Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of Barzani

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Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic
לשניד דינן Lišānîd d-Jānān
Native toKurdistan
RegionJerusalem, originally from Bijil in Iraq
Native speakers
20 (2004)[1]
Afro-Asiatic
Language codes
ISO 639-3bjf
Glottologbarz1241
ELPCentral Jewish Neo-Aramaic

Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic is a modern

Lishanid Noshan).[3][4][5][6]
[7][8]

It is nearly extinct, with only about 20 elderly speakers in 2004.[6]

Classification

Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic is classified as Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, and Aramaic language.[9]

Origin and use today

The Jewish inhabitants of a wide area from northern

Aramaic. The turmoil near the end of World War I and resettlement in Israel
in 1951 (when eight families from Bijil moved to the new Jewish state) led to the decline of these traditional languages. This particular and distinct dialect of Jewish Neo-Aramaic was spoken in the villages of Bijil, Barzan and Shahe. It was known as Bijili until recently.

The last native speaker of Bijil Neo-Aramaic, Mrs. Rahel Avraham, died in

Arabic
or another Neo-Aramaic dialect. Thus, the language is effectively extinct.

Most of the speakers of Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic live in Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine today.[6]

History

Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic is part of the Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) speech-type. Many of the NENA languages are seriously endangered, like Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic. Most of the NENA languages became endangered since most of the Aramaic speaking Jewry began to immigrate to Israel. This occurred mostly during the 1950s. Barzani Jewish-Neo Aramaic stands out from these languages because it began its endangerment in the early 1900s. This occurred in Kurdistan. The reason for the decline of the language was that most of the speakers were dispersed and integrated into communities that spoke other languages than Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic. This dispersal occurred violently in many of the communities by outside forces.[6]

Most speakers of Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic now speak Israeli Hebrew or Arabic.[6]

Dialects and Varieties

Between the years of 1996 and 2000, three dialects of Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic were discovered. They are called Barzan, Shahe, and Bejil. Bejil is extinct.[6]

It may be related to

Lishana Deni
. There is evidence that the language was also spoken in the nearby village of Nerim, but no speaker from that village remains.

Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic has been infused with words from the Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of Zakho. This occurred due to the close proximity of the speakers of Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic and the dialect Zakho. This dialect is the most commonly spoken variant of Aramaic spoken in Jerusalem. This dialect is seen as more prestigious by the speakers and is most commonly understood.[6]

Examples

Hezy Mutzafi has recorded and translated two texts in Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ISBN 978-1-56512-490-5
    .
  3. JSTOR 602651
    .
  4. ^ MUTZAFI, H. (2002). "Barzani jewish neo-aramaic and its dialects". Mediterranean Language Review. 14: 41–70.
  5. S2CID 162155580
    .
  6. ^
    S2CID 162990434
    .
  7. JSTOR 600067
    .
  8. ISBN 90-04-13869-2
    .
  9. ^ "Endangered Languages Project - Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic". Endangeredlanguages.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
  10. ^ "Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic". www.endangeredlanguages.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.

External links

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