Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of Betanure explained

Betanure Jewish Neo-Aramaic
Nativename:lišānā deni / lišā́n huðāye / huðəθ~huðəθkí / amrāni~amrāní
Region:Betanure
Speakers:at most 3 dozen
Date:2008
Familycolor:Afro-Asiatic
Fam2:Semitic
Fam3:Central Semitic
Fam4:Aramaic
Fam5:Eastern Aramaic
Fam6:Northeastern Neo-Aramaic
Isoexception:dialect
Glotto:beta1257
Glottorefname:Bétanure Jewish Neo-Aramaic

Betanure Jewish Neo-Aramaic, the local language variety of Betanure in Iraqi Kurdistan, is among the rarest and most seriously endangered varieties of Aramaic spoken at the present time. It is also one of the most conservative of both Jewish Neo-Aramaic languages and the Northeastern Neo-Aramaic languages in particular.

History

In the 1940s, Betanure Jewish Neo-Aramaic was spoken by seventeen large families in the Jewish village of Betanure. The community migrated in its entirety to Israel in 1951. Ever since the dialect has been facing erosion from Israeli Hebrew and from other Neo-Aramaic varieties spoken in Israel.

Phonology

Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
Plosive/Affricatep (ṗ) b (ḅ) t ṭ d (ḍ) č č̣ j k g q ʼ
Fricativef (v) θ ð (ð̣) s ṣ z (ẓ) š ṣ̌ ž (ẓ̌) x ɣ ḥ ʻ h
Nasalm ṃ n
Liquidw n l ḷ r ṛ y

See also

Bibliography