Is Assyrian Aramaic?
There is some confusion as to what is Assyrian and Aramaic.
Assyrian was a dialect of Akkadian (-the other being Babylonian) a language of the Semitic family which includes Hebrew,Arabic,Aramaic and other languages.It was the language of the Assyrian Empire.
The Assyrian Empire adopted Aramaic as a language of trade and official communication initially but Akkadian was gradually completely supplanted by Aramaic.
When we say Assyrian Neo-Aramaic we refer to the Aramaic language of the Modern Assyrian people whose lands are traditionally North-Eastern Turkey,North-Eastern Syria and Northern Iraq.Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is often called just Assyrian and this where the confusion between ancient Assyrian-Akkadian and modern Assyrian-Neo Aramaic comes into play.
Modern Assyrians who speak an Aramaic language sometimes claim that they are descendents of the ancient Assyrians who spoke Akkadian.
There is some confusion as to what is Assyrian and Aramaic.
Assyrian was a dialect of Akkadian (-the other being Babylonian) a language of the Semitic family which includes Hebrew,Arabic,Aramaic and other languages.It was the language of the Assyrian Empire.
The Assyrian Empire adopted Aramaic as a language of trade and official communication initially but Akkadian was gradually completely supplanted by Aramaic.
When we say Assyrian Neo-Aramaic we refer to the Aramaic language of the Modern Assyrian people whose lands are traditionally North-Eastern Turkey,North-Eastern Syria and Northern Iraq.Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is often called just Assyrian and this where the confusion between ancient Assyrian-Akkadian and modern Assyrian-Neo Aramaic comes into play.
Modern Assyrians who speak an Aramaic language sometimes claim that they are descendents of the ancient Assyrians who spoke Akkadian.