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b-hebrew - RE: [b-hebrew] Distinguishing between Aramaic and Hebrew

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  • From: "Trevor & Julie Peterson" <06peterson AT cua.edu>
  • To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: RE: [b-hebrew] Distinguishing between Aramaic and Hebrew
  • Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2003 05:41:34 -0400

Chris wrote:

> Both Hebrew and Aramaic passages appear in Jewish prayer books. Would

> someone offer a short list easy identifiers so that a Hebrew beginner
> can realize he's looking at Aramaic, not Hebrew?

Looking for alef at the end of a lot of words has already been
mentioned. Another common clue is to look for relative pronouns. In
Hebrew they should take the form asher or she-, in Aramaic, di or d-.
>
> An earlier contribution noted that the Kaddish is Aramaic with a
> concluding Hebrew verse. I believe the prayer preceding the removal
> of the Torah from
> the ark is also in Aramaic. Why is this, I wonder?

Well, as has already been discussed, some of these prayers may have been
devised in Aramaic at a time when Aramaic was the more commonly spoken
language, so that the people would be sure to understand them, even if
they hadn't learned Hebrew very well.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics





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