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Syriac is a mostly extinct language that began as a dialect in the 5th century BC and evolved into various dialects. It was used as a religious language for Christianity and formalized to produce a Syriac Bible. The language split into Western and Eastern Middle Syriac, which are still used by different churches. The language declined with the rise of Arabic dominance but has had a resurgence in modern times. Modern Syriac has absorbed elements of local Aramaic dialects and has different dialects depending on the region. The Dead Sea Scrolls feature writing in the Syriac alphabet.
Syriac is a mostly extinct language or set of languages. While it is rarely used as a complete language in its own right, it is still used as a script for religious documents in some places around the world. Syriac began as a simple dialect, around the 5th century BC, evolving through many different periods, splitting into various dialects and finally coming to the brink of extinction.
The name may also sometimes be used as a generic term for all Eastern Aramaic languages, including Palmyrene Aramaic, Arsacid Aramaic, and Mandaic. More specifically, Syriac is usually used to describe the language spoken in Osrhoene, around Edessa. Old Syriac eventually became the state language in the 2nd century BC
Beginning around the 3rd century, Syriac began to be used as a religious language for Christianity, particularly in the region around Edessa. It was used as a vessel to transport Christianity and the language was further formalized to help produce a Syriac Bible.
Toward the end of the 5th century, large numbers of Syriac-speaking Christians fled to Persia to avoid the persecution of Greek-speaking Christians. This has led to a fairly large schism within the Syriac-speaking faith, as well as within the language. Middle Syriac divides into what is known as Western Middle Syriac and Eastern Middle Syriac, which have substantial dialectal differences, both in pronunciation and vocabulary, although they are still entirely mutually intelligible.
West Middle Syriac remains the language of the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church, the Maronite Church, the Mar Thoma Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Syriac Catholic Church and the Syro Malankara Catholic Church. East Middle Syriac remains the language of the Assyrian Church of the East, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syro-Chaldean Church and the Syro-Malabar Church.
The language went into sharp decline starting in the 7th century, as Arabic began to become dominant in the region. In the 13th century, when the Mongols invaded the region, the language fell further, approaching complete extinction. Pockets survived, however, and in the modern age it has had a bit of a resurgence.
Modern Syriac bears similarities to its Classical and Middle forms, but has absorbed elements of the local Aramaic dialects along the way. As a result, today’s dialects have large differences depending on the region. The best known dialect of modern West Syriac is Turoyo, spoken in Tur Abdin in Turkey. Modern East Syriac is in many ways similar to Eastern Aramaic, a group of Hebrew languages.
Assyrian Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic also use the same alphabet, so there is a large amount of literature in Syriac. Perhaps most notably, the Dead Sea Scrolls feature writing in the Syriac alphabet.
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