Aramaic Alphabet 1.04

This application is designed to assist users in learning about the Imperial Aramaic alphabet. Users can browse through the letters, study their shapes and sounds, and practice tracing each one until they are familiar enough to test themselves.

The Arameans adapted this writing system from the Phoenician script in the 8th century BC. Notably, it is written from right to left, following the pattern of most Semitic writing systems. The alphabet starts with the first letter at the top right and progresses from right to left, top to bottom, with Alaph leading to Taw.

Originally used to write the Aramaic languages spoken by ancient Aramean tribes across the Fertile Crescent, this script was later adopted by various other groups during periods of linguistic transformation for administrative purposes – a phenomenon preceding Arabization seen centuries later. Notably, Assyrians transitioned from Akkadian to Aramaic and its script, while Jews embraced Aramaic as their vernacular language, replacing the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet.

The Aramaic alphabet, where each letter represents a consonant, some doubling as matres lectionis for long vowels, holds great historical significance as the foundation of many modern Middle Eastern writing systems. Its widespread use as both a lingua franca and an official language in empires like Neo-Assyria, Neo-Babylonia, and Achaemenid Empire paved the way for its influence on subsequent scripts.

This app offers transliteration equivalents of each Aramaic letter in Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac scripts, expanding its educational scope beyond direct familiarity with the alphabet itself during quiz sessions.