Suriyani Malayalam Script Fades After 19th-Century Prominence in Kerala

Suriyani Malayalam, a unique script blending Malayalam grammar with a variant of the Syriac alphabet, was a significant medium of written communication for Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala, India, until the 19th century. This historical script, also known as Karshoni or Syro-Malabarica, facilitated the writing of Malayalam using East Syriac characters, enriched with vocabulary from both languages. Its usage by the Nasranis, or Syrian Christians, underscores a rich cultural and linguistic heritage in the South Indian state.

The script's historical significance was recently highlighted by a social media user, Christopher, who stated, > "Suriyani Malayalam is another script developed from Syriac. It was used by my ancestors in Kerala 🇮🇳 until the 19th century." This personal reflection emphasizes the deep ancestral ties to this distinctive writing system. The script adapted the Maḏnḥāyā or "Eastern" Syriac script, incorporating special orthographic features to accommodate the phonemes of Malayalam, a Dravidian language.

Despite its popularity for centuries, Suriyani Malayalam began to decline significantly after the 19th century. A primary reason for this shift was the gradual replacement of Syriac with Malayalam as the principal liturgical language within various Christian denominations in Kerala. This change, partly influenced by the Vatican's push for local languages in religious services, allowed the faithful to better understand prayers and hymns, but led to the reduced use of the script.

Challenges in adapting the Semitic Syriac script to the Dravidian Malayalam language also contributed to its eventual decline. While the script was modified to include letters from the Malayalam script to overcome these issues, the broader linguistic transition proved more impactful. Although no longer in popular daily use, Suriyani Malayalam remains preserved in numerous historical documents and ecclesiastical literature of the Saint Thomas Christian denominations, offering valuable insights into Kerala's past.

The script's legacy is recognized in modern digital standards, with specific characters for Suriyani Malayalam added to the Unicode Standard in 2017. Scholars continue to study this unique linguistic blend, acknowledging its role in the cultural exchange between the Middle East and the Malabar Coast. The script stands as a testament to the diverse linguistic landscape and the historical interactions that shaped Kerala's Christian community.