Mandaic alphabet

Mandaic
Script type
Alphabet
Time period
2nd century AD — present
DirectionRight-to-left script Edit this on Wikidata
LanguagesClassical Mandaic
Neo-Mandaic
Related scripts
Parent systems
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Mand (140), ​Mandaic, Mandaean
Unicode
Unicode alias
Mandaic
U+0840–U+085F
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.
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The Mandaic alphabet is a writing system primarily used to write the Mandaic language. It is thought to have evolved between the second and seventh century CE from either a cursive form of Aramaic (as did Syriac) or from Inscriptional Parthian.[1][2] The exact roots of the script are difficult to determine.[3] It was developed by members of the Mandaean faith of Lower Mesopotamia to write the Mandaic language for liturgical purposes.[1] Classical Mandaic and its descendant Neo-Mandaic are still in limited use.[1] The script has changed very little over centuries of use.[3][1]

The Mandaic name for the script is Abagada or Abaga, after the first letters of the alphabet. Rather than the traditional Semitic letter names (aleph, beth, gimel), they are known as a, ba, ga and so on.[4]

It is written from right to left in horizontal lines. It is a cursive script, but not all letters connect within a word. Spaces separate individual words.

During the past few decades, Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki, a Mandaean living in Australia, has digitized many Mandaean texts using typeset Mandaic script.[5]

  1. ^ a b c d "Chapter 9: Middle East-I, Modern and Liturgical Scripts". The Unicode Standard, Version 10.0 (PDF). Mountain View, CA: Unicode, Inc. June 2017. ISBN 978-1-936213-16-0.
  2. ^ Häberl, Charles G. (February 2006). "Iranian Scripts for Aramaic Languages: The Origin of the Mandaic Script". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (341): 53–62. doi:10.7282/T37D2SGZ.
  3. ^ a b Daniels, Peter T.; Bright, William, eds. (1996). The World's Writing Systems. Oxford University Press, Inc. pp. 511–513. ISBN 978-0195079937.
  4. ^ Macúch, Rudolf (1965). Handbook of Classical and Modern Mandaic. Berlin: De Gruyter. pp. 7–26.
  5. ^ Mandaean Network.