Aramaic language

Spoken in

Afro-Asiatic languages Semitic languages West Semitic languages Northwest Semitic Languages Aramaic

Arc

The Aramaic languages form a genetic subunit of the Semitic languages that constitute a branch of the Afro Asiatic. Aramaic and Canaanite (including such as Hebrew and Phoenician ) are the main branches of the Northwest Semitic. The separation of Aramaic from the Canaanite took place during the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. All Aramaic languages go back to the Altaramäische which is occupied since the beginning of the first millennium BC.

From the classic Aramaic languages today neuaramäischen languages have evolved over the centuries. The neuaramäischen about 15 languages are spoken by some 550,000 people mostly Christian faith. The original distribution areas are in Iraq, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. Through processes of migration ( flight, resettlement, emigration ) came spokesman Aramaic languages , first to Russia, in recent times, especially to Western and Central Europe, North and South America and Australia.

The scientific study of this language group is run by the Aramaistik.

4.1 Language Across
4.2 Individual periods and languages

Historic Classification of the Aramaic languages

For the position of Aramaic within the Semitic see the article in Semitic languages.

Altaramäisch early Altaramäisch (up to around 700 BC; Sfire steles and others)
Late Altaramäisch (by around the 7th and 6th centuries BC; Hermopolis papyri )

Reichsaramäisch achämenidisches Reichsaramäisch ( 5th to the 3rd century BC; Elephantine papyri, etc.)

Mittelaramäisch (from around 200 BC ) biblical Aramaic
Nabatäisch
Palmyrenisch
Hatranisch
Jewish- Mittelaramäisch ( Galilean and Babylonian Targums, Book of Daniel )

Classic Aramaic west Jewish- Palästinisch ( varieties: Targumisch, Talmud - Galilean )
Samaritan
Christian Palästinisch ( Melkite )

Classical Syriac ( varieties: Ostsyrisch = Nestorian, Westsyrisch = Jakobi table )

Classical Mandaean
Jewish- Babylonian ( Talmud )

Neuaramäisch west West Neuaramäisch in Syria ( a total of about 15,000 speakers) Dialect of the predominantly Christian village Ma'alula
Muslim group ( with strong Arabic influences ) Dialect of Bach'a
Dialect of Ğubb'adīn

Northwest Turoyo ( 80,000 )
Mlahso †

Christian group Assyrian - Neuaramäisch ( Nestorian Neuaramäisch ) ( 219,000 )
Chaldean Neuaramäisch ( Kaldaya ) ( 200,000 )
Hertevin (1,000)
Bohtan (1,000)
Koi Sanjaq Surat ( 1000 )
Senaya ( Sanandaj ) ( 500)

Urmiyah ( Lishan Didan ) (4,000)
Sanandaj - Kerend ( Hulaula ) (10,000 )
Zachu - Armadiyah ( Lishana Deni ) ( 8000 )
Arbil Koi Sanjaq ( Lishana Noshan ) (2,000)
Bijil ( Lishanid Janan, Barzani ) (nearly †)

New Mandaean ( 5500 )

Historical development of the Aramaic languages

Altaramäisch

The oldest known dialects of Aramaic date from the 10th or 9th century BC These are the Sam'alische of Zincirli, the dialect of the inscription from Tell Fekheriye, the dialects of the central Syrian territory and the dialect of Tel Deir ' Alla. Here, the Sam'alische must be assessed as früharamäischer dialect, while the other Mentioned, though, can be summarized as Altaramäisch with individual differences.

Then came early in the Assyrian period the Aramaic as an international commercial and diplomatic language of great importance. Neo-Assyrian reliefs show next to each other writers who write with a stylus on clay tablets, therefore, probably served the Akkadian language, and scribes with scrolls, write the Aramaic texts. Aramaic inscriptions of the 7th century BC, for example from Zincirli and Nerab in northern Syria / Southeastern Anatolia known. An Aramaic inscription from Tappeh Qalayci shows at Bukan in western Iran, how far north the language was widespread in the 8th or 7th century. Further east still carry some Luristan bronzes Aramaic inscriptions. You might date from the 8th century, but the dating is without stratifizierbare finds difficult.

Reich and Mittelaramäisch

In multilingual Persian Empire was the Achaemenid Aramaic to one of the official languages Reich ( " Reichsaramäisch "); it was spread from Asia Minor and Egypt to the Indus. Its importance is also reflected in the Old Testament, where some text passages are formed late written in Aramaic. Since Hebrew has taken over in the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BC, the character of the Aramaean ( " square script " ) are written within Judaism today both languages in the same font with 22 consonants. Also Aramaic is felt next to the Hebrew as the language of Jewish tradition; as the two Talmuds in Judeo -Aramaic dialects are written down. Other dialects of Aramaic as the Palmyrene, Nabataean, Syriac, etc. developed their own forms of writing.

From Tayma in Arabia Aramaic inscriptions are known, dating to 500 BC. Also in the area of the Nabataeans numerous Aramaic inscriptions have been found, as in Sinai. From the Parthian period, numerous ostraca come in Aramaic from Nisa in Turkmenistan. This is all about business texts, ordered the palace kitchen.

In Palestine the Aramaic displaced Hebrew increasing. There Aramaic of Jesus 'time was predominantly spoken, and Aramaic phrases within the Greek New Testament, for example Abba (an address God in prayer ( Aramaic: "Father " ) ), Pasha, Hosanna, show that Aramaic was probably Jesus' language. Numerous texts that have been found at Qumran, are written in Aramaic. To the time of Christ was Aramaic in addition to the Koine Greek, the lingua franca commonly used in the Middle East.

Classic Aramaic

The Palestinian Targums ( Jewish Bible Translations for the Synagogalgebrauch ) and the Palestinian or after the Hebrew name Jerusalem Talmud document the Jewish- Palestinian, which belongs as the Christian- Palestinian and the Samaritan to westaramäischen language branch. Next to it is the Ostaramäische, which is occupied in the language of the Babylonian Talmud. This is related to the Mandaean. An important representative of Zentralaramäischen was Syriac, which, for example, in the Peshitta ( Christian Aramaic translation of the Bible ) and is documented in the writings of the Church Fathers.

Neuaramäisch

With the spread of Islam Aramaic increasingly from Arab and other languages (Persian, Kurdish, Turkish, Azerbaijani ) was displaced.

Today's neuaramäischen languages that have developed from the mid-and classic -Aramaic languages are still spoken by some 500,000 people mostly Christian faith in Syria, Turkey ( in Tur Abdin ), Iraq and Iran, according to some sources. But seems this estimate due to the upheaval in Iraq and the repressive religious and minority politics in Turkey, the main settlement areas of the Syrians, too high.

The persecution of Christian Syrians and demographic thinning of the Aramaic language islands in the Ottoman Empire began already in the 19th century; the ideas it gave the result of colonialism encroaching Western concept of homogeneous nation-state (see genocide against the Syrians and the Armenians ). Around 1915 were still well over 100,000 Christian Syrians alone in Eastern Anatolia; today there are in the whole of Turkey probably only a few thousand. Since 1997, teaching the Aramaic language in Turkey is forbidden by official decree.

The Jewish speaker of Aramaic, almost all emigrated to Israel. In southern Israel, there are some settlements where Aramaic is to be even slang Jewish groups from Kurdistan ( northern Iraq ).

The neuaramäischen languages are now well spoken mainly by people who (for example in Germany, Austria, Sweden ) live in Australia, the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Europe. At least 100,000 Aramaic Christians should be emigrated since the collapse of the regime of Saddam Hussein from Iraq and fled to Jordan, West and Central Europe as well as America. This exodus continues, so that linguists predict the final extinction of the Aramaic languages in two or three generations.

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