Professor Yaqoub Issa Hanna, celebrated linguist, researcher, and teacher of the Syriac language, dies at 71

DAYRIK (AL-MALIKIYAH), Syria – Professor Yaqoub Issa Hanna, linguist and head of the Syriac Language Authority in Dayrik (al-Malikiyah) in northeastern Syria, passed away on Sunday. Hanna’s passing is a great loss for the Syriac people as he was credited with playing an important role in helping reviving and strengthening the ancient Syriac language.

Born in the village of Gishra (Syriac: “the bridge”) in 1949, Hanna received his degree in Arabic from Damascus University in 1972, encouraged the establishment of cultural and artistic activities, and has a distinguished place amongst the Syriac Orthodox Church and other Syriac religious and cultural institutions.

He learned the Syriac language from Reverend Barsoum Yusuf, priest of the Church of the Virgin in the village of Bara Beit (Syriac: “the outer house”) in 1958, began teaching the Syriac language to deacons and deaconesses, and taught at the Tigris Private School of Orthodox Syriac in Dayrik, relying on the school curriculum developed by Professor Abd al-Maseh Qarabashi.

He has given several religious and heritage lectures, the most prominent of which dealt with Mar Aphrem the Syriac, Mar Yaqoub Suryoyo, Mar Yaqoub Bar-Hebreaus, and the evolution and spread of the Syriac language throughout history.

He worked on the development of an integrated curriculum for the teaching of the Syriac language and religious rituals. The curriculum is broken down into three courses: in the first, students learn the principles of reading and writing in the Syriac language; in the second, students study a selection of prose texts of some contemporary Syriac writers; and in the third, students examines ancient Syriac literary texts.

Hanna also authored a simple book to teach Syriac to children, works of research – including several books, and at the time of his passing had several unpublished manuscripts.

In recognition of his activities relating to the Syriac language, Hanna was honored in 2002 by the Committee of Friends of the Syriac Poet Thomas Nahroyo and 2013 by the Syriac Cultural Society.