What is the Fonna script?
The Fonna script (also written Phonna or Foinna) is an Arabic-based writing system used to write the Rohingya language. It has a long history in the Arakan region, where Arabic literacy was spread through Islamic education. The term “Fonna” refers specifically to the Rohingya adaptation of the Arabic script.
History
Arabic-script writing of Rohingya dates back several centuries, tied to the spread of Islam in Arakan. Rohingya scholars writing religious texts, poetry, and educational materials used Arabic as the base script, adding diacritics and modifications to represent Rohingya sounds not present in Arabic.
This tradition predates both the Hanifi script (1980s) and Rohingyalish (modern era) by hundreds of years.
How Fonna differs from standard Arabic
Standard Arabic script does not have characters for all Rohingya sounds. The Fonna script addresses this with:
- Additional diacritics to mark distinct Rohingya vowels
- Modified letter forms for sounds not in Arabic
- Extended vowel marking — Arabic typically omits short vowels in adult texts, but Fonna tends to mark them more explicitly
Who uses the Fonna script today?
The Fonna script is used primarily by:
- Madrasa-educated Rohingya with Arabic literacy
- Religious scholars producing Islamic texts in Rohingya
- Older community members who learned to read and write before the Hanifi script was widely adopted
In refugee camp contexts, Fonna materials are often used for Quran education and religious instruction.
Fonna and digital technology
The Fonna script presents challenges for digital use because it requires both Arabic script rendering (right-to-left, ligature joining) and Rohingya-specific diacritics. It has less Unicode standardisation than the Hanifi script.
For digital communication, most Rohingya speakers who were educated in Fonna switch to either Hanifi or Rohingyalish when using phones and computers.