This interesting and well-researched monograph is published in the Brill series Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics. It specifically deals with one tiny part of the vast academic tapestry depicting a virgin field of linguistic research. The focus is on the Christian Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Diyana-Zariwaw (CDZ), one dialect of a plethora of Christian Neo-Aramaic dialects spoken along the Mesopotamian corridors and deep into the mountainous region to the eastern bank of the biblical Tigris river.
The weighty book is based on the author's doctoral thesis, submitted to the University of Cambridge in 2013. It is a welcome addition to the Christian Neo-Aramaic linguistic library, especially since it provides the opportunity to expand on the data and fieldwork presented in the thesis by the inclusion of more essential research data such as the Glossary and Texts, which can be consulted for further research. Had such important data not been included in this book, it would have been lost to research for ever.
The book is divided into five parts: part 1 deals with phonology, part 2 morphology, part 3 syntax, part 4 text corpus, and part 5 is a glossary. The author begins with a description of the Neo-Aramaic dialects and their speakers, stepping into the dialect and community of CDZ, which is based on fewer than twenty households whose language is highly endangered (as are all other Neo-Aramaic languages). The majority of the speakers were born and live in the hamlet of Diyana, located to the north of Rawanduz in northern Iraq. Their ancestors come from villages north or west of Diyana, which are now deserted, and the language is passed on to younger generations only orally.
Napiorkowska classifies the Christian Neo-Aramaic dialects into four main sub-categories: (1) North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic; (2) Western Neo-Aramaic, the variant spoken in three villages in Syria in the Levant, i.e. Maʿlūla, Ğubbaʿdīn and Baxʿa; (3) Central Neo-Aramaic, which comprises “The central group, also called Ṭuroyo, of which two dialects are known so far, both spoken in the Turkish province of Mardin”. This statement can be clarified: “The Ṭuroyo language does have two main dialects today: the Midyat (city) dialect and the village dialect, with each village having its own distinctive linguistic features. However, all dialects are mutually intelligible with each other … The distance between the Midyat dialect and the village dialects is greater than that between the dialects of the individual villages. The discrepancy is rarely noticed by the natives themselves”. (See Mikael Oez, Modern Aramaic in Practice, MAP 2014, p. ii.); (4) The final group listed is the Mandaic Group, which comprises two dialects used by Mandeans of Khuzestan.
The author has successfully collected an impressive range of vocabulary and translated it into simple English, and managed to compile a very useful glossary/dictionary (the dictionary is presented as Chapter 25 and occupies 101 pages), which she has pragmatically arranged as CDZ–English and English–CDZ.
Chapter 24, “Proverbs, sayings, social interaction”, is an excellent and valuable reflection of the cultural wealth of this small community. Proverbs and popular sayings offer a readily available source on the intellectual essence of any given society. Familiarity with such sayings is a good first port of call for studying any culture. It is an excellent and accessible tool for understanding the culture, learning its vocabulary, and opening all type of doors to conversation and communications. The wealth of proverbs in the Christian Neo-Aramaic speaking communities is rich as speakers heavily depend on the use and exchange of proverbs in day-to-day conversation.
The author includes here an extensive, well-chosen bibliography, which offers an important starting point for researchers in this overlooked field of linguistics. However, the book would have benefited from a detailed map depicting relevant cities, towns and villages. Such a map would enliven readers’ understanding of the richness and variety of the geo-linguistic remits of the Christian Neo-Aramaic dialects of the region. Furthermore, many of the important and relevant locations mentioned throughout the book are missing from the “General index”, and the “Index of geographical names and languages” (pp. 595–9).
I unreservedly congratulate Dr Napiorkowska on her dedicated academic efforts to make this book available to researchers in the field of Christian Neo-Aramaic dialects. She has declared an open contest for other researchers to deal with this mammoth virgin field of research, which currently lacks a systematic description or any other type of study to capture the hidden gems of the Christian Neo-Aramaic dialects. The communities are subject to successive and relentless calamities, such as the uprooting and ethno-religious cleansing of the Christian Neo-Aramaic-speaking communities of Mosul and its environs by Da'esh (ISIS) that has forced them to abandon their homeland. Their demography is now scattered like confetti in an ever-widening diaspora. Regrettably, the urgency for further documentation of endangered Aramaic dialects, given the disappearance of important cultural traditions, is very real.
I am happy to recommend this book, which significantly draws the attention of academics and sponsors alike to the potential of research in this field, to individuals, libraries or to specialized institutions.
