Aramaic

==Grammar==
As in other Semitic languages, Aramaic [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] (the way words are formed) is based on the consonantal [[Semitic root|root]]. The root generally consists of two or three consonants and has a basic meaning, for example, כת״ב ''k-t-b'' has the meaning of 'writing'. This is then modified by the addition of vowels and other consonants to create different nuances of the basic meaning:
* כתבה ''kṯāḇâ'', handwriting, inscription, script, book.
* כתבי ''kṯāḇê'', books, the Scriptures.
* כתובה ''kāṯûḇâ'', secretary, scribe.
* כתבת ''kiṯḇeṯ'', I wrote.
* אכתב '''eḵtûḇ'', I shall write.

===Nouns and adjectives===
Aramaic nouns and adjectives are inflected to show ''gender'', ''number'' and ''state''.

Aramaic has two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine. The feminine absolute singular is often marked by the ending ה- ''-â''.

Nouns can be either singular or plural, but an additional "dual" number exists for nouns that usually come in pairs. The dual number gradually disappeared from Aramaic over time and has little influence in Middle and Modern Aramaic.

Aramaic nouns and adjectives can exist in one of three states. To a certain extent, these states correspond to the role of articles and cases in the [[Indo-European languages]]:
# The ''absolute'' state is the basic form of a noun. In early forms of Aramaic, the absolute state expresses indefiniteness, comparable to the English indefinite article a(n) (for example, כתבה ''kṯāḇâ'', "'''a''' handwriting"), and can be used in most syntactic roles. However, by the Middle Aramaic period, its use for nouns (but not adjectives) had been widely replaced by the emphatic state.
# The ''[[Status constructus|construct]]'' state is a form of the noun used to make possessive constructions (for example, '''כתבת''' מלכתא '''''kṯāḇat''' malkṯâ'', "the handwriting of the queen"). In the masculine singular, the form of the construct is often the same as the absolute, but it may undergo vowel reduction in longer words. The feminine construct and masculine construct plural are marked by suffixes. Unlike a [[genitive case]], which marks the possessor, the construct state is marked on the possessed. This is mainly due to Aramaic word order: '''possessed[const.] possessor[abs./emph.]''' are treated as a speech unit, with the first unit (possessed) employing the construct state to link it to the following word. In Middle Aramaic, the use of the construct state for all but stock phrases (like בר נשא ''bar nāšâ'', "son of man") begins to disappear.
# The ''emphatic'' or ''determined'' state is an extended form of the noun that functions similarly to the [[Article (grammar)|definite article]]. It is marked with a suffix (for example, כתבת'''א'''  ''kṯāḇtâ'', "'''the''' handwriting"). Although its original grammatical function seems to have been to mark definiteness, it is used already in Imperial Aramaic to mark all important nouns, even if they should be considered technically indefinite. This practice developed to the extent that the absolute state became extraordinarily rare in later varieties of Aramaic.

Whereas other [[Northwest Semitic languages]], like Hebrew, have the absolute and construct states, the emphatic/determined state is a unique feature to Aramaic. [[Inflection|Case endings]], as in [[Ugaritic grammar#Case|Ugaritic]], probably existed in a very early stage of the language, and glimpses of them can be seen in a few compound proper names. However, as most of those cases were expressed by short final vowels, they were never written, and the few characteristic long vowels of the masculine plural accusative and genitive are not clearly evidenced in inscriptions. Often, the [[Object (grammar)|direct object]] is marked by a prefixed -ל ''l-'' (the [[preposition and postposition|preposition]] "to") if it is definite.

Adjectives agree with their nouns in number and gender but agree in state only if used attributively. Predicative adjectives are in the absolute state regardless of the state of their noun (a [[copula (linguistics)|copula]] may or may not be written). Thus, an attributive adjective to an emphatic noun, as in the phrase "the good king", is written also in the emphatic state מלכא טבא ''malkâ ṭāḇâ''{{snd}}king[emph.] good[emph.]. In comparison, the predicative adjective, as in the phrase "the king is good", is written in the absolute state מלכא טב ''malkâ ṭāḇ''{{snd}}king[emph.] good[abs.].

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! "good"
! masc. sg.
! fem. sg.
! masc. pl.
! fem. pl.
|-
! abs.
| rowspan="2" | טב ṭāḇ
| טבה ṭāḇâ
| טבין ṭāḇîn
| טבן ṭāḇān
|-
! const.
| טבת ṭāḇaṯ
| טבי ṭāḇê
| טבת ṭāḇāṯ
|-
! det./emph.
| טבא ṭāḇâ
| טבתא ṭāḇtâ
| טביא ṭāḇayyâ
| טבתא ṭāḇāṯâ
|}

The final א- ''-â'' in a number of these suffixes is written with the letter [[aleph]]. However, some Jewish Aramaic texts employ the letter [[he (letter)|he]] for the feminine absolute singular. Likewise, some Jewish Aramaic texts employ the Hebrew masculine absolute singular suffix ים- ''-îm'' instead of ין- ''-în''. The masculine determined plural suffix, יא- ''-ayyâ'', has an alternative version, ''-ê''. The alternative is sometimes called the "gentilic plural" for its prominent use in ethnonyms (יהודיא ''yəhûḏāyê'', 'the Jews', for example). This alternative plural is written with the letter [[aleph]], and came to be the only plural for nouns and adjectives of this type in Syriac and some other varieties of Aramaic. The masculine construct plural, ''-ê'', is written with [[yodh]]. In Syriac and some other variants this ending is [[diphthong]]ized to ''-ai''.

Possessive phrases in Aramaic can either be made with the construct state or by linking two nouns with the relative particle -[ד[י ''d[î]-''. As the use of the construct state almost disappears from the Middle Aramaic period on, the latter method became the main way of making possessive phrases.

For example, the various forms of possessive phrases (for "the handwriting of the queen") are:
# '''כתבת מלכתא''' '''kṯāḇaṯ malkṯâ''' – the oldest construction, also known as סמיכות səmîḵûṯ : the possessed object (כתבה kṯābâ, "handwriting") is in the construct state (כתבת kṯāḇaṯ); the possessor (מלכה malkâ, "queen") is in the emphatic state (מלכתא malkṯâ)
# '''כתבתא דמלכתא''' '''kṯāḇtâ d(î)-malkṯâ''' – both words are in the emphatic state and the relative particle -[ד[י ''d[î]-'' is used to mark the relationship
# '''כתבתה דמלכתא''' '''kṯāḇtāh d(î)-malkṯâ''' – both words are in the emphatic state, and the relative particle is used, but the possessed is given an anticipatory, pronominal ending (כתבתה kṯāḇtā-h, "handwriting-her"; literally, "her writing, that (of) the queen").
In Modern Aramaic, the last form is by far the most common. In Biblical Aramaic, the last form is virtually absent.

===Verbs===
The Aramaic verb has gradually evolved in time and place, varying between varieties of the language. Verb forms are marked for [[grammatical person|person]] (first, second or third), [[grammatical number|number]] (singular or plural), [[grammatical gender|gender]] (masculine or feminine), [[grammatical tense|tense]] (perfect or imperfect), [[grammatical mood|mood]] (indicative, imperative, jussive, or infinitive), and [[voice (grammar)|voice]] (active, reflexive, or passive). Aramaic also employs a system of [[grammatical conjugation|conjugations]], or verbal stems, to mark intensive and extensive developments in the lexical meaning of verbs.

====Aspectual tense====
Aramaic has two proper [[grammatical tense|tenses]]: [[perfective aspect|perfect]] and [[imperfective aspect|imperfect]]. These were originally [[grammatical aspect|aspectual]], but developed into something more like a [[preterite]] and [[future tense|future]]. The perfect is [[Markedness|unmarked]], while the imperfect uses various [[prefix|preformatives]] that vary according to person, number and gender. In both tenses the third-person singular masculine is the unmarked form from which others are derived by addition of [[Suffix|afformatives]] (and preformatives in the imperfect). In the chart below (on the root כת״ב K-T-B, meaning "to write"), the first form given is the usual form in Imperial Aramaic, while the second is [[Syriac language|Classical Syriac]].

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2" | Person & gender
! colspan="2" | Perfect
! colspan="2" | Imperfect
|-
! Singular
! Plural
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! 3rd m.
| כתב kəṯaḇ ↔ kəṯaḇ
| כתבו ↔ כתב(ו)\כתבון kəṯaḇû ↔ kəṯaḇ(w)/kəṯabbûn
| יכתוב ↔ נכתוב yiḵtuḇ ↔ neḵtoḇ
| יכתבון ↔ נכתבון yiḵtəḇûn ↔ neḵtəḇûn
|-
! 3rd f.
| כתבת kiṯbaṯ ↔ keṯbaṯ
| כתבת ↔ כתב(י)\כתבן kəṯaḇâ ↔ kəṯaḇ(y)/kəṯabbên
| תכתב tiḵtuḇ ↔ teḵtoḇ
| יכתבן ↔ נכתבן yiḵtəḇān ↔ neḵtəḇān
|-
! 2nd m.
| כתבת kəṯaḇt ↔ kəṯaḇt
| כתבתון kəṯaḇtûn ↔ kəṯaḇton
| תכתב tiḵtuḇ ↔ teḵtoḇ
| תכתבון tiḵtəḇûn ↔ teḵtəḇûn
|-
! 2nd f.
| (כתבתי ↔ כתבת(י kəṯaḇtî ↔ kəṯaḇt(y)
| כתבתן kəṯaḇtēn ↔ kəṯaḇtên
| תכתבין tiḵtuḇîn ↔ teḵtuḇîn
| תכתבן tiḵtəḇān ↔ teḵtəḇān
|-
! 1st m./f.
| כתבת kiṯḇēṯ ↔ keṯḇeṯ
| כתבנא ↔ כתבן kəṯaḇnâ ↔ kəṯaḇn
| אכתב eḵtuḇ ↔ eḵtoḇ
| נכתב niḵtuḇ ↔ neḵtoḇ
|}

====Conjugations or verbal stems====
Like other Semitic languages, Aramaic employs a number of [[Derived stem|derived verb stems]], to extend the lexical coverage of verbs. The basic form of the verb is called the ''ground stem'', or ''G-stem''. Following the tradition of mediaeval Arabic grammarians, it is more often called the Pə‘al פעל (also written Pe‘al), using the form of the [[Semitic root]] פע״ל P-‘-L, meaning "to do". This stem carries the basic lexical meaning of the verb.

By doubling of the second radical, or root letter, the D-stem or פעל Pa‘‘el is formed. This is often an intensive development of the basic lexical meaning. For example, ''qəṭal'' means "he killed", whereas ''qaṭṭel'' means "he slew". The precise relationship in meaning between the two stems differs for every verb.

A [[preformative]], which can be -ה ''ha-'', -א ''a-'', or -ש ''ša-'', creates the C-stem or variously the Hap̄‘el, Ap̄‘el or Šap̄‘el (also spelt הפעל Haph‘el, אפעל Aph‘el, and שפעל Shaph‘el). This is often an extensive or causative development of the basic lexical meaning. For example, טעה ''ṭə‘â'' means "he went astray", whereas אטעי ''aṭ‘î'' means "he deceived". The Šap̄‘el שפעל is the least common variant of the C-stem. Because this variant is standard in Akkadian, it is possible that its use in Aramaic represents loanwords from that language. The difference between the variants הפעל Hap̄‘el and אפעל Ap̄‘el appears to be the gradual dropping of the initial ה ''h'' sound in later Old Aramaic. This is noted by the respelling of the older [[he (letter)|he]] preformative with א [[aleph]].

These three conjugations are supplemented with three further derived stems, produced by the preformative -הת ''hiṯ-'' or -את ''eṯ-''. The loss of the initial ה ''h'' sound occurs similarly to that in the form above. These three derived stems are the Gt-stem, התפעל Hiṯpə‘el or אתפעל Eṯpə‘el (also written Hithpe‘el or Ethpe‘el), the Dt-stem, התפעּל Hiṯpa‘‘al or אתפעּל Eṯpa‘‘al (also written Hithpa‘‘al or Ethpa‘‘al), and the Ct-stem, התהפעל Hiṯhap̄‘al, אתּפעל Ettap̄‘al, השתפעל Hištap̄‘al or אשתפעל Eštap̄‘al (also written Hithhaph‘al, Ettaph‘al, Hishtaph‘al, or Eshtaph‘al). Their meaning is usually [[reflexive verb|reflexive]], but later became [[passive voice|passive]]. However, as with other stems, actual meaning differs from verb to verb.

Not all verbs use all of these conjugations, and, in some, the G-stem is not used. In the chart below (on the root כת״ב K-T-B, meaning "to write"), the first form given is the usual form in Imperial Aramaic, while the second is [[Syriac language|Classical Syriac]].

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Stem
! Perfect active
! Imperfect active
! Perfect passive
! Imperfect passive
|-
! פעל Pə‘al (G-stem)
| כתב kəṯaḇ ↔ kəṯaḇ
| יכתב ↔ נכתב yiḵtuḇ ↔ neḵtoḇ
| כתיב kəṯîḇ
|
|-
! התפעל\אתפעל Hiṯpə‘ēl/Eṯpə‘el (Gt-stem)
| התכתב ↔ אתכתב hiṯkəṯēḇ ↔ eṯkəṯeḇ
| יתכתב ↔ נתכתב yiṯkəṯēḇ ↔ neṯkəṯeḇ
|
|
|-
! פעּל Pa‘‘ēl/Pa‘‘el (D-stem)
| כתּב kattēḇ ↔ katteḇ
| יכתּב ↔ נכתּב yəḵattēḇ ↔ nəkatteḇ
| כֻתּב kuttaḇ
|
|-
! התפעל\אתפעל Hiṯpa‘‘al/Eṯpa‘‘al (Dt-stem)
| התכתּב ↔ אתכתּב hiṯkəttēḇ ↔ eṯkətteḇ
| יתכתּב ↔ נתכתּב yiṯkəttēḇ ↔ neṯkətteḇ
|
|
|-
! הפעל\אפעל Hap̄‘ēl/Ap̄‘el (C-stem)
| הכתב ↔ אכתב haḵtēḇ ↔ aḵteḇ
| יהכתב↔  נכתב yəhaḵtēḇ ↔ naḵteḇ
| הֻכתב huḵtaḇ
|
|-
! התהפעל\אתּפעל Hiṯhap̄‘al/Ettap̄‘al (Ct-stem)
| התהכתב ↔ אתּכתב hiṯhaḵtaḇ ↔ ettaḵtaḇ
| יתהכתב ↔ נתּכתב yiṯhaḵtaḇ ↔ nettaḵtaḇ
|
|
|}

In Imperial Aramaic, the [[participle]] began to be used for a [[historical present]]. Perhaps under influence from other languages, Middle Aramaic developed a system of composite tenses (combinations of forms of the verb with pronouns or an [[auxiliary verb]]), allowing for narrative that is more vivid. Aramaic [[syntax]] usually follows the order verb–subject–object (VSO).  Imperial (Persian) Aramaic, however, tended to follow a S-O-V pattern (similar to Akkadian), which was the result of Persian syntactic influence.