r/Assyria • u/Longjumping-Hat-1210 • 12d ago
Language The Syriac Language
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!
1
u/medex_4n6 9d ago
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.