Introduction to Syriac : an elementary grammar with readings from Syriac literature

Language Reference. Middle-Eastern Studies. Syriac is the Aramaic dialect of Edessa, an important center of early Christianity in Mesopotamia. Today it is the classical tongue of the Nestorians and Chaldeans of Iran and Iraq and the liturgical language of the Jacobites of Eastern Anatolia and the Maronites of Greater Syria. Syriac literature flourished from the third century on and boasts of writers like Ephraem Syrus, Aphraates, Jacob of Sarug, John of Ephesus, Jacob of Edessa, and Barhebraeus. In this text the language is presented both in Syriac script, as it will always be seen, and in transcription, which is given so that the pronunciation of individual words and the structure of the language as a whole may be represented as clearly as possible. The majority of the sentences in the exercises-and all of the readings in the later lessons-are taken directly from the Peshitta, the standard Syriac translation of the Bible. For many of those whose interest in Syriac stems from Biblical studies or from the history of eastern Christianity, Syriac may be their first Semitic language. Every effort has been made in the presentation of the grammar to keep the Semitic structure of the language in the forefront and as clear as possible for those who have no previous experience with languages of that family. Wheeler M. Thackston is Professor of Persian and other Near East Languages at Harvard University, where he has taught Persian and Arabic for over twenty years. Thackston_00_Content+Preface.pdf......Page 1 Thackston_00_Preliminary+Matters.pdf......Page 10 Thackston_01_Lesson+One.pdf......Page 28 Thackston_02_Lesson+Two.pdf......Page 34 Thackston_03_Lesson+Three.pdf......Page 39 Thackston_04_Lesson+Four.pdf......Page 44 Thackston_05_Lesson+Five.pdf......Page 49 Thackston_06_Lesson+Six.pdf......Page 53 Thackston_07_Lesson+Seven.pdf......Page 58 Thackston_08_Lesson+Eight.pdf......Page 63 Thackston_09_Lesson+Nine.pdf......Page 69 Thackston_10_Lesson+Ten.pdf......Page 76 Thackston_11_Lesson+Eleven.pdf......Page 82 Thackston_12_Lesson+Twelve.pdf......Page 87 Thackston_13_Lesson+Thirteen.pdf......Page 93 Thackston_14_Lesson+Fourteen.pdf......Page 102 Thackston_15_Lesson+Fifteen.pdf......Page 111 Thackston_16_Lesson+Sixteen.pdf......Page 119 Thackston_17_Lesson+Seventeen.pdf......Page 125 Thackston_18_Lesson+Eighteen.pdf......Page 131 Thackston_19_Lesson+Nineteen.pdf......Page 138 Thackston_20_Lesson+Twenty.pdf......Page 144 Thackston_21_Appendix A.pdf......Page 153 Thackston_22_Appendix B.pdf......Page 167 Thackston_23_Appendix C.pdf......Page 169 Thackston_24_Readings.pdf......Page 176 Thackston_25_Vocabulary.pdf......Page 217 Thackston_26_Exercises+Index.pdf......Page 248 A series of twenty lessons with exercises introducing the fundamentals of Syriac grammar and syntax for beginners. A short collection of readings and glossary end the volume.