The Syriac Language: The Root of an Authentic People

By Amir Polous Ibrahim | Syriac writer, and poet

The Syriac language is one of the most ancient and deeply rooted languages in history. It was the language in which Jesus Christ preached His humanitarian message. It represents the age-old identity of our Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people, which has existed in history throughout the East, especially in the lands of Beth Nahrain (Mesopotamia), Iran and southern Turkey. Our people spoke Syriac from the fourth century AD, though it was previously known as Aramaic. In addition to being a means of communication in our communities, it is also the language of church rituals.

The Syriac language is divided into two forms of writing: Eastern and Western. It can be written in either the Eastern or Western script, in addition to the ancient ‘Estrangela’ variant, which is common to both scripts. Syriac has its own manuscripts, religious sources, and literary works, with the oldest dating back 2,000 years. It contains distinctive vocabulary that has influenced other languages, with Arabic having had the greatest influence from Syriac as the Arabic Kufic script was derived from the Estrangela variant. Therefore, Syriac grammar shares many similarities with other languages. The early translations of the Bible and literary works by Syriac-speaking clergy contributed to the development of the Syriac language. Consequently, the significance of Syriac cannot be denied: it was fundamental to the success of many cultures and civilizations through its translations and scholarly contributions.

From the above, we can conclude that the Syriac language, with its deep historical roots and importance for other languages — but also differs from them — is a foundational element of an authentic people striving to preserve their presence by emphasizing their language as an identity, one that affirms their existence in Beth Nahrain for thousands of years. They persist in ensuring that these roots continue to nurture future generations with love for their ancestral language, encouraging them to speak, write, and learn it. This is precisely what church institutions and cultural centers are endeavoring to achieve by organizing Syriac language courses for elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as literacy courses for adults.

The Syriac language remains the language of church rituals and the literary and cultural heritage of our people, who resist any attempt to erase their history. It will not fade from the pages of manuscripts and books but will instead keep resonating as the strong voice of a people firmly established in their homeland, reaffirming over and over again their existence through their ancient and deeply entrenched language.

Amir Polous Ibrahim is a Syriac writer, and poet. He presents a weekly tv program on Suroyo TV. He lives in the Syriac town of Baritle (Bartella), Iraq.