Jewish Neo-Aramaic
Channel: Jewish Language Project
Date: 2022-02-21

This short film by Alan Niku offers a brief introduction to Jewish Neo-Aramaic, spoken by Jews in the Kurdish region of Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. The language is related to the ancient Aramaic language of the Talmud, some prayers, and parts of the Bible, but it differs due to historical developments and influences from local languages like Persian, Kurdish, Arabic, and Turkish. Jewish dialects are often more similar to each other than to local Christian Aramaic dialects. Today, Jewish Neo-Aramaic is endangered, as most speakers moved to Israel, the US, and other regions and did not pass their mother tongue along to their children. This film includes clips of conversation and song and images of Jews from the Kurdish region.

Learn more and donate to this important work at
https://www.givecampus.com/schools/HebrewUnionCollegeJewishInstituteofReligion/help-preserve-iranian-jewish-languages

Writer, Editor: Alan Niku
Producer: Sarah Bunin Benor, HUC-JIR Jewish Language Project
Narrator: Yasmine Razi
Music: Adi Kadussi
Images, Audio, and Video: Diarna, Alan Niku, Geoffrey Khan, Endangered Language Alliance, Mother Tongue, and Sarah Bunin Benor

Speakers: Noga Cohen, Sabiḥa Cohen, Yosef Cohen, Ilan Cohen, Massoud Tavakoli, Alan Niku, Hay-El, Mina, Dalya Ḥarfuf, Moussa Haim Jalil Harooni, Aziz Davidi, Nurollah Zargari