Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

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eskandar
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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby eskandar » 2017-11-04, 16:56

Please correct my mistakes in any language.

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby n8an » 2017-11-05, 3:01

eskandar wrote:Nice Iranian Assyrian song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDGiT_e6XPw


Thanks for sharing, aziza eskandar!

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby eskandar » 2017-11-05, 6:32

Cheers! (Is aziza masculine in Assyrian? Just curious.)
Please correct my mistakes in any language.

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby Drink » 2017-11-05, 13:36

Yes, aziza is masculine, azizta is feminine.
שתה וגם גמליך אשקה

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby n8an » 2017-11-05, 13:47

Yup!

In Assyrian, masculine nouns always end in -a. Feminine nouns end in -ta.

Dear: Aziza, azizta

The vowel can change in some, like:

Assyrian: Suraya, Sureta
Dog: Kalba, kalabta

It even continues into non-nouns:

Thank you: baseema (to a male), basimta (to a female)

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby JuanC » 2017-11-26, 13:18

Shlama! I am looking for a NATIVE speaker of Assyrian Aramaic (from Northern Iraq - not Turoryo) for private lessons on Skype. Once/twice a week, willing to pay in advance for the lessons. If you are interested, please send me a private message or an email to veganissimo@gm..

:lol: Thank you!

księżycowy

Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby księżycowy » 2018-03-13, 14:24

Just in case anyone comes to this thread and hasn't seen our poll in the Hebrew forum, please check out this poll that will help us decide what to do with the Semitic languages.

Please vote!

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=52834

księżycowy

Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby księżycowy » 2018-03-15, 14:21

Does anyone know of any Neo-Aramaic dictionaries? (Preferably to/from English.)

As far as dialects, I say either Chaldean or Turoyo/Surayt.

Also, it seems that Mango Languages has Chaldean Aramaic as an option. I'm playing around with it to see what it's like. Unfortunately you need to be affiliated with a library or university of some sort to get free access. But given the state of Neo-Aramaic resources, I thought I'd share it anyway. 20$ a month for non-affiliated members.
Last edited by księżycowy on 2018-03-15, 14:46, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby Drink » 2018-03-15, 14:33

I know it's not the dialects you're looking for, but I have this dictionary.
שתה וגם גמליך אשקה

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby księżycowy » 2018-03-15, 14:40

It could still be useful. Thanks, Drink!

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby Luís » 2018-03-15, 15:13

księżycowy wrote:Also, it seems that Mango Languages has Chaldean Aramaic as an option. I'm playing around with it to see what it's like. Unfortunately you need to be affiliated with a library or university of some sort to get free access. But given the state of Neo-Aramaic resources, I thought I'd share it anyway. 20$ a month for non-affiliated members.


I'm not really interested in Aramaic, but they do seem to offer lots of languages. Do you know if their courses are any good?
Quot linguas calles, tot homines vales

księżycowy

Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby księżycowy » 2018-03-15, 15:17

I've never really tried one of their courses, so I'm not sure myself, but I'll try a lesson or two and get back to you.

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby n8an » 2018-03-15, 23:05

księżycowy wrote:Does anyone know of any Neo-Aramaic dictionaries? (Preferably to/from English.)

As far as dialects, I say either Chaldean or Turoyo/Surayt.

Also, it seems that Mango Languages has Chaldean Aramaic as an option. I'm playing around with it to see what it's like. Unfortunately you need to be affiliated with a library or university of some sort to get free access. But given the state of Neo-Aramaic resources, I thought I'd share it anyway. 20$ a month for non-affiliated members.


http://sargonsays.com/

http://www.assyrianlanguages.org/sureth/index.php

Not sure of their accuracy because I don't speak them fluently, but Sargonsays has some correct translations for sure.

In terms of dialects, Assyrian (Iraqi Koine or Urmia) is probably the best bet if you want to listen to music and other media sources. Due to Saddam's Arabisation having a greater impact on the Chaldean church and its followers, there is quite a lack of material in the Chaldean Iraqi dialects - they often use Arabic for formal stuff instead. The more nationalistic Assyrian churches and their followers have TV/YouTube channels and much more media/music online. Turoyo has some stuff out of Sweden, but not as much as Sureth.

The best book I've seen for any dialect was "Introductory Chaldean" and its followup, "Chaldean Grammar". Not that they're fantastic (the second one was particularly dry for my liking), but they're better than the others I've seen. Unfortunately, they're quite politically controversial in their descriptions of the language and people who speak them :silly:

Regardless, learning any dialect of Sureth will make it possible to understand most of what other Sureth speakers are saying. Turoyo is quite different.

Please learn one so we can compare notes :D

księżycowy

Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby księżycowy » 2018-03-15, 23:22

Well, I have to admit I was tossing around the idea of learning a Neo-Aramaic dialect this summer, but I'm not sure that will end up happening or not.

My interest has never faded, it's just a matter of finding the time to add another language in.

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby n8an » 2018-03-15, 23:27

księżycowy wrote:Well, I have to admit I was tossing around the idea of learning a Neo-Aramaic dialect this summer, but I'm not sure that will end up happening or not.

My interest has never faded, it's just a matter of finding the time to add another language in.


Ain't that the truth? :mrgreen:

Learning this particular language also requires a crazy amount of dedication. Lack of resources, lack of standardisation, insane identity issues and divisions between its speakers, genocides/persecutions of its speakers, lack of speakers in many locations, lack of literacy by speakers (and subsequent substitution with Arabic/Turkish/Farsi/Kurdish words and phrases), persecution of the language itself...

If I didn't have so many friends who speak it, I have no idea where I'd be.

księżycowy

Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby księżycowy » 2018-03-16, 0:15

You'd probably be bout where I am with Seneca. Nowhere fast. :P

I can say that I'm really wanting to start learn some Neo-Aramaic over the next year, and I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to do that.

I'm loving the project over at learn-aramaic.com too, so I'd probably start with those lessons. We'll just have to see if that happens over the summer or waits a bit longer.

Thanks for the links by the way. :)

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby Linguaphile » 2018-03-16, 1:12

Learn Assyrian (Suraya)

These books in Google Books can be searched/previewed online (some more than others):
The Jewish Neo-Aramic Dialect of Amədya
A Jewish Neo-Aramic Dictionary: Amədya, Dihok, Nerwa and Zakho
A Grammar of Neo-Aramaic: Dialect of the Jews of Arbel
The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Barwar
The Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Betanure (Dihok)
The Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Challa
The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Jilu
The Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Koy Sanjaq
The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of the Assyrian Christians of Urmi

And this is an interesting read about history and culture and language (it's a memoir, not language-learning material, but it does discuss the dialect of Zakho and Aramaic linguistics from that perspective, and comparisons to Hebrew): My Father's Paradise
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby n8an » 2018-03-16, 4:33



Cool, Amadiya! I have Assyrian friends from there.

It's a shame that I've never asked my Jewish friends from this region which villages they're from.

It's interesting seeing some of the traits of these dialects and seeing how different they can be.

It's also interesting that the Urmi dialect was for a long time considered the "standard" Assyrian dialect - I feel that this has shifted to Iraqi Koine now.

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby n8an » 2018-03-16, 4:38

księżycowy wrote:You'd probably be bout where I am with Seneca. Nowhere fast. :P

I can say that I'm really wanting to start learn some Neo-Aramaic over the next year, and I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to do that.

I'm loving the project over at learn-aramaic.com too, so I'd probably start with those lessons. We'll just have to see if that happens over the summer or waits a bit longer.

Thanks for the links by the way. :)


You should! :D

I've looked at learn-aramaic.com before. It's cool! I love how similar Turoyo can appear to Hebrew, too - particularly in terms of the vowels and vocabulary. I can't really make up my mind which is closer to Hebrew out of Turoyo and Sureth (Iraqi), but they're both closer than the Nineveh ("Chaldean") dialect imho. Mostly, I feel, due to the huge Arabic influence on Chaldean :mrgreen:

Do you know any native speakers?

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Re: Assyrian neo-Aramaic (and other neo-Aramaic dialects)

Postby n8an » 2018-03-16, 8:16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy2Bzh1awok

Music time :D

I'm sure I've posted it before, but I love her. This video is shot right here in Melbourne.

For us learners, it's interesting that Randa is an adherent of the Chaldean Catholic Church, but she sings in an "Assyrian" (Iraqi) dialect as opposed to a Nineveh ("Chaldean") one.

Lots of understandable stuff in this song :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azHdfYEN_yE

Interesting Turoyo song that I understand nothing of. I think if I saw the lyrics, I'd be able to understand more.


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