Mlahsö language
Encyclopedia
Mlahsô is a Modern West Syriac language
, a dialect of Aramaic
. It was traditionally spoken in eastern Turkey
and north-eastern Syria
by members of the Assyrian/Syriac people.
Mlahsô is closely related to the Turoyo language
. It was spoken in the villages of Mlahsó and `Ansha near Lice, Diyarbakır
, Turkey
. The name of the village and the language comes from the Syriac word melħo, 'salt'. The literary Syriac name for the language is Mlaħthoyo. The native speakers of Mlahsô referred to their language simply as Suryô, or Syriac.
The last speaker
of Mlahsô, Ibrahim Hanna, died in 1998 in Qamishli
. It was reported in 1999 that his daughter knew the language well, but was nearly deaf and had no one to converse with in the language.
Mlahsô is more conservative
than Turoyo in grammar and vocabulary, using classical Syriac words and constructions. However, it is phonologically less conservative than Turoyo. This is particularly noticeable in the use of s for classical θ and y (IPA
/j/) for ġ. Mlahsô renders the combination of vowel plus y as a single, fronted vowel rather than a diphthong
or a glide.
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
, a dialect of Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
. It was traditionally spoken in eastern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and north-eastern Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
by members of the Assyrian/Syriac people.
Mlahsô is closely related to the Turoyo language
Turoyo language
Turoyo/Surayt is a variety of Aramaic traditionally spoken in eastern Turkey and north-eastern Syria by the Assyrian/Syriac people. Turoyo is to a lesser extent mutually intelligible with Assyrian Neo-Aramaic and Chaldean Neo-Aramaic.-Etymology:...
. It was spoken in the villages of Mlahsó and `Ansha near Lice, Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The name of the village and the language comes from the Syriac word melħo, 'salt'. The literary Syriac name for the language is Mlaħthoyo. The native speakers of Mlahsô referred to their language simply as Suryô, or Syriac.
The last speaker
Last speaker of language
Any language is determined to be an extinct language when the last native or fluent speaker of that language dies.There are some 500 languages out of a total of 6000 being classified as nearly extinct because "only a few elderly speakers are still living"....
of Mlahsô, Ibrahim Hanna, died in 1998 in Qamishli
Qamishli
Qamishli is a city in north eastern Syria on the border with Turkey, adjoining the Turkish city of Nusaybin, and close to Iraq. It is part of the Al-Hasakah Governorate, and is the administrative capital of the Al Qamishli District within the governorate....
. It was reported in 1999 that his daughter knew the language well, but was nearly deaf and had no one to converse with in the language.
Mlahsô is more conservative
Conservative (language)
In linguistics, a conservative form, variety, or modality is one that has changed relatively little over its history, or which is relatively resistant to change...
than Turoyo in grammar and vocabulary, using classical Syriac words and constructions. However, it is phonologically less conservative than Turoyo. This is particularly noticeable in the use of s for classical θ and y (IPA
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
/j/) for ġ. Mlahsô renders the combination of vowel plus y as a single, fronted vowel rather than a diphthong
Diphthong
A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...
or a glide.