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Languages of the Bible and their speakers

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53 messages over 7 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Luso
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 Message 49 of 53
01 December 2013 at 7:23pm | IP Logged 
BartoG wrote:
Clearly, there's a certain pull to the idea that the actual language of religious figures, as opposed to translations, has a special power. This is carried over in Muslims' devotion to the Koran in the original Arabic, Indians' reference to their script as the Devanagari - translated City of the Gods, according to some - and the idea that Odin gave an eye to be able to read the runes.

(...)

You can believe what you will about the accuracy of the manuscripts, the reality of the faiths and much more, but there's no question that peeking at the Greek of the New Testament, the Arabic of the Koran or the Sanskrit of the Vedas, to name just a few, gives a different perspective on why these text mean so much to those who believe in them.


This is definitely true. Call it "collective unconscious" or whatever you want, but there's something about these languages that sets them apart from all the others. Believer or not, you cannot be oblivious to the fact that at some point in time (even today) those exact words inspired some of the best (and sometimes worst) works and deeds of humankind. That's valid for all religions. And that's as powerful as it gets.

About the languages:

Aramaic: Lingua franca of the region, around Christ's time. Still spoken (according to my Arabic teacher) in Syria. BartoG's colleague is probably Syrian (or of Syrian descent). One of Aramaic's variations, called Syriac, is the liturgical language of several Eastern Christian Churches.

Greek: Cultural language of the region, since Alexander's time. Anyone educated (like, for instance, St. Paul) would master it.

And, since I also mentioned it:
Sanskrit: Spoken in three villages in India as first language (according to my teacher). One of the official languages of the state of Uttarakhand and also one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. Hugely important in the region.

Edited by Luso on 01 December 2013 at 7:33pm

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Iversen
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 Message 50 of 53
02 December 2013 at 10:37am | IP Logged 
I once visited a town named Maalula in Syria where Aramaic still was spoken (I heard it is a church, but we were told that it also was used as a regular language there)- But since then I have read some worrying reports that it has been targeted during the current war there, so heavens know whether this age old time capsule still exists).
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tarvos
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 Message 51 of 53
02 December 2013 at 10:49am | IP Logged 
It is still used as a regular language. I remember there was a Syrian football player who
played in Belgium and the Netherlands (now in Turkey) who speaks Aramaic at home.

ETA: He is also the ambassador for the Arameans in the Netherlands and has written
publicly (in Dutch) on this topic
here

Edited by tarvos on 02 December 2013 at 10:53am

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Teango
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 Message 52 of 53
16 December 2013 at 7:29am | IP Logged 
Neo-Aramaic is still spoken by over half a million people today, although they have largely faced great persecution and been forced to flee to different countries around the world. I worked on a project several years back to help preserve and raise awareness of 136 dialects of North Eastern Neo-Aramaic, and our team recorded and analysed data from communities in Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Georgia, and Armenia, as well as from other far-flung corners of the globe (e.g., we also found emigré families in Germany and the US). It's amazing to think that Aramaic was once the lingua franca of the Middle East!
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Iversen
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 Message 53 of 53
16 December 2013 at 11:00am | IP Logged 
As far as I know the language of modern Assyrians is also seen as an Aramaic language, sometimes under the name of Syriac - and I know that there is a special Syriac Christian church, which has a part of the Grave Church in Jerusalem and its own churches in a number of Syrian towns (I have visited one in Aleppo). But it is somewhat confusing because it isn't made clear how different the languages or dialects collectively referred to as Aramaic are. In Maalula they were quite adamant that they were among the last few true Aramaic speakers.

Edited by Iversen on 16 December 2013 at 11:01am



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