Aramaicspeaking

Aramaicspeaking refers to communities in which Aramaic languages are or have been a native, liturgical, or culturally significant means of communication. The term covers a family of related languages and varieties, including Western Aramaic dialects in the Levant and Central and Eastern Neo-Aramaic languages such as Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, Suret, and Turoyo. In many contexts, Aramaic speakers maintain multilingual repertoires, using surrounding languages in daily life while preserving Aramaic in home, church, and community settings.

Aramaic is part of the Northwest Semitic branch of Afroasiatic and developed from ancient Aramaic. It became a widespread lingua franca in the Near East during the first millennium BCE and has continued in liturgical, literary, and community use. Modern Neo-Aramaic languages descend from late antique varieties and show regional diversification.

Dialects and geography: Western Aramaic survives in a few villages in Syria and Lebanon. Central and Eastern Neo-Aramaic varieties are spoken by Assyrian and Chaldean communities in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and in diaspora communities worldwide. Estimates of speakers range from several hundred thousand to about a million, with many communities facing language endangerment or shift to dominant languages.

Writing systems and status: Aramaic scripts include Imperial Aramaic and the Syriac script family; many Neo-Aramaic varieties use Syriac scripts, while diaspora communities sometimes adopt Latin or Arabic scripts. Today, Aramaic-speaking communities maintain religious and cultural traditions through liturgy, education, and media, even as sociolinguistic pressures can affect language transmission.