George Ruskallah Libri

Western Neo-Aramaic is spoken in three villages (Maaloula, Bax'a, Jub'adin) in the Qalamun mountains north of Damascus, Syria, by a community of around 20,000 Orthodox Christians and Sunni Muslims. Despite being surrounded by Arabic speakers, this small community has preserved its ancient idiom, which retains some of the oldest features of Semitic languages. In 2007, the University of Damascus established the Aramaic Language Institute in Maaloula to promote the survival of Western Neo-Aramaic, appointing George Ruskallah as Curriculum Coordinator. The Institute aimed to teach the language, although attempts to use a square letter form of the ancient Aramaic alphabet were halted in 2010, leading to some texts being published in Syriac script. A crucial resource for learners would be a dictionary providing accurate Western Neo-Aramaic equivalents for Arabic terms, which was previously unavailable. This newly compiled dictionary aims to fill that gap, showcasing a broad vocabulary and the expressive power of modern Western Neo-Aramaic. While not exhaustive, it includes numerous examples and idiomatic expressions to aid understanding of vocabulary and usage, along with English equivalents for those with limited Arabic proficiency.