Mandaic

Mandaic, also called Mandā’ic, is a variety of Eastern Aramaic used by the Mandaean religious community. It exists in two main forms: Classical (Old) Mandaic, the language of the Mandaean sacred literature, and Neo-Mandaic, the modern vernacular spoken by Mandaeans in daily life and in diaspora communities. Classical Mandaic is preserved in foundational texts such as the Ginza Rabba and other liturgical works dating to late antiquity, while Neo-Mandaic has developed since the medieval period and continues to evolve.

Historically, Mandaeans originated in the lower Mesopotamian region (present-day southern Iraq and southwestern Iran). The language is written in the Mandaic script, a distinctive variant of the Aramaic script, used for both sacred and secular writing in older texts and still employed by some communities today.

As a branch of Eastern Aramaic, Mandaic is closely related to other Aramaic languages but forms its own unique lineage within that group. Classical Mandaic features a conservative liturgical vocabulary and grammar, whereas Neo-Mandaic shows phonological and lexical changes influenced by surrounding languages such as Arabic and Persian.

Today, Mandaic is considered endangered. Neo-Mandaic remains the everyday language of a shrinking Mandaean population, with speakers primarily in Iraq, Iran, and the diaspora in Europe, North America, and Australia. Most younger members are bilingual, often speaking Arabic, Persian, or the local dominant language alongside Mandaic, and language transmission faces ongoing challenges due to displacement and social change.