Johny Messo, President World Council of Arameans (Syriacs)
Innsbrück University, Austria | 17 December 2024
1. Introduction: The Urgency of Preserving Aramaic
Shlomo ‘alaykhun – that’s “Peace be upon you” in Aramaic.
Imagine being part of a people whose language and identity hang by a thread, scattered across the globe with no homeland to call their own. For the Arameans, this is a daily
reality. Stateless, fragmented, and without the support of a state or international body, we face an immense challenge: how do we preserve our ancient language, culture, and unity? It’s a daunting task, but it is one that only Arameans can and must take on.
As an Aramean myself, this challenge is deeply personal. It is not simply about the
survival of a language or a cultural tradition; it’s about preserving who we are as a
people. Aramaic, one of the world’s oldest living languages, is the heart of the Aramean
identity. Yet, today, this treasure teeters on the brink of extinction.
While many Arameans look to the United Nations, UNESCO, the European Union, or
even academic faculties teaching Aramaic studies, the primary responsibility lies with us.
As we say in Aramaic, ahna d-le bukhena ‘al ruhayna, man kbokhe ‘alayna? “If we don’t
cry for ourselves, who will cry for us?” At the same time, we deeply value the assistance
and expertise offered by institutions and academic communities like the one gathered
here today. Your support is instrumental in strengthening our efforts.
The reality is stark: without immediate action, Aramaic is at imminent risk of dying. In
many Aramean households, children no longer speak the language, facing the very real
threat of Aramaic disappearing with their generation. The stakes are high, but the tools
for revitalization are within reach, offering real hope to extend its life.
This is where the home and family come into play. The survival of Aramaic begins and
ends within the family, and this paper explores how family language policy (flp) – the
conscious decisions parents make about language use at home – can be a critical factor in preserving Aramaic. It will address the challenges we face, the missed opportunities that have shaped our present, and propose strategies to secure the language’s future. By combining personal insights with solid research, the aim is to provide a clear roadmap for safeguarding Aramaic as a linguistic and cultural treasure.
Before proceeding, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Innsbruck and Heidelberg
universities for organizing the invaluable workshop Preserving Voices: Strategies for
Endangered Languages, with a focus on modern Aramaic, especially the dialect of the
Turabdin region in Southeast Türkiye. My special thanks go to Professor Ursula Schatner-Rieser, a dear friend, for inviting me to share my thoughts on this vital subject.
2. Major Challenges and Missed Opportunities
Preserving Aramaic involves navigating significant challenges while addressing
overlooked possibilities that, if seized, could greatly strengthen our efforts. These
obstacles arise from both external pressures and internal community dynamics. Below,
five key hurdles and missed chances are highlighted.
2.1. Statelessness and Lack of Institutional Support
Aramaic lacks the national infrastructure necessary to fund its education, preservation,
and development. Unlike other languages that benefit from state-backed initiatives,
Aramaic has had to rely entirely on grassroots efforts from its families, churches, and
organizations. This absence of systemic support has made revitalization efforts feel like
an uphill battle. While Arameans have founded churches and organizations, they could
have also invested in lobbying governments and international bodies to secure consistent funding and resources for the language. The struggle for survival as a diaspora people has undoubtedly contributed to the failure to seize this opportunity, leaving Aramaic without the institutional backing needed for long-term survival.
2.2. Parents’ beliefs and decisions
In diaspora communities, who balance between integration and assimilation, dominant
languages like German, Swedish, and English often overshadow Aramaic. Many parents
prioritize these languages for academic success and career opportunities, fearing their
children will face societal disadvantages if they focus on their mother tongue. As a result, Aramaic has been marginalized within many households. Arameans missed the chance to cultivate the mindset and create programs that could have elevated Aramaic to the status of an equally prestigious language within the household. By highlighting the value of mother-tongue preservation and bilingualism, showing that Aramaic is both useful and empowering, they could have ensured its place as a language of future success, rather than allowing it to fade into the background.
2.3. Children’s Resistance
Many children in Aramean households default to the dominant societal language,
especially after starting kindergarten. Psychologically, children often perceive the
dominant language as more ‘useful’ or ‘prestigious.’ As a result, many parents, myself
included, face the frustration of speaking Aramaic at home, only to have children respond in the national language of the country they live in. This shift happens subtly, as children begin to see the dominant language, regarded as the ‘cool’ language of their friends and the world outside the home, as more ‘valuable’ or ‘modern’. The missed opportunity here lies in the lack of producing child-centric content in Aramaic. Had we invested in creating fun media, digital tools, and stories specifically designed for children, Aramaic could have been perceived nearly, or even just, as valuable as the dominant language.
2.4. Standardization Challenges and Scarcity of Professional Learning Resources
Turabdin Aramaic remains a non-standardized language, with no universally agreed-upon grammar or orthography, resulting in an ‘alphabet soup’ of competing writing systems. Most existing resources are either overly academic or lack a proper pedagogical structure, making it difficult for parents to read and teach the language effectively at home. A lack of understanding of Aramaic and its dialects, including the relationship between Turabdin Aramaic and Edessan Aramaic, led to missed opportunities for early standardization. Combined with the absence of cohesive, child-friendly resources, this has made it difficult for families to teach the language. Furthermore, had individuals or marginalized groups sought to engage and cooperate with churches and organizations, rather than impose their alphabet systems on them, the widespread adoption and integration of Aramaic into educational systems would have had a far greater chance of success.
2.5. Underestimating the Reality of Language Death
UNESCO identifies intergenerational transmission as the most critical factor in language
preservation. When children no longer learn their parents’ language, it quickly enters a
phase of rapid decline. For many Aramean families, this process is already underway.
Without intervention, Aramaic risks becoming just another language on the growing list
of those that disappear each year. In our lifetime, we have already witnessed the
extinction of dialects like Mlahsó. Despite many warnings about the imminent threat of
language death, Turabdin Arameans have underestimated its reality and we continue to
fail to act. One of the greatest missed chances was when many Arameans over 40, like
myself, still had our grandparents alive. The invaluable knowledge of these walking,
talking Aramaic dictionaries could have been passed down more completely to us. Let us remember that the Aramaic spoken by our elders was the authentic language of Turabdin before it underwent transformations over the past 50 years in the diaspora.
3. Aramaic Language Survival: Strategies for Parents
To overcome the challenges and missed opportunities discussed earlier, Aramean parents must make preserving their language and heritage a priority in ways that directly shape their children’s linguistic and cultural future. The survival of Aramaic is in our hands. If we want our children to speak Aramaic, we must create an environment where the language is cherished, consistently spoken, and integrated into daily life. Here are five key strategies that parents can adopt to ensure the continued existence of our language:
3.1. Speak Aramaic Consistently at Home
Arameans often inspire each other with sayings like u bayto madrashto yo (“the home is
a school”) or i madrashto qamayto u bayto yo (“the first school is the home”). These
phrases highlight the crucial role families play in shaping their children’s linguistic and
cultural foundations. It is true that some Arameans have learned Aramaic despite their
primary language being Arabic, Kurdish, or Turkish. However, for those still speaking
Aramaic, language transmission must begin within the family. Though challenging, if
parents consistently speak Aramaic at home, they will see their children’s language skills
improve and their appreciation for their mother tongue grow. Parents must recognize that the survival of Aramaic depends on the daily choices they make at home. If we are truly committed to preserving Aramaic, we must move beyond rhetoric and integrate it into our children’s everyday lives. UNESCO emphasizes the importance of weaving heritage languages into daily life. Simple practices like sharing stories, singing songs, reading together, and using Aramaic during meals or celebrations make the language feel natural, essential, and deeply personal for the child. Parents are the guardians of this ancient treasure, and the home is the sanctuary where Aramaic can thrive and continue to grow.
3.2. Engage Grandparents in Language Transmission
Grandparents, especially those born before the 1950s, are living libraries of Aramaic,
carrying not only the language but also the cultural stories and traditions that form the
foundation of Aramean heritage. They represent a critical bridge between generations.
Yet, many parents underutilize their elders as a resource for language transmission,
allowing their parents and grandparents to speak in broken forms of the dominant
language with their children. Their fluency in Aramaic, combined with deep cultural
knowledge, makes grandparents invaluable mentors for the younger generation. Failing to involve them in this process weakens the intergenerational bonds essential for preserving both language and culture. On the other hand, engaging them, whether in person or through video calls, can instill a love and respect for the Aramaic language in children, especially if they are great storytellers. Furthermore, it strengthens family bonds, which are the backbone of the Aramean people. Parents should embrace this untapped resource, integrating still-living grandparents into daily language practice at home and making their own parents and grandparents vital partners in ensuring the future of Aramaic.
3.3. Build Community Networks
Connecting with other Aramaic-speaking families is crucial for helping children view the
language as both relevant and valuable. While the family remains the primary
environment for language transmission, the wider community also plays an essential role in nurturing a strong language culture. Churches and cultural organizations can be key by hosting family-oriented programs and events that engage both parents and children.
These initiatives provide opportunities for children to practice Aramaic in a social setting, making it more than just a home or religious language, but a living, everyday tool for
communication. In 2025, the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) will focus on
addressing this need by collaborating closely with national federations and local
associations to establish community-based language programs.
3.4. Let’s Urgently Standardize Aramaic Together
To overcome the challenge of non-standardization, it is crucial that individuals,
universities, and influential Aramean stakeholders, particularly churches and secular
groups like the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs), unite in urgent collaboration. Only
through collective action can we establish a universally accepted standard for Turabdin
Aramaic, ensuring its consistent transmission across generations. The importance and
urgency of this task cannot be overstated. Imagine a future where every Aramean child
can read, write, and speak Aramaic fluently. This will not only preserve our language, but
it will also pave the way for its modernization and development, guaranteeing it is
resilient enough to meet the challenges of the 21st century. By engaging churches and
secular organizations, we can leverage their international networks to create a cohesive,
widely accepted standard for writing and teaching the language. Such efforts will enrich
Aramaic, make it accessible to a global audience, and help it thrive across generations.
3.5. Leverage Digital Tools
Digital tools such as child-friendly videos, mobile apps, and online courses are far more
engaging and effective than traditional grammar books in today’s fast-paced, tech-driven world. These tools offer a unique opportunity to make Aramaic more accessible and appealing to younger generations. However, the current digital presence of Aramaic remains weak, with limited high-quality resources available. In 2025, we must come
together to change this. To bridge this gap, we need to invest in new technologies,
including AI, to create engaging, interactive, and pedagogically sound tools. Gamified
lessons, storytelling platforms, and apps that immerse children in Aramaic through play
and creativity are essential for revitalizing the language. These digital innovations will
ensure that Aramaic remains a vibrant and relevant language for future generations.
4. Aramaic’s Future: A Vision for Revival and a Call to Action
For Arameans, preserving Aramaic is not just about saving a language; it is about
safeguarding the essence of our identity. Our language is more than words because it
embodies our worldview, culture, and history. If Aramaic disappears, we lose a cultural
treasure that has shaped our people for over three millennia. And if Aramaic disappears,
can the past, present, and future of the Aramean identity remain connected?
Let us, therefore, imagine a future where every Aramean child grows up bilingual, fluent
in both Aramaic and the dominant language of their host country. Envision Aramaic
thriving across homes, schools, churches, and digital spaces, reconnecting dispersed
communities with their shared heritage. This vision is achievable, but it requires our
collective determination and action. UNESCO’s roadmap for language revitalization
provides the foundation for the future of the language in question:
1. Document: Preserve Aramaic’s richness by recording oral traditions and stories.
2. Promote: Encourage its daily use with accessible and engaging resources.
3. Integrate: Make Aramaic a natural part of family and community life.
The responsibility for realizing this vision rests with the Aramean people. Governments
and institutions can help, but the future of Aramaic ultimately depends on Aramean
families and communities. If they don’t take responsibility for their heritage, can they
really rely on hope alone to preserve and revitalize it?
The urgency is great, but the rewards are immense. Arameans must act now – teach their children, nurture pride in their identity, and help build the networks and resources that
will ensure Aramaic’s survival. Inspired by the successes of other language revitalization
efforts, Arameans must take bold steps – starting with family language policies,
standardized resources, and a commitment across generations.
As I stand before this distinguished gathering of scholars and students, I warmly invite
you to join the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) in our shared mission to preserve,
promote, and develop the Aramaic language and heritage. Your expertise, combined with our global network, can create a powerful synergy. Let us work together in the new year to preserve and rejuvenate this ancient language – not just as a scholarly pursuit, but as a living, thriving legacy for generations to come. Let us work together to bring Aramaic, the first world language, back into the heart of every Aramean household.
ܬܘܕܝ / Thank you.
