Preserving The Language Of Jesus

A Tiny Syrian Village Is Working To Keep Aramaic Alive

(CBS)  For thousands of years, a tiny Syrian village has kept a well-guarded treasure: the language of Jesus. Tucked away in the Qalamoun Mountains, just north of Damascus, Syria, is Malula - one of the last places on earth where Aramaic is still spoken.

Aramaic was a thriving language during the time of Jesus and his disciples. Many of the gospels were written in the Semitic language, along with sections of the Talmud and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

People who come to Malula take in a piece of history and hear in its purest tones the 3,000-year-old language closely related to Hebrew. For the religious here, keeping Aramaic alive is nothing less than a calling.

"Of course we are interested to maintain this language, because at the end, this is the language of Jesus Christ," says Father Toufic Eid of St. Sergius Church.

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The locals and the Syrian government are taking conservation of this national treasure very seriously. They have opened a special school where students from 5 to 50 brush up on their Aramaic, and, for the first time in their history, learn to write this traditionally oral language.

It's a sense of pride for the village children.

"They want to know their grandfathers' language, and speaking it and writing," says student Yousef Sanjar.

For centuries Malula's geographic isolation protected it from invasion, warding off the influx of Arabic and other languages.

For a time, Aramaic was the global language of trade, commerce and communication reaching as far east as China. Then the advent of modern technology began to chip away at Aramaic's existence.

But somehow, the 5,000 residents continue to tell their stories in their special language. It’s a never-ending union between Malulans and Aramaic - a marriage sure to preserve the language of Jesus.

[matter77]

Fascinating! I had no idea ANYONE spoke ancient Aramaic.

[thethadman]

But that''s the thing: NO ONE does.

The dialect of Ma`loula is completely different from the Old Judean dialect that Jesus would have spoken.

To put this in perspective, "The Aramaic Language" is a bit of a misnomer. Aramaic in and of itself is not a single tongue, but a large group of very closely related languages. Where many of the "dialects" of Aramaic can exchange words with little difficulty (as British English is to American English), some are further removed (as Spanish is to Portuguese) and many are even mutually incomprehensible to an untrained ear (as English is to German).

Although I personally believe that it is awesome that Ma`loula has preserved its language (it''s a true rare find!), I find articles like this that claim that modern dialects of Syriac are "-the- language of Jesus" very misleading.

Peace,
--
Steve Caruso
Translator and Artisan
http://www.AramaicDesigns.com
http://aramaicdesigns.blogspot.com

[DaveGress]

How wonderous that some people have no life other than to preserve a dead and useless language. jesus christ has no relavence in the modern world, why does anyone care what he said?

[rushlimpdrug]

oakishpines - could you post in aramaic so we can all understand?

[jowand]

'''' ... so if parents rape and kill more kids and soldiers rape and kill more kids per capita and pedophiles register, so kids tend to run away from home and into the arms of pedophiles? ... ''''

Posted by oakishpines at 05:13 AM : Sep 07, 2007

Are you and seven-pesos twin you sound so much alike?

[DaveGress]

Hey crazyivan32 - at lest what I have to say wont cause the death or millions like the words of JC has.

And I''m beyond atheist, I''m non-theist. My disbelieve isn''t restricted to the christian world.

[shortyinmo]

newster1- what a sad person you must be. If you don''t believe in Jesus then fine don''t believe but you are the type of person that thinks no one else should either.

And as far as this being something "right wing" only a gradeschooler would make such a childish remark about a language. History is history and should be perserved, just like the native american languages, that is if you don''t mind

[jairod]

oakishpine: You need professional help to deal with the range of emotions that you, yourself, can''t control or express in any cogent manner. It is obvious that you suffered emotinal trauma and that you have not resolved those issues.

[DaveGress]

Spectrum108 - thanks for the post. Very interesting.

[jairod]

spatum108: there are secular records.
degress: because people are looking for a better way than what is now being practiced.
The wise search for a better way, and all the rest settle for the misery they find.

[luvcomments]

degress12 - "How wonderous that some people have no life other than to preserve a dead and useless language. jesus christ has no relavence in the modern world, why does anyone care what he said?"

Well, degress12, at least we know you are intellectually dishonest (among other things)i.e. if this whole topic is so boring to you, why did you even read the article in the first place? And I don''t find it "wondrous" at all if people wish to include in their lives the preservation of a language; it''s their business. And exactly what is your fantastic life''s work and contribution that you''ll be able to look back upon?

You are right, though - Jesus Christ has no relevance in the "modern" world - any more than He did in the "ancient" world - for those who will not hear Him. For the rest of us He has relevance far more than any other word, especially the drivel spewed out by hatred-filled idiots we not only pity but also are relieved we do not know.