Comparing the Akkadian Months Across Semitic Languages - Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac

In this video, I go over the traditional names of the months of the year in the Akkadian language and compare them with the Semitic languages Arabic, Hebrew, and Syriac. Where are they the same? Where do they differ?
If you speak one of these languages, discover how easy it is to learn the other!
#akkadian #arabic #hebrew

[@stubronstein9932]

We came back from exile in Babylon with these month names, so it's not surprising that they are close to the Akkadian names.

[@aphremdanha5158]

The +4 and sound threw me back to super mario bros, and i never thought id be watching an akkadian video and have that throw back. Lol well done.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

You know it! Thank you Aphrem, but our princess is in another castle.

[@emmanuelalbazi8560]

Once I read that the name of the months in arabic were actually borrowed from syriac and that is why they looked similar.

[@donnie27brasco]

Who were the people who developed Aramaic to transform it into Syriac as a script and language? Let me remember???, oh, right, they were the “Arab” Abgarid dynasty in Edessa, two thousand years ago. Also, from where did Syriac “borrowed” the names of these months? From Akkadian.

[@emmanuelalbazi8560]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@donnie27brasco First old aramaic borrowed the name of the months from akkadian and syriac inherited them from old aramaic. And LoL of course all people around the world were "ARABS"!! Go check the population of "Abgarid dynasty". They were NOT all arabs.

[@gruffalodin647]

Very nice comparison professor Wingert. Thank you from a new subscriber. Few comments if I may: 1. The Akkadian/Babylonian "Nissanu Series" is the adopted menology in the region of the Levant including Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, in addition of course to the post-exile Hebrew calendar. Even the Turkish calendar retained four names (Nisan, Temmuz, Eylül, and Şubat), 2. Iyar, Tammuz, Ab, and Tishri are post-exile Hebrew months names that are NOT attested in the Old Testament (Tammuz is mentioned in Ezekiel 8:14 as a Syrian idol), 3. Conder 1889 p.22 in his article "The Hebrew Months" wrote that the Phoenicians and Hebrews used the same calendar before captivity, a proposition which Stieglitz agrees with (Phoenician-Punic Menology 1998: 212-3). You can see the evidence in the 3 out of 4 pre-exile Hebrew months Ziw (1 kings 6:1,37), Etanim (1 kings 8:2), and Bul (1 kings 6:38) which in Phoenician are ZW/ZYB, ’TNM, and BL (Stieglitz ibid). 4. The Levantine month name Kānūn (’awwal/tāny- colloquial vocalization) appears to be from the Nuzi Calnedar month Kinūnu by way of Palmyrene (Gordon & Lacheman 1938: 254.). All the best

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Thank you for the kind words and excellent contribution!

[@cobra8888]

The Arabic ones are more known in the Levant than the rest of the Arab world. Even from the Levant it is only used in Syria and Lebanon more and not in Jordan or Palestine. Because they were adopted from Syriac. The Ottomans also adopted it later on when they occupied the region. So the Syriac and Levant Arabic months also used in Turkey. They don’t use it in North Africa or the Gulf. The North African countries use the French names of the month mostly. The rest call the names of the months in Arabized form from the English ones: January = Yanayer February = Fibrayer March = Mars (or Mares) depends on how you pronounce it April = Ebril May = Mayo June = Yunyo July = Yulyuo August = Aghustus September = Sebtember October = Oktober November = November (yeah that one is basically similar) December = December

[@katathoombz]

Numerals and month names, sometimes even the day names, they give me so many difficulties from language to language. I even have to list the months out loud in my native tongue to remember which of the similarly enough named months came at which point. Apparently it's something to do with numerals and such being stored and operated in another part of the brain than the more linguistic stuff, or so I've recently heard. The other reason might be the lack of practice, of course...

[@ahmedsaid-dy2el]

Thanks for these important lessons.❤

[@magedayad7611]

Unfortunately, we do not use these months in Egypt. Instead, we use the Gregorian calendar with some changes in pronunciation, and the Hijri calendar as a secondary calendar.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

You should use the Coptic/Ancient Egyptian calendars.

[@magedayad8059]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingertwe use it at church, farmers also use them

[@ArdwanGh]

It's very similar to Mandaic We say: ࡔࡀࡌࡀࡈ = شَباط = July = Šabaṭ August = Athar = ࡀࡃࡀࡓ = آذار September = Nisan = ࡍࡉࡎࡀࡍ = نيسان October = Ayar = ࡀࡉࡀࡓ = آيار November = Siwan = ࡎࡉࡅࡀࡍ = سيوان December = Tamuz = ࡕࡀࡌࡅࡆ = تموز January = Ab = ࡀࡁ = آب February = Íilol = ࡏࡋࡅࡋ = إيلول March = Tišrin = ࡕࡉࡔࡓࡉࡍ = تِشرين April = Mašriwan = ࡌࡀࡔࡓࡉࡀࡍ مَشرِوان May = kanun = ࡊࡀࡍࡅࡍ = كانون June = Ṭabit = ࡈࡀࡁࡉࡕ = طابيت

[@mordechaistein]

The month after Tishrei in the Jewish calendar is called Cheshvan. Mar is added as a prefix, as an adjective to describe it as a bitter month. Mar-cheshvan.

[@ganpik]

How do you explain the extra "-um", for example - Hebrew "nissan" vs Akkadian "nissanUM"?

[@Yallah-2023]

Case(nominative/indefinite) marker?

[@katathoombz]

@@Yallah-2023indeed. Old Babylonian still had case endings, which Hebrew and Syriac, as well as colloquial Arabic, lack

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Thank you for inspiring this video reply: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4bFo3SAoJVjjZY

[@magedayad7611]

What does it mean to say that Hebrew is most similar to others? Could it be because Hebrew is the youngest or newest language in the Semitic language family? Do you explain the meanings of the months in other videos? I guess some of them might be named after deities, like Tammuz.

[@GunijansFamousQuote-st5ed]

Your video is Nice, you can do better if you want by doing SEO

[@terrencevick7845]

Is Akkadian the tongue of the Chaldees ?

[@lm7338]

Its the tongue of Akkad, babylon, Assyria, Persian empires. Not sure but I'm guessing they spoke Akkadian there too.

[@reginaldodonoghue9253]

Why didn’t you give Hebrew one for Kislev?

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

I did in the final tally. But Arabic and Syriac did not get a point on that either, so no +4 up. I considered a different chime for that one, but in the end, did not include a noise.

[@irfanmauludin398]

This is Solar system calender, how about lunar system calender?

[@petarjovanovic1481]

Nope. This is a lunisolar calendar.

[@mordechaistein]

The months are all lunar in the Jewish calendar. The month of Adar is doubled periodically in order to maintain an ongoing solar year connection based on the biblical requirement that Passover, on the 15th of Nisan, take place in the spring.