Also Known As:
Assyrian, NENA
Dialects & Varieties
- Alqōš
- Barṭəlle
- Baṭnaya
- Dahuk
- Karmlēš
- Qaraqosh (Baġdede)
- Təll əSqopa
- Təll Kepe
- Haṣṣan
- (Christian) ʿAmidya (Amәdya)
- Ankawa
- ʕAqra
- Aradhin
- (Christian) Arbīl
- Baqofa
- (Christian) Dohuk
- Judi (Bêspin)
- Mangesh
- (Christian) Nerwa
- Pešxabur
- Ṣapna
- Sulemaniyya
- (Christian) Zaxo
The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Qaraqosh
Khan, Geoffrey. 2002. The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Qaraqosh. Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics 36 (Leiden, Boston: Brill).
Threatened
20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
Speaker Number Trends
Speaker Number Trend 2
A majority of community members speak the language. Speaker numbers are gradually decreasing.
2
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
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Second-language speakers and learners
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Semi-speakers or rememberers
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Children:
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Young adults
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Older adults
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Elders
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Ethnic or community population
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Year information was gathered
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Location and Context
Countries
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Location Description
Qaraqosh is a small town that lies on the plain about eighteen miles east of Mosul. Almost all inhabitants are Christian.
In the 20th century a large number of people left the town to settle in the Iraqi cities in order to seek higher education and employment. In recent years, the deteriorating economic and political situation has led many inhabitants of Qaraqosh to emigrate abroad, mainly to North American, England and Australia. This trend increased dramatically after the Gulf War in 1991.
Government Support
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Institutional Support
no
Speakers' Attitude
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Other Languages Used By The Community
Arabic
Number of Other Language Speakers:
None
Domains of Other Languages:
None
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
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Writing system:
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Other writing systems used:
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Comments on writing systems:
There are no written records of the Neo-Aramaic dialect of Qaraqosh from earlier sources.
Recent Resources
Informative message
No results found.
There is a considerable influence of Arabic on the Neo-Aramaic dialect that is heard spoken nowadays. Most people introduce Arabic words and phrases into their Aramaic speech without any adaptation to Aramaic morphology. A policy of arabicization has been pursued among among the minority communities in Iraq in recent decades. Following government requirements, the school education of children over the last generation has been only in Arabic. Although the dialect has clearly been exposed to the influence of Arabic over many generations, this influence has never been so overwhelming as it is at present.