First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics

• Aramaic, therefore, has a consistent and recognisable history spanning at least 4000 years. Aramaic was spoken across a massive area of the Middle East, stretching as far as India and into Mongolia under the early Christian missionaries who went East. Clearly, no language can remain unchanged throughout that vast period of time and distance. It was inevitable that differences would emerge. Biblical Aramaic, for example, is slightly different to the Aramaic of the Jewish Targums.
• Out of all the dialects of Aramaic, the most important is undoubtedly Syriac. On the one hand, Syriac is “just” one of the many dialects of Aramaic. But on the other hand, Syriac is one of the most important dialects - perhaps the most important dialect.