Betanure Jewish Neo-Aramaic, the local language variety of BetanureinIraqi Kurdistan, is among the rarest and most seriously endangered varieties of Aramaic spoken at the present time.[1] It is also one of the most conservative of both Jewish Neo-Aramaic languages and the Northeastern Neo-Aramaic languages in particular.[1]
| Betanure Jewish Neo-Aramaic | |
|---|---|
| lišānā deni / lišā́n huðāye / huðəθ~huðəθkí / amrāni~amrāní | |
| Region | Betanure[1] |
Native speakers | at most 3 dozen (2008)[1] |
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | beta1257 |
In the 1940s, Betanure Jewish Neo-Aramaic was spoken by seventeen large families in the Jewish village of Betanure.[1] The community migrated in its entirety to Israel in 1951.[1] Ever since the dialect has been facing erosion from Israeli Hebrew and from other Neo-Aramaic varieties spoken in Israel.[1]
| Labial | Dental/Alveolar | Postalveolar/Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive/Affricate | p (ṗ) b (ḅ) | t ṭ d (ḍ) | č č̣ j | k g | q | ʼ | |
| Fricative | f (v) | θ ð (ð̣) s ṣ z (ẓ) | š ṣ̌ ž (ẓ̌) | x ɣ | ḥ ʻ | h | |
| Nasal | m ṃ | n | |||||
| Liquid | w | n l ḷ r ṛ | y |