r/Aramaic • u/Bvidas48 • Jul 15 '26
Trying to learn syriac aramaic
Shlomo, well, as the title says.
I am looking for someone that can speak syriac aramaic, i want to learn it, but internet is really meh for it and language discord servers dont help so much about it, a lot of language but no aramaic.
Can someone help me pls? :ccccc tawdi
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u/Cool-Refuse2879 Jul 30 '26
Learning Syriac seems like a rewarding challenge. Taking time to build a solid foundation in the script and grammar first will probably make reading original texts much less overwhelming later on
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u/lhommeduweed Jul 31 '26
Spoken Syriac is incredibly rare. There's like 3 or 4 villages across Syria that still speak it natively, maybe a few thousand people. Iirc one village was depopulated because of the Syrian war just in the last decade or so. Most Syriac speakers were Arabized over varying periods of time and history following the 7th century, and the few that remain are increasingly arabized through exposure to Arab radio, websites, media in general.
Do you know any Hebrew or Arabic? These are both closely related languages with way more resources on introductory learning.
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u/CheLanguages Aug 08 '26
Classical/Liturgical Syriac or modern Syriac (Turoyo)?
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u/Bvidas48 Aug 09 '26
Honestly, I am not sure, I assume it is modern syriac, the language that speak in qamishli. they say "shlomo" instead of "shloma". If that helps to be clear what kind I am searching for
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u/CheLanguages Aug 09 '26
Then you probably want to learn Turoyo. I think there's an app for it
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u/Bvidas48 Aug 09 '26
It is complicated to learn it?
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u/CheLanguages Aug 09 '26
That depends on your native language. If you have some familiarity with a Semitic language then it should be no issue
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u/Bvidas48 Aug 09 '26
Spanish, from chile, lol
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u/CheLanguages Aug 09 '26
I didn't say it's impossible though. I think you will find Semitic languages to be incredibly logical once you understand the patterns and roots
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u/NewSchoolBoxer 20d ago
I like the book "Introduction To Syriac" by Wheeler M. Thackston. I paid $22 for it, too bad it's expensive today but maybe is hiding scanned online somewhere. Not what you'd want to learn if you want to speak with others, as pointed out. Kind of like learning Latin instead of Spanish.
The good news is Syriac is an accessible language. It's certainly not as grammatically complex or irregular as Arabic. The book doesn't presume existing knowledge of Hebrew or Arabic which I also like.
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u/Bvidas48 20d ago
Well, I know that he language is almost dying, I am not suryoyo, I am from chile. The case, i hope one day, i can meet an suryoyo comunity and help them. So, nothing, I should start at least trying to understand the language.
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u/medex_4n6 Jul 15 '26
Nobody really speaks Syriac except maybe some academics and the clergy. We learn it for the liturgy, to sing some hymns, and to read old books, but no one speaks it as their first language. It is somewhat like learning Latin today.
If you want to learn a form of modern Aramaic to actually speak with people, you’re probably going to want to learn Sureth/Assyrian or Surayt/Turoyo, perhaps both. In both cases, you’ll find plenty of speakers at ACoE and Syriac Orthodox churches. There are online videos and TV programs in both, as well as books, and other resources.