Also Known As:
Lishanid Noshan, Neo-Aramaic (Arbel Jewish), Lishana Didán, Hulani, Kurdit, Galigalu, Jbeli
Dialects & Varieties
- Arbīl (aka Arbel
- Arwīl)
- Dobe
- Ḥalabja
- Koy Sanjaq
- Sardasht
- Sulemaniyya
A Grammar of Neo-Aramaic: the dialect of the Jews of Arbel
Khan, Geoffrey. 1999. "A Grammar of Neo-Aramaic: the Dialect of the Jews of Arbel." 47: Brill.
Severely Endangered
80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
Speaker Number Trends
Speaker Number Trend 5
A small percentage of the community speaks the language, and speaker numbers are decreasing very rapidly.
5
Transmission
Transmission 4
Many of the grandparent generation speak the language, but younger people generally do not.
4
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
No results found.
Second-language speakers and learners
No results found.
Semi-speakers or rememberers
No results found.
Children:
No results found.
Young adults
No results found.
Older adults
No results found.
Elders
No results found.
Ethnic or community population
No results found.
Year information was gathered
No results found.
Comments on speakers
The contacts between the Arabic-speaking Jews and those whose vernacular was Aramaic resulted in a high degree of bilingualism. Many of the Arabic-speaking Jews of Arbel had Aramaic-speaking family relations in both the town and in the surrounding villages. They also had close professional contacts with the Aramaic-speaking Jews. On account of this, the Jews in Arbel whose first language was Arabic often spoke the local Aramaic dialect fluently. The Jews of Arbel and the surrounding area generally also spoke Kurdish.
Location and Context
Countries
Israel;
Location Description
Spoken in the Mesopotamian region for over 2,000 years...spoken by Jewish communities in various areas of Kurdistan. All of these communities have now left Kurdistan and settled, for the most part, in Israel.
Government Support
No results found.
Institutional Support
No results found.
Speakers' Attitude
No results found.
Other Languages Used By The Community
Modern Hebrew; Arabic; Kurdish
Number of Other Language Speakers:
Most
Domains of Other Languages:
None
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
No results found.
Writing system:
None
Other writing systems used:
No results text.
Comments on writing systems:
No results found.
Recent Resources
linguistic history, linguistic evolution, history of subordination (syntax), masculine plural suffix
grammar and phonological evolution of Arbel dialect.
Two elderly Kurdistan Iranian Jews conversing in Inter-Zab Jewish Neo-Aramaic.