Aramaic

==Geographic distribution==
[[File:Syriac inscription at Syro-Malabar Catholic Major Archbishop's House Ernakulam.jpg|thumb|[[Syriac language|Syriac]] inscription at the [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Church]]'s Major Archbishop's House in [[Kerala]], [[India]]]]
[[File:East Syriac Script Thaksa.jpg|thumb|265px|Late Syriac text, written in ''Madnhāyā'' script, from [[Thrissur]], [[Kerala]], [[India]] (1799)]]

During the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires, [[Arameans]], the native speakers of Aramaic, began to settle in greater numbers in [[Babylonia]], and later in the heartland of [[Assyria]], also known as the "Arbela triangle" ([[Assur]], [[Nineveh]], and [[Erbil|Arbela]]).<ref>https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sargon/essentials/countries/centralassyria/,"…{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The heartland of Assyria is demarcated by the city of Assur (modern Qala'at Sherqat) in the south, by Nineveh (modern Mosul with the ruin mounds Kuyunjik and Nebi Yunus) in the north and by Arbela (modern Erbil) in the east.“</ref> The influx eventually resulted in the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC) adopting an [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]-influenced Imperial Aramaic as the lingua franca of its empire.{{sfn|Bae|2004|pp=1–20}} This policy was continued by the short-lived Neo-Babylonian Empire and the [[Medes]], and all three empires became operationally bilingual in written sources, with Aramaic used alongside Akkadian.{{sfn|Streck|2012|pp=416–24}} The Achaemenid Empire (539–323 BC) continued this tradition, and the extensive influence of these empires led to Aramaic gradually becoming the lingua franca of most of western Asia,  [[Anatolia]], the [[Caucasus]], and [[Egypt]].{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|p=}}{{sfn|Gzella|2015|p=}}

Beginning with the rise of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] and the [[early Muslim conquests]] in the late seventh century, Arabic gradually replaced Aramaic as the lingua franca of the [[Near East]].{{sfn|Weninger|2012|pp=747–55}} However, Aramaic remains a spoken, literary, and liturgical language for local Christians and also some Jews. Aramaic also continues to be spoken by the Assyrians of northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and northwest Iran, with diaspora communities in [[Armenia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Azerbaijan]], and southern [[Russia]]. The Mandaeans also continue to use Classical Mandaic as a liturgical language, although most now speak Arabic as their first language.{{sfn|Häberl|2012|pp=725–37}} There are still also a small number of first-language speakers of Western Aramaic varieties in isolated villages in western Syria.

Being in contact with other regional languages, some Neo-Aramaic dialects were often engaged in the mutual exchange of influences, particularly with Arabic,{{sfn|Weninger|2012|pp=747–55}} Iranian,{{sfn|Kapeliuk|2012|pp=738–47}} and Kurdish.{{sfn|Chyet|1997|pp=283–300}}

The turbulence of the last two centuries (particularly the [[Assyrian genocide]], also known as ''Seyfo'' "Sword" in Syriac, has seen speakers of first-language and literary Aramaic dispersed throughout the world. However, there are several sizable Assyrian towns in northern Iraq, such as [[Alqosh]], [[Bakhdida]], [[Bartella]], [[Tesqopa]], and [[Tel Keppe]], and numerous small villages, where Aramaic is still the main spoken language, and many large cities in this region also have Suret-speaking communities, particularly [[Mosul]], [[Erbil]], [[Kirkuk]], [[Dohuk]], and [[al-Hasakah]]. In modern Israel, the only native Aramaic-speaking population is the [[Jews of Kurdistan]], although the language is dying out.<ref>"The last of the Aramaic speakers",  Miriam Shaviv, 14 July 2013, ''Times of Israel''</ref> However, Aramaic is also experiencing a revival among [[Maronites in Israel]] in [[Jish]].<ref>{{cite news |date=9 November 2014 |title=Aramaic Israelis seek to revive endangered language of Jesus |url=https://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Aramaic-Israelis-seek-to-revive-endangered-language-of-Jesus-381229 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref>

===Aramaic languages and dialects===
Aramaic is often spoken of as a single language but is actually a group of related languages.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Kutscher |first=Eduard |date=2007 |title=Aramaic |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]] |editor-first1=Michael |editor-last1=Berenbaum |editor-first2=Fred |editor-last2=Skolnik |edition=2nd |location=Detroit |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |isbn=978-0-02-865928-2 |volume=2 |pages=342 }}</ref> Some languages differ more from each other than the [[Romance languages]] do among themselves. Its long history, extensive literature, and use by different religious communities are all factors in the diversification of the language. Some Aramaic dialects are mutually intelligible, whereas others are not, similar to the situation with modern [[varieties of Arabic]].

Some Aramaic languages are known under different names; for example, Syriac is particularly used to describe the Eastern Aramaic variety spoken by [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac Christian communities]] in northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, northeastern Syria, and northwestern Iran, and the Saint Thomas Christians in [[Kerala]], India. Most dialects can be described as either "Eastern" or "Western", the dividing line being roughly the [[Euphrates]], or slightly west of it.

It is also helpful to distinguish modern living languages, or Neo-Aramaics, and those that are still in use as literary or liturgical languages or are only of interest to scholars. Although there are some exceptions to this rule, this classification gives "Old", "Middle", and "Modern" periods alongside "Eastern" and "Western" areas to distinguish between the various languages and dialects that are Aramaic.