New WCA Department: Aramaic Language and Cultural Heritage

On 20 March 2021, the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) (“WCA”) created the Aramaic Language and Cultural Heritage Department (“ALCHD”). Several projects will be launched in the near future to preserve and promote the Aramaic language and cultural heritage.

WCA values the Aramaic mother tongue as one of the main pillars of the past, present and future identity of the Arameans. Our people are blessed to inherit various Aramaic dialects, including those of Edessa, Tur-Abdin, Ma‘lula, the Nineveh Plain, etc. Nevertheless, moving from largely rural areas in the Middle East to mostly urban places in the West has had major consequences for our everyday Aramaic speech, which at present is severely endangered.

As Arameans, it is our shared responsibility to ensure our Aramaic language remains robust for future generations. For this reason, WCA has created the ALCHD. Since the majority of our members originate from and speak the Aramaic of Tur-Abdin, the ALCHD will first undertake projects to address the following challenges to revive, preserve and develop Tur-Abdin Aramaic:

1. to modernize and update our native language;
2. to introduce standardized scripts in Aramaic and in Latin to be internationally accepted;
3. to provide educational and learning materials in creative, modern and advanced ways.

The WCA President, Johny Messo, commented: “We are excited about the complementary projects we have in the pipeline soon to be launched. Arameans are rightly proud of their rich heritage. However, unless urgent action is taken to safeguard it, our grandchildren may not be fortunate enough to inherit and enjoy the riches of our ancient Aramaic language and culture.”

As a stateless people who lack a government that structurally invests in language revitalization, Arameans depend on each other and on non-Arameans caring about their people and language. The factsheet below briefly reflects on their wealthy legacy and critical situation.

Centuries-old manuscript written in the Aramaic dialect of Edessa, Southeast Turkey.

 

FACTSHEET ARAMEANS & ARAMAIC

1. The Arameans have a history of more than 3,000 years in Southeast Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
2. Aramaic, a sister language of Hebrew and Arabic, is the second language of the Bible.
3. From the 7th century BC until the 7th century AD, Aramaic was the international language of the Middle East, before Arabic supplanted it with the emergence of the Arabs in the region.
4. Being native to Southeast Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, the Arameans have been reduced from a substantial majority to a tiny minority that is now threatened with extinction.
5. In their ancestral homelands, the Arameans continue to struggle for survival, recognition and support as a distinct ethno-religious people.
6. Denominations with Aramean roots include the Syriac Orthodox, the Syriac Catholics, the Church of the East (its members are inaccurately called ‘Nestorians’ or ‘Assyrians’), Chaldean Catholics, Maronites, Rum (‘Greek’) Orthodox and Melkite Catholics.
7. The Hebrew Bible notes that the Jews descend from the Arameans. The Patriarchs Isaac and Jacob married their Aramean cousins from Aram-Nahrin or Paddan-Aram. The latter are Biblical regions in Southeast Turkey and the cradle of Aramean (Syriac) Christianity.
8. Jesus and his followers, spoke, wrote, sang and prayed in Aramaic, which is furthermore a substantial part of the Jewish literature.
9. As intellectual intermediaries, the Arameans have transmitted the ancient Mesopotamian and Greek sciences to the Arabs, who passed it on to the Europeans. Their Aramaic language has also influenced the Arabic language, the Qur’an and a good deal of the Muslim literature.
10. Today’s Hebrew script is an Aramaic script and the Arabic writing system originally derives from one of the Aramaic scripts.