Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 11, 2026

Semitic romanization

Semitic romanization is the process by which Semitic languages are transliterated into the Latin alphabet. The Semitic languages emerged in the Middle East during prehistory. Contemporary Semitic languages are almost all natively written in various abjads or alphabets such as the Arabic, Amharic, and Hebrew scripts. A notable exception is Maltese, which is the only Semitic language with a standard native form written in the Latin script.

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Jun 11, 2026
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Page from a book including a table with French writing and various symbols
A proposed modified romanization of Arabic from 1795 by Volney source ↗

Semitic romanization is the process (generally called romanization) by which Semitic languages are transliterated into the Latin alphabet. The Semitic languages emerged in the Middle East during prehistory. Contemporary Semitic languages are almost all natively written in various abjads or alphabets such as the Arabic, Amharic, and Hebrew scripts. A notable exception is Maltese, which is the only Semitic language with a standard native form written in the Latin script.

Romanization schemes for specific Semitic languages

Romanization schemes for Proto-Semitic and various Semitic languages (Semitic abjads):

See also

See also

Sources

Sources

  • Khan, Geoffrey., Watson, Janet C. E., Weninger, Stefan. The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook. Germany: De Gruyter, 2011.
  • George, Coulter H.. How Dead Languages Work. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2020 (p. 195-99).