Chaldean Neo-Aramaic
| Chaldean Neo-Aramaic | |
|---|---|
| ܟܠܕܝܐ Kaldāyâ, ܣܘܼܪܲܝܬ Sōreth | |
 Sûret in written Syriac (Madnkhaya script) |
|
| Pronunciation | [kalˈdɑjɑ], [sorɛθ] |
| Native to | |
| Region | Iraq; Mosul, Ninawa, now also Baghdad and Basra. |
| Native speakers | 220,000 (no date) (110,000 in Iraq in 1994) |
| Language family |
Afro-Asiatic
|
| Writing system | Syriac (Madenhaya alphabet) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | cld |
Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is a Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialect. Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is spoken on the plain of Mosul in northern Iraq, as well as by the Chaldean communities worldwide. Most speakers are Chaldean Catholics.
Contents |
History [edit]
Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is one of a number of modern Northeastern Aramaic languages spoken in the region of Kurdistan, between Lake Urmia in Iranian Azerbaijan in northern Iraq near Dohuk and near the Turkish border. Jews and Christians speak different dialects of Aramaic that are often mutually unintelligible. The Christian dialects have been heavily influenced by Classical Syriac, the literary language of Syriac Christianity in antiquity. Therefore Christian Neo-Aramaic has a dual heritage: literary Syriac and colloquial Eastern Aramaic. The Christian dialects are often called Soureth, or Syriac. In Iraqi Arabic. Speaks Aramaic new Chaldean, mostly in the mountainous regions of Iraq, as well as the Chaldean language they speak in Basra, Babil, Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces
Before the schism of 1552, most Christians in this region were members of the Church of the East.[1] When schism split the church, most of the Christians of the region opted for communion with the Roman Catholic Church and became members of the Chaldean Catholic Church.[2]
Dialects [edit]
Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is the Soureth language of the Plain of Mosul and Iraqi Kurdistan. It has a number of identifiable dialects, each corresponding to one of the villages where the language is spoken. The village/dialects are: Ankawa, Alqosh, Aqrah, Mangesh, Tel Keipeh, Baghdeda, Tel Skuf, Baqofah, Batnaya, Bartella, Sirnak-Cizre (Bohtan), Araden and Dahuk.
Script [edit]
Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is written in the Madenhaya version of the Syriac alphabet, which is also used for classical Syriac. The School of Alqosh produced religious poetry in the colloquial Chaldean Neo-Aramaic rather than classical Syriac, in the 17th century, and the Dominican Press in Mosul has produced a number of books in the language.
See also [edit]
- Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people
- Aramaic language
- Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
- Chaldean Christians
- Chaldean Catholic Church
- syriac alphabet
- Syriac language
References [edit]
- Heinrichs, Wolfhart (ed.) (1990). Studies in Neo-Aramaic. Scholars Press: Atlanta, Georgia. ISBN 1-55540-430-8.
- Maclean, Arthur John (1895). Grammar of the dialects of vernacular Syriac: as spoken by the Eastern Syrians of Kurdistan, north-west Persia, and the Plain of Mosul: with notices of the vernacular of the Jews of Azerbaijan and of Zakhu near Mosul. Cambridge University Press, London.
- Chaldean Neo-Aramaic at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
External links [edit]
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