View source for Neo-Aramaic languages

{{Short description|Varieties of the Aramaic language}}
{{Infobox language family
| name          = Neo-Aramaic
| altname       = Modern Aramaic
| region        = [[Iraq]], [[Iran]], [[Syria]], [[Turkey]], [[Lebanon]], [[Israel]] and the [[Assyrian diaspora]]
| familycolor   = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2          = [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
| fam3          = [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]]
| fam4          = [[Central Semitic languages|Central Semitic]]
| fam5          = [[Northwest Semitic languages|Northwest Semitic]]
| fam6          = [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]
| child1        = [[Western Neo-Aramaic]]
| child2        = [[Central Neo-Aramaic]]
| child3        = [[Northeastern Neo-Aramaic]]
| child4        = [[Neo-Mandaic]]
| child5        = [[Lebanese Aramaic]]{{extinct}}
| glotto        = aram1259
| glottoname    = Aramaic
}}
{{Assyrian culture}}

The '''Neo-Aramaic''' or '''Modern Aramaic''' languages are [[variety (linguistics)|varieties]] of [[Aramaic]] that evolved during the [[Late Middle Ages|late medieval]] and [[Early modern period|early modern]] periods, and continue to the present day as [[vernacular]] (spoken) languages of modern Aramaic-speaking communities.{{sfn|Beyer|1986|p=53}} Within the field of [[Aramaic studies]],{{sfn|Brock|1989|p=11–23}} classification of Neo-Aramaic languages has been a subject of particular interest among scholars, who proposed several divisions, into two (western and eastern), three (western, central and eastern) or four (western, central, northeastern and southeastern) primary groups.{{sfn|Yildiz|2000|p=23–44}}{{sfn|Kim|2008|p=505–531}}

In terms of [[sociolinguistics]], Neo-Aramaic languages are also classified by various [[Ethnolinguistics|ethnolinguistic]] and religiolinguistic criteria, spanning across ethnic and religious lines, and encompassing groups that adhere to [[Christianity]], [[Judaism]], [[Mandaeism]] and [[Islam]].{{sfn|Heinrichs|1990|p=}}

Christian Neo-Aramaic languages have long co-existed with [[Syriac language|Classical Syriac]] as a literary and liturgical language of [[Syriac Christianity]].{{sfn|Murre van den Berg|2008|p=335–352}} Since Classical Syriac and similar [[Archaism|archaic]] forms, like [[Targum|Targumic Aramaic]] (old Judeo-Aramaic variety) and [[Mandaic language|Classical Mandaic]], are no longer vernacular, they are not classified as ''Neo-Aramaic'' languages. However, the classical languages continue to have influence over the colloquial Neo-Aramaic languages.

The most prominent Neo-Aramaic varieties belong to [[Central Neo-Aramaic]] and [[Northeastern Neo-Aramaic]] groups. They are spoken primarily (though not wholly exclusively) by ethnic [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], who are adherents of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]], [[Ancient Church of the East]], [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], [[Chaldean Catholic Church]], and some other denominations. Other speakers include Muslim and Christian [[Terms for Syriac Christians#Aramean identity|Arameans (Syriacs)]]<ref>The Semitic Heritage of Northwest Syria, p. 271</ref><ref>“…Maaloula Syriacs have maintained their Syriac identity since ancient times, and there is ample evidence of their Syriac heritage, especially in Maaloula, Ain Tineh, Bakhah, and Jubaadin…“, translated quote from the book إلياس أنطون نصر الله في معلولا, p. 45</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://friendsofmaaloula.de/en/ | title=Hilfe für das Aramäerdorf Maaloula e.V. &#124; an aid project in Syria }}</ref> from [[Maaloula]] and [[Jubb'adin]], who speak the endangered [[Western Neo-Aramaic]] language, [[Mandaeans]], and some [[Mizrahi Jews]]. Today, the number of fluent Neo-Aramaic speakers is significantly smaller, and newer generations of [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] generally are not acquiring the full language, especially as many have emigrated and acculturated into their new resident countries, and other minority Aramaic languages are being surpassed by local majority languages.{{sfn|Sabar|2003|p=222–234}}

==History==
[[File:Syriac Dialects EN.svg|thumb|270px|right|Distribution of Neo-Aramaic languages]]
[[File:Villages where varieties of North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic are spoken.png|thumb|270px|right|Places where varieties of [[North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic]] are spoken]]

During the [[Late Antiquity]], and throughout the [[Middle Ages]], the linguistic development of the Aramaic language was marked by the coexistence of literary and vernacular forms. A dominant literary form among Aramaic-speaking Christians was ''Edessan Aramaic'' (Urhaya), that came to be known as [[Classical Syriac]] (a term coined by western scholars). At the same time, Aramaic-speaking [[Jews]] had their own literary languages ([[Judeo-Aramaic languages]]). Along with dominant literary forms, various [[vernacular]] forms were also spoken, with distinctive regional variations. By the [[late medieval]] period, literary forms used by Aramaic-speaking Christians were confided mainly to the religious sphere of life (liturgical use), while vernacular forms continued to develop into the [[early modern]] period. Gradually, some of those Neo-Aramaic vernacular forms also started to be used for literary purposes.{{sfn|Murre van den Berg|2008|p=335-352}}

During the 19th century, systematic studies of Neo-Aramaic languages were initiated for the first time,{{sfn|Macuch|1990|p=214}} and by the beginning of the 20th century some Neo-Aramaic varieties already entered into the modern phase of their linguistic development, marked by the appearance of various Neo-Aramaic publications, and also by the establishment of modern schools and other institutions.

That development was severely interrupted by the breakout of the [[First World War]] (1914–1918) and the atrocities committed against Aramaic-speaking communities during the [[Seyfo]] (genocide). The displacement of many communities from their native regions disrupted the linguistic continuum, and also created new groups of Neo-Aramaic speakers throughout the [[diaspora]]. Those events had a profound impact on further development of Neo-Aramaic communities, affecting all spheres of life, including various cultural issues related to their language.{{sfn|Macuch|1990|p=214}}

==Varieties==
{{NENA dialect map}}
Throughout the history of [[Aramaic language]], a dialectal boundary dividing western and eastern varieties has existed, running transversely across the [[Syrian Desert]] from southeast to northwest.{{sfn|Beyer|1986|p=11}}

Only [[Western Neo-Aramaic]], spoken in [[Maaloula]] and [[Jubb'adin]] in the [[Anti-Lebanon mountains]] by Christian and Muslim [[Terms for Syriac Christians#Aramean identity|Aramean (Syriac)]] communities, remains as a witness to the western varieties, which used to be much more widespread in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] (as evidenced in  varieties from the first millennium CE such as [[Samaritan Aramaic language|Samaritan Aramaic]], [[Jewish Palestinian Aramaic]] and [[Christian Palestinian Aramaic]]).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130518214139/http://meti.byu.edu/Brock_Introduction.pdf Brock, Sebastian. 2017. An Introduction to Syriac Studies. P. 12]</ref>

The other Neo-Aramaic languages are all eastern varieties, but with little homogeneity. Most distinct in this group is [[Modern Mandaic]], which has low intelligibility with other varieties. It is the direct descendant of [[Classical Mandaic]], which traces its roots back to the [[Persian language|Persian]]-influenced Aramaic of the [[Arsacid Empire]]. Modern Mandaic is spoken fluently by no more than about a few hundred people.

==Speakers==

The number of modern speakers of Neo-Aramaic languages is estimated from approximately 575,000 to 1,000,000, the vast majority of whom are [[Assyrian people]]. The largest of subgroups of speakers are [[Assyrian Neo-Aramaic]] with approximately 500,000 speakers, [[Chaldean Neo-Aramaic]] with approximately 240,000 speakers, [[Turoyo language|Turoyo]] (Surayt) with approximately 100,000 speakers and a few thousand speakers of other Neo-Aramaic languages (i.e. [[Judeo-Aramaic languages#Modern dialects|Modern Judeo-Aramaic varieties]] and [[Bohtan Neo-Aramaic]], among others), which give a total of over 870,000 Neo-Aramaic speakers.<ref name=ethnologue>[https://www.ethnologue.com/language/aii Assyrian Neo-Aramaic] by [[Ethnologue]]</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.ethnologue.com/language/cld| title = Chaldean Neo-Aramaic {{!}} Ethnologue}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tru| title = Turoyo {{!}} Ethnologue}}</ref>

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Aramaic language]]
* [[Aramaic studies]]
* [[Bible translations into Aramaic]]
* [[Bible translations into Syriac]]
* [[Syriac language]]
* [[Syriac alphabet]]
* [[Syriac literature]]
* [[Syriac studies]]
* [[Syriac Christianity]]
* [[Romanization of Syriac]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

== Sources ==
{{refbegin|2}}
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* {{Cite book|last=Arnold|first=Werner|chapter=The Roots qrṭ and qrṣ in Western Neo-Aramaic|title=Aramaic in Its Historical and Linguistic Setting|year=2008|location=Wiesbaden|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|pages=305–311|isbn=9783447057875|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tfVZnCV6ABcC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Arnold|first=Werner|chapter=Western Neo-Aramaic|title=The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook|year=2012|location=Berlin-Boston|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|pages=685–696|isbn=9783110251586|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMzgBLT87MkC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Beyer|first=Klaus|title=The Aramaic Language: Its Distribution and Subdivisions|year=1986|location=Göttingen|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|isbn=9783525535738|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pZ53zpMQNLEC}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Brock|first=Sebastian P.|author-link=Sebastian P. Brock|title=Three Thousand Years of Aramaic Literature|journal=ARAM Periodical|year=1989|volume=1|number=1|pages=11–23|url=https://www.aramsociety.org/periodical/published-papers}}
* {{Cite book|last=Häberl|first=Charles G.|chapter=Neo-Mandaic|title=The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook|year=2012|location=Berlin-Boston|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|pages=725–737|isbn=9783110251586|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMzgBLT87MkC}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Heinrichs|editor-first=Wolfhart|editor-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs|title=Studies in Neo-Aramaic|year=1990|location=Atlanta|publisher=Scholars Press|isbn=9781555404307|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3n0OAAAAYAAJ}}
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* {{Cite journal|last=Kiraz|first=George A.|author-link=George Kiraz|title=Kthobonoyo Syriac: Some Observations and Remarks|journal=Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies|year=2007|volume=10|number=2|pages=129–142|url=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Beth-Mardutho/hugoye-data/master/pdf/vol10/HV10N2Kiraz.pdf}}
* {{Cite book|last=Khan|first=Geoffrey|author-link=Geoffrey Khan|chapter=North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic|title=The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook|year=2012|location=Berlin-Boston|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|pages=708–724|isbn=9783110251586|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMzgBLT87MkC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Khan|first=Geoffrey|author-link=Geoffrey Khan|chapter=Sound Symbolism in Neo-Aramaic|title=Near Eastern and Arabian Essays: Studies in Honour of John F. Healey|year=2018|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=197–214|isbn=978-0-19-883106-8|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RUsgvgEACAAJ}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Geoffrey|author-link=Geoffrey Khan|title=Remarks on the Historical Development and Syntax of the Copula in North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic Dialects|journal=Aramaic Studies|year=2018|volume=16|number=2|pages=234–269|doi=10.1163/17455227-01602010|s2cid=195503300|url=https://doi.org/10.1163/17455227-01602010}}
* {{Cite book|last=Khan|first=Geoffrey|author-link=Geoffrey Khan|chapter=The Neo-Aramaic Dialects of Eastern Anatolia and Northwestern Iran|title=The Languages and Linguistics of Western Asia: An Areal Perspective|year=2019|location=Berlin-Boston|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|pages=190–236|isbn=9783110421743|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vHiWDwAAQBAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Khan|first=Geoffrey|author-link=Geoffrey Khan|chapter=The Neo-Aramaic Dialects of Northern Iraq|title=The Languages and Linguistics of Western Asia: An Areal Perspective|year=2019|location=Berlin-Boston|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|pages=305–353|isbn=9783110421743|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vHiWDwAAQBAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Khan|first=Geoffrey|author-link=Geoffrey Khan|chapter=The Neo-Aramaic Dialects of Western Iran|title=The Languages and Linguistics of Western Asia: An Areal Perspective|year=2019|location=Berlin-Boston|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|pages=481–532|isbn=9783110421743|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vHiWDwAAQBAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Khan|first=Geoffrey|author-link=Geoffrey Khan|chapter=The Neo-Aramaic Dialects and Their Historical Background|title=The Syriac World|year=2019|location=London|publisher=Routledge|pages=266–289|isbn=9781138899018|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E48JswEACAAJ}}
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* {{Cite book|last=Krotkoff|first=Georg|chapter=An Annotated Bibliography of Neo-Aramaic|title=Studies in Neo-Aramaic|year=1990|location=Atlanta|publisher=Scholars Press|pages=3–26|isbn=9781555404307|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3n0OAAAAYAAJ}}
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* {{Cite book|last=Murre van den Berg|first=Heleen| author-link = Heleen Murre-van den Berg | chapter=Classical Syriac, Neo-Aramaic, and Arabic in the Churchof the East and the Chaldean Church between 1500 and 1800|title=Aramaic in Its Historical and Linguistic Setting|year=2008|location=Wiesbaden|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|pages=335–352|isbn=9783447057875|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tfVZnCV6ABcC}}
* {{cite book
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*Waltisberg, Michael (2016). ''Syntax des Ṭuroyo'' (= Semitica Viva 55). Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. {{ISBN|978-3-447-10731-0}}.
* {{Cite book|last=Weninger|first=Stefan|chapter=Aramaic-Arabic Language Contact|title=The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook|year=2012|location=Berlin-Boston|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|pages=747–755|isbn=9783110251586|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMzgBLT87MkC}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Yildiz|first=Efrem|title=The Aramaic Language and its Classification|journal=Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies|year=2000|volume=14|number=1|pages=23–44|url=https://www.academia.edu/22094684}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Neo-Aramaic languages}}
* [http://www.christlicherorient.suermann.info/thematische_Literaturlisten/Neuaramaische_Dialekte/neuaramaische_dialekte.html Helen Younansardaroud: Bibliographie zu neuaramäischen Dialekten]
* [http://www.atour.com/dictionary Aramaic Dictionary&nbsp;– search the online dictionary using English or Aramaic words, including many other options.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202639/http://www.premiumwanadoo.com/cuneiform.languages/syriac/index.php Sureth&nbsp;– French/English Dictionary]

{{Neo-Aramaic}}
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