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Turoyo

Turoyo (Suryoyo, Süryani, Turani) is an Aramaic language, mostly spoken by people living in the region of Tur Abdin of Southeastern Turkey. It is also currently spoken in the Syriac Diaspora, although classified as a vulnerable language. Considered an essential identity marker by its speakers, language maintenance is stronger in Tur Abdin than in diasporic communities where the language shift is more pronounced as isolation and threats are felt less strongly by its speakers. Throughout its use, Turoyo has remained a spoken language, with recent efforts to develop its written form, either in the form of Classical Syriac's Serto or a Latin-based orthography.

History

In the diaspora communities, Turoyo is usually a second language which is supplemented by more mainstream languages. The language is considered endangered by UNESCO, but efforts are still made by Turoyo-speaking communities to sustain the language through use in homelife, school programs to teach Turoyo on the weekends, and summer day camps.

Latin Alphabet

Attempts to write down Turoyo have begun since the 16th century, with Jewish Neo-Aramaic adaptions and translations of Biblical texts, commentaries, as well as hagiographic stories, books, and folktales in Christian dialects. The Nestorian Bishop Mar Yohannan working with American missionary Rev. Justin Perkins also tried to write the vernacular version of religious texts, culminating in the production of school-cards in 1836.

In 1970s Germany, members of the Syriac evangelical movement (Aramäische freie Christengemeinde in German) used Turoyo to write short texts and songs. Additonally, the Syriac evangelical movement has published over 300 Turoyo hymns in a compedium named Kole Ruhonoye in 2012, as well as translating the four gospels with Mark and John being published so far.

The Swedish government's "mother-tongue education" project treated Turoyo as an immigrant language, like Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, and began to teach the language in schools. The staff of the National Swedish Institute for Teaching Material produced a Latin letter-based alphabet, grammar, dictionary, school books, and instructional material. Due to religious and political objections, the project was halted.

There are other efforts to translate famous works of literature, including The Aramaic Students Association's translation of The Little Prince, the Nisbin Foundation's translation of Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood.

Syntax

Turoyo has three sets of particles that take the place of the copula in nominal clauses: enclitic copula, independent copula, and emphatic independent copula. In Turoyo, the non-enclitic copula (or the existential particle) is articulated with the use of two sets of particles: kal and kit.

References

1. Furman, Y., & Loesov, S. (2016). Five Essays in Lexical Interaction between Spoken Arabic and Turoyo. Zeitschrift Für Arabische Linguistik, 635-18.
2. Khan, G., & Napiorkowska, L. (Eds.). (2015). Neo-aramaic in its linguistic context. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.
3. Saouk, J. (2015). "Quo Vadis Turoyo?" A Description of the Situation and the Needs of the Neo-Aramaic of Tur-Abdin (Turkey). Parole De L'orient (40), 361-377.
4. Talay, S. (2015). Turoyo, the Aramaic Language of Tur'abdin and the Translation of Alice. In J. I. Lindseth, A. Tannenbaum (Eds.), Alice in a World of Wonderlands: The Translations of Lewis Carroll's Masterpiece. Volume One: Essays (pp. 605-607). New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll; Lewis Carroll Society of North America.
5. Weaver, C., & Kiraz, G. (2016). Turoyo Neo-Aramaic in northern New Jersey. International Journal Of The Sociology Of Language, 2016 (237), 19-36.

External Links

1. Turoyo on Glottolog
2. Turoyo Ethnologue Page
3. Turoyo on Endangered Languages Project
4. Jastrow, Otto. The Turoyo language today.