—This page: HOME/Introduction--
Dedication
In October 31st, 2010 the history repeated itself,
in a hostage situation, 58 dead,
75 injured innocent Chaldeans including
the priest, deacons, women and children
while worshipping in Our Lady
of Salvation Church, in Iraq.
I dedicate this site to them.
Abraham Ishay Giliana (Atuta)
in a hostage situation, 58 dead,
75 injured innocent Chaldeans including
the priest, deacons, women and children
while worshipping in Our Lady
of Salvation Church, in Iraq.
I dedicate this site to them.
Abraham Ishay Giliana (Atuta)
Introduction
The goal in designing this site has been to show how to write and read in Assyrian. Like a book, the project is divided into chapters, pages and some exercises. Studying the material in this site, the student should be able to develop a basic knowledge of the Assyrian/Aramaic literacy and enjoy the language.
Since my mother was "Urmijneta", the dialect I have used here is of the northern part of Iran, Urmijnaya. Once in a while I will show the differences between the dialect of Urmijnayi (my mother's dialect) and Djilwayi (my father's dialect) to show the contrast and the comparison, but for the most part, I will be using my mother's dialect, Urmijnaya. At the end of the fifth or sixth lesson, I will have some lessons about the Old Assyrian (or Aramaic).
The order this course was designed is:
Kindergarten, the introduction and how to write the alphabet,
1st Grade, the alphabet and the vowels
2nd Grade, building the words, based on grammatical rules
3rd Grade, building the phrases and sentences and their grammar
4th, 5th and 6th Grade, etc., advanced writing, poetry, Holy Bible and the Assyrian epics such as Gilgamesh
and Qatteeni Gabbara.
It is necessary here to mention that even though I have used the name "Assyrian" in this site, the names Suyraya, Babylonian, Chaldean, Syriac, Neo-Syriac, Aramaic, Suryoyo and so forth are all the same as Assyrian to me. We are all one nation from the same ancestors from the same place—the great Bet-Nahrain. There are enough obsticles and enemies around us and we don't need to argue about the minor differences that our birth places have created. We all use the same alphabet—to say the least, something that we have inherited and have in common. So let our alphabet be the center of our unification and learn our language in peace.
The easiest way to learn, I think, is a combination of both the old and the new fashions, i.e, using pen, paper and clicking the mouse. So let's go right to the subject; read, write and click!
Since my mother was "Urmijneta", the dialect I have used here is of the northern part of Iran, Urmijnaya. Once in a while I will show the differences between the dialect of Urmijnayi (my mother's dialect) and Djilwayi (my father's dialect) to show the contrast and the comparison, but for the most part, I will be using my mother's dialect, Urmijnaya. At the end of the fifth or sixth lesson, I will have some lessons about the Old Assyrian (or Aramaic).
The order this course was designed is:
Kindergarten, the introduction and how to write the alphabet,
1st Grade, the alphabet and the vowels
2nd Grade, building the words, based on grammatical rules
3rd Grade, building the phrases and sentences and their grammar
4th, 5th and 6th Grade, etc., advanced writing, poetry, Holy Bible and the Assyrian epics such as Gilgamesh
and Qatteeni Gabbara.
It is necessary here to mention that even though I have used the name "Assyrian" in this site, the names Suyraya, Babylonian, Chaldean, Syriac, Neo-Syriac, Aramaic, Suryoyo and so forth are all the same as Assyrian to me. We are all one nation from the same ancestors from the same place—the great Bet-Nahrain. There are enough obsticles and enemies around us and we don't need to argue about the minor differences that our birth places have created. We all use the same alphabet—to say the least, something that we have inherited and have in common. So let our alphabet be the center of our unification and learn our language in peace.
The easiest way to learn, I think, is a combination of both the old and the new fashions, i.e, using pen, paper and clicking the mouse. So let's go right to the subject; read, write and click!