Hoberman (1989, 6-7) summarizes and you can offers new categories regarding Maclean and you will Cohen
Thomason and you will Kaufman (1988, 78-91) recommend a correlation between the brands and intensity of contact ranging from dialects and the kinds of influence and this result. The kinds of transform which can be used in Neo-Aramaic seem to slide very easily into their category step 3 or 4, that are characterized by heavier lexical borrowing, plus minimal borrowing regarding structural aspects. That is, they what to a population which includes always spoken Aramaic, but whoever code changed not as much as pervasive dictate off their teams, as opposed to one that enjoys followed Aramaic if you’re sustaining attributes of the modern language.(3)
Yet another difficulties is actually our very own limited knowledge of the modern languages and their taxonomy. Really the only current dialect classifications are the ones of Maclean (1895, xii-xv), Cohen (1972) and you can Hoberman (1988). The initial two is actually restricted to the fresh new Christian and you will Jewish dialects, correspondingly, and you may neither makes clear the fresh requirements about what it is dependent. Hoberman (1988) is a wonderful examination of pronouns and you can pronominal affixes level a beneficial selection of languages and you may incorporating comprehensive comparative reconstruction; but not, this type of research service never assume all enterprise dialect groupings.
Particular important factors restrain improvements in this field. To the one hand, there are numerous undocumented languages. The quintessential immediate task facing specialists in NA was event messages and you can grammatical descriptions of all of the languages which can be on brink out of extinction. Odisho (1988, 19-24) describes this new quick haven of your older languages on the deal with off another koine designed on the towns and cities out of Iraq. Likewise, all of our data is sketchy and you may decreased for even of several recognized languages. Lower than these conditions, Macuch ways (1990, 223), we can barely build a relative sentence structure away from NENA, and you can indeed, within ongoing state of one’s studies, for example a-work would-be none over neither satisfying. However, you should be in a position to throw some white on very important issues and that i’ve raised of the comparing various NA dialects to one another, to the other progressive languages, and their predecessors.
We have picked 11 more dialects off NENA for our testing. These are generally chosen while the representatives of any of your better-defined categories of languages now-known to all of us. As one of the main needs are evaluating brand new limitations out-of the newest NENA unit, we shall become both of one other progressive Eastern Aramaic dialects, Turoyo and you can Mandaic. At exactly the same time, we will omit new languages out of Aramaic verbal inside Malula and you will several most other Syrian villages as certainly as well different to join it talk.
Brand new 11 NENA languages integrated will be after the: Hertevin (Her): So it signifies the if not unfamiliar Christian dialects off Anatolia. Simple fact is that west-really NENA dialect, and that’s recognized to united states from functions away from Jastrow (1971, 1988).
Zakho Jewish (Zakh): So it represents this new Jewish languages out-of northern Iraq. Recommendations arises from numerous supplies, and Sabar (1976), Meehan and you may Alon (1979), and you can Avinery (1988).
At least fieldwork in the area is sufficient to make clear how many languages have vanished
Tisqopa (Ts): This is actually the vocabulary away from Tel Eskof regarding the plain away from Mosul and you will represents the new Christian dialects of the area, referred to as Fellihi. Information is out-of Jo Rubba (personal interaction).
Jilu: Here is the language of one’s area off Jilu in the southern area of Turkey. What of the nearby district regarding Gawar (modern Yuksekova) is alleged of the Maclean (1901, ix) as very similar. All of the Neo-Armaic sound system kept this type of portion when you look at the 1915. Info is regarding Fox (1992) and you can my notes.