(Arabic version) A few years ago I was learning Western Neo-Aramaic and Arabic in Maaloula, a small town about 60 km north of Damascus, Syria. My teacher was George Ruskalla, a man widely deemed to be a master of his mother tongue, the Western Neo-Aramaic spoken there.
When he mentioned that not even an Arabic-Aramaic dictionary was available to help keep the language alive, I suggested that maybe he and I could compile at least a solid, functional basis for such a dictionary. We discussed the matter at length and I then approached Gerd Mueller to sound him out about the technical feasibility of such a project. After running a few tests, he reported back and stated that compiling such a vocabulary list was indeed possible and that, yes, he was prepared to handle the technical aspects of the project.
In the winter months of the last three years, I gave George Ruskallah whatever support I could in his search for Aramaic words and expressions that most closely corresponded to the meaning of a given Arabic term. I then transcribed the words using a phonetic transcription, the symbols of which are based on the ISO 233 Standard 1984. SeeTranscription and PronunciationunderLanguage resources.
George repeatedly pointed out that some Aramaic words were being used incorrectly by some Maaloulians and he emphasized that only by insisting on correct usage could the language be kept alive. A purely descriptive glossary would only enshrine wrong usage in many instances, leading to ambiguity and equivocal statements. The grammar textbook of Western Neo-Aramaic written in Arabic by George Ruskallah in Arabic describes in detail a status of the language embodying a broad consensus of what the majority of the fluent native speakers would regard as “correct usage”.
I should also like to thank Ms Maha Elhadj of Maaloula, a native speaker of Aramaic, and Bärbel and Bernd Graap of Hamburg for their great help.
Please send your comments, criticisms and suggestions( in English, French, German or Arabic )to:
Lambert Jungmann