Arebica
Encyclopedia
Arebica or arabica was a variant of the Perso-Arabic script
used to write the Bosnian language
. It was used mainly between the 15th and 19th centuries. Before WWI there were unsuccessful efforts by Muslims to officially adopt Arebica as the third alphabet for Bosnian alongside Latin and Cyrillic
. The last book printed in the script was in 1941.
One of the oldest texts written in Arabica is a love song called Chirvat-türkisi
('Croatian song') from 1588, written by a certain Mehmed in Bosnia. This manuscript is held in the National Library in Vienna
. Besides literature, Arabica was used in religious schools and administration, though in much less use than other scripts.
Arebica was based on the Perso-Arabic script
of the Ottoman Empire
, with added letters for t͡s, ʎ, and ɲ, which are not found in Arabic
, Persian
, or Turkish
. Full letters were eventually introduced for all vowels, making Arebica a true alphabet
, unlike its Perso-Arabic base.
The final version of Arebica was devised by Mehmed Džemaludin Čaušević at the end of the 19th century. His version is called Matufovica, Matufovača, or Mektebica.
Text example:
Perso-Arabic script
The Persian or Perso-Arabic alphabet is a writing system based on the Arabic script. Originally used exclusively for the Arabic language, the Arabic alphabet was adapted to the Persian language, adding four letters: , , , and . Many languages which use the Perso-Arabic script add other letters...
used to write the Bosnian language
Bosnian language
Bosnian is a South Slavic language, spoken by Bosniaks. As a standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect, it is one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
. It was used mainly between the 15th and 19th centuries. Before WWI there were unsuccessful efforts by Muslims to officially adopt Arebica as the third alphabet for Bosnian alongside Latin and Cyrillic
Serbian Cyrillic alphabet
The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet is an adaptation of the Cyrillic script for the Serbian language, developed in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two standard modern alphabets used to write the Serbian language, the other being Latin...
. The last book printed in the script was in 1941.
One of the oldest texts written in Arabica is a love song called Chirvat-türkisi
Chirvat-türkisi
Chirvat-türkisi or Croatian song is a a love song from 1588, written in Arabica by a certain Mehmed from Bosnia. This manuscript is held in the National Library in Vienna....
('Croatian song') from 1588, written by a certain Mehmed in Bosnia. This manuscript is held in the National Library in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Besides literature, Arabica was used in religious schools and administration, though in much less use than other scripts.
Arebica was based on the Perso-Arabic script
Perso-Arabic script
The Persian or Perso-Arabic alphabet is a writing system based on the Arabic script. Originally used exclusively for the Arabic language, the Arabic alphabet was adapted to the Persian language, adding four letters: , , , and . Many languages which use the Perso-Arabic script add other letters...
of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, with added letters for t͡s, ʎ, and ɲ, which are not found in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, or Turkish
Ottoman Turkish language
The Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
. Full letters were eventually introduced for all vowels, making Arebica a true alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
, unlike its Perso-Arabic base.
The final version of Arebica was devised by Mehmed Džemaludin Čaušević at the end of the 19th century. His version is called Matufovica, Matufovača, or Mektebica.
| arebica | latinica | arebica | latinica | arebica | latinica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | g | o | |||
| b | h | p | |||
| c | i | r | |||
| č | j | s | |||
| ć | k | š | |||
| d | l | t | |||
| dž | lj | u | |||
| đ | m | v | |||
| e | n | z | |||
| f |  |
nj | ž |
Text example:
- = Molimo se tebi, Bože (We pray to you, o God)
See also
- Gaj's Latin alphabet
- Serbian Cyrillic alphabetSerbian Cyrillic alphabetThe Serbian Cyrillic alphabet is an adaptation of the Cyrillic script for the Serbian language, developed in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two standard modern alphabets used to write the Serbian language, the other being Latin...
- Belarusian Arabic alphabetBelarusian Arabic alphabetThe Belarusian Arabic alphabet was based on the Arabic script and was developed in the 16th century . It consisted of twenty-eight graphemes, including several additions to represent Belarusian sounds not found in Arabic....
, another script used by Slavic-speaking Muslims - :Category:Arabic alphabets
External links
- Hevaji Text examples: Hevaji, Kaimija, etc.
- Još malo o arebici (More on arebica)