Middle Semitic/Orthography
There is not an exact middle between all the parent languages. A compromise position is needed at every turn. Neo-Aramaic is the best "middle ground".
ܐ ܁ ܒ ܁ ܓ ܁ ܕ ܁ ܗ ܁ ܘ ܁ ܙ ܁ ܚ ܁ ܛ ܁ ܝ ܁ ܟ ܁ ܠ ܁ ܡ ܁ ܢ ܁ ܣ ܁ ܥ ܁ ܦ܁ ܨ ܁ ܩ ܁ ܪ ܁ ܫ ܁ ܬ
(RTL) ʾelpa, beta, gamla, daltâ, ha, wo, zanâ , ḥeṭâ, ṭêṭâ, yidâ, kafâ, lamdâ, mayâ, nuna, samkatâ, ʿeyin, pe, ṣade, qop, reš, šin, to
The names of the letters are words:
| Symbol | Word | Romanization | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ܐ | ܐܠܦ | 'alpa | thousand | "bull/ox" is šorâ. also 'to teach' -> 'teacher, leader' |
| ܒ | ܒܝܬܐ | bêtâ | house (m) | |
| ܓ | ܓܡܠܐ | gamlâ | camel (m) | Also 'to repay' and 'to wean' |
| ܕ | ܕܠܬܐ | daltâ | hanging door (f) | D-L is 'to hang/dangle' |
| ܗ | ܗ | ha | hey, behold, huh | polar question particle |
| ܘ | ܘܘ | wo | nail, peg (m) | no root |
| ܙ | ܙܢܐ | zanâ | ornament (m) | many, many meanings Z-N-Y |
| ܚ | ܚܝܛܐ | hêṭâ | stitch, seam (m) | HYT to tailor, to sew |
| ܛ | ܛܝܛܐ | ṭêṭâ | mortar, grout (m) | related to ṬYN - clay |
| ܝ | ܝܕܐ | yidâ | hand (f) | YDH - to confess, guide |
| ܟ | ܟܦܐ | kafâ | palm, spoon (f) | K-P "concave" |
| ܠ | ܠܡܕܐ | lamdâ | goat, cattle prod (f) | LWM is "to blame" |
| ܡ | ܡܝܐ | mayâ | water (m) | MYH |
| ܢ | ܢܘܢܐ | nûnâ | eel, tadpole (m) | ? |
| ܣ | ܣܡܟܐ | samkâ | support, base | |
| ܥ | eye, spring (f) | |||
| ܦ | puma | mouth | ||
| ܨ | sprout | |||
| ܩ | monkey | |||
| ܪ | head | |||
| ܫ | tooth | |||
| ܬ | mark, sign |
Map
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | (Alv)Pal. | Velar | Pharyngeal | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m ܡ | n ܢ | |||||
| Voiced | b~v ܒ | d~ð ܕ | z ܐ | g~ɣ ܓ | ʕ ܖ | ||
| Unvoiced | p~f ܦ | t~θ ܬ | s ܣ | š ܫ | k~x ܟ | ḥ ܚ | h ܗ |
| Emphatic | ṭ ܛ | ṣ ܨ | q ܩ | ʔ ܐ | |||
| Approx. | l ܠ | r ܪ | y ܥ | w ܘ |
For purposes of weak conjugations/declensions, all pharyngeals and glottal's are considered "gutteral's".
Vowels
True vowels are diacritic, written on the table to the right upon a bet to show placement:
| Front | Center | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i ܒܻ / ܒܺ | u ܒܾ / ܒܽ | |
| Middle | e ܒܷ / ܒܶ | o ܒܴ // ܒܳ | |
| Low | a ܒܱ / ܒܰ | ||
Diacritics
a, w, and y are assumed to always be mater lectionis, so when they are consonants (in full spelling), they get a superscript 'alef, which looks like this ܐܑ ܁ ܘܑ ܁ ܝܑ.
== Foreign Words
- ܔ can be used for Arabic (and other languages) words with /ʒ/
- ܜ can be used for Arabic words with /θ/
