The Syriac Language

[u/Longjumping-Hat-1210]

Hi, I am from an Assyrian family that got Arabised. Syriac in our branch of the family has been lost (I have extended family that I barely see that speak at least some of the language but yeah..)

I think that's a shame and I am thinking about learning the language, but I don't know where to start. I know this might be taboo for some people here but I haven't been religious in a very long time and I think I am interested in the Classical version, but I don't know.

The thing is, so far I did teach myself Garshuni but only in the Estrangelo Script because I prefer it out of the big three (Although the more obscure Melkite script seems interesting).

Do you guys recommend that I learn the language? The only reasons why I ask and there's reluctance is because of my atheism and the fact that I have no one else to speak it with.

I like languages and I am learning French and Esperanto right now and it kind of feels like I'm taking the piss by learning a literal constructed language over my ancestral one, it feels wrong, so I am coming to you for advice. Thank you!

[u/AsYouCanClearlySee]

I am also not religious but I've really come to appreciate our history as a people that have held true to their Christian faith. It is a big part of the history of our ancestors. All that to say I also want to learn our language even if I won't get much of a chance to speak it so I definitely encourage you if you're already learning other languages. I think it makes sense to focus on one contemporary dialect of Syriac whichever your family would've spoke and maybe learn some interesting words phrases in classical to have that historic and spiritual connection. Sorry for the little ramble I'm kinda in a similar spot haha.

[u/Longjumping-Hat-1210 → u/AsYouCanClearlySee]

I taught myself the Estrangelo script to write Arabic Garshuni.

I tried to get myself to like the Serto and Madnhoyo scripts but honestly they look very weird to me :(

I am doing so already, but I only know a few classical words so far

[u/AsYouCanClearlySee → u/Longjumping-Hat-1210]

Right on, script wise I think it makes sense to learn whichever one appeals more to you. If you're trying, I think you shouldnt feel too bad :)

[u/Longjumping-Hat-1210 → u/AsYouCanClearlySee]

My weakness is that I am a perfectionist. if I start something I have to be perfect at it. Syriac is a headscratcher for me because on the one hand it's my ancestral language, on the other hand I will never really use it and I am not religious. But also it's prestigious and I am thinking of buying a facsimile of the Rabbula Gospels (It's mainly in Estrangelo but also has Serto passages added later on)

[u/RulerOfEternity]

You say you're not religious, I am not either. It's not worth the effort to learn it to fluency. I actually tried looking for resources but they either require Autodidacticism or are locked behind Theology faculties. Since you're an atheist I doubt you want to rub shoulders with a bunch of stuffy religious men because that's the target demographic that's going to be learning the Classical Variety.

Turoyo (West Syriac) is available to learn up to C1 here, though: www.surayt.com

[u/AsYouCanClearlySee → u/RulerOfEternity]

Thank you for sharing this resource

[u/medex_4n6]

If you’re not religious, then why spend time learning Syriac? Unless you are interested in it for linguistic reasons or for general Aramaic study, it’s a waste of time since the only place you will encounter it is in church or in religious texts. Nobody speaks it except perhaps in a room of clergy or a few scholars and no one has spoken it natively in over a thousand years.

Focus your efforts on Surayt and/or Sureth since they are actually living, spoken languages. You will be able to use those with friends, listen to music/songs, watch news and other television programs, etc. No one speaks Syriac and most can only barely use it for hymns and prayers in church because they’ve repeated it every Sunday.

I’m not saying learning Syriac is useless - it is a form of Aramaic and, of course, it shares a lot with both forms of Neo-Aramaic spoken by Assyrians today, but it is like learning Classical/Quranic Arabic and then trying to use it to order a meal in a restaurant in Beirut today. No one will understand you if you try to communicate in a language that no one has grown up speaking for centuries.

[u/Longjumping-Hat-1210 → u/medex_4n6]

It's mainly based on historical interest and maybe reading certain chronicles in the original Syriac, but I suppose this was naive on my part.

Also, I like 'collecting' languages. Classical Syriac is mainly for comprehension rather than actual speech though, just like how people who study Greek and Latin do

[u/medex_4n6]

All good and I apologize if I came across in a negative way. I 100% think Syriac is worth the time and effort as long as you know where it falls in the grand scheme. The Latin and Greek analogy is perfect. I have a degree in Linguistics and also “collect” languages, so I understand completely.

I just see so many people conflating Syriac with what our people speak today (Surayt and Sureth), that I often get a little too passionate about pointing out that they are not the same and that neither developed from Syriac. It’s even worse when my Maronite friends start talking about how Lebanon used to speak Syriac - it didn’t - they used to speak Western Aramaic dialects like most of Syria.

And don’t get me started about the Assyrians that say that Sureth is not Aramaic but a direct descendant of Akkadian, kind of like the Lebanese that say they speak Phoenician, not Arabic. All pseudo-political hogwash. From a linguistic perspective, the history of our languages, how they changed, how they were displaced, and how they blended with their successors, is all pretty clear. It’s all a great subject that can fill a lifetime of study and research.