Neo-Aramaic dialect of Bohtan

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Bohtan Neo-Aramaic
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Bohtan Neo-Aramaic
ܣܘܪܬ Sôreth
Native toRussia, Georgia
RegionKrymsk, Novopavlovsk, Kvemo Kartli
Native speakers
760 (2020)[1]
Afro-Asiatic
Language codes
ISO 639-3bhn
Glottologboht1238
ELPBohtan Neo-Aramaic

Bohtan Neo-Aramaic is a dialect of

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
since it is a northeastern Aramaic language and its speakers are ethnically Assyrians.

The closest related dialect is

Qaraqosh dialect.[2]

Genealogy

This dialect is derived from the Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) languages, which is made up by Bohtan Neo-Aramaic,

Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, Hertevin, Senaya and Koy Sanjat Surat. Bohtan refers to the area between the Tigris and Bohtan river . The dialect mostly spoken by Christian communities.[3]

The Neo-Aramaic language is classified under Afroasiatic and the Bohtan dialect is more specifically one of the NENA dialects which are found south-eastern Turkey, northern Iraq and western Iran [4] Due to the dislocation of NENA speakers, neighboring languages have influenced the dialects, such as Kurdish.[5]

Phonology

Bohtan's consonant inventory is typical of other NENA dialects. Unlike Hertevin, it merges /ħ/ and /x/ into /x/.[6]

Status

Bohtan Neo-Aramaic is considered as a severely endangered language as it is estimated to have less than 500 speakers, mostly found in the former Soviet Union. Due to migration and intermarriage, younger generations speak the language less fluently and are expected to know Russian or Turkish as their first language.[7][page needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ Bohtan Neo-Aramaic at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Fox 2009, p. 5.
  3. ^ ethnologue
  4. ^ Heinrichs, W. 1991: "Studies in Neo-Aramaic". Journal of the American Oriental Society 111, 191-192
  5. ^ Khan, G. 2010. "The Debate on Ergativity in Neo-Aramaic" Proceedings of IATL
  6. ^ Fox 2009, p. 7.
  7. ^ Fox 2009.

Further reading

External links