What's the Difference between Syriac Aramaic and Biblical Aramaic?

How similar are Biblical Aramaic and Syriac? Are they two different languages or dialects? Are they mutually intelligible? In this video, I take a small sample from the book of Ezra (Ezra 4:11-13) and compare Biblical Aramaic and Syriac (Aramaic)?
#aramaic #syriac #polyglot

[@benavraham4397]

"Sorbet" and "Sherbet" are said to come from Turkish and started out meaning "soup." The American Heratage Dictionary says it goes back Arabic "shariba" meaning to "drink." Maybe it was originally a hot drink? Now it's frozen.

[@alibrahym]

bro what are you talking about? Sorbet means talking to eachother in turkish, soup in turkish means "corba" pronounced as "jor-ba". In Arabic drink can mean shariba as i know its "shurub"

[@bar_yama]

This video quenched a thirst in me that I've had for so long. I've been wondering how different Syriac and Biblical Aramaic are for quite some time now. So seeing this video pop up randomly on my home page was very exciting. The way you presented it with live examples from the Book of Ezra was golden, and your explanations are very thorough, precise, and informative. It's cool to finally conclude, based on your ending, that it's like an American accent vs British accent. -- -- I would really really love to see more videos on Syriac, and more videos generally on Aramaic (but especially Syriac!) -- One thing i've really had trouble looking into is the "Begadkefat" thing. I've heard that it was a natural occurrence that happened, but I was recently reading a modern Aramaic vernacular learner's textbook, in which the author stated that "Begadkefat" rules were purposefully introduced to Aramaic speaking & recitation in order to make pronouncing words easier. Do you know what the truth is regarding that? Maybe you could make a video on it? But once again, more Syriac videos from you would really be a pleasure, and you have a brand new subscriber, and I'll be recommending this video to everyone else I know interested in Aramaic.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

What a pleasant comment to read first thing in the morning! Taudi sagi! The begadkepat is a good suggestion for a video. I will see what I can do. I'm not sure if they were "introduced to make things easier." If that were the case, there may be a classical source which speaks to that, but even then, these are a consequence of phonology. My hunch is that their truth may be in both explanations. For example, one doesn't need begadkepat rules to speak or read the language. I once got into 'conversation' on Twitter about this topic and the people with whom I was engaging were those who read grammars but have no background in linguistics or linguistic anthropology. Any cursory understanding of language change and how local iterations of language are expressed puts an issue like the begadkepat letters to bed. I will look in Bar 'Ebroyo's grammar and see if I can find anything pertaining to your question. Thanks again for the kind message.

[@bar_yama]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert Thank you for your clarification on begadkepat. Ultimately, I think maybe a video discussing it would be excellent in order to fully understand 😅, or maybe at least a segment on it in a larger video. Looking forward to more Aramaic content in general

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

@@bar_yama That's a good idea Basim. I will certainly prepare it prior to my next Syriac class.

[@bar_yama]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert Very excited for this, thank you very much! And as we say in Eastern Syriac, Ālāhā Bāriḵlūḵ !

[@axelmegaton5115]

Mr. Professor Excuse my harsh words but you lie more than an Arab can trot. This writing is Assyrian/ Ktav Ashurit and nothing else.​@@ProfessorMichaelWingert

[@alikesserwani9393]

Amazing! Thank you so much Professor Wingert.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Thank you for your support!

[@destructo3915]

Ive also wondered this for so long but never had the time to dig into it. Learning Biblical Hebrew and modern Aramaic is already filling my plate. I noticed though that the active participle in Syriac is used to represent subjunctive mood in modern Aramaic. It supposedly was formed by taking the 3ms active participle and combining it with the word 'ina', the 1cs pronoun to form ba3eyn 'building'. In modern Aramaic this no longer is a present participle but just means 'I build'.I have to say though, your pronunciation of 3ayin is absolutely spot on. I've also never hgeard anyone pronounce Heth so purely either. Heths articulation is the same as 3ayin, so it makes sense there is a hint of the 3ayin when you pronounce Heth. But it's incredible the similarities to modern Aramaic. In MA the word for letter is also 'igarta'; the pronunciation hasnt changed whatsoever in more than 2000 years.

[@benavraham4397]

In Targum Unkelos, the word for "now" is always כען, ke'an.

[@clintmontgomery4057]

Hello professor, I'm curious if you can read it mend a resource, book, site or program for translating English to Aramaic characters. I'm beginning my studies and aside from pronunciation I would like to use the scrypt of some words such as "light" "heaven" etc in artwork. Thanks so much for your content and support on this quest 🙏

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

It depends on the script. In my videos, I have a number that should assist in teaching this. You can always try the LexiLogos page for the various scripts: www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/syriac.htm

[@GM-cy7jg]

16:37 according to the Jewish tradition we'd say marodhta being that the qamaç followed by a silent sheva (the 2 vertical dots) is pronounced o. So pretty close to the u sound in marudta. So interesting. I go on following the video.

[@zmail8566]

Thank you. Have you considered making a video on the Talmud and or Zohar?

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Those would be interesting topics. I'm not as familiar with them so I would need to do some reading before publishing, but it is a good idea.

[@zmail8566]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert thanks you! I'll wait patiently 😊😁

[@carlosacta8726]

Thank you for this fascinating video. Question, which version would Jesus of Nazareth had spoken?

[@jungminaa]

Hello from a Assyrian, yeshu d'nasa would have spoken a western aramaic dialect like Galilean

[@carlosacta8726]

@@jungminaa Marhaba from a Maronite descendant! Thank you and may Yeshu d'nasa bless you!

[@jungminaa]

@@carlosacta8726 my pleasure! thank you (basima) 😌

[@irfanmauludin398]

finally I understand why there are two name for Jesus, Isho D'mshikho and Yesu' Mshikha

[@Shadowbannddiscourse]

Sholomo Wingert san ;). I had a question. How close is chadic to many of the shemetic languages Its a shemetic language spoken by the hausa in west africa

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Oddrocker!!! What's up my man?! As a language family, I don't believe that chadic is very close, but I'm no expert. Whenever there is overlap, there is first probably a connection through North African Arabic influence. Beyond that, there are certain forms that I have seen which look similar. Unfortunately, I can't really answer the question without doing some real research on my end.

[@Shadowbannddiscourse]

@ProfessorMichaelWingert yeah it always seen it as an afro asiatic language. Whats strange also is fulbe another west africa afro asiatc group isnt listed among thst language groups and - thats the fulani and many of them are said to be descendants of ahmazigh - ( another fact is that - fulani and hausa combined themselves tomgether as a nation- hausa are more indigenous to west africa than the fulani ( who are nomadic ).yeah but hausa is said to be an afro asatic them selves as a nation house in Northern Nigeria ) chadic listed sirh hebrew and arabic as well. Even tho they are known to be among niger congo .area . Cool to see u on here man . Sholmo

[@njoumellil]

I speak Arabic, but when I listen to the Syriac and Aramaic languages, I feel as if they are two Arabic dialects that are difficult to understand, like the dialects of the Maghreb, which is truly amazing.

[@njoumellil]

​@@Shadowbannddiscourse The language they speak in Chad is an Arabic dialect, and what is interesting is that their dialect is easier than the dialects of the Maghreb, even though it does not belong to the Arab countries. This is truly amazing.

[@Zarqaa_]

Syriac pronunciation sounds like Arabic dialects in Turkey, Mosul, and some Syrian cities. Biblical Aramaic pronunciation sounds somehow Hebrew

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Interesting observation. I'm amazed by the dialect variance among all the Middle Eastern communities.

[@atice72]

🥰 👍

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Right on, right on!

[@UnbiasedSports]

Matthew 1:16 in the classical syriac. Can begat refer to women? Also virgin there does it necessarily mean a woman without sex. thx

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Yes it can. As to the second question, the answer is "basically." I discuss this term in an Aramaic Bible Study video I recently put out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e17copiio9qsabc

[@UnbiasedSports]

I'm watching now. Can you do a video breaking down Matt.1:16 from Syriac to English. That's the passage that everyone is talking about when they read the Syriac Sinaiticus. I appreciate you for replying@@ProfessorMichaelWingert

[@Simon-rz8nz]

Is it possible to do more videos like that?

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Of course! Do you have any topic in mind?

[@Simon-rz8nz]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert Maybe also compare the other Aramaic dialects with Classical Syriac

[@Simon-rz8nz]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert And why in Classical Syriac the vowels at the end of the word are not read, but in other dialects they are. Because if you read out these very words, there could be confusion in understanding.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

@@Simon-rz8nz That's only the case in certain words. On the 3ms pronominal suffix, the last portion is silent in Syriac. That's the convention that developed and Syriac has marks (a line under or above) which indicate that the letter is silent. The pronunciation of Biblical Aramaic is based on the Tiberian system that is used to pronounce Hebrew vocalization. There may be different conventions in other pronunciation traditions.

[@Simon-rz8nz]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert are there other pronunciations except the the Tiberian one?

[@GM-cy7jg]

12:53 it's tav not tet

[@njoumellil]

I speak Arabic, but when I listen to the Syriac and Aramaic languages, I feel as if they are two Arabic dialects that are difficult to understand, like the dialects of the Maghreb, which is truly amazing.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

I concur. My Arabic isn't very good, but I find myself able to "fake it" when I think of it as another dialect of Aramaic. Then I just try to shift the accent as though I was traveling to another region where a different dialect of Arabic is spoken.

[@njoumellil]

​@@ProfessorMichaelWingert The strange thing is that the Arabic language and the Aramaic language are not derived from each other, according to what scholars believe. Are they one language or is there a puzzling mystery?

[@jakubolszewski8284]

​@@njoumellilJust related to each other afaik. Common ancestor, but hebrew is closer in that reagard to aramaic than arabic.

[@njoumellil]

@@jakubolszewski8284 According to my conclusion, the Aramaic language is understandable to me as an Arabic speaker, but the Hebrew language is farther away. Arabic and Aramaic appear like two sisters, but Hebrew is like a cousin. I did not see a comment from Hebrew speakers about what concerns the Aramaic language, but perhaps it is close to them as well. This means that the Aramaic language could be a combination of Arabic and Hebrew

[@jakubolszewski8284]

@@njoumellil I understand Your point, and also am interested in hebrew user view on that matter, but I do not think of aramaic as combination of two languages. Just 3rd language that is similar to other 2 (and by Your means more similar to arabic).

[@maryjemyfreeman7639]

Arabic Turkish take this armaic, in urdu, sharab for hot drinks, sarbat in malayalam

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Very cool. Thank you for sharing!

[@thevisitor7436]

Also we the chaldeans and our cousins the Great Assyrians of Iraq, Do not say Alaf, for the letterA, thats arabic and jewish, We pronounce it Like Alap! Beth heth teth resh...

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Yes, many today pronounce it as either Olaf or Alap as an alternative to the historical Aleph. You may find this video on Rules vs. Habits helpful as it addresses the matter of pronunciation. kzbin.info/www/bejne/baawfpylos6Gq6c Also helpful is the video on the begadkepat letters. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4Otm3idgcieptU Blessings!

[@thevisitor7436]

I am chaldean catholic from Iraq, we speak all of us modern syriac, the modern Aramaic language! Let me tell how beautiful is our language now, the sound of its words and letters. I WANT TO SAY OUTLOUD Thats not how we talk and sound speaking our aramaic language today, your sound and pronouciation Of our language is off by almost 93 million kilometers, the distance between the sun and plant Earth.! Yes you are agood man= urza brikha. But please try to bring some chaldean or syriac or assyrian real speakers to know the real sound of our words. You sound like todays Jewish, or an Englishman speking english of the times before william shakespare!! Note there are over 100thousands speakers of Assyrians in chicago, and more than 150thousands chaldeans in Detroit, michigan, and almost 50thousands of western syrian syriacs in sweden, All you have todo is call the churches or the priests we call them rabbi, in aramaic, please this sound that you make when reading in our language is foreign to us and strange! We are alive, reach for us and learn from us, not from your hebrew books of europe and other cultures. Thanks Basima raba. Tony. ✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️🇮🇶🇮🇶🇮🇶

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

I think you're confusing miles and kilometers.

[@danielkakish]

Chaldeans, Assyrians, Syriacs are not cousins, they are the same people. Your comment is rude and stupid. Dr Wingert knows more about Syriac than your entire tribe and village put together you عفطي بس تفيك براس الناس روح اتواضع شوية You’re Chaldean Catholic بعد? كنيستكم و طقوسكم كلها متغربة من روما و اللاتين شسووا بيكم لعبوا بيكم طوبة بطرككم يلبس قاط و يزين 🤣🤣🤣 روح علم كنيستك تصيرون ܣܘܪܝܝܐ اصليين و چمالة قداسكم صاير 50 دقيقة و تتوجهون للناس مو للشرق و نسيتوا قديسينا و مهتمين باللاتين و طقوسهم خوش ܣܘܪܝܝܐ انتوا

[@thevisitor7436]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert Yes, you are right. I got mixed up. My apology.

[@IOSPBITBRNO]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingertI am Chaldean Assyrian(ܟܵܠܕܵܝܵܐ ܐܫܘܼܪܵܝܵܐ). I thought you did pretty well with the pronunciation. I cant expect you to sound like my Grandmother (ܣܵܒ݂ܬܵܐ)😂. Though you study these languages(ܠܸܫܵܢܹܐ), they are still foreign to your tongue. ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܸܠܘܿܟ݂ ܐܲܟ݂ܘܿܢܝܼ ܘܲܪܲܢܕܲܐ ܘܸܕ݂ܠܘܿܟ݂ ܒܒ݂ܝܼܕܝܼܘܿ ܕܝܼܘܿܟ݂ Shlama 3illokh akhoni wa-randa withlokh b’vidio diyokh Peace for you my brother and good you have done on the video of yours. Thank you for teaching me on this day. Joseph ܝܘܣܦ يوسق יוספ

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

@@IOSPBITBRNO Hi Joseph. Could you go into some more detail please? How does the pronunciation differ from your grandmother's?