# Syriac/Aramaic: Maalula dialect



## Chconnect

Hello there!

Does anyone here speak the dialect of Maalula?
Or do you know where I can find somebody who does?


----------



## Shlama_98

I don't speak the Aramaic of Maalula but I do speak Eastern Syriac as my native language.

Btw, the Aramaic of Maalula is not a Syriac dialect, it's Western Aramaic while Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic dialect, but in Maalula Western Syriac does have an influence there.


----------



## Chconnect

But are those two languages similar enough for you to understand it?


----------



## Shlama_98

No, Syriac Aramaic and the Aramaic of Maalula are not understanable to each other, maybe some sounds and phrases are understanable since afterall they are the same language, but in my honest opinion they are very far apart and your average speakers (Even advanced speakers) will not understand each other.


----------



## JAN SHAR

Yes, there are no direct descendants of Syriac today. That's what Wheeler M. Thackston says in the introduction to his book:

Although there are a few scattered pockets of Aramaic speakers left in remote areas of the Near East, there are no immediate descendants of Syrian spoken today. (Introduction to Syriac by Wheeler M. Thackston, pg. viii)

Shlama_98, how come you speak Syriac as your native language? And do you use East Syriac pronunciation or West?


----------

