Did you know Western Neo-Aramaic is endangered?

ALSO KNOWN AS		Maalula, Maaloula, Siryon, Siryōn, Loghtha Siryanoytha, Loghtha Siryanōytha, Neo-Western Aramaic, Ma'lula, Aramaic, Neo-Aramaic, Western
CLASSIFICATION		Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Aramaic
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		amw
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Jubb-'adin Ma'lula Bakh'a
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

Compare Sources (6)

Information from: “Das Neuwestaramäische” . Werner Arnold (1989) Harrassowitz

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

DATE OF INFO: 1985

DOMAINS OF USE

MORE ON VITALITY

Although Western Neo-Aramaic is largely considered a dying language, it is still extremely active in the three villages the author visited, used within the home and around the village.

SPEAKER ATTITUDE

Arabic has prestige

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Arabic

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

Rural children occasionally don't learn much Arabic at home and then struggle with it in school. Their Neo-Aramaic often gets somewhat Arabic-ized (affixes, noun shape)

PLACES: Maᶜlūla, Baxᶜa, Ǧubbᶜadīn

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Alle drei Orte liegen im Qalamun-Gebirge, etwa 60 km nordlich von Damaskus. Ich mietete in Malula eine Wohnung, da sich von Malula aus die beiden anderen Orte, Baxa und Gubbadin, in jeweils einer Stunde zu Fuss erreichen lassen.

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
15,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"8,000 in Maaloula."

DATE OF INFO: 1996

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: Home, and as literary and religious language. Also use Syrian Arabic.

PLACES: Syria;

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
20,000
Native speakers worldwide

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
15,000
Native speakers worldwide

Semitica Viva		4	1989	Das Neuwestaramäische		Harrassowitz	Wiesbaden		Werner Arnold				1985			School, government	Arabic	Arabic has prestige	Rural children occasionally don't learn much Arabic at home and then struggle with it in school. Their Neo-Aramaic often gets somewhat Arabic-ized (affixes, noun shape)	All	Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	Although Western Neo-Aramaic is largely considered a dying language, it is still extremely active in the three villages the author visited, used within the home and around the village.	13	Alle drei Orte liegen im Qalamun-Gebirge, etwa 60 km nordlich von Damaskus. Ich mietete in Malula eine Wohnung, da sich von Malula aus die beiden anderen Orte, Baxa und Gubbadin, in jeweils einer Stunde zu Fuss erreichen lassen.	Maᶜlūla, Baxᶜa, Ǧubbᶜadīn
	16		2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)	M. Paul Lewis	SIL International	Dallas, TX	http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub	15,000	1996	10000-99999	"8,000 in Maaloula."				Home, and as literary and religious language. Also use Syrian Arabic.		Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				Syria;
			2013	Personal Communication					Charles Häberl	Charles Häberl. 2013. "Personal Communication."																33.5039, 36.3248
	3rd		2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger		UNESCO Publishing	Paris	http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub	20,000		10000-99999							Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					33.8339, 36.5405
				Glottolog				http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/		"Glottolog." Online: http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/.																33.82, 36.48
				World Oral Literature Project				http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.		15,000		10000-99999							Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Western Neo-Aramaic

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

20,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15,000

Discussion

Western Neo-Aramaic

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

20,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15,000

Discussion

Suggest information or improvement

Download language data

Sources of information

Compare Sources