Editing Syriac language (section)

==Phonology==

{{listen|filename=aboun.ogg|title=''ʾAḇôn daḇašmayyā''|description= [[Lord's Prayer]], {{transliteration|syr|''ʾAḇōn daḇašmayyā''}} sung in Western Syriac}}
Phonologically, like the other Northwest Semitic languages, Syriac has 22 consonants. The consonantal phonemes are:

{| class="wikitable"  style="text-align:center;" class="wikitable"
|-
| transliteration 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Aleph|ʾ]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Bet (letter)|b]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Gimel|g]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Dalet|d]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[He (letter)|h]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Waw (letter)|w]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Zayin|z]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Heth|ḥ]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Teth|ṭ]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Yodh|y]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Kaph|k]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Lamedh|l]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Mem|m]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Nun (letter)|n]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Samekh|s]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Ayin|ʿ]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Pe (Semitic letter)|p]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Tsade|ṣ]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Qoph|q]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Resh|r]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Shin (letter)|š]]}}'' 
|| ''{{transliteration|syc|[[Taw|t]]}}''
|-
| letter
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܐ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܒ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܓ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܕ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܗ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܘ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܙ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܚ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܛ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܝ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܟ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܠ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܡ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܢ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܣ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܥ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܦ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܨ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܩ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܪ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܫ}}
|  style="height:40px; font-size:150%; vertical-align:top;" | {{lang|syc|ܬ}}
|-
| pronunciation
| {{IPAblink|ʔ}}
| {{IPAblink|b}}, {{IPAblink|v}}
| {{IPAblink|g}}, {{IPAblink|ɣ}}
| {{IPAblink|d}}, {{IPAblink|ð}}
| {{IPAblink|h}}
| {{IPAblink|w}}
| {{IPAblink|z}}
| {{IPAblink|ħ}}
| {{IPAblink|tˤ}}
| {{IPAblink|j}}
| {{IPAblink|k}}, {{IPAblink|x}}
| {{IPAblink|l}}
| {{IPAblink|m}}
| {{IPAblink|n}}
| {{IPAblink|s}}
| {{IPAblink|ʕ}}
| {{IPAblink|p}}, {{IPAblink|f}}
| {{IPAblink|sˤ}}
| {{IPAblink|q}}
| {{IPAblink|r}}
| {{IPAblink|ʃ}}
| {{IPAblink|t}}, {{IPAblink|θ}}
|}

Phonetically, there is some variation in the pronunciation of Syriac in its various forms. The various Modern Eastern Aramaic vernaculars have quite different pronunciations, and these sometimes influence how the classical language is pronounced, for example, in public prayer. Classical Syriac has two major streams of pronunciation: western and eastern.

=== Consonants ===
Syriac shares with Aramaic a set of lightly contrasted [[stop consonant|stop]]/[[fricative consonant|fricative]] pairs. In different variations of a certain lexical root, a root consonant might exist in stop form in one variation and fricative form in another. In the Syriac alphabet, a single letter is used for each pair. Sometimes a dot is placed above the letter (''quššāyā'' "strengthening"; equivalent to a [[dagesh]] in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]) to mark that the stop pronunciation is required, and a dot is placed below the letter (''rukkāḵā'' "softening") to mark that the fricative pronunciation is required. The pairs are:
* Voiced [[labial consonant|labial]] pair – {{IPA|/b/}} and {{IPA|/v/}}
* Voiced [[velar consonant|velar]] pair – {{IPA|/ɡ/}} and {{IPA|/ɣ/}}
* Voiced [[dental consonant|dental]] pair – {{IPA|/d/}} and {{IPA|/ð/}}
* Voiceless [[labial consonant|labial]] pair – {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/f/}}
* Voiceless [[velar consonant|velar]] pair – {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/x/}}
* Voiceless [[dental consonant|dental]] pair – {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/θ/}}

Like some Semitic languages, Syriac too has [[emphatic consonant]]s, and it has three of them, {{IPA|/q/}} being a historically emphatic variant of {{IPA|/k/}}. These are consonants that have a coarticulation in the [[human pharynx|pharynx]] or slightly higher.  There are two [[Pharyngeal consonant|pharyngeal]] fricatives, another class of consonants typically found in Semitic languages. Syriac also has a rich array of [[sibilant]]s:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Table of Syriac consonants
|-
! rowspan=2 | 
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | [[Labiodental consonant|Labio-<br />dental]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! colspan=4 | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br />alveolar]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | [[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyn-<br />geal]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!  colspan=2 | <small>plain</small> ||   colspan=2 | <small>[[pharyngealization|emphatic]]</small> 
|- align=center
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| colspan=2 | {{IPA link|m}}
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | {{IPA link|n}}
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
|- align=center
! [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|p}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|b}}
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|t}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|d}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|tˤ}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|k}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|q}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
| colspan=2 | 
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|ʔ}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
|- align=center
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| colspan=2 | 
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|f}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|v}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|θ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|ð}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|s}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|z}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|sˤ}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|ʃ}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|x}} || colspan=2 style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|ɣ}} 
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|ħ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|ʕ}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|h}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
|- align=center
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| colspan=2 | {{IPA link|w}}
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | {{IPA link|l}}
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | {{IPA link|j}}
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
|- align=center
! [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | {{IPA link|r}}
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
| colspan=2 | 
|}
*

=== Vowels ===
As with most Semitic languages, the vowels of Syriac are mostly subordinated to consonants. Especially in the presence of an emphatic consonant, vowels tend to become mid-centralised.

Classical Syriac had the following distinguishable vowels:
{|
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ class="nowrap" | Vowel phonemes in Classical Syriac
|-
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! {{small|[[Roundedness|unrounded]]}}
! {{small|[[Roundedness|rounded]]}}
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
|
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}
|
| {{IPA link|o}}
|-
! [[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ}}
|
|
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| {{IPA link|a}}
| {{IPA link|ɑ}}
|
|}
|}
In the western dialect, {{IPA|/ɑ/}} has become {{IPA|[ɔ]}}, and the original {{IPA|/o/}} has merged with {{IPA|/u/}}. In eastern dialects, there is more fluidity in the pronunciation of [[front vowel]]s, with some speakers distinguishing five qualities of such vowels, and others only distinguishing three. Vowel length is generally not important: [[close vowel]]s tend to be longer than [[open vowel]]s.

The open vowels form [[diphthong]]s with the [[approximant consonant|approximants]] {{IPA|/j/}} and {{IPA|/w/}}. In almost all dialects, the full sets of possible diphthongs collapses into two or three actual pronunciations:
* {{IPA|/ɑj/}} usually becomes {{IPA|/aj/}}, but the western dialect has {{IPA|/oj/}}
* {{IPA|/aj/}}, further, sometimes [[monophthong]]ized to {{IPA|/e/}}
* {{IPA|/aw/}} usually becomes {{IPA|/ɑw/}}
* {{IPA|/ɑw/}}, further, sometimes monophthongized to {{IPA|/o/}}