View source for Mlaḥsô language

{{Short description|Extinct Aramaic language of Turkey and Syria}}
{{Hatnote|Not to be confused with the [[Turoyo language]], also called Suryoyo.}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Mlaḥsô
| nativename       = <span dir="rtl">{{lang|lhs|ܡܠܚܬܝܐ}}</span>&nbsp;{{tlit|lhs|Mlaḥsô}}, <span dir="rtl">{{lang|lhs|ܣܘܪܝܝܐ}}</span>&nbsp;{{tlit|lha|Suryô}}
| states           = [[Turkey]], [[Syria]]
| region           = Originally two villages (Mlaḥsô/Yünlüce/Mela and ˁAnşa) near [[Lice, Turkey|Lice]] in [[Diyarbakır Province]] of southeastern [[Turkey]], later also [[Qamishli]] in northeastern [[Syria]].
| speakers         = 
| extinct          = 1999
| ref              = e17
| familycolor      = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2             = [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
| fam3             = [[Central Semitic languages|Central Semitic]]
| fam4             = [[Northwest Semitic languages|Northwest Semitic]]
| fam5             = [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]
| fam6             = [[Eastern Aramaic languages|Eastern Aramaic]]
| fam7             = [[Central Neo-Aramaic]]
| iso3             = lhs
| glotto           = mlah1239
| glottorefname    = Mlahso
| altname          = Suryoyo, Surayt
}}

'''Mlaḥsô''' or '''Mlahsö''' ({{langx|syc|ܡܠܚܬܝܐ}}), sometimes referred to as '''Suryoyo''' or '''Surayt''', is an extinct or dormant [[Central Neo-Aramaic|Central Neo-Aramaic language]]. It was traditionally spoken in eastern [[Turkey]] and later also in northeastern [[Syria]] by [[Syriac Orthodox Christians]].<ref>[https://academic.oup.com/jss/article-abstract/XXX/2/265/1633853?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false {{cite journal|last=Jastrow|first=Otto|title=Mlaḥsô: An Unknown Neo-Aramaic Language of Turkey|journal=Journal of Semitic Studies|date=1985|volume=30|issue=2|pages=265–270|doi=}}].</ref>

The Mlaḥsô language (Surayt of Mlaḥsô) is closely related to the [[Turoyo language|Surayt of Turabdin]] but sufficiently different to be considered a separate language, with the syntax of the language having retained more features of [[Syriac language|Classical Syriac]] than Turoyo.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/lhs|title=Mlahsö|work=Ethnologue|access-date=2017-05-14}}</ref> It was spoken in the villages of [[Yünlüce, Lice|Mlaḥsô]] ({{langx|tr|Yünlüce}}, {{langx|ku|Mela}}), a village established by two monks from the [[Tur Abdin]] mountain range, and in the village of ˁAnşa near [[Lice, Turkey|Lice]], [[Diyarbakır]], [[Turkey]].

==Etymology==
The name of the village and the language is derived from the earlier Aramaic word ''mālaḥtā'', 'salt marsh'. The literary Syriac name for the language is ''Mlaḥthoyo''. The native speakers of Mlaḥsô referred to their language simply as ''Suryô'', or Syriac.<ref>Jastrow, Otto. 1997. "Der Neuaramaische Dialek von Mlahso." In British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, reviewed by Geoffrey Khan. 299-300. British Society for Middle Eastern Studies.</ref>

==History and distribution==
The language was still spoken by a handful of people in the 1970s. The [[Last speaker of language|last fluent native speaker]] of Mlaḥsô, Ibrahim Ḥanna, died in 1999 in [[Qamishli]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usek.edu.lb/Content/Files/CSR/RCMME/20140801RCMMENeoAramaic.pdf|title=The Neo-Aramaic Languages|quote=Ibrahim Ḥanna was the last speaker of the Mlaḥso language, as the village was destroyed in 1915 during the Armenian genocide. He died in 1999 in Qāmišli in Syria|access-date=2024-06-01}}</ref> His daughters, Munira in [[Qamishli]], Shamiram in Lebanon, and son Dr. Isḥaq Ibrahim in Germany are the only speakers left with some limited native proficiency of the language. Recordings of Ibrahim Ḥanna speaking the language are available on [http://www.semarch.uni-hd.de/tondokumente.php43?LD_ID=4&RG_ID=9&ORT_ID=12&lang=en Heidelberg University's Semitic Sound Archive] which were done by Otto Jastrow, a prominent German semiticist who is credited as the modern "discoverer" of the language and published the first modern research papers on the existence of Mlaḥsô and its linguistic features.

On 3 May 2009, a historical event in the history of the Mlaḥsô Surayt language took place. The [[Suroyo TV]] television station aired the program series ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uswfjcVLHBg Dore w yawmotho]'', which was about the village Mlaḥsô (and the Tur Abdin village Tamarze). Dr. Isḥaq Ibrahim, the son of Ibrahim Ḥanna, was a guest and spoke in the Mlaḥsô language with his sisters Shamiram in Lebanon and Munira in [[Qamishli]] live on the phone. Otto Jastrow was also interviewed regarding his expertise on Mlaḥsô. Turabdin [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]]/Syriacs viewers and those present at the show could for the first time ever in modern times hear the language live.

The extinction of Mlaḥsô can be attributed to the small amount of original speakers of the language, and them being limited to two isolated villages, resulting in a disproportionate loss of speakers during the [[Assyrian genocide]] compared to Turoyo and other variants of Neo-Aramaic.

==Phonology==
Mlahsô is phonologically less conservative than Turoyo. This is particularly noticeable in the use of ''s'' and ''z'' for classical ''θ'' and ''ð''. The classical ''v'' has been retained though, while it has collapsed into ''w'' in Turoyo. Also sometimes ''y'' ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] /j/) replaces ''ġ''. Mlaḥsô also renders the combination of vowel plus ''y'' as a single, fronted vowel rather than a [[diphthong]] or a glide.

=== Consonants ===

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan=2|
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan=3|[[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! colspan=3|[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Palato-alveolar consonant|Palato-alveolar]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyn-<br>geal]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!  colspan=2|<small>plain</small> ||   colspan=2|<small>[[pharyngealization|emphatic]]</small> ||  colspan=2|<small>plain</small>
|- align=center
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|m}}
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|n}}
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
|- align=center
! [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|p}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|b}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|t}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|d}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|tˤ}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|k}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ɡ}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|q}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ʔ}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
|- align=center
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|tʃ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|dʒ}}
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
|- align=center
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|f}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|v}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | 
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|sˤ}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|s}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|z}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ʃ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ʒ}}
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|x}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ɣ}}
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ħ}} || rowspan=2 style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|ʕ}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPAlink|h}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
|- align=center
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|w}}
| colspan=6| {{IPAlink|l}}
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPAlink|j}}
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
|- align=center
! [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
| colspan=2|
| colspan=6| {{IPA|r}}
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
|}

=== Vowels ===
Mlahsô has the following set of vowels:
* [[Close front unrounded vowel]] – {{IPAslink|i}}
* [[Close-mid front unrounded vowel]] – {{IPAslink|e}}
* [[Open front unrounded vowel]] – {{IPAslink|a}}
* [[Open back rounded vowel]] – {{IPAslink|ɒ}}
* [[Close back rounded vowel]] – {{IPAslink|u}}

== Morphology ==
Mlaḥsô is more [[conservative (language)|conservative]] than Turoyo in grammar and vocabulary, using classical Syriac words and constructions while also preserving the original Aramaic form.<ref>Kim, Ronald. 2008. "Stammbaum or Continuum? The Subgrouping of Modern Aramaic Dialects Reconsidered." In Journal of the American Oriental Society 128, no. 3, 505-531.</ref>

==Vocabulary==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! English !! Mlaḥsô
|-
| '''''person''''' || nṓšo
|-
| '''''father''''' || avó
|-
| '''''paternal uncle''''' || dozó
|-
| '''''trouble''''' || renyó
|-
| '''''donkey''''' || ḥmṓrō
|-
| '''''one''''' || ḥā
|-
| '''''door''''' || tár'ṓ
|-
| '''''goat''''' || ḗzō
|-
| '''''great, big''''' || rābṓ
|-
| '''''house''''' || baytṓ
|-
| '''''ten''''' || 'esrṓ
|-
| '''''grapes''''' || 'envḗ
|-
| '''''mouth''''' || pēmṓ
|-
| '''''morning''''' || safrṓ
|-
| '''''three''''' || tlōsō
|-
| '''''sleep''''' || šensṓ
|-
| '''''hand''''' || īzṓ
|-
| '''''seven''''' || šav'ṓ
|-
| '''''today''''' || yōmā́n
|-
| '''''in, into''''' || lġāv
|-
| '''''brother''''' || āḥṓ
|-
| '''''why''''' || lmūn
|-
| '''''what'''''|| mūn
|-
| '''''much, many, very''''' || sāy
|-
| '''''town''''' || mzītṓ
|-
| '''''cock''''' || toġó
|}

=== Example phrases ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! English !! Mlaḥsô
|-
| They sleep || dōmxī́
|-
| I wash || māsī́ġno
|-
| He loved || rhī́mle 
|-
| She gave || hī́vla
|-
| I sold || zābḗnli
|-
| He demanded || tlī́ble
|-
| He stole || gnī́vle
|-
| His house || baytā́v
|-
| His place || duksā́v
|-
| From him || mēnā́v
|}

=== Example sentences ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! English !! Mlaḥsô
|-
| Where is my hen? || eyko-yo talġuntézi
|}

== See also ==
*[[Turoyo language|Surayt of Turabdin]]
*[[Syriac language]]
*[[Assyrian people]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
*Jastrow, Otto (1994). ''Der neuaramäische Dialekt von Mlaḥsô''. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. {{ISBN|3-447-03498-X}}.

==Further reading==
* Goldenberg, Gideon. 2000. "Early Neo-Aramaic and Present-day Dialectical Diversity." In ''Journal of Semitic Studies'' XLV/1, 69-86. Jerusalem.
* Hoberman, Robert D. 1988.  "The History of the Modern Aramaic Pronouns and Pronominal Suffixes." In ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' 108, no. 4, 557-575. American Oriental Society.
*Jastrow, Otto. 1997. "16. The Neo-Aramaic Languages."  In ''The Semitic Languages'', edited by Robert Hetzron, 334–377. New York: Routledge.
* Jastrow, Otto. 1996. "Passive Formation in Turoyo and Mlahso." In ''Israel Oriental Studies XVI: Studies in Modern Semitic Languages'', edited by Shlomo Izre’el, 49–57. Leiden: Brill.
* Jastrow, Otto. 1994. Der neuaramäische Dialekt von Mlaḥsô. ''Semitica'' Viva 14. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz
* Khan, Geoffrey. 1999. "The Neo-Aramaic Dialect Spoken by Jews from the Region of Arbel (Iraqi Kurdistan)." In ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', University of London 62, no. 2, 213-225.
* Khan, Geoffrey. 2003. "Some Remarks on Linguistic and Lexical Change in the North Eastern Neo-Aramaic Dialects." In ''Aramaic Studies'' 1, no. 2, 179-190.
* Mutzafi, Hezy. 2006. "On the Etymology of Some Enigmatic Words in northeastern Neo-Aramaic." In ''Aramaic Studies'' 4, no. 1, 83-99.

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uswfjcVLHBg Suroyo TV 2009-05-03 Dore w yawmotho - Mlaḥso & Tamarze]
* [http://semarch.uni-hd.de/dokumentgruppen.php4?ST_ID=5&DT_ID=32 Semitisches Tonarchiv: Dokumentgruppe "Aramäisch/Mlahsô" (text in German)]
* [http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/9229 Endangered Languages Project - Mlahso ]

{{Neo-Aramaic}}
{{Syriacs}}
{{Assyrian topics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mlahso Language}}
[[Category:Eastern Aramaic languages]]
[[Category:Neo-Aramaic languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Syria]]
[[Category:Languages of Turkey]]
[[Category:Endangered Afroasiatic languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Kurdistan]]