Aramaic language
Aramaic is a
language spoken in the
Levant and
Mesopotamia from perhaps
700 BC until the
present day. It is a member of the
Semitic languages group.
Today Aramaic is spoken among about 500,000 native speakers
[1] (with varying degrees of fluency) in scattered communities across the
Fertile Crescent. There are 15,000 speakers in three
Syrian villages in the Qalamoun Mountains north of
Damascus (Ma'aloula, Bakh`a, Jubb`adin), but most speakers live in the area often termed
Kurdistan in
English, from Lake Urmia to Hakkari - and even in the
USA by Assyrian (also known as Chaldo-Assyrians, Syriacs, Maronites) immigrants from this area. A few live in
Mesopotamia proper (called in Aramaic
Bethnahrin).
Aramaic is used in many
Jewish holy texts. Some of the later parts of the
Hebrew Bible, most of the
Gemara section of the
Talmud, and the
Zohar are written in Aramaic.
Aramaic is divided into two groups: Western and Eastern.
- Western - this group is extinct as a spoken language and included Nabataean (extinct, spoken in parts of Arabia), Palmyrenean (extinct, spoken in Palmyra, Syria and adjoining regions), and Palestinian-Christian and Judeo-Aramean. A Western Aramaic dialect was the spoken language in Roman Judea in Jesus's time, as quotes given in the Greek Gospels show[1].
Example:
Matthew 27:46 - ηλι ηλι λαμα σαβαχθανι (/eli eli lama sabachthani/, later Aramaic "E-lee e-lee l-maa saa-baach-taa-nee?")\n:(The famous last words of
Jesus in his native tongue, Aramaic. The above translation is standard, but disputed by people like Aramaic scholars
Rocco Errico and the late
George Lamsa, who claim that the word "lama" is a mistake in transcription, that the actual word is "lamana," giving: an
alternate translation: "My God, My God, for such a purpose have you kept me!" (Errico notes that the difference between the two statements is substantial, and casts a very different light on the
last words of Jesus.)
A few religious groups such as the monks of Mar Sarkis and some isolated followers of the Assyrian Church still use languages of this group for liturgical purposes. Rev. William Fulco reconstructed the Aramaic of Jesus for the film script of The Passion of the Christ (2004).
- Eastern - this group includes Syriac, Mandean, and Neo-Assyrian (not Akkadian Assyrian) dialects/languages. Some of these are still spoken in a few villages in Syria, notably Ma'loula, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Georgia and Armenia. Some Jewish speakers of Aramaic have immigrated to Israel and Los Angeles. The Jews are most likely of Assyrian heritage, but adopted the Jewish faith. There is an annual convention of native Aramaic speakers in Los Angeles. The Aramaic version of the Christian Bible is in the Syriac dialect, and a sample can be found in the article on the Lord's Prayer.
Many linguists are currently working on modern spoken Aramaic, such as Geoffrey Khan, Yona Sabar, and Otto Jastrow. A professor at the
University of California, Los Angeles is currently working on a
dictionary of modern spoken Aramaic.
See also
Aramaic alphabet.
Biblical Connections
\nAramaic was the language of the area once known as Aram-Naharaim or Aram of the two rivers from whence derives the Biblical tradition that the Aramaeans were descendants of two Nahors, (Abram's grandfather and Abram's brother Nahor1>Terah>Nahor2>Kemuel>Aram->Aramaeans). They are regarded by Hebrews as one of their closest relative nations and with them share the title "Children of Eber" from Genesis 10:21. In Deuteronomy 26:5 Jews are taught to remember that Jacob was practically Aramaean with a grandmother, mother and wives from Naharaim. They are descendants of Shem, from whom the Aramaic word She-maa-yaa (Semitic) is derived, but Aram of the two Nahors, though a descendant of Shem, is not to be confused with Aram the son of Shem.
See also
\n*Syriac language, Mandaic language, Aramaic alphabet, Aramaean, Aram
External links
\n* Learn Assyrian Online\n* Assyria Online\n* Learn Assyrian Aramaic\n* Semitisches Tonarchiv (many sound recordings of modern Aramaic)\n* English to Aramaic Dictionary
Category:Jewish texts\nCategory:Aramaic languages\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
