Western Neo-Aramaic

A language of Syria

ISO 639: amw
Alternate Names: Loghtha Siryanooytha, Maaloula, Maalula, Neo-Western Aramaic, Siryoon
Population: 17,400 (2019).
Location:: Rif Dimashq governorate: Al-Qutayfah district, Bakh’a, Jubb ’Adin, and Ma’lula villages; Qalamoun mountains, 50 km north of Damascus.
Language Status: 7 (Shifting).
Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Western
Dialects: Maaloula (Ma’lu:la, Ma’lula, Maalula), Bakh’a (Bax’a), Jub-’adin (Jubb ’Adi:n). Little dialect variation.
Language Use: Home, and as literary and religious language. Shifting to North Levantine Spoken Arabic [apc].
Language Development: Grammar. Texts. NT: 2017.
Language Resources: OLAC resources in and about Western Neo-Aramaic
Writing: Arabic script, Naskh variant [Arab]. Syriac script, Western variant [Syrj].
Other Comments: Christian.

Location: Rif Dimashq governorate: Al-Qutayfah district, Bakh’a, Jubb ’Adin, and Ma’lula villages; Qalamoun mountains, 50 km north of Damascus.