Kurdish, is widely spoken language in Kerend, Iran, where my ancestors came from. Northeastern Neo-Aramaic(NENA) also is/was spoken by the Jewish people in this region. My father spoke seven languages and among them was NENA language called Lishana Jabali. There is a real danger that this language will be extinct, because very few people now speak it.
Some 400,000 Arab Christians from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Georgia, Turkey and Armenia dispersed throughout the world, and some 15,000 to 20,000 Jewish people who came from Kurdish part of Iran and Iraq used to speak many dialects of this language until around 1950's.
Aramaic was born in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) at least 3,500 years ago. It was the language spoken by Abraham, and served as a trade language among the various peoples of the ancient Middle East, very much like English does today. Aramaic was the spoken language during the times of Jesus.
Aramaic spread to Israel and Syria and large part of Asia and Egypt, replacing many languages, including Akkadian and Hebrew. For about 1,000 years, it served as the official and written language of the Near East, officially beginning with the conquests of the Assyrian Empire, which had adopted Aramaic as its official language.
The earliest known inscriptions in Aramaic date back to the ninth century B.C. Parts of the biblical books of Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezra were written in Aramaic, as was the Talmud. Aramaic eventually ceded linguistic supremacy to Arabic in the ninth century C.E.
"Modern" Aramaic is different from the ancient language. The eastern dialect was used in the northeastern corner of Iraq, where it borders Iran, Turkey and Russia; this is the dialect used by Kurdish Jews in Israel.
Northeastern Neo-Aramaic sounds like a mixture of Semitic languages of Hebrew, Arabic and Kurdish. "Beita," the Aramaic word for house, is similar to "beit" in Arabic and "bayit" in Hebrew. "Kalba" is Aramaic for dog, similar to "kalb" in Arabic and "kelev" in Hebrew. My paternal ancestors used to speak this language. They used to write it with the Hebrew alphabet. Aramaic alphabet is written from right to left. It is mainly a Consonant alphabet. The Vowels are Diacritical Signs placed above or below a letter, and in all practical applications they are omitted.
English - Kurdish - Neo-Aramaic
Hello - Rozh-bash - Soon coming
Good morning - Beyanee-bash -
Welcome! (on arrival) - Be kher bi(t) -
Goodbye - Khwa-hafees -
Thank you - Supas/Mamnoon-
You’re welcome - Ser chaw / Sha-ee neeya -
How are you? - Chonee? -
Are you well? - Bashee? -
I’m fine, thank you - Bashem, supas -
What’s your name? - Naw-et cheeya? - At maniet
My name is John - Naw-em John-ah - Anneh John-ah
What do you like to drink? - Chee dakhoy? -
Tea (without sugar) - Chai (bey shakir) -
Please - Zahmat Nabe -
Where is the bazaar? - Bazaar le chweya? -
Where is Hilton Hotel? - Otel Hilton la chweya? -
Yes - Aa / Balay -
No - Na - Na
OK - Balay -
Speak- - Maghleh
