LESSON 1-2:

Olap, Beyt, Gomal, & Dolath

Here, we’ll introduce your first four letters written as they would be back in s’(w#y (Jesus’s)
day:

a b g d
Olap Beyt Gomal Dolath
) A 0A b B BB g G GG d d dD
(Pla)o) (tybe) (lmag)O (t@lado)

Sounds Like: Sounds Like: Sounds Like: Sounds Like:

Olap is silent. B as in “boy” G as in “girl” D as in “dog”
V as in “voice” CH as in “loch” TH as in “the”

Romanized: Romanized: Romanized: Romanized:

_ B/V G / GH D / DH

Practice writing these letters below:

_____ _____ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____
©2002 AramaicNT.org
 LESSON 1-2:
Olap, Beyt, Gomal, & Dolath

)-Olap
Olap, the first letter of the Aramaic alphabet. It’s a rather, odd letter, though because it
doesn’t have any sound on it’s own. Instead, it takes on the sound of whatever vowel
that preceeds or lies upon it.
To Draw an Olap:
1 2

a
3

1) Draw a broad line from the upper-left hand of the line to the baseline.
2) Lift the pen and draw a small hook in the upper-right hand corner of the letter
3) Either draw over, or lift the pen, and draw a small hook at the bottom right-hand
corner.

b-Beyt
Beyt has two sounds. It can either sound like “B” as in “boy” or “V” as in “voice”
depending on asperation. In Hebrew this would be marked by a small dot (GET
NAME) in the center of the letter. b@ sounds like “b” where b sounds like “v.” In
Syriac script, it’s marked with a dot under the letter. B sounds like “b” where .B
sounds like “v.”
When Beyt is stuck onto the beginning of a word, it means “in,” “on,” or “among.”
To Draw a Beyt:
1

b
1) Draw a small hook at the top, followed by three sides of a box.
©2002 AramaicNT.org
 LESSON 1-2:
Olap, Beyt, Gomal, & Dolath

g-Gomal
Gomal, also has two pronounciations. It sounds like the G in “girl” when it is
unasperated, and CH as in the German “loch.” It is marked on manuscripts the same
way Beyth is, and the rules about asperation we’ll get into in a later chapter.
To Draw a Gomal:
1

g
2

1) Draw a stroke from the upper-left hand of the line to the baseline on a slight angle.
2) Lift the pen and draw a small dash about half way down the first stroke, in the
opposite direction.

d-Dolath
Dolath, too, has two pronounciations. It sounds like the D in “door” when it is
unasperated, and TH as in “the.” It is marked on manuscripts the same way Beyth
and Gomal is, and the rules about asperation we’ll get into in a later chapter.
When Dolath is stuck onto the beginning of a noun, it means “of.” If it is stuck to the
beginning of a verb, it means “of whom.”
To Draw a Dolath:
1 2

d
1) Draw a hooked stroke like you’re starting a Beyth.
2) Instead of continuing, lift the pen and draw a vertical stroke on the right.

©2002 AramaicNT.org
 LESSON 1-2:
Olap, Beyt, Gomal, & Dolath

Practice speaking the following:

)o )a )u )e )i
oh a oo ey ee

bo ba bu be bi
bo ba bu bé bi

gO gA gU gE gI
go ga gu gé gi

do da du de di
do da du dé di

)bo )ba )bu )be )bi

bo ba bu bé bi

)gO )gA )gU )gE )gI

go ga gu gé gi

)do )da )du )de )di

do da du dé di

g%do d@ba dgu g%be b)i

dogh badh gud bégh ib

d@bo b)a b@bu g%ge d@di

bodh ab buv gégh didh
Repeat this page once before going on. :-)

©2002 AramaicNT.org
 LESSON 1-2:
Olap, Beyt, Gomal, & Dolath

Section Vocabulary

aba abb aba

“Father” “Baby” “Fruit”
A-bo Bo-bo É-bo
()bo)a) ()bobo) ()bo)e)

add abg abd

“Uncle” “Side” “Bear”
Do-do Ga-bo Dé-bo
()dodo) ()bog)A ()bode)

Practice writing these words below:

_______ _______ _______

_______ _______ _______
_______ _______ _______
_______ _______ _______
_______ _______ _______
©2002 AramaicNT.org