Learn Aramaic

 Aramaic is an ancient language that was spoken in various parts of the Middle East, and it has evolved over time. Today, there are still some communities that speak Aramaic as their native language, such as the Assyrian and Chaldean communities in Iraq, Iran, and Syria. If you are interested in learning Aramaic, there are several resources you can use, depending on your goals and level of proficiency. Here are a few options: 1. Online courses: There are several online courses available that teach Aramaic, such as the Aramaic Online Course offered by the Beth Mardutho Institute. 2. Books and textbooks: You can find many books and textbooks on Aramaic, such as "A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic" by Franz Rosenthal or "Aramaic Made Easy" by Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg. 3. Language schools and universities: Some language schools and universities offer courses in Aramaic, so you may be able to find a course near you. 4. Language exchange programs: You can also try finding a lang...

 Aramaic is a language group that includes a number of related dialects that were spoken historically in various parts of the Middle East. These dialects are collectively known as Aramaic, but they are not a single language in the sense that they are not mutually intelligible.  The Aramaic language group includes several distinct dialects, such as Eastern Aramaic (spoken in parts of Iraq, Iran, and Turkey), Western Aramaic (spoken in parts of Lebanon and Syria), and Classical Aramaic (used as a lingua franca across the Middle East in ancient times).  These dialects differ from each other in terms of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, and they have evolved over time in different ways. However, they all share a common ancestor and are closely related to each other, which is why they are considered part of the same language group.  

 Aramaic is a language that has a long history and has played an important role in the development of various cultures throughout the Middle East. The origins of Aramaic can be traced back to the 10th century BCE, when a Semitic-speaking people known as the Arameans began to settle in the region that is now modern-day Syria.  At the time, Aramaic was a spoken language used by the Arameans and other Semitic-speaking peoples in the region. However, it was not until the 8th century BCE that Aramaic began to emerge as a written language. This was largely due to the influence of the Assyrian Empire, which used Aramaic as a diplomatic language throughout their empire. Over time, Aramaic continued to gain prominence as a written language and was adopted by various empires and cultures throughout the Middle East. It became the language of the Babylonian Empire and was used extensively in the Achaemenid Empire, which included modern-day Iran, Iraq, and parts of Central Asia. In the cen...

'God willing' in Aramaic is 'en Aloho d sobe'. The phrase in the Syriac Estrangelo script. ܐܢ ܐܠܗܐ ܕܨܒܐ Arabs say 'Inshallah' instead.

The tale of Aramaic, a language that once ruled the Middle East and now faces extinction. If a Middle Eastern man from 2,500 years ago found himself on his home territory in 2015, he would be shocked by the modern innovations, and not just electricity, airplanes, and iPhones. Arabic as an official language in over two dozen countries would also seem as counterintuitive to him as if people had suddenly started keeping aardvarks as pets. In our time-traveler’s era, after all, Arabic was an also-ran tongue spoken by obscure nomads. The probability that he even spoke it would be low. There were countless other languages in the Middle East in his time that he’d be more likely to know. His idea of a “proper” language would have been Aramaic, which ruled what he knew as the world and served, between 600 and 200 B.C.E., as the lingua franca from Greece and Egypt, across Mesopotamia and Persia, all the way through to India. Yet today the language of Jesus Christ is hardly spoken anywher...

two reconstructed versions of the beginning of Lord's prayer in Galilean You heard me.There is no such thing as the Lord's Prayer in Galilean Aramaic -the language that Jesus Christ spoke the most.Not in the original form anyway.Only reconstructions of it exist.Let me elaborate on this. The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic: Language & Meaning No text has ever been found with the Lord's Prayer in the Galilean dialect .The oldest known form of the prayer is in Greek from the Gospels of Luke and Mark.The prayer is not found in Matthews's Gospel.The only attested form of the prayer in Aramaic is that of the Peshitta in Syriac Aramaic which is a translation of the original Greek text. Furthermore the whole dialect itself Galilean Aramaic remains obscure and very scarcely attested. Currently it is being reconstructed and revised all the time. We know very little of this dialect .Let alone  a prayer in it. What it does exist are reconstructions of the pra...

There is a lot of confusion concerning the names used for the Aramaic language-Aramaic,Imperial Aramaic,Middle Aramaic,Jewish Aramaic,Galilean Aramaic,Syriac,Mandaic,Assyrian,Neo-Aramaic,Turoyo,Chaldean etc are some of the terms used for it. To understand why all these names exist for Aramaic you must take into account that Aramaic was never a unified language.Since ancient times there were various dialects written in various scripts sometimes different enough to be separate languages from which others evolved. Let's look at some of terms used for Aramaic one by one: Aramaic -It is a cover term that includes all dialects in all phases of history ,from ancient times up to the modern day.It also refers mainly to the ancient version of the language (Old Aramaic). Imperial Aramaic- the second official language of the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids . It was also the lingua franca of the Persian territories in the Middle East. Galilean Aramaic - also know as Jewish Palesti...

These two phrases both mean God why have you forsaken me?They can be found in Matthew's and Mark's Gospel.This is what Jesus-being on the cross- cryied out to God. Eli,Eli lema sabakhtani? Matthew 27:46 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” Mark 15:34 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Elohi, Elohi, lema sabachthani?” Eloi,Eloi  lema  sabakhtani vocabulary Eli or Elohi or Eloi=God,Gr.ηλί,ελοϊ lama or lema or even lmana (Syriac) =why ,Gr.λαμά,λιμά sabachthani or sabachtani=root shbq meaning to forgive,to allow,to leave,Gr.σαβαχθανί Mark 15:34 Greek Ελωί,Ελωί, λιμά σαβαχθανί; Aramaic אַלָהי  אַלָהי למָנָא שׁבַקתָּני   ܐܰܠܳܗܝ ܐܰܠܳܗܝ ܠܡܳܢܳܐ ܫܒ݂ܰܩܬ݁ܳܢܝ ܀  transcription Elohi,Elohi lema sabaktani

Not one language. One important thing you should know about Aramaic is that it was not uniform.It went through many different phases and developed into numerous dialects which were written in various versions of the Aramaic script. Biblical Some parts of the Bible were written in Aramaic-the books of Daniel and Ezra.The material there, is limited which means that it will take you less time to study it.Thus Biblical Aramaic is good start for you,but you will need to learn the Aramaic square script (Hebrew) to read it. Syriac On the other hand Classical Syriac Aramaic has a vast body of texts of all kinds written in it.Actually it is the third largest corpus,after Greek and Latin ,which survived from late antiquity.Syriac is written is the Syriac script ,the earliest version of it being the Estrangelo .The other two are Madnkhaya and Serto . In my opinion the Estrangelo is a very beautiful script and if you also like it,then Syriac is a good place to start your Aramaic. Neo-...

Aramaic is a Semitic language related to Arabic,Hebrew,Amharic,Tigrinia and Akkadian the oldest Semitic language we know,more closely related to Hebrew. During its' existence it has gone through many phases.It was never a uniform language but had many dialects influenced by various languages.Aramaic is still spoken today in small Aramaic speaking enclaves in the Middle East.These people speak the so-called Neo-Aramaic languages. There is a lot of confusion all over the internet as to what Aramaic is with people posting links with e.g. the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic  in the language of Jesus Christ as they claim. That is very wrong which I explain in my ' Aramaic monolith' article. It was originally the native tongue of the Arameans -a Semitic people native to northern Syria.The Arameans lived divided in small kingdoms which disappeared rather early in history in what is now modern-day Syria and Mesopotamia. In contrast,their language had a different fate...