho.org/index.php/resources/fonts.html|special=Syriac text, written from right to left in a cursive style with some letters joined|fix=Help:Multilingual_support#Syriac/Aramaic script|characters=Syriac script|error=unjoined Syriac letters or other symbols}}{{alphabet}}
The ancient '''Aramaic alphabet''' was used to write the Aramaic languages spoken by ancient Aramean pre-Christian tribes throughout the [[Place:Fertile Crescent|Fertile Crescent]]. It was also adopted by other peoples as their own alphabet when empires and their subjects underwent linguistic Aramaization during a [[Social:Language shift|language shift]] for governing purposes — a precursor to [[Social:Arabization|Arabization]] centuries later — including among the [[History:Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrians]] and Babylonians who permanently replaced their [[Social:Akkadian language|Akkadian]] language and its cuneiform script with Aramaic and its script, and among [[Religion:Jews|Jews]] (but not Samaritans), who adopted the Aramaic language as their vernacular and started using the Aramaic alphabet (which they call "[[Unsolved:Ktav Ashuri|Square Script]]") even for writing [[Social:Hebrew language|Hebrew]], displacing the former [[Social:Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew alphabet]]. (The modern [[Social:Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew alphabet]] derives from the Aramaic alphabet, in contrast to the modern Samaritan alphabet, which derives from [[Social:Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew]].) 

The letters in the Aramaic alphabet all represent consonants, some of which are also used as ''matres lectionis'' to indicate long vowels. Writing systems (like the Aramaic) that indicate consonants but do not indicate most vowels other than by means of ''matres lectionis'' or added diacritical signs, have been called abjads by Peter T. Daniels to distinguish them from alphabets such as the Greek alphabet that represent vowels more systematically. The term was coined to avoid the notion that a writing system that represents sounds must be either a syllabary or an alphabet, which would imply that a system like Aramaic must be either a syllabary (as argued by Ignace Gelb) or an incomplete or [[Social:Defective script|deficient alphabet]] (as most other writers had said before Daniels). Rather, Daniels put forward, this is a different type of writing system, intermediate between syllabaries and 'full' alphabets.

The Aramaic [[Social:Alphabet|alphabet]] is historically significant since virtually all [[History:Modern history|modern]] [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]]ern writing systems can be traced back to it. That is primarily due to the widespread usage of the Aramaic language after it was adopted as both a ''lingua franca'' and the official language of the [[History:Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian]] and Neo-Babylonian Empires, and their successor, the [[Place:Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid Empire]]. Among the descendant scripts in modern use, the Jewish [[Social:Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew alphabet]] bears the closest relation to the Imperial Aramaic script of the 5th century BC, with an identical letter inventory and, for the most part, nearly identical letter shapes. By contrast the Samaritan Hebrew script is directly descended from Proto-Hebrew/Phoenician script, which was in turn the ancestor of the Aramaic alphabet. The Aramaic alphabet was also an ancestor to the [[Social:Nabataean alphabet|Nabataean alphabet]], which in turn had the Arabic alphabet as a descendant.

== History ==
[[File:AsokaKandahar.jpg|thumb|left|The Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription, a Greek and Aramaic inscription by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka at Kandahar, Afghanistan, 3rd century BC]]
The earliest inscriptions in the Aramaic language use the [[Phoenician alphabet]].<ref>''Inland Syria and the East-of-Jordan Region in the First Millennium BCE before the Assyrian Intrusions'', Mark W. Chavalas, The Age of Solomon: Scholarship at the Turn of the Millennium, ed. Lowell K. Handy, (Brill, 1997), 169.</ref> Over time, the alphabet developed into the Aramaic alphabet by the 8th century BC. It was used to write the Aramaic languages spoken by ancient Aramean pre-Christian tribes throughout the [[Place:Fertile Crescent|Fertile Crescent]]. It was also adopted by other peoples as their own alphabet when empires and their subjects underwent linguistic Aramaization during a [[Social:Language shift|language shift]] for governing purposes — a precursor to [[Social:Arabization|Arabization]] centuries later — including among the [[History:Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrians]] and Babylonians who permanently replaced their [[Social:Akkadian language|Akkadian]] language and its cuneiform script with Aramaic and its script, and among [[Religion:Jews|Jews]] (but not Samaritans), who adopted the Aramaic language as their vernacular and started using the Aramaic alphabet even for writing [[Social:Hebrew language|Hebrew]], displacing the former [[Social:Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew alphabet]]. (The modern [[Social:Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew alphabet]] derives from the Aramaic alphabet, in contrast to the modern Samaritan alphabet, which derives from [[Social:Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew]].) 

=== Achaemenid Empire (The First Persian Empire) ===
{{further information|Social:Imperial Aramaic}}
[[File:Sirkap Aramaic inscription 4th century BC.jpg|thumb|Aramaic inscription of Taxila, {{wipe|Pakistan}}  probably by the emperor Ashoka around 260 BCE]]
Around 500 BC, following the [[Place:Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] conquest of [[Place:Mesopotamia|Mesopotamia]] under Darius I, [[Social:Old Aramaic|Old Aramaic]] was adopted by the Persians as the "vehicle for written communication between the different regions of the vast Persian empire with its different peoples and languages. The use of a single official language, which modern scholarship has dubbed as Official Aramaic, Imperial Aramaic or Achaemenid Aramaic, can be assumed to have greatly contributed to the astonishing success of the Achaemenid Persians in holding their far-flung empire together for as long as they did."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica|volume=2|year=1987|title=Aramaic<!-- pp 250–261 --><!-- section:Aramaic in the Achaemenid Empire pp 251–252-->|last=Shaked|first=Saul|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|location=New York|pages=250–261}} p. 251</ref>

Imperial Aramaic was highly standardised; its orthography was based more on historical roots than any spoken dialect and was influenced by Old Persian. The Aramaic glyph forms of the period are often divided into two main styles, the "lapidary" form, usually inscribed on hard surfaces like stone monuments, and a cursive form whose lapidary form tended to be more conservative by remaining more visually similar to Phoenician and early Aramaic. Both were in use through the Achaemenid Persian period, but the cursive form steadily gained ground over the lapidary, which had largely disappeared by the 3rd century BC.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Greenfield|first1=J.C.|editor1-last=Gershevitch|editor1-first=I.|title=The Cambridge History of Iran: Volume 2|date=1985|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=709–710|chapter=Aramaic in the Achaemenid Empire}}</ref>

For centuries after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire in 331 BC, Imperial Aramaic, or something near enough to it to be recognisable, would remain an influence on the various native Iranian languages. The Aramaic script would survive as the essential characteristics of the Iranian [[Social:Pahlavi scripts|Pahlavi writing system]].<ref>{{Cite book|first1=Wilhelm|last1=Geiger|first2=Ernst|last2=Kuhn|year=2002|title=Grundriss der iranischen Philologie: Band I. Abteilung 1|location=Boston|publisher=Adamant|pages=249ff}}</ref>

30 Aramaic documents from [[Biology:Bactria|Bactria]] have been recently discovered, an analysis of which was published in November 2006. The texts, which were rendered on leather, reflect the use of Aramaic in the 4th century BC in the Persian Achaemenid administration of [[Biology:Bactria|Bactria]] and Sogdiana.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ancient Aramaic Documents from Bactria|series=Studies in the Khalili Collection|last1=Naveh|first1=Joseph|last2=Shaked|first2=Shaul|isbn=978-1-874780-74-8|publisher=Khalili Collections|location=Oxford|year=2006}}</ref>

The widespread usage of Achaemenid Aramaic in the Middle East led to the gradual adoption of the Aramaic alphabet for writing Hebrew. Formerly, Hebrew had been written using an alphabet closer in form to that of Phoenician, the [[Social:Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew alphabet]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thamis |title=The Phoenician Alphabet & Language |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/17/the-phoenician-alphabet--language/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref>

===Aramaic-derived scripts===

Since the evolution of the Aramaic alphabet out of the Phoenician one was a gradual process, the division of the world's alphabets into the ones derived from the Phoenician one directly and the ones derived from Phoenician via Aramaic is somewhat artificial. In general, the alphabets of the Mediterranean region (Anatolia, Greece, Italy) are classified as Phoenician-derived, adapted from around the 8th century BC, and those of the East (the Levant, Persia, Central Asia, and India) are considered Aramaic-derived, adapted from around the 6th century BC from the Imperial Aramaic script of the Achaemenid Empire.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for the whole sentence|date=May 2020}}

After the fall of the Achaemenid Empire, the unity of the Imperial Aramaic script was lost, diversifying into a number of descendant cursives.

The Hebrew and [[Social:Nabataean alphabet|Nabataean alphabet]]s, as they stood by the Roman era, were little changed in style from the Imperial Aramaic alphabet. [[Biography:Ibn Khaldun|Ibn Khaldun]] (1332–1406) alleges that not only the old Nabataean writing was influenced by the "Syrian script" (i.e. Aramaic), but also the old Chaldean script.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ibn Khaldun |title=The Muqaddimah (K. Ta'rikh – "History") |editor=F. Rosenthal |volume=3 |date=1958 |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.|location=London |page=283 |language=en |oclc=643885643}}</ref>

A cursive Hebrew variant developed from the early centuries AD, but it remained restricted to the status of a variant used alongside the noncursive. By contrast, the cursive developed out of the Nabataean alphabet in the same period soon became the standard for writing Arabic, evolving into the Arabic alphabet as it stood by the time of the early spread of Islam.

The development of cursive versions of Aramaic also led to the creation of the Syriac, [[Social:Palmyrene alphabet|Palmyrene]] and Mandaic alphabets, which formed the basis of the historical scripts of Central Asia, such as the [[Social:Sogdian alphabet|Sogdian]] and [[Social:Mongolian script|Mongolian]] alphabets.<ref name="Kara1996">{{cite book|first=György|last=Kara|chapter=Aramaic Scripts for Altaic Languages|editor=Daniels, Peter T. |editor2=Bright, William|title=The World's Writing Systems|publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195079937/page/535 535–558]|year=1996|isbn=978-0-19-507993-7|title-link=The World's Writing Systems}}</ref>

The [[Social:Old Turkic script|Old Turkic script]] is generally considered to have its ultimate origins in Aramaic,<ref>''Babylonian beginnings: The origin of the cuneiform writing system in comparative perspective'', Jerold S. Cooper, ''The First Writing: Script Invention as History and Process'', ed. Stephen D. Houston, (Cambridge University Press, 2004), 58–59.</ref><ref>Tristan James Mabry, ''Nationalism, Language, and Muslim Exceptionalism'', (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015), 109.</ref><ref name="Kara1996"/> in particular via the Pahlavi or [[Social:Sogdian alphabet|Sogdian alphabet]]s,<ref>''Turks'', A. Samoylovitch, '''First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913–1936''', Vol. VI, (Brill, 1993), 911.</ref><ref>George L. Campbell and Christopher Moseley, ''The Routledge Handbook of Scripts and Alphabets'', (Routledge, 2012), 40.</ref> as suggested by V. Thomsen, or possibly via Kharosthi (''cf''., Issyk inscription).

[[Social:Brahmi script|Brahmi script]] was also possibly derived or inspired by Aramaic. Brahmic family of scripts includes Devanagari.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Brāhmī {{!}} writing system|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahmi|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref>

==Languages using the alphabet==
Today, Biblical Aramaic, Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects and the Aramaic language of the Talmud are written in the modern-Hebrew alphabet (distinguished from the [[Social:Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Old Hebrew]] script). In classical Jewish literature, the name given to the modern-Hebrew script was "Ashurit" (the ancient Assyrian script),<ref>{{cite book |contribution=Tractate Megillah 1:8|title=Mishnah |editor-last1=Danby|editor-first1=H. |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]|place=London|page=202 (note 20) |year=1964|oclc=977686730 }} ([https://archive.org/details/DanbyMishnah/page/n231/mode/1up ''The Mishnah'', p. 202 (note 20)]).</ref> a script now known widely as the Aramaic script.<ref name="SteinerRC1993">{{cite journal |last=Steiner|first=R.C.|title=Why the Aramaic Script Was Called "Assyrian" in Hebrew, Greek, and Demotic |journal=Orientalia |volume=62 |issue=2 |pages=80–82|date=1993|jstor=43076090 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Cook|first=Stanley A.|title=The Significance of the Elephantine Papyri for the History of Hebrew Religion |journal=The American Journal of Theology|publisher=The University of Chicago Press |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=348|date=1915|doi=10.1086/479556|jstor=3155577|language=en|doi-access=}}</ref> It is believed that during the period of Assyrian dominion that Aramaic script and language received official status.<ref name="SteinerRC1993" /> Syriac and Christian Neo-Aramaic dialects are today written in the Syriac alphabet, which script has superseded the more ancient Assyrian script and now bears its name. [[Social:Mandaic language|Mandaic]] is written in the Mandaic alphabet. The near-identical nature of the Aramaic and the classical Hebrew alphabets caused Aramaic text to be typeset mostly in the standard Hebrew script in scholarly literature.

===Maaloula===
In Maaloula, one of few surviving communities in which a Western Aramaic dialect is still spoken, an Aramaic Language Institute was established in 2006 by [[Organization:Damascus University|Damascus University]] that teaches courses to keep the language alive.

Unlike Classical Syriac, which has a rich literary tradition in Syriac-Aramaic script, Western Neo-Aramaic was solely passed down orally for generations until 2006 and was not utilized in a written form.<ref>{{cite book |title=Oriens Christianus |date=2003 |page=77 |language=German |quote="As the villages are very small, located close to each other, and the three dialects are mutually intelligible, there has never been the creation of a script or a standard language. Aramaic is the unwritten village dialect..."}}</ref>
  
Therefore, the Language Institute's chairman, George Rizkalla (Rezkallah), undertook the writing of a textbook in Western Neo-Aramaic. Being previously unwritten, Rizkalla opted for the [[Social:Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew alphabet]]. However, in 2010, the institute's activities were halted due to concerns that the square Maalouli-Aramaic alphabet used in the program bore a resemblance to the square script of the Hebrew alphabet. As a result, all signs featuring the square Maalouli script were subsequently removed.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Maissun Melhem |title=Schriftenstreit in Syrien |url=https://www.dw.com/de/schriftenstreit-in-syrien/a-5166405 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |access-date=15 November 2023 |language=German |quote=Before the Islamic conquest, Aramaic was spoken throughout Syria and was a global language. There were many variants, but Aramaic did not exist as a written language everywhere, including the Ma’alula region, notes Professor Jastrow. The decision to use the Hebrew script, in his opinion, was made arbitrarily.”}}</ref> The program stated that they would instead use the more distinct Syriac-Aramaic alphabet, although use of the Maalouli alphabet has continued to some degree.<ref name="institute">{{cite news |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0402/Easter-Sunday-A-Syrian-bid-to-resurrect-Aramaic-the-language-of-Jesus-Christ |title=Easter Sunday: A Syrian bid to resurrect Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ |last=Beach |first=Alastair |newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor |date=2010-04-02 |access-date=2010-04-02}}</ref> Al Jazeera Arabic also broadcast a program about Western Neo-Aramaic and the villages in which it is spoken with the square script still in use.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rbrZ1W2nAs| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/0rbrZ1W2nAs| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|title=أرض تحكي لغة المسيح|last=Al Jazeera Documentary الجزيرة الوثائقية|date=11 February 2016|access-date=27 March 2018|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Letters==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! rowspan="3" style=max-width:0em | Letter name
! colspan="4" | Aramaic written using
! rowspan="3" | [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
! rowspan="3" | [[Social:Phoneme|Phoneme]]
! colspan="15" | Equivalent letter in
|-
! colspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| Imperial Aramaic
! colspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| Syriac script
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| [[Social:Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]]
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| Maalouli
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| [[Social:Nabataean alphabet|Nabataean]]
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| [[Social:Inscriptional Parthian|Parthian]]
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| Arabic
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| South Arabian
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| Ethiopic (Geez)
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| Proto-Sinaitic
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| Greek
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| Latin
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| [[Social:Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]]
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| Brahmi
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| [[Social:Kharosthi|Kharosthi]]
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;"| [[Social:Old Turkic alphabet|Turkic]]
|-
! style="font-size: smaller;"| Image !! style="font-size: smaller;"| Text !! style="font-size: smaller;"| Image !! style="font-size: smaller;"| Text
|-
| Ālaph
| [[File:Aleph.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡀}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_alap.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܐ}}
| {{IPA|/ʔ/}}; {{IPA|/aː/}}, {{IPA|/eː/}}
| ʾ
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|א}}
| [[File:Maaloula square alef.svg|20px|]]
| [[File:01 aleph.svg|70px]]
| 𐭀
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ا}}
| 𐩱
| አ
| [[File:Proto-semiticA-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤀}}
| Αα
| Aa
| Аа
| [[File:Brahmi a.svg|18px]]𑀅
| [[File:Kharosthi a.svg|16px]]𐨀
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰁
|-
| Bēth
| [[File:Beth.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡁}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_bet.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܒ}}
| {{IPA|/b/}}, {{IPA|/v/}}
| b
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ב}}
| [[File:Maaloula square vet.svg|25px|]]
| [[File:02 bet.svg|42px]]
| 𐭁
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ب}}
| 𐩨
| በ
| [[File:Proto-semiticB-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤁}}
| Ββ
| Bb
| Бб, Вв
| [[File:Brahmi b.svg|18px]]𑀩
| [[File:Kharosthi b.svg|20px]]𐨦
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰉 𐰋
|-
| Gāmal
| [[File:Gimel.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡂}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_gamal.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܓ}}
| {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, {{IPA|/ɣ/}}
| g
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ג}}
| [[File:Maaloula square ghemal.svg|13px|]]
| [[File:03 gimel.svg|21px]]
| 𐭂
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ج}}
| 𐩴
| ገ
| [[File:Proto-semiticG-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤂}}
| Γγ
| Cc, Gg
| Гг, Ґґ
| [[File:Brahmi g.svg|18px]]𑀕
| [[File:Kharosthi g.svg|19px]]𐨒
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰲 𐰱
|-
| Dālath
| [[File:Daleth.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡃}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_dalat.svg|30x30px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܕ}}
| {{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/ð/}}
| d
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ד}}
| [[File:Maaloula square dhalet.svg|20px|]]
| [[File:04 dal.svg|19px]]
| 𐭃
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|د ذ}}
| 𐩵
| ደ
| [[File:Proto-semiticD-01.svg|20px]] [[File:Proto-semiticD-02.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤃}}
| Δδ
| Dd
| Дд
| [[File:Brahmi dh.svg|18px]]𑀥
| [[File:Kharosthi dh.svg|21px]]𐨢
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰓
|-
| Hē
| [[File:He0.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡄}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_he.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܗ}}
| {{IPA|/h/}}
| h
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ה}}
| [[File:Maaloula square hi.svg|20px|]]
| [[File:05 ha.svg|53px]]
| 𐭄
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ه}}
| 𐩠
| ሀ
| [[File:Proto-semiticE-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤄}}
| Εε
| Ee
| Ее, Ёё, Єє, Ээ
| [[File:Brahmi h.svg|18px]]𑀳
| [[File:Kharosthi h.svg|18px]]𐨱
|
|-
| Waw
| [[File:Waw.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡅}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_waw.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܘ}}
| {{IPA|/w/}}; {{IPA|/oː/}}, {{IPA|/uː/}}
| w
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ו}}
| [[File:Maaloula square wawf.svg|10px|]]
| [[File:06 waw.svg|40px]]
| 𐭅
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|و}}
| 𐩥
| ወ
| [[File:Proto-semiticW-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤅}}
| ({{lang|grc|Ϝϝ}}), Υυ
| Ff, Uu, Vv, Ww, Yy
| Ѵѵ, Уу, Ўў
| [[File:Brahmi v.svg|18px]]𑀯
| [[File:Kharosthi v.svg|18px]]𐨬
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰈 𐰆
|-
| Zayn
| [[File:Zayin.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡆}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_zayn.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܙ}}
| {{IPA|/z/}}
| z
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ז}}
| [[File:Maaloula square zayn.svg|10px|]]
| [[File:07 zayn.svg|13px]]
| 𐭆
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ز}}
| 𐩸
|
| [[File:Proto-semiticZ-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤆}}
| Ζζ
| Zz
| Зз
| [[File:Brahmi j.svg|18px]]𑀚
| [[File:Kharosthi j.svg|18px]]𐨗
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰕
|-
| Ḥēth
| [[File:Heth.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡇}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_het.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܚ}}
| {{IPA|/ħ/}}
| ḥ
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ח}}
| [[File:Maaloula square het.svg|20px|]]
| [[File:08 ha.svg|53px]]
| 𐭇
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ح خ}}
| 𐩢
| ሐ
| [[File:Proto-semiticH-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤇}}
| Ηη
| Hh
| Ии, Йй
| [[File:Brahmi gh.svg|18px]]𑀖
| [[File:Kharosthi gh.svg|18px]]𐨓
|
|-
| Ṭēth
| [[File:Teth.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡈}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_tet.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܛ}}
| {{IPA|/tˤ/}}
| ṭ
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ט}}
| [[File:Maaloula square tet.svg|20px|]]
| [[File:09 taa.svg|19px]]
| 𐭈
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ط ظ}}
| 𐩷
| ጠ
|[[File:Proto-semiticTet-01.png|20x20px|Proto-semiticTet-01]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤈}}
| Θθ
|
| Ѳѳ
| [[File:Brahmi th.svg|18px]]𑀣
| [[File:Kharosthi th.svg|17px]]𐨠
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐱃
|-
| Yodh
| [[File:Yod.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡉}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_yod.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܝ}}
| {{IPA|/j/}}; {{IPA|/iː/}}, {{IPA|/eː/}}
| y
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|י}}
| [[File:Maaloula square yod.svg|10px|]]
| [[File:10 yaa.svg|53px]]
| 𐭉
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ي}}
| 𐩺
| የ
| [[File:Proto-semiticI-01.svg|20x20px|Proto-semiticI-01]][[File:Proto-semiticI-02.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤉}}
| Ιι
| Ιi, Jj
| Іі, Її, Јј
| [[File:Brahmi y.svg|18px]]𑀬
| [[File:Kharosthi y.svg|15px]]𐨩
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰘 𐰃 𐰖
|-
| Kāph
| [[File:Kaph.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡊}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_kap.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܟ}}
| {{IPA|/k/}}, {{IPA|/x/}}
| k
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|כ ך}}
| [[File:Maaloula square khaf 2.svg|20px|]] [[File:Maaloula square khaf.svg|20px|]]
| [[File:11 kaf.svg|49px]]
| 𐭊
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ك}}
| 𐩫
| ከ
| [[File:Proto-semiticK-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤊}}
| Κκ
| Kk
| Кк
| [[File:Brahmi k.svg|18px]]𑀓
| [[File:Kharosthi k.svg|17px]]𐨐
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰚 𐰜
|-
| Lāmadh
| [[File:Lamed.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡋}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_lamad.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܠ}}
| {{IPA|/l/}}
| l
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif; line-height:1em;" | {{script|Hebr|ל}}
| [[File:Maaloula square lamed.svg|20px|]]
| [[File:12 lam.svg|34px]]
| 𐭋
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ل}}
| 𐩡
| ለ
| [[File:Proto-semiticL-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤋}}
| Λλ
| Ll
| Лл
| [[File:Brahmi l.svg|18px]]𑀮
| [[File:Kharosthi l.svg|21px]]𐨫
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif; line-height:1em;" | 𐰞 𐰠
|-
| Mim
| [[File:Mem.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡌}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_mim.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܡ}}
| {{IPA|/m/}}
| m
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|מ ם}}
| [[File:Maaloula square mem 2.svg|18px|]] [[File:Maaloula square mem.svg|18px|]]
| [[File:13 meem.svg|38px]]
| 𐭌
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|م}}
| 𐩣
| መ
| [[File:Proto-semiticM-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤌}}
| Μμ
| Mm
| Мм
| [[File:Brahmi m.svg|18px]]𑀫
| [[File:Kharosthi m.svg|20px]]𐨨
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰢
|-
| Nun
| [[File:Nun.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡍}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_nun.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܢ}}
| {{IPA|/n/}}
| n
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|נ ן}}
| [[File:Maaloula square nun 2.svg|8px|]] [[File:Maaloula square nun.svg|15px|]]
| [[File:14 noon.svg|34px]]
| 𐭍
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ن}}
| 𐩬
| ነ
| [[File:Proto-semiticN-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤍}}
| Νν
| Nn
| Нн
| [[File:Brahmi n.svg|18px]]𑀦
| [[File:Kharosthi n.svg|21px]]𐨣
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰤 𐰣
|-
| Semkath
| [[File:Samekh.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡎}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_semkat.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܣ}}
| {{IPA|/s/}}
| s
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ס}}
| [[File:Maaloula square sameh.svg|20px|]]
| [[File:15 sin.svg|21px]]
| 𐭎
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | 
| 𐩯
|
|[[File:Proto-semiticX-01.svg|20x20px|Proto-semiticX-01]][[File:Proto-semiticX-02.png|20x20px|Proto-semiticX-02]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤎}}
| Ξξ 
|
| Ѯѯ
| [[File:Brahmi sh.svg|18px]]𑀰
| [[File:Kharosthi sh.svg|17px]]𐨭
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰾
|-
| ʿAyn
| [[File:Ayin.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡏}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_'e.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܥ}}
| {{IPA|/ʕ/}}
| ʿ
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ע}}
| [[File:Maaloula square ayn.svg|17px|]]
| [[File:16 ein.svg|15px]]
| 𐭏
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ع غ}}
| 𐩲
| ዐ
|[[File:Proto-semiticO-01.svg|20x20px|Proto-semiticO-01]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤏}}
| Οο, Ωω
| Oo
| Оо, Ѡѡ
| [[File:Brahmi e.svg|18px]]𑀏
| [[File:Kharosthi e.svg|18px]]𐨀𐨅
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰏 𐰍
|-
| Pē
| [[File:Pe0.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡐}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_pe.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܦ}}
| {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/f/}}
| p
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|פ ף}}
| [[File:Maaloula square fi 2.svg|20px|]] [[File:Maaloula square fi.svg|20px|]]
| [[File:17 fa.svg|43px]]
| 𐭐
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ف}}
| 𐩰
| ፈ
| [[File:Proto-semiticP-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤐}}
| Ππ
| Pp
| Пп
| [[File:Brahmi p.svg|18px]]𑀧
| [[File:Kharosthi p.svg|18px]]𐨤
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰯
|-
| Ṣādhē
| [[File:Sade 1.svg|18px]], [[File:Sade 2.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡑}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_sade.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܨ}}
| {{IPA|/sˤ/}}
| ṣ
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|צ ץ}}
| [[File:Maaloula square sady 2.svg|15px|]] [[File:Maaloula square sady.svg|16px|]]
| [[File:18 sad.svg|47px]]
| 𐭑
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ص ض}}
| 𐩮
| ጸ
|[[File:Proto-semiticTsade-01.png|20x20px|Proto-semiticTsade-01]][[File:Proto-semiticTsade-02.png|20x20px|Proto-semiticTsade-02]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤑}}
| ({{lang|grc|Ϻϻ}})
|
| Цц, Чч, Џџ
| [[File:Brahmi s.svg|18px]]𑀲
| [[File:Kharosthi s.svg|18px]]𐨯
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰽
|-
| Qoph
| [[File:Qoph.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡒}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_qop.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܩ}}
| {{IPA|/q/}}
| q
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ק}}
| [[File:Maaloula square qof.svg|18px|]]
| [[File:19 qaf.svg|17px]]
| 𐭒
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ق}}
| 𐩤
| ቀ
| [[File:Proto-semiticQ-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤒}}
| ({{lang|grc|Ϙϙ), Φφ}} 
| Qq
| Ҁҁ, Фф
| [[File:Brahmi kh.svg|18px]]𑀔
| [[File:Kharosthi kh.svg|18px]]𐨑
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰴 𐰸
|-
| Rēš
| [[File:Resh.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡓}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_res.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܪ}}
| {{IPA|/r/}}
| r
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ר}}
| [[File:Maaloula square resh.svg|20px|]]
| [[File:20 ra.svg|13px]]
| 𐭓
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ر}}
| 𐩧
| ረ
| [[File:Proto-semiticR-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤓}}
| Ρρ
| Rr
| Рр
| [[File:Brahmi r.svg|18px]]𑀭
| [[File:Kharosthi r.svg|17px]]𐨪
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐰺 𐰼
|-
| Šin
| [[File:Shin.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡔}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_sin.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܫ}}
| {{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|  š
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ש}}
| [[File:Maaloula square shin.svg|21px|]]
| [[File:21 shin.svg|17px]]
| 𐭔
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|س ش}}
| 𐩦
| ሠ
| [[File:Proto-semiticS-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤔}}
| Σσς
| Ss
|Сс, Шш, Щщ
| [[File:Brahmi ss.svg|18px]]𑀱
| [[File:Kharosthi ss.svg|15px]]𐨮
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐱂 𐱁
|-
| Taw
| [[File:Taw.svg|18px]]
| style="font-size: 26px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Armi|𐡕}}
| [[File:Syriac_Estrangela_taw.svg|26x26px]]
| style="font-size: 24px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Syrc|ܬ}}
| {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/θ/}}
| t
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Hebr|ת}}
| [[File:Maaloula square thaq.svg|20px|]]
| [[File:22 ta.svg|47px]]
| 𐭕
| style="font-size: 20px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Arab|ت ث}}
| 𐩩
| ተ
| [[File:Proto-semiticT-01.svg|20px]]
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | {{script|Phnx|𐤕}}
| Ττ
| Tt
| Тт
| [[File:Brahmi t.svg|18px]]𑀢
| [[File:Kharosthi t.svg|17px]]𐨟
| style="font-size: 22px; font-family: serif;" | 𐱅
|}

==={{lang|la|Matres lectionis}}===

In Aramaic writing, ''waw'' and ''yodh'' serve a double function. Originally, they represented only the consonants ''w'' and ''y'', but they were later adopted to indicate the long vowels ''ū'' and ''ī'' respectively as well (often also ''ō'' and ''ē'' respectively). In the latter role, they are known as {{lang|la|matres lectionis}} or 'mothers of reading'.

Ālap, likewise, has some of the characteristics of a {{lang|la|mater lectionis}} because in initial positions, it indicates a glottal stop (followed by a vowel), but otherwise, it often also stands for the long vowels ''ā'' or ''ē''. Among Jews, the influence of Hebrew often led to the use of Hē instead, at the end of a word.

The practice of using certain letters to hold vowel values spread to Aramaic-derived writing systems, such as in Arabic and Hebrew, which still follow the practice.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aramaic Alphabet {{!}} PDF {{!}} Languages Of Asia {{!}} Writing |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/483026807/Aramaic-Alphabet |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=Scribd |language=en}}</ref>

==Unicode==
{{Main|Imperial Aramaic (Unicode block)|Syriac (Unicode block)|}}

The Imperial Aramaic alphabet was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in October 2009, with the release of version 5.2.

The Unicode block for Imperial Aramaic is U+10840–U+1085F:


The Syriac Aramaic alphabet was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in September 1999, with the release of version 3.0.

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 Syriac Aramaic is U+0700–U+074F:


==See also==
*Syriac alphabet
*Mandaic alphabet

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Byrne, Ryan. "Middle Aramaic Scripts". ''Encyclopaedia of Language and Linguistics''. Elsevier. (2006)
* Daniels, Peter T., et al. eds. ''The World's Writing Systems''. Oxford. (1996)
* Coulmas, Florian. ''The Writing Systems of the World''. Blackwell Publishers Ltd, Oxford. (1989)
* Rudder, Joshua.  ''Learn to Write Aramaic: A Step-by-Step Approach to the Historical & Modern Scripts''. n.p.: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011. 220 pp. {{ISBN|978-1461021421}}. Includes a wide variety of Aramaic scripts.
* Ancient Hebrew and Aramaic on Coins, reading and transliterating Proto-Hebrew, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110511124600/http://judaea.chimehost.net/main/text.pdf online edition] (Judaea Coin Archive).

==External links==
* [http://www.sakkal.com/Arab_Calligraphy_Art3.html Comparison of Aramaic to related alphabets]
* [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/aramaic.htm Omniglot entry]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Aramaic Alphabet}}
[[Category:Obsolete writing systems]]

{{Sourceattribution|Aramaic alphabet}}