Neo-Aramaic languages

History

Aramaic had become the lingua franca of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the 8th century BC, and was retained by the following Neo-Babylonian Empire and Achaemenid Empires, gradually displacing the hitherto dominant Akkadian language of the Assyrians and Babylonians. 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, those of Assyria and Babylonia retaining an Akkadian grammatical influence. A dominant literary form among Aramaic-speaking Christians was Edessan Aramaic (Urhaya) evolving in the Neo-Assyrian kingdom of Osroene, which 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.

During the 19th century, systematic studies of Neo-Aramaic languages were initiated for the first time, 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 (Assyrian genocide). The displacement of many Assyrian communities from their native regions disrupted both the four millenia long geographical and historical Assyrian continuity and 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.

Varieties

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.

Only Western Neo-Aramaic, spoken in Maaloula and Jubb'adin in the Anti-Lebanon mountains by Christian and Muslim Aramean (Syriac) communities, remains as a witness to the western varieties, which used to be much more widespread in the Levant (as evidenced in varieties from the first millennium CE such as Samaritan Aramaic, Jewish Palestinian Aramaic and Christian Palestinian Aramaic).

The other Neo-Aramaic languages are all eastern varieties, mostly spoken by ethnic Assyrian people, 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-influenced Aramaic of the Arsacid Empire. Modern Mandaic is spoken fluently by about a few thousand 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 (Surayt) with approximately 100,000 speakers and a few thousand speakers of other Neo-Aramaic languages (i.e. Modern Judeo-Aramaic varieties and Bohtan Neo-Aramaic, among others), which give a total of over 870,000 fluent Neo-Aramaic speakers, although a larger number have some knowledge of the language, but lack fluency.

References

Sources

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• Waltisberg, Michael (2016). Syntax des Ṭuroyo (= Semitica Viva 55). Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. .

References

1. The Semitic Heritage of Northwest Syria, p. 271
2. “…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
3. "Hilfe für das Aramäerdorf Maaloula e.V. | an aid project in Syria".
4. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130518214139/http://meti.byu.edu/Brock_Introduction.pdf Brock, Sebastian. 2017. An Introduction to Syriac Studies. P. 12]
5. [https://www.ethnologue.com/language/aii Assyrian Neo-Aramaic] by [[Ethnologue]]
6. "Chaldean Neo-Aramaic {{!".
7. "Turoyo {{!".