Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) is a grouping of related dialects of Neo-Aramaic spoken before World War I as a vernacular language by Jews and Assyrian Christians between the Tigris and Lake Urmia, stretching north to Lake Van and southwards to Mosul and Kirkuk. As a result of the Assyrian genocide, Christian speakers were forced out of the area that is now Turkey and in the early 1950s most Jewish speakers moved to Israel. The Kurdish-Turkish conflict resulted in further dislocations of speaker populations.Bird, Isabella, Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, including a summer in the Upper Karun region and a visit to the Nestorian rayahs, London: J. Murray, 1891, vol. ii, pp. 282 and 306 As of the 1990s, the NENA group had an estimated number of fluent speakers among the Assyrians just below 500,000, spread throughout the Middle East and the Assyrian diaspora. In 2007, linguist Geoffrey Khan wrote that many dialects were nearing extinction with fluent speakers difficult to find.
The other branches of Neo-Aramaic are Western Neo-Aramaic, Central Neo-Aramaic (Turoyo and Mlahso), and Mandaic. Some linguists classify NENA, as well as Turoyo and Mlahso, as a single dialect continuum.
Influences The NENA languages contain a large number of loanwords and some grammatical features from the extinct East Semitic Akkadian language of Mesopotamia (the original language of the Assyrians) and also in more modern times from their surrounding languages: Kurdish, Arabic, Persian, Azerbaijani and Turkish language. These languages are spoken by both Jews and Christian Assyrians from the area. Each variety of NENA is clearly Jewish or Assyrian.
However, not all varieties of one or other religious groups are intelligible with all others of the group. Likewise, in some places Jews and Assyrian Christians from the same locale speak mutually unintelligible varieties of Aramaic, where in other places their language is quite similar. The differences can be explained by the fact that NENA communities gradually became isolated into small groups spread over a wide area, and some had to be highly mobile due to various ethnic and religious persecutions.
The influence of classical Aramaic varieties – Syriac on Christian varieties and Targumic on Jewish communities – gives a dual heritage that further distinguishes language by faith. Many of the Jewish speakers of NENA varieties, the Kurdish Jews, now live in Israel, where Neo-Aramaic is endangered by the dominance of Modern Hebrew. Many Christian NENA speakers, who usually are Assyrian, are in diaspora in North America, Europe, Australia, the Caucasus and elsewhere, although indigenous communities remain in northern Iraq, south east Turkey, north east Syria and north west Iran, an area roughly comprising what had been ancient Assyria.Heinrichs, Wolfhart (ed.) (1990). Studies in Neo-Aramaic. Scholars Press: Atlanta, Georgia. .
Grouping
SIL Ethnologue assigns ISO codes to twelve NENA varieties, two of them extinct: Suret (Assyrian Neo-Aramaic) [], 235,000 speakers (1994) Suret (Chaldean Neo-Aramaic) [], 216,000 speakers (1994) Judeo-Aramaic languages, spoken by Jewish communities in Israel Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of Barzani [] (Israel), extinct Trans-Zab Jewish Neo-Aramaic [], 10,000 speakers (1990s) Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of Zakho [] 7,500 speakers (1990s) Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of Urmia [], 4,500 speakers (2000) Inter-Zab Jewish Neo-Aramaic [], 2,200 speakers (1990s) Neo-Aramaic dialect of Bohtan [] (Georgia), 1,000 speakers (1990s) Neo-Aramaic dialect of Hertevin [] (Turkey), 1,000 speakers (1990s) Koy Sanjaq Christian Neo-Aramaic [] (Iraq), 900 speakers (1990s) Christian Neo-Aramaic dialect of Senaya [] (Iran), 460 speakers (1990s)
List of dialects Below is a full list of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialects from the North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic Database Project (as of 2023):
Dialect Religion Country Region Sulemaniyya, Jewish Jewish NE Qaraqosh (Baghdede) Christian NW Tisqopa Christian NW Aradhin, Christian Christian NW Karəmlesh Christian NW Derabun Christian NW Ankawa Christian NE Billin Christian SE Ashitha Christian SE Umra d-Shish Christian NW Baṭnaya Christian NW Sanandaj, Jewish Jewish W Shōsh-u-Sharmən Christian NW Alqosh Christian NW Peshabur Christian NW Koy Sanjaq, Jewish Jewish NE Arbel Jewish NE Bēṣpən Christian SE Mēr Christian SE Išši Christian SE Baznaye Christian SE Gaznax Christian SE Harbole Christian SE Hertevin Christian SE Sardarid Christian NW Bohtan Christian SE Sanandaj, Christian Christian W Rustaqa Jewish NE Dobe Jewish NW Ruwanduz Jewish NE Saqǝz Jewish W Telkepe Christian NW Iṣṣin Christian NW Mar-Yaqo Christian NW Tən Christian NW Barzani Jewish NW Betanure Jewish NW Shǝnno Jewish NW Bokan Jewish W Amedia, Jewish Jewish NW Zakho, Christian Christian NW Zakho, Jewish Jewish NW Urmia, Jewish Jewish NW Diyana-Zariwaw Christian NE Sablagh Jewish W Jilu Christian SE Challək Christian NW Darband Christian NW Bebede Christian NW Dere Christian NW Nargəzine-Xarjawa Christian NW Aqra (Xərpa) Christian NW Aqra (town) Christian NW Xarjawa Christian NW Mangesh Christian NW Bidaro Christian NW Hamziye Christian NW Gargarnaye Christian SE Barwar Christian NW Nerwa, Jewish Jewish NW Salamas, Christian Christian NW Bne Lagippa Christian SE Kerend Jewish W Koy Sanjaq, Christian Christian NE Tikab Jewish W Qarah Ḥasan Jewish W Bijar Jewish W Bariṭle Christian NW Baqopa Christian NW Sharanish Christian NW Zawitha Christian NW Solduz Jewish NW Sulemaniyya, Christian Christian NE Ḥalabja Jewish NE Xanaqin Jewish NE Qaladeze Jewish NE Nerwa, Christian Christian NW Meze Christian NW Shaqlawa, Christian Christian NE Hassana Christian SE Marga Christian NW Bersive Christian NW Qarawilla Christian NW Challa, Jewish Jewish SE Sāt Christian SE Bāz (Maha Xtaya) Christian SE Ṭāl Christian SE Sarspido (duplicate?) Christian SE Van Christian SE Halana Christian SE Bnerumta (Upper Tiyari) Christian SE Tel Tamməṛ (Upper Tiyari) Christian SE Walṭo (Upper Tiyari) Christian SE Sarspido (Lower Tiyari) Christian SE Halmun Christian SE Txuma Gawaya Christian SE Txuma Mazṛa Christian SE Txuma Gudəkθa Christian SE Txuma Gəssa Christian SE Txuma Bərəjnaye Christian SE Arbuš Christian Bāz (Khabur) Christian SE Dīz Christian SE Jilu (Khabur) Christian SE Šamməsdin Nočiya Christian SE Šamməsdin Iyyəl Christian SE Šamməsdin Marbišo Christian SE Barwar Christian SE Gawar, Christian Christian SE Qočanəṣ Christian SE Van (Timur, Khabur) Christian SE Saṛa (Khabur) Christian SE Saṛa (Armenia) Christian , Lewən Christian SE Urmia, Christian Christian NW Bne ~ Mne Maθa (Lower Tiyari) Christian SE Bne ~ Mne Belaθa (Upper Tiyari) Christian SE Bāz (Aruntus) Christian SE Mawana Christian NW Gawilan Christian NW Salamas, Jewish Jewish NW Komane Christian NW Derəgni Christian NW Bədyəl Christian NE Enəške Christian NW Təlla Christian NW Darbandoke Christian NE Shiyuz Christian NW Qasr Shirin Jewish W Bāz (Shwawa) Christian SE Bāz (Aghgab) Christian SE Shahe Jewish NW Bəjil Jewish NW Umra Christian SE Gargarnaye (Azran) Christian SE Dohok, Jewish Jewish NW Jənnet Christian SE Hoz Christian SE Harmashe Christian NW Dohok, Christian Christian NW Hawdiyan Christian NE Aradhin, Jewish Jewish NW Azax Christian NW Bāz (Rekan) Christian NW Yarda Christian NW Alanish Christian NW Gzira Jewish SE Gawar, Jewish Jewish SE Dawadiya Christian NW Challa, Christian Christian SE Nəxla (Gerbish) Christian NW Nəxla (Dinarta) Christian NW Nuhawa Christian NW Nəxla (Sanaye) Christian NW Sandu Jewish NW Shaqlawa, Jewish Jewish NE Dehe Christian NW Gramun Christian SE Tazacand Christian NW Amedia, Christian Christian NW
References
Sources
External links The North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic Database Project by Geoffrey Khan et al. (University of Cambridge)