Aramaic

===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.