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The last of the Aramaic speakers

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alex suhoy
alex suhoy  Identity Verified
Ukraine
Local time: 01:50
English to Russian
+ ...
Really brilliant. Jul 15, 2013

This was an absolutely fascinating article. Really brilliant. Thank you!
 
LilianNekipelov
LilianNekipelov  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 18:50
Russian to English
+ ...
Yes, it is very interesting, however, Jul 15, 2013

This article is not really about the last speakers of Aramaic per se, but of one of the Aramaic languages. Aramaic is sometimes considered one language, but it is really a group of languages, including Syriac. There are still at least a few thousand of Aramaic speakers left, if not more, and it is spoken by some communities as their everyday language, not just a sacred language, in Syria, and perhaps some other places as well-- a different variety.
 
Ty Kendall
Ty Kendall  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:50
Hebrew to English
Even if it goes, it won't be completely gone Jul 15, 2013

It's unlikely all the various dialects will go extinct in the very near future, although I'm sure individual ones will. However, the geographical isolation of its speakers may actually work to its advantage, at least for a while longer.

Even if the worst case scenario occurs and all dialects go the way of the dodo, it will still live on in Modern Hebrew. The amount of texts I get which are littered with Aramaic words and expressions is not insignificant, so much so that I actually n... See more
It's unlikely all the various dialects will go extinct in the very near future, although I'm sure individual ones will. However, the geographical isolation of its speakers may actually work to its advantage, at least for a while longer.

Even if the worst case scenario occurs and all dialects go the way of the dodo, it will still live on in Modern Hebrew. The amount of texts I get which are littered with Aramaic words and expressions is not insignificant, so much so that I actually need a rather healthy stock of Aramaic dictionaries at my disposal.

Aramaic also pervades everyday Hebrew (albeit usually in higher registers), not just the legalese I get. ▲ Collapse
 
Simona Micutari
Simona Micutari  Identity Verified
Sweden
English to Romanian
+ ...
Wow Jul 17, 2013

Quite an interesting article to read! I can't believe I didn't even know that Aramaic had so few speakers left!
 
Inge Luus
Inge Luus  Identity Verified
South Africa
Local time: 00:50
Member (2008)
German to English
+ ...
Interesting indeed! Jul 17, 2013

Very interesting article - maybe the Aramaic dialects have a chance of "surviving" like Latin.
 


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The last of the Aramaic speakers







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