Kinsey 382 (NELC Library)
UCLA
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Aramaic was once the official language of the ancient Asyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires, and the literary language of important Christian and Jewish books (such as the Aramaic/Syriac Bible translations, the Talmudic literature, devotional hymns, etc.). After the Islamic conquests in the 7th century and on, Aramaic was gradually superseded by Arabic, especially in the urban centers, surviving only in the inaccessible mountainous areas, and in some Church rituals until our times. However, even these vestiges have recently been greatly weakened, and most are on the verge of extinction due to political, economical, and social pressures and trends. The Aramaic speaking Jews emigrated to Israel about 50 years ago, and the Christians have been emigrating to USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and South America.
Cost : Open to the Public
Yona Sabar
310-206-1389
www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/nelc/nelc.html
sabar@humnet.ucla.edu Sponsor(s): Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures