*Dialects of Aramaic Question*

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xnicksomox

Member
ok so i was reading a book that teaches people who don't understand Aramaic, how to speak both East and West.

One of the lessons was a simple sentance such as: I am writing --  Ktawa win (East), Ko kothawno (West)

In the Chaldean dialect we *CAN* say Kthawa win (with a -th- sound unlike the normal East Aramaic), but we usually say eewin b'kthawa.

My question is do people who speak East Aramaic usually say ktawa win or eewin b'ktawa?
 
Zawoyo said:
Isn?t the using of the b in this case wrong? I think it?s wrong because as far as I know the b/bt in front of a verb signalizes futur tense.
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Both ways works fine with my dialect.
 
Assyrian_Man said:
Hehe, no. B'khatwen is future tense :)
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Really? Ah comeon, I don´t belive that :) I am sure that the b/bt in front of an verb signalizes futur tense in all eastern dialects.
 
For the record, people who are from the Syriac Orthodox Church do NOT speak Western Aramaic, they speak Eastern Aramaic just like those of the Assyrian/Chaldean side, what you're referring to is Western and Eastern Syriac which is an Eastern Aramaic language that developed in North Mesopotamia.

The other thing is you have to separate proper language from slang, many villages and regions have local dialects that are slang, most of these dialects did not come from Syriac (Syriac was only the language of Urhay), through the adoption of Christianity however Syriac became the official proper language of our people and to this date, we consider it our classical language just like how the Arabs consider the Quranic Arabic as their classical language, but in reality what we speak today is just simply Northeastern Aramaic dialects that developed in ancient Assyria when the language was adopted.
 
1000px-Syriac_Dialects_EN.svg.png
 
Yeah, like the fact that Western Syriac is also spoken in Lebanon, and the Western Aramaic Spot should be moved into Syria over the village of Malula
 
Ok well I meant how do people who speak East Syriac say it. I realize there is slang but I'm pretty sure even my priest and bishop use both versions. I think that Kthawawin and eewin b'kthawa are pretty much the same.
 
Tambur said:
There are plenty of errors on that map, don't take it too seriously.
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how about you tell me the errors rather then just saying?
because I could fixing it at the moment......
 
I say B'ktawen or eewen ktawa. They're both present tenses (I believe).

That's a good map up there, Mrzurnaci. I saved it. Btw, you forgot to include the Jewish Aramaic dialects. They sound more intelligible to the eastern ones than the other western dialects (including Turoyo).
 
Neon said:
I say B'ktawen or eewen ktawa. They're both present tenses (I believe).

That's a good map up there, Mrzurnaci. I saved it. Btw, you forgot to include the Jewish Aramaic dialects. They sound more intelligible to the eastern ones than the other western dialects (including Turoyo).
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It's all the same thing for East Assyrian speakers.

b- = [prefix] -ing [this prefix is not necessary but reduces ambiguity]
ktwava = [verb] writing
bi'ktaava = writing [more formal]
eewin/eewen/eewan/dun/haun = I'm
ktaw'en = I'm'writing

note that "eewen" is often used to mark a question, especially when it appears at the beginning of a sentence. Therefore, "eewen" often means "am I?
so: eewen ktaava = am I writing?
eewen bi'ktaaava = am I writing? [formal]

examples:
ktaava eewen= writing, I'm = I'm writing
bi'ktava eewen= writing, I'm = I'm writing [formal]
eewen ktaava = Am I writing?
eewen bi'ktaava = Am I writing? [formal]
dun bi'ktaava = I'm writing [formal]
ktaav'ewen = I'm'writing = I'm writing
ktaav''en= I''writing = I'm writing
 
Sharukinu said:
It's all the same thing for East Assyrian speakers.

b- = [prefix] -ing [this prefix is not necessary but reduces ambiguity]
ktwava = [verb] writing
bi'ktaava = writing [more formal]
eewin/eewen/eewan/dun/haun = I'm
ktaw'en = I'm'writing

note that "eewen" is often used to mark a question, especially when it appears at the beginning of a sentence. Therefore, "eewen" often means "am I?
so: eewen ktaava = am I writing?
eewen bi'ktaaava = am I writing? [formal]

examples:
ktaava eewen= writing, I'm = I'm writing
bi'ktava eewen= writing, I'm = I'm writing [formal]
eewen ktaava = Am I writing?
eewen bi'ktaava = Am I writing? [formal]
dun bi'ktaava = I'm writing [formal]
ktaav'ewen = I'm'writing = I'm writing
ktaav''en= I''writing = I'm writing
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Oh, thanks. I knew that there had to be some sort of a grammatical difference between "eewin" and "bik-".

Which is the correct consonant for Ktawa though, V or W? You used both. Or is it just a dialect thing (Iranian Assyrians use the V for instance)?
 
Neon said:
Oh, thanks. I knew that there had to be some sort of a grammatical difference between "eewin" and "bik-".

Which is the correct consonant for Ktawa though, V or W? You used both. Or is it just a dialect thing (Iranian Assyrians use the V for instance)?
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It should be a V since it's spelt with our equivalent of the letter B with a dot beneath it (which was used to represent the V sound).

So basically, we had many B's that became V's and over time they became W's.
Sleeva -> sleewa (cross)
Ktaava -> ktaawa (book)
gnuv -> gnuw (steal)
'tuv -> 'tuw (sit)



I would personally always use the "eew-" stem to mark questions whenever it appears in it's non contracted forms.
So this is how I would apply these words to differentiate questions from statements:
Ktaava eewen = writing, am I? = Am I writing?
Eewen Ktaava = am I writing?
Ktaav'ewen = I am writing
Ktaav''en = I am writing
Dun ktaava = I am writing
Haun ktaava = I am writing
 
Sharukinu said:
It should be a V since it's spelt with our equivalent of the letter B with a dot beneath it (which was used to represent the V sound).

So basically, we had many B's that became V's and over time they became W's.
Sleeva -> sleewa (cross)
Ktaava -> ktaawa (book)
gnuv -> gnuw (steal)
'tuv -> 'tuw (sit)



I would personally always use the "eew-" stem to mark questions whenever it appears in it's non contracted forms.
So this is how I would apply these words to differentiate questions from statements:
Ktaava eewen = writing, am I? = Am I writing?
Eewen Ktaava = am I writing?
Ktaav'ewen = I am writing
Ktaav''en = I am writing
Dun ktaava = I am writing
Haun ktaava = I am writing
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personally, I think we should revive the Veth thing even though it disappeared very fast but still.

Every letter should be its own sound, at least for the sake of consistency.

Semitic languages already have some form of consistency using the same prefixes as verbs, and using a set amount of consonants as roots for various meanings.

I think we should apply the consistency with the letters and their sounds as well.
 
^I agree about reviving the Veth.

Strength of the language comes first, tradition/authenticity comes immediately afterwards. Based on that, I would not be so rigid about how we use our language. For example, I think we should make extensive use of affixes and, perhaps even complex grammatical cases.
 
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