Holger Gzella
580 California St., Suite 400
San Francisco, CA, 94104
The Syriac Language in the Context of the Semitic Languages
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315708195-14
Sign up for access to the world's latest research
Abstract
AI
AI
This research investigates the Syriac language within the broader context of the Semitic languages, tracing its historical evolution from its roots in Aramaic through its development as a distinct literary language used by early Christian communities. It examines the interplay between regional dialects and standardized forms during significant historical periods and explores how external influences shaped the language's trajectory. The findings highlight the complexity of Aramaic's continuing relevance in contemporary linguistic study and its role in cultural identity across various communities.
Key takeawaysAI
AI
- Syriac is a standardized form of Eastern Aramaic from Edessa, emerging as a literary language in the second century CE.
- Aramaic's historical significance spans 3,000 years, evolving through various political and cultural contexts in the Near East.
- The Achaemenid Official Aramaic introduced a bureaucratic standard that influenced later regional Aramaic dialects.
- Syriac literature flourished post-Christianity, incorporating Hellenistic, Jewish, and Gnostic influences into its evolving lexicon.
- Diverse Aramaic dialects persist today, reflecting the language's resilience amid sociopolitical changes and migration patterns.
Figures (1)
References (33)
- Beyer, K. 1966. Der reichsaramäische Einschlag in der ältesten syrischen Literatur. ZDMG 116, 242-54.
- Brock, S. P. 2003. Some Diachronic Features of Classical Syriac. In: M. F. J. Baasten and W. Th.
- van Peursen, ed., Hamlet on a Hill: Semitic and Greek Studies Presented to Professor T. Muraoka on the Occasion of his Sixty-Fifth Birthday. OLA 118. Louvain: Peeters, 95-111.
- ---. 2008. Poetry and Hymnography (3): Syriac. In: S. A. Harvey and D. Hunter, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 657-71.
- Butts, A. M. 2016. Language Change in the Wake of Empire: Syriac in Its Greco-Roman Con- text. Linguistic Studies in Ancient West Semitic 11. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.
- Ciancaglini, C. 2008. Iranian Loanwords in Syriac. Wiesbaden: Reichert.
- Denz, A. 1962. Strukturanalyse der pronominalen Objektsuffixe im Altsyrischen und klas- sischen Arabisch. Ph.D. diss., Munich.
- Drijvers, H. J. W., and J. F. Healey. 1999. The Old Syriac Inscriptions of Edessa & Osrhoene: Texts, Translations & Commentary. Handbuch der Orientalistik I/42. Leiden: Brill.
- Fiey, J.-M. 1965. "Assyriens" ou "Araméens"? OS 10, 141-60.
- Gzella, H. 2006. Das Aramäische in den römischen Ostprovinzen: Sprachsituationen in Ara- bien, Syrien und Mesopotamien zur Kaiserzeit. Bibliotheca Orientalis 63, 15-39.
- ---. 2011. Northwest Semitic in General. In: S. Weninger, ed., The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook. Handbücher zur Sprach-und Kommunikationswissenschaft 36. Berlin and Boston: Mouton De Gruyter, 425-51.
- ---. 2015a. A Cultural History of Aramaic: From the Beginnings to the Advent of Islam. Handbuch der Orientalistik I/111. Leiden: Brill.
- ---. 2015b. Review of Merz, A. and Tieleman, T., ed., The Letter of Mara bar Sarapion in Context. Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 110, 1-5.
- ---. 2016a. Review of Butts 2016. Bibliotheca Orientalis 73, 759-73.
- ---. ed. 2016b. Aramäisches Wörterbuch. Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Alten Testament, vol. IX. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. English tr: Aramaic Dictionary. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. XVI. Grand Rapids, MI 2018: Eerdmans.
- ---. 2017. Von der Kanzlei-zur Kultursprache: Die Anfänge der aramäischen Weltliteratur. Theologische Quartalschrift 197, 107-32.
- Gzella, H., and M. L. Folmer, ed. 2008. Aramaic in its Historical and Linguistic Setting. Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission 50. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
- Healey, J. F. 2000. The Early History of the Syriac Script: A Reassessment. JSS 45, 55-67.
- ---. 2005. New Evidence for the Aramaic Legal Tradition: From Elephantine to Edessa. In: P. S. Alexander et al., ed., Studia Semitica. The Journal of Semitic Studies Jubilee Volume. Journal of Semitic Studies Supplement 16. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 115-27.
- ---. 2007. The Edessan Milieu and the Birth of Syriac. Hugoye 10.2, 115-27.
- ---. 2008. Variety in Early Syriac: The Context of Contemporary Aramaic. In: Gzella and Folmer 2008, 221-9.
- ---. 2009. Aramaic Inscriptions & Documents of the Roman Period: Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, Volume IV. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Forthcoming. Aramaic, Jewish and Syriac koinaí. In: K. Vlassopoulos, ed., A Compan- ion to Early Globalisation. Routledge.
- Kiraz, G. A. 2007. Kthobonoyo Syriac: Some Observations and Remarks. Hugoye 10.2, 129-42.
- Moriggi, M. 2012. Middle Aramaic: Outlines for a Definition. In: L. Bettini and P. La Spisa, ed., Au-delà de l'arabe standard: Moyen arabe et arabe mixte dans les sources médievales, modernes et contemporaines. Atti del III Convegno AIMA/Proceedings of the 3rd AIMA Symposium. Quaderni di Semitistica 28. Florence: Università di Firenze, 279-89.
- ---. 2014. A Corpus of Syriac Incantation Bowls: Syriac Magical Texts From Late-Antique Mesopotamia. Magical and Religious Literature of Late Antiquity 3. Leiden: Brill.
- Morrison, C. E. 2008. The Function of qṭal hwā in the Acts of Judas Thomas. In: Gzella and Folmer 2008, 257-85.
- Murre-van den Berg, H. L. 2008. Classical Syriac, Neo-Aramaic, and Arabic in the Church of the East and the Chaldean Church between 1500 and 1800. In: Gzella and Folmer 2008, 335-51.
- Nöldeke, Th. 1871. Die Namen der aramäischen Nation und Sprache. ZDMG 25, 113-38.
- Peursen, W. Th. van. 2008. Language Variation, Language Development, and the Textual His- tory of the Peshitta. In: Gzella and Folmer, 231-56.
- Sokoloff, M. 2009. A Syriac Lexicon: A Translation from the Latin, Correction, Expansion, and Update of C. Brockelmann's Lexicon Syriacum. Winona Lake, IN and Piscataway, NJ: Eisenbrauns and Gorgias Press.
- Talay, S. 2009. Spuren des Neuaramäischen in syrischen Inschriften aus dem Tur Abdin und Umgebung. In: W. Arnold et al., ed., Philologisches und Historisches zwischen Anatolien und Sokotra: Analecta Semitica in Memoriam Alexandri. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 378-86.
- Van Rompay, L. 1994. Some Preliminary Remarks on the Origins of Classical Syriac as a Stan- dard Language: The Syriac Version of Eusebius of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History. In: G. Goldenberg and S. Raz, ed., Semitic and Cushitic Studies. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 70-89.
FAQs
AI
What explains the historical dominance of Aramaic in the Fertile Crescent?
The study reveals that Aramaic was a dominant spoken language due to its rapid spread as a means of communication under empires like the Assyrians and Persians, facilitating bureaucratic use and cultural prestige.
How did Old Syriac emerge from the Edessan vernacular?
Research indicates that Old Syriac evolved from the Eastern Aramaic dialect of Edessa around the late second century BCE, leading to its codification following the Abgarid dynasty's consolidation of power.
What impact did Greek have on the evolution of Syriac?
The paper demonstrates that Greek influenced Syriac by introducing ecclesiastical and philosophical lexicon, notably altering syntactic patterns, particularly between the fifth and seventh centuries CE.
When did Classical Syriac become a unified literary language?
By the mid-fourth century CE, Classical Syriac emerged as a deregionalised literary idiom serving various Christian communities, enabled by the decline of competing Aramaic dialects.
Why was Achaemenid Official Aramaic significant for later Syriac development?
The findings indicate that Achaemenid Official Aramaic provided a standardized model for administrative writing, which subsequently shaped the written forms of regional Aramaic languages, including Syriac.