Turras Mamlla: Orthography (A Grammar of the Syriac Language)

by George Kiraz

This volume, the first in a comprehensive grammar of the Syriac language, is a thematic presentation of orthography in the Syriac grammatical tradition, bringing the study of Syriac writing closer to modern linguistic accounts of writing systems. Part 1 presents a chronological overview of the writing system, and discusses all Syriac graphemes and symbols, including that of the consonantal system, the vocalization system, grammatical graphemes that pertain to phonology and morphology, punctuation marks and editorial signs, as well as signs found in liturgical MSS, ancient accent signs, and the numbering systems. The arrangement of these graphemes to form words is treated in Part 2, presenting a theory of graphotactics (the rules that determine how graphs are arranged together to formulate larger texts), looking at writing in general and at the graph level, presenting the ductus of each graph from a synchronic perspective. Part 3 discusses gar unography, the use of the Syriac script to write other languages, as well as the use of other scripts to write Syriac, the adaptation of the Syriac script to write other forms of Aramaic, and alloglottography, the art of reading Syriac texts in languages other than Syriac. Part 4 addresses technological developments post movable type including lithography and mimeography, typewriters, digital typography, and coding standards.

482 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

George A. Kiraz is the founder and director of Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute, and the president of Gorgias Press. He earned an MSt in Syriac Studies from Oxford University, and an MPhil and PhD from Cambridge University. He has an extensive list of publications in Syriac studies.

Reviews

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sin duda, el mejor y más completo estudio de ortotipografía que jamás he leído sobre cualquier idioma o sistema de escritura. Contiene un montón de información valiosa de todo tipo sobre la escritura siríaca, más allá de la ortografía específica del siríaco como tal.
Sin embargo, a veces se pasa de técnico, puntilloso y profesional (aunque explica bien los conceptos y no es difícil de leer), y algunas de sus afirmaciones sobre idiomas distintos al siríaco son cuestionables.