Arabi Malayalam

Arabi Malayalam (Malayalam script : അറബി മലയാളം, Arabi Malayalam: عربِ ملیاۻم) is a writing system for writing Mappila Malayalam. It uses a variant form of the Arabic script. Mappila Malayalam uses the grammar and syntax of Malayalam, vocabulary from Malayalam, Arabic, Tamil, Urdu and Persian, and the Arabic script with special orthographic features.^[1][2] Though this originated in the South Indian region of the Malabar, today the script is mainly used in Malaysia and Singapore by the migrant Muslim community.^[3] It is also used to teach Malayalam in Madrassas of Kerala and Lakshadweep.^[4] Until the 20th century, the script was widely taught to all Muslims in Kerala, including women. Most of the Mappila Songs are written in Arabi-Malayalam script. The earliest known such work is the Muhyidheen Mala, written in 1607. Over the centuries, almost 3000 Arabic words used in Mappila Malayalam came to be assimilated to the Malayalam language. Many of them relate to law, administration and commerce, indicating the areas where the Muslim influence, especially in the lands under the Zamorin.^[3][5]

Writing

Arabi Malayalam alphabet with Malayalam alphabet correspondences

There were many problems to write Malayalam using letters covering Arabic, a Semitic language. Only 28 letters were available from Arabic orthography to render over 53 phonemes of Malayalam. It was overcome by following the pattern of creating additional letters established for Persian.^[7] The letters like pa, gha, kha, ṅa, ña, ḻa, ga, ca were not available in the Arabic alphabets. The characters which stand for ḻa, ca, pa, ga (ഴ, ച, പ, ഗ) are ژ, چ, پ, گ respectively in Arabi Malayalam.

Literature

Al Bayan newspaper Dated March 1930 printed in Arabi Malayalam script

A huge volume of literary works written in Arabi-Malayalam have not been translated to the Malayalam script of today, and some estimates put the number at almost 90 percent. These works contain the greatest literary achievements by Mappilas over the centuries. Romantic ballads, folk tales and battle songs have found a place in Arabi-Malayalam literature. While Arabi-Malayalam literally denotes Arabic influence in Malayalam, the vocabulary used in Arabi-Malayalam works often included Sanskrit, Persian and Tamil.^[1]

The first Arabi-Malayalam novel, Chahar Dervesh, a translation of a Persian work, was published in 1883, six years before O. Chandhu Menon's Indulekha.^[8]

Moyinkutty Vaidyar and others translated important works of Sanskrit into Arabi-Malayalam. Major works translated thus were Astangahridaya, Amarakosha, Panchatantra and even stories about King Vikramaditya.^[9]

Sanskrit medical texts were also translated into Arabi-Malayalam by authors like Abdurahiman Musaliar of Ponnani Puthiyakath. These included the Upakarasara, Yogarambha and Mahasara.^[9]

Arabi-Malayalam periodicals played an important role in social reform movements of the Mappilas in the early 20th century. Al-Irshad, published in 1923 by the Muslim Aikya Sanghom played an important role in explaining the tenets of Islam to the common man and distinguishing between religious practices and superstitions.^[10]

Arabi-Malayalam still used as a medium of Madrassa education by Samastha Kerala Islam Matha Vidhyabhyasa Board in the Malabar region of Kerala.^[11]

See also

• Arwi
• Judeo-Malayalam
• Suriyani Malayalam
• Beary bashe

References

1. 1 2 Pg 458-466, Roland Miller, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol VI , Brill 1988
2. ↑ "Malayalam resource center". 
3. 1 2 "Arabic script for malayalam". 
4. ↑ "Arabi Malayalam in Lakshadweep". 
5. ↑ Pg 491-493, A handbook of Kerala, Volume 2,T. Madhava Menon, International School of Dravidian Linguistics,International School of Dravidian Linguistics, 2002
6. ↑ (English) The Arabi-Malayalam Scripture Archived March 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. - e-Malabari Network
7. ↑ "Persian alphabets". Archived from the original on 2008-03-18. 
8. ↑ Pg 152, Muslims of Kerala: a modern approach,S. Sharafudeen,Kerala Historical Society, 2003
9. 1 2 Pg 88, Malayalam literary survey, Volume 16, Issue 1 - Volume 17, Issue 4, Kēraḷa Sāhitya Akkādami,1994
10. ↑ Pg 134, Journal of Kerala studies, Volume 17 ,University of Kerala, 1990
11. ↑ http://samastha.info/index.php

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arabi Malayalam.