Editing Samaritan script

{{Short description|Writing system used by the Samaritans for religious writings}}
{{refimprove|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox Writing system
 |sample=Samaritan Leviticus.jpg
 |name=Samaritan
 |type=[[Abjad]]
 |languages=[[Samaritan Hebrew]], [[Samaritan Aramaic language|Samaritan Aramaic]]
 |time=600 BCE&nbsp;– present
 |fam1= [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]]<ref>Himelfarb, Elizabeth J. "First Alphabet Found in Egypt", Archaeology 53, Issue 1 (Jan./Feb. 2000): 21.</ref>
 |fam2=[[Proto-Sinaitic alphabet]]
 |fam3=[[Phoenician alphabet]]
 |fam4=[[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet]]
 |iso15924=Samr
 |unicode=[https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0800.pdf U+0800–U+083F]
}}
{{SpecialChars}}
The '''Samaritan Hebrew script''', or simply '''Samaritan script''' is used by the [[Samaritans]] for religious writings, including the [[Samaritan Pentateuch]], writings in [[Samaritan Hebrew]], and for commentaries and translations in [[Samaritan Aramaic language|Samaritan Aramaic]] and occasionally [[Arabic language|Arabic]].

{{alphabet}}
Samaritan is a direct descendant of the [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet]], which was a variety of the [[Phoenician alphabet]]. Paleo-Hebrew is the alphabet in which large parts of the [[Hebrew Bible]] were originally penned according to the consensus of most scholars, who also believe that these scripts are descendants of the [[Proto-Sinaitic script]]. Paleo-Hebrew script was used by the ancient [[Israelites]], both [[Jews]] and Samaritans.

The better-known "square script" [[Hebrew alphabet]] which has been traditionally used by Jews since the Babylonian exile is a stylized version of the [[Aramaic alphabet]] called Ashurit (כתב אשורי).

Historically, the Aramaic alphabet became distinct from Phoenician/Paleo-Hebrew in the 8th century BCE. After the fall of the Persian Empire, Judaism used both scripts before settling on the Aramaic form, henceforth de facto becoming the "Hebrew alphabet" since it was repurposed to write Hebrew. For a limited time thereafter, the use of paleo-Hebrew (proto-Samaritan) among Jews was retained only to write the [[Tetragrammaton]], but soon that custom was also abandoned.

A [[Cursive Hebrew#Samaritan Hebrew|cursive]] style of the alphabet also exists.

The Samaritan alphabet first became known to the Western world with the publication of a manuscript of the [[Samaritan Pentateuch]] in 1631 by [[Jean Morin (theologian)|Jean Morin]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=IOAtAAAAYAAJ Exercitationes ecclesiasticae in utrumque Samaritanorum Pentateuchum], 1631</ref> In 1616 the traveler [[Pietro della Valle]] had purchased a copy of the text in [[Damascus]], and this manuscript, now known as Codex B, was deposited in a [[Paris]]ian library.{{sfn| Flôrenṭîn|2005|p=1|ps=: "When the Samaritan version of the Pentateuch was revealed to the Western world early in the 17th century... [footnote: 'In 1632 the Frenchman Jean Morin published the Samaritan Pentateuch in the Parisian Biblia Polyglotta based on a manuscript that the traveler Pietro Della Valle had bought from Damascus sixteen years previously.]"}}

==Letters==
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2024}}[[Image:Samaritan inscription.jpg|thumb|Ancient inscription in [[Samaritan Hebrew]]. From a photo {{Circa|1900}} by the [[Palestine Exploration Fund]].]]

=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!'''Letter'''
!Name
!IPA
!Approximate western European pronunciation
!Jewish Hebrew equivalent
|-
|ࠀ
|'''''<u>ʾ</u>'''ālāf''
|[[Zero consonant|∅]] ~ [<nowiki/>[[Glottal stop|ʔ]]]
|Either [[Silent letter|silent]] or like in  '''''_'''uh-'''_'''oh''. Also used as [[mater lectionis]] for certain [[Open vowel|open vowels]].
|א
|-
|ࠁ
|'''''<u>b</u>'''īt''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiced bilabial plosive|b]]]
|Like in '''''<u>b</u>'''ear''.
|ב
|-
|ࠂ
|'''''<u>g</u>'''āʾman''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiced velar plosive|g]]]
|Like in '''''<u>g</u>'''oat''.
|ג
|-
|ࠃ
|'''''<u>d</u>'''āʾlāt''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiced alveolar plosive|d]]]
|Like in '''''<u>d</u>'''ingle''.
|ד
|-
|ࠄ
|'''''<u>ʾ</u>'''īy''
|[[Zero consonant|∅]] ~ [<nowiki/>[[Glottal stop|ʔ]]]
|Either silent or like in  '''''_'''uh-'''_'''oh''.
|ה
|-
|ࠅ
|'''''<u>b</u>'''å̄''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiced bilabial plosive|b]]], [<nowiki/>[[Voiced labial–velar approximant|w]]]
|Usually like in '''''<u>b</u>'''ear'', but like in '''''<u>w</u>'''ater'' in certain situations. Also used as mater lectionis for certain [[Back vowel|back vowels]].
|ו
|-
|ࠆ
|'''''<u>z</u>'''ēn''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiced alveolar sibilant|z]]]
|Like in '''''<u>z</u>'''ax''.
|ז
|-
|ࠇ
|'''''<u>ʿ</u>'''īt''
|[[Zero consonant|∅]] ~ [<nowiki/>[[Glottal stop|ʔ]]], [<nowiki/>[[Voiced pharyngeal fricative|ʕ]]]
|No equivalent pronunciation in [[Standard English]]. Like [[Scottish English|Scottish]] ''lo'''<u>ch</u>''''', but [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]], but usually either silent or like in  '''''_'''uh-'''_'''oh''.
|ח
|-
|ࠈ
|'''''<u>ṭ</u>'''īt''
|[<nowiki/>[[Pharyngealization|tˤ]]]
|No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English, like a /t/ sound but [[Emphatic consonant|emphatic]].
|ט
|-
|ࠉ
|'''<u>''y''</u>'''''ūt''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiced palatal approximant|j]]]
|Like in '''''<u>y</u>'''olk''. Also used as mater lectionis for certain [[Close vowel|close vowels]].
|י
|-
|ࠊ
|'''''<u>k</u>'''āf''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiceless velar plosive|k]]]
|Like in ''s'''<u>k</u>'''irt''.
|כ
|-
|ࠋ
|'''''<u>l</u>'''āʾbāt''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiced alveolar lateral approximant|l]]]
|Like in '''''<u>l</u>'''uck''.
|ל
|-
|ࠌ
|'''''<u>m</u>'''īm''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiced bilabial nasal|m]]]
|Like in '''''<u>m</u>'''other''.
|מ
|-
|ࠍ
|'''''<u>n</u>'''ūn''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiced alveolar nasal|n]]]
|Like in '''''<u>n</u>'''ight''.
|נ
|-
|ࠎ
|'''''<u>s</u>'''inʾgå̄t''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiceless alveolar sibilant|s]]]
|Like in '''''<u>s</u>'''ight''.
|ס
|-
|ࠏ
|'''''<u>ʿ</u>'''īn''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiced pharyngeal fricative|ʕ]]], [[Zero consonant|∅]] ~ [<nowiki/>[[Glottal stop|ʔ]]]
|No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English. Like [[Scottish English|Scottish]] ''lo'''<u>ch</u>''''', but voiced, but usually either silent or like in '''''_'''uh-'''_'''oh''.
|ע
|-
|ࠐ
|'''''<u>f</u>'''ī''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiceless labiodental fricative|<nowiki>f</nowiki>]]], [<nowiki/>[[Gemination|bː]]]
|No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English. Usually like in '''''<u>f</u>'''ather''.
|פ
|-
|ࠑ
|'''''<u>ṣ</u>'''å̄ʾdīy''
|[<nowiki/>[[Pharyngealization|sˤ]]]
|No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English, like an /s/ sound but emphatic.
|צ
|-
|ࠒ
|'''''<u>q</u>'''ūf''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiceless uvular plosive|q]]]
|No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English. Like [[Multicultural London English]] '''''<u>c</u>'''ut''.
|ק
|-
|ࠓ
|'''''<u>r</u>'''īš''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiced alveolar trill|r]]]
|No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English. Like Scottish ''<u>'''r'''</u>ight''.
|ר
|-
|ࠔ
|'''''<u>š</u>'''ān''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiceless postalveolar fricative|ʃ]]]
|Like in '''''<u>sh</u>'''ort''.
|ש
|-
|ࠕ
|'''''<u>t</u>'''å̄f''
|[<nowiki/>[[Voiceless alveolar plosive|t]]]
|Like in ''ra'''<u>t</u>'''''.
|ת
|}

=== Niqqud ===
{{Incomplete table|date=July 2024}}
{| class="wikitable"
!Niqqud
!Name
!IPA
!Approximate western European pronunciation
|-
|ࠫ
|'''''o'''''
|[o]
|Like in ''h'''<u>o</u>'''me'' but as a [[monophthong]].
|-
|ࠪ
|'''''i'''''
|[i]
|Like in [[General American English|General American]] ''fl'''<u>ee</u>'''ce''.
|-
|ࠩ
|'''''ī'''''
|[iː]
|Like in [[Received Pronunciation]] ''fl'''<u>ee</u>'''ce''.
|-
|ࠨ
|'''''î'''''
|
|
|-
|ࠧ
|'''''u'''''
|[u]
|Like in General American ''g'''<u>oo</u>'''se''.
|-
|ࠦ
|'''''ū'''''
|[uː]
|Like in Received Pronunciation ''g'''<u>oo</u>'''se''.
|-
|ࠥ
|'''''ă'''''
|
|
|-
|ࠤ
|'''''ă'''''
|
|
|-
|ࠣ
|'''''a'''''
|
|
|-
|ࠢ
|'''''ā'''''
|
|
|-
|ࠡ
|'''''āː'''''
|
|
|-
|ࠠ
|'''''å'''''
|
|
|-
|ࠠ
|'''''å̄'''''
|
|
|-
|ࠞ
|'''''å̄ː'''''
|
|
|-
|ࠝ
|'''''e'''''
|
|
|-
|ࠜ
|'''''ē'''''
|
|
|-
|ࠛ
|
|
|Marks epethentic yūt.
|-
|ࠚ
|
|
|Marks an epethentic yût.
|-
|ࠬ
|
|∅
|Marks the absence of a vowel.
|-
|࠙
|
|
|Marks [[gemination]].
|-
|࠘
|
|
|Marks [[Occlusive|occlusion]].
|-
|ࠗ
|
|
|
|-
|ࠖ
|
|
|
|}

=== Punctuation ===
{{Incomplete table|date=July 2024}}
{| class="wikitable"
!Punctuation mark
!Name
!Function
|-
|࠭‎
|nequdaa
|Variant reading sign.
|-
|࠰
|nequdaa
|Word separator.
|-
|࠱
|afsaaq
|Interruption.
|-
|࠲‎
|afsed
|Restraint.
|-
|࠳
|bau
|Prayer.
|-
|࠴
|atmau
|Surprise.
|-
|࠵
|shiyyaalaa
|Question.
|-
|࠶
|
|Abbreviation mark.
|-
|࠷
|
|Melodic qitsa.
|-
|࠸
|ziqaa
|Shouting.
|-
|࠹
|qitsa
|End of section.
|-
|࠺
|zef
|Outburst.
|-
|࠻
|turu
|Teaching.
|-
|࠼
|arkaanu
|Submissiveness.
|-
|<big>࠽‎</big>
|sof mashfaat
|Full stop.
|-
|<big>࠾‎</big>
|annaau
|Rest.
|}

==Unicode==

{{Main article|Samaritan (Unicode block)}}

Samaritan script was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in October 2009 with the release of version 5.2.

The Unicode block for Samaritan is U+0800&ndash;U+083F:

{{Unicode chart Samaritan}}

==See also==
* [[Samaritan vocalization]]
* [[Samaritan source]] sign

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|title= Late Samaritan Hebrew: A Linguistic Analysis of Its Different Types |first= Moše|last=Flôrenṭîn |publisher= Brill |year=2005 |isbn= 978-900413841-4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1dNk_b1uDzUC }}

==External links==
*[http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/samarpent_lg.html A Samaritan Bible, at the British library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103043024/http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/samarpent_lg.html |date=2013-11-03 }}
*[https://www.omniglot.com/writing/samaritan.htm Omniglot.com - Samaritan alphabet]
*[https://www.alanwood.net/unicode/fonts-middle-eastern.html#samaritan Link to free Samaritan font] (consonants only as of 2010)
*[https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/samaritan.htm Online keyboard for Samaritan script]

{{list of writing systems}}
{{Samaritans|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Abjad writing systems]]
[[Category:Canaanite writing systems]]
[[Category:Hebrew language]]
[[Category:Samaritan culture and history]]
[[Category:Semitic writing systems]]
[[Category:Right-to-left writing systems]]