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Department of Language and Literature Department of Language and Literature

Priv.-Doz. Dr. Ursula Schattner-Rieser Priv.-Doz. Dr. Ursula Schattner-Rieser, +43 512 507 40418

641041

Asian Languages: Introduction to Classical Aramaic

VU 1

5

not applicable

not applicable

German

Basic knowledge about the development of Classical Aramaic

The course provides an introduction to the so called Imperial Aramaic. The Aramaic language obtains a special position within the Semitic languages: first written documentation dating back to the 10th century b.c., Aramaic can look back on 3,000-years of written history. From the 8th century on, Aramaic served Assyrians and Israelites as language of diplomacy and thereby became common language for the entire Orient – from Egypt to India. Because of its elevation as a lingua franca by the Persians, the so called Imperial Aramaic was standardized and simplified. Besides, Aramaic is also a biblical language (with extensive chapters in the book of Daniel and the book of Ezra), also many manuscripts from the Dead Sea (Qumran) are written in Aramaic. Aramaic was the mother tongue of Jesus, the language of the Nabataean, of the Talmud, of the Christians of the Eastern Church a.s.o. After the Islamic conquest, the widespread use of Aramaic ceded. Aramaic is nowadays spoken in Syria, Turkey and by the Mandaeans in Iran and Iraq.

written

List of suggested reading will be distributed at the beginning of the course. Selection: F. Rosenthal, A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic, Wiesbaden 2006. U. Schattner-Rieser, L’araméen, in: E. Bonvini et al., Dictionnaires des Langues, Paris 2011.

The course is complementary to the lecture, but can also be attended independently. The knowledge of Hebrew/Aramaic alphabet is an advantage. The grammar will be learnt on the basis of extracts from inscriptions, the Papyri of the Jewish Community of Elephantine and Ezra/Daniel.