Native to Iraq ISO 639-3 kqd | Native speakers 800 (1995) Glottolog koys1242 | |
Region Koy Sanjaq and Armota in Arbil Province Language family Afro-Asiatic
Semitic
Central Semitic
Aramaic
Eastern Aramaic
Northeastern
Koy Sanjaq Surat | ||
Koy Sanjaq Surat (Arabic: سورث كوي سنجق) is a modern Eastern Syriac-Aramaic language. Speakers of the language call it simply Surat, or 'Syriac'. It is spoken in the town of Koy Sanjaq in the Arbil Province. The speakers of Koy Sanjaq Surat have traditionally been Assyrians and thus the language has generally been considered a dialect of Assyrian Neo-Aramaic. The Madnhâyâ version of the Syriac alphabet is used in writing, but most written material is in the Syriac language used in worship.
Contents
Origins
Koy Sanjaq Surat seems to be related to Senaya, which is spoken by Assyrians who originally lived east of Koy Sanjaq, in the city of Sanandaj in Iran. Not enough is known about the language to make any definite comment, but it seems that Koy Sanjaq Surat may have developed as the language of Assyrian settlers from Sanandaj.
Influences
The dialect also has much more Kurdish influences then other dialects of Syriac. It does not appear to be intelligible with Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, which is spoken by co-ethnics further north, or with the Jewish Neo-Aramaic language of Lishanid Noshan, which was traditionally spoken by the Jews of Koy Sanjaq.