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Aramaic is the oldest continuously spoken and written language in the Middle East, even older than written Hebrew and Arabic. It is among the oldest written languages in the world.
Approximately three thousand years ago, Aramaic speakers were mainly located in the Near East. Writers and readers of Aramaic, a group trained for political, commercial and religious employment, lived in the regions now covered by Iraq, Syria, and adjacent areas.
The obstacles facing this language include immigration, a decline in vocabulary and loss of prestige of this language and other ancient language dialects. This decline can be slowed down in various areas like Iraq with the help of various elements.
An establishment of an Aramaic cultural zone, support of the elevation of the Aramaic language at higher learning institutions and the establishment of online language learning programs related to this language, are all solutions to help preserve the language.
To read more, please see: Assyrians: Speaking the Oldest Living Language of the Middle East.
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Ahmed Mossad El-Saba
Director: EMEA Linguistic Services
Ahmed is a native Arabic speaker from Egypt, Cairo. He has over 15 years’ experience in the translation and localization field working as a Hebrew – Arabic translator and editor. He has held positions as a Language Testing Engineer and Localization Project Manager. Ahmed has extensive experience in handling large volume translation projects for software and document localization. He has worked for a range of translation and localization companies including Microsoft, Babylon, Saudisoft, as well as several governmental authorities.
He holds a B.A. degree in Translation and Interpreting from Faculty of Alsun Ain Shams University and additionally is a certified Hebrew - Arabic translator with a High Translation professional diploma from the same faculty. He is a published author translating news articles and writing political analysis with contributions to an array of research centers and newspapers including AL Aharam, Beirut Political Centre, Aldiplomasy Magazine, and Lindro Italian News, to name a few.
In his free time, Ahmed likes swimming, shooting and reading about new ideas.
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FAQs
Is Aramaic the oldest language in the world? ›
Aramaic is the oldest continuously spoken and written language in the Middle East, even older than written Hebrew and Arabic. It is among the oldest written languages in the world. Approximately three thousand years ago, Aramaic speakers were mainly located in the Near East.
Which is the 4 oldest language in the world? ›4. Chinese – 1250 BC (circa. 3300 years old)
Is Aramaic the oldest language in the Middle East? ›Aramaic is the oldest continuously written and spoken language of the Middle East, preceding Hebrew and Arabic as written languages.
Which is the 3 oldest language in the world? ›Greek is the third oldest language in the world. Latin was the official language of the ancient Roman Empire and ancient Roman religion. It is currently the official language of the Roman Catholic Church and the official language of the Vatican City. Like Sanskrit, it is a classical language.
Why did Jesus speak Aramaic? ›Aramaic was the common language of Judea in the first century AD. The villages of Nazareth and Capernaum in Galilee, where Jesus spent most of his time, were Aramaic-speaking communities. Jesus likely spoke a Galilean variant of the language, distinguishable from that of Jerusalem.
What is Jesus name in Aramaic? ›However, both the Western and Eastern Syriac Christian traditions use the Aramaic name ܝܫܘܥ (in Hebrew script: ישוע) Yeshuʿ and Yishoʿ, respectively, including the ʿayin.
What language did Adam and Eve speak? ›The Adamic language, according to Jewish tradition (as recorded in the midrashim) and some Christians, is the language spoken by Adam (and possibly Eve) in the Garden of Eden.
What is the 2nd oldest language in the world? ›Greek is derived from Mycenaean Greek which appeared around 700 years ago after which The Odyssey was written. Modern Greece that is spoken by 13.5 million people around the world has a rough origination from almost 3,500 years back. This is the second oldest language in the world which is still being used today.
What is the oldest language known to man? ›1. Sumerian. Sumerian is the oldest attested written language. It was used by the people of Sumer in Southern Mesopotamia and is an isolate language, which means it's not related to any other existing language.
Was the Bible first written in Hebrew or Aramaic? ›The Jewish Bible, the Old Testament, was originally written almost entirely in Hebrew, with a few short elements in Aramaic.
Which country speaks Aramaic? ›
Aramaic was one of the major languages of the ancient Near East. Since the Middle Ages it has largely been replaced by Arabic, but it survived as a spoken language in a number of Jewish communities in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq, south-eastern Turkey, and western Iran down to modern times.
Which is the 2 oldest language in the world? ›Greek is derived from Mycenaean Greek which appeared around 700 years ago after which The Odyssey was written. Modern Greece that is spoken by 13.5 million people around the world has a rough origination from almost 3,500 years back. This is the second oldest language in the world which is still being used today.
How old is Aramaic language? ›Aramaic is thought to have first appeared among the Aramaeans about the late 11th century bce. By the 8th century bce it had become accepted by the Assyrians as a second language.