Aramaic language - Late Old Eastern Aramaic

Aramaic is a Semitic language with a 3,000-year history. It has been the language of administration of empires and the language of divine worship. It is the original language of large sections of the biblical books of Daniel and Ezra, and is the main language of the Talmud. Aramaic is believed to have been the language spoken by Jesus, and it is still spoken today as a first language by numerous small communities. Aramaic belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family. Within that diverse family, it belongs to the Semitic subfamil ...

Including:

• Aramaic language - Geographic distribution
• Aramaic language - Aramaic languages and dialects
• Aramaic language - Writing system
• Aramaic language - History
• Aramaic language - Old Aramaic
• Aramaic language - Ancient Aramaic
• Aramaic language - Imperial Aramaic
• Aramaic language - Late Old Eastern Aramaic
• Aramaic language - Late Old Western Aramaic
• Aramaic language - Middle Aramaic
• Aramaic language - Eastern Middle Aramaic
• Aramaic language - Western Middle Aramaic
• Aramaic language - Modern Aramaic
• Aramaic language - Modern Eastern Aramaic
• Aramaic language - Modern Western Aramaic
• Aramaic language - Sounds
• Aramaic language - Vowels
• Aramaic language - Consonants
• Aramaic language - Historical sound changes
• Aramaic language - Grammar
• Aramaic language - Background
• Aramaic language - Writing systems
• Aramaic language - Historical forms
• Aramaic language - Literature
• Aramaic language - Modern Aramaic languages

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Old Aramaic covers over thirteen centuries of the language. This vast time span is chosen as it includes all Aramaic that is now effectively extinct. The main turning point for Old Aramaic is around 500 BCE, when the Ancient Aramaic (the language of Aramaeans) moves into Imperial Aramaic (the language of powerful empires). The various spoken dialects of Old Aramaic come to prominence when Greek replaces Aramaic as the language of power in the region. See also:

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As with other Semitic languages, Aramaic morphology (the way words are put together) is based on the triliteral root. The root consists of three consonants and has a basic meaning, for example, k-t-b has the meaning of 'writing'. This is then modified by the addition of vowels and other consonants to create different nuances of the basic meaning: Kṯāḇâ, handwriting, inscription, script, book. Kṯāḇê, the Scriptures. See also:

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Over four hundred thousand people speak Aramaic to this day. They are Jews, Christians, Muslims and Mandaeans, living in remote areas and preserving their traditions with printing presses, and now electronic media. The Modern Aramaic (or Neo-Aramaic) languages are now farther apart in their comprehension of one another than perhaps they have ever been. The last two-hundred years have not been good to Aramaic speakers. Instability throughout the Middle East has lead to a worldwide diaspora of Aramaic speakers. The year 1915 is especial ...

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Aramaic language, Aramaic language - Geographic distribution, Aramaic language - Aramaic languages and dialects, Aramaic language - Writing system, Aramaic language - History, Aramaic language - Old Aramaic, Aramaic language - Ancient Aramaic, Aramaic language - Imperial Aramaic, Aramaic language - Late Old Eastern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Late Old Western Aramaic, Aramaic language - Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Eastern Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Western Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Eastern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Western Aramaic, Aramaic language - Sounds, Aramaic language - Vowels, Aramaic language - Consonants, Aramaic language - Historical sound changes, Aramaic language - Grammar, Aramaic language - Background, Aramaic language - Writing systems, Aramaic language - Historical forms, Aramaic language - Literature, Aramaic language - Modern Aramaic languages

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Each dialect of Aramaic has its own distinctive pronunciation, and it would not be possible here to go into all these properties. Aramaic has a phonological palette of 25 to 40 distinct phonemes. In general, older dialects tended to have a richer phonology than more modern ones. In particular, some modern Jewish Aramaic pronunciations lack the series of 'emphatic' consonants. Other dialects have borrowed from the inventories of surrounding languages, particularly Arabic, Azeri, Kurdish, Persian and Turkish. ...

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The third century CE is taken as the threshold between Old and Middle Aramaic. During that century, the nature of the various Aramaic languages and dialects begins to change. The descendents of Imperial Aramaic ceased to be living languages, and the eastern and western regional languages began to form vital, new literatures. Unlike many of the dialects of Old Aramaic, much is known about the vocabulary and grammar of Middle Aramaic. See also:

Aramaic language, Aramaic language - Geographic distribution, Aramaic language - Aramaic languages and dialects, Aramaic language - Writing system, Aramaic language - History, Aramaic language - Old Aramaic, Aramaic language - Ancient Aramaic, Aramaic language - Imperial Aramaic, Aramaic language - Late Old Eastern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Late Old Western Aramaic, Aramaic language - Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Eastern Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Western Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Eastern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Western Aramaic, Aramaic language - Sounds, Aramaic language - Vowels, Aramaic language - Consonants, Aramaic language - Historical sound changes, Aramaic language - Grammar, Aramaic language - Background, Aramaic language - Writing systems, Aramaic language - Historical forms, Aramaic language - Literature, Aramaic language - Modern Aramaic languages

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The earliest Aramaic alphabet was based on the Phoenician script. In time, Aramaic developed its distinctive 'square' style. The ancient Israelites and other peoples of Canaan adopted this alphabet for writing their own languages. Thus, it is better known as the Hebrew alphabet today. This is the writing system used in Biblical Aramaic and other Jewish writing in Aramaic. The other main writing system used for Aramaic was developed by Christian communities: a cursive form known as the Syriac alphabet (one of the varieties of ...

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Aramaic language, Aramaic language - Geographic distribution, Aramaic language - Aramaic languages and dialects, Aramaic language - Writing system, Aramaic language - History, Aramaic language - Old Aramaic, Aramaic language - Ancient Aramaic, Aramaic language - Imperial Aramaic, Aramaic language - Late Old Eastern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Late Old Western Aramaic, Aramaic language - Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Eastern Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Western Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Eastern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Western Aramaic, Aramaic language - Sounds, Aramaic language - Vowels, Aramaic language - Consonants, Aramaic language - Historical sound changes, Aramaic language - Grammar, Aramaic language - Background, Aramaic language - Writing systems, Aramaic language - Historical forms, Aramaic language - Literature, Aramaic language - Modern Aramaic languages

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Here follows a comprehensive history of Aramaic. The history is broken down into three broad periods: Old Aramaic (1100 BCE–200 CE), including: The Biblical Aramaic of the Hebrew Bible. The Aramaic of Jesus. The Aramaic of the Targums. Middle Aramaic (200–1200), including: Literary Syriac. The Aramaic of the Talmuds and Midrashim. Modern Aramaic (1200–present), including: Various modern vernaculars. This classific ...

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Aramaic language, Aramaic language - Geographic distribution, Aramaic language - Aramaic languages and dialects, Aramaic language - Writing system, Aramaic language - History, Aramaic language - Old Aramaic, Aramaic language - Ancient Aramaic, Aramaic language - Imperial Aramaic, Aramaic language - Late Old Eastern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Late Old Western Aramaic, Aramaic language - Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Eastern Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Western Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Eastern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Western Aramaic, Aramaic language - Sounds, Aramaic language - Vowels, Aramaic language - Consonants, Aramaic language - Historical sound changes, Aramaic language - Grammar, Aramaic language - Background, Aramaic language - Writing systems, Aramaic language - Historical forms, Aramaic language - Literature, Aramaic language - Modern Aramaic languages

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During the twelfth century BCE, Aramaeans, the native speakers of Aramaic, began to settle in great numbers in modern-day Syria, Iraq and eastern Turkey. As the language grew in importance, it came to be spoken throughout the Mediterranean coastal area of the Levant, and spread east of the Tigris. Jewish settlers took the language with them into north Africa and Europe, and Christian missionaries brought Aramaic into Persia, India and even China. From the seventh century CE onwards, Aramaic was replaced as the lingua franca of the Middle Eas ...

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Aramaic language, Aramaic language - Geographic distribution, Aramaic language - Aramaic languages and dialects, Aramaic language - Writing system, Aramaic language - History, Aramaic language - Old Aramaic, Aramaic language - Ancient Aramaic, Aramaic language - Imperial Aramaic, Aramaic language - Late Old Eastern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Late Old Western Aramaic, Aramaic language - Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Eastern Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Western Middle Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Eastern Aramaic, Aramaic language - Modern Western Aramaic, Aramaic language - Sounds, Aramaic language - Vowels, Aramaic language - Consonants, Aramaic language - Historical sound changes, Aramaic language - Grammar, Aramaic language - Background, Aramaic language - Writing systems, Aramaic language - Historical forms, Aramaic language - Literature, Aramaic language - Modern Aramaic languages

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