Requests for new languages/Wikipedia Jewish Babylonian Aramaic 2
| submitted | verification | final decision |
| Discuss the creation of this language project on this page. Votes will be ignored when judging the proposal. Please provide arguments or reasons and be prepared to defend them (see the Language proposal policy).
The language committee needs to verify the language is eligible to be approved. |
- The community needs to develop an active test project; it must remain active until approval (automated statistics, recent changes). It is generally considered active if the analysis lists at least three active, not-grayed-out editors listed in the sections for the previous few months.
- The community needs to complete required MediaWiki interface translations in that language (about localization, translatewiki, check completion).
- The community needs to discuss and complete the settings table below:
| What | Value | Example / Explanation |
|---|
| Proposal | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language code | tmr (SIL, Glottolog) | A valid ISO 639-1 or 639-3 language code, like "fr", "de", "nso", ... |
| Language name | Jewish Babylonian Aramaic | Language name in English |
| Language name | ארמיא בבלאה | Language name in your language. This will appear in the language list on Special:Preferences, in the interwiki sidebar on other wikis, ... |
| Language Wikidata item | Q33407 - item has currently the following values:
|
Item about the language at Wikidata. It would normally include the Wikimedia language code, name of the language, etc. Please complete at Wikidata if needed. |
| Directionality | RTL | Is the language written from left to right (LTR) or from right to left (RTL)? |
| Site URL | tmr.wikipedia.org | langcode.wikiproject.org |
| Settings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Project name | ויקיפדיא | "Wikipedia" in your language |
| Project namespace | usually the same as the project name | |
| Project talk namespace | "Wikipedia talk" (the discussion namespace of the project namespace) | |
| Enable uploads | yes | Default is "no". Preferably, files should be uploaded to Commons. If you want, you can enable local file uploading, either by any user ("yes") or by administrators only ("admin").
Notes: (1) This setting can be changed afterwards. The setting can only be "yes" or "admin" at approval if the test creates an Exemption Doctrine Policy (EDP) first. (2) Files on Commons can be used on all Wikis. (3) Uploading fair-use images is not allowed on Commons (more info). (4) Localisation to your language may be insufficient on Commons. |
| Optional settings | ||
| Project logo | File:... | This needs to be an SVG image (instructions for logo creation). |
| Default project timezone | Continent/City | "Continent/City", e.g. "Europe/Brussels" or "America/Mexico City" (see list of valid timezones) |
| Additional namespaces | For example, a Wikisource would need "Page", "Page talk", "Index", "Index talk", "Author", "Author talk". | |
| Additional settings | Anything else that should be set | |
Proposal
editBelow are several reasons why this project should be preserved and supported:
- A Living Cultural and Liturgical Language: Jewish Babylonian Aramaic is not merely a historical language but a living, vibrant part of daily life for millions of Orthodox Jews worldwide. It is the primary language of the Babylonian Talmud, studied daily in communities across the globe. In yeshivas (Jewish religious schools), students use this language actively, integrating it into spoken communication, religious discourse, and cultural traditions.
- Linguistic and Liturgical Use: JBA holds a central role in liturgical practices and prayers, for example in Kaddish, a significant Jewish prayer recited in synagogues globally.
- Community of Native and Fluent Speakers: There is a native-speaking community of Jewish Aramaic speakers from Kurdistan, known as the Nash Didan. This community has historically spoken a variety of Jewish Aramaic, and while their vernacular is distinct from Babylonian Aramaic, it is part of the same rich linguistic tradition. Preserving a project in JBA supports the documentation and continuation of Aramaic language heritage broadly.
- Contemporary Cultural Usage: JBA also holds a place in modern culture. For example, it has been used in films such as The Passion of the Christ, featured in comedy shows, like here, and here, and serves as the language for numerous songs, like this, and this, or this. Additionally, there is a vibrant social media presence, including a humorous Facebook page (סטטוסים בארמית) and a dedicated Facebook discussion group for enthusiasts and speakers of Babylonian Aramaic.
- Cultural and Historical Significance: JBA was a lingua franca for Jewish communities in the Middle East and beyond for over a millennium. It is the primary language of the Babylonian Talmud, one of the foundational texts of Jewish law and culture, studied extensively by scholars and students worldwide to this day.
- Academic and Research Relevance: JBA remains a core subject of study. It is studied in universities across the globe, including prestigious institutions specializing in Judaic Studies, Semitics, and Ancient Languages. Universities and scholars rely on accessible resources for research and education. A Wikipedia in this language aligns with Wikimedia’s mission to make knowledge freely available.
- Community Interest and Contributions: The existence of active contributors and a growing body of content shows there is a community of interested users willing to invest time and effort into building the project. This reflects a real demand for resources in JBA. Many similar projects have thrived once they gained visibility and support.
- Usage in Hebrew and Other Languages: Many words commonly used in modern Hebrew are directly borrowed from Aramaic (for instance אבא, קופסא, דוגמא, etc.), while countless others are derived from Aramaic roots. This influence extends beyond Hebrew into other languages as well (like marhaba in Arabic). Preserving JBA is also essential for understanding these connections and the linguistic evolution it shaped. Additionally, JBA present in culture through the names of businesses and institutions. For example, the name of Assuta Hospital in Ashdod is Aramaic. Many other enterprises, organizations, and products use Aramaic names (see this article).
- Precedents for Historical Language Projects: There are already established Wikipedias in languages with similar historical and academic uses, such as Latin, Old English, and Classical Chinese. JBA deserves the same recognition and support as it occupies a similar position in the history of world literature and linguistics.
- Alignment with Wikimedia’s Mission: Wikimedia’s commitment to linguistic diversity and the documentation of human knowledge is at the heart of this project. Allowing it to continue fosters the preservation of an important linguistic heritage, enriches educational content, and encourages engagement with one of the world’s most historically significant languages.
- Why it is Different than Ancient Greek and the like: Ancient Greek, being a direct ancestral variant of Modern Greek, which already has its own Wikipedia, does not represent a separate cultural or linguistic community, but rather a historical stage of the same language continuum.
- On the other hand, Jewish Aramaic has no Wikipedia representation in any form. denying a Wikipedia to JBA would mean that an entire cultural, religious, and linguistic tradition remains without a dedicated repository of free, user-generated knowledge on Wikimedia platforms.
- Moreover, unlike Ancient Greek, JBA is not only used ceremonially but as a practical communicational language. This is mainly because it is the main language in halakhic literature. Unlike Ancient Greek, which is primarily studied for historical insight, JBA’s study often directly informs modern-day decision-making and religious observance, not just academic curiosity. This makes it daily relevant for every practicing Jew.
- You can walk into a yeshiva and see students having a lively debate about Aramaic concepts like ברי ושמא or חזקת מרא קמא.
- JBA is also widely used in the Israeli legal system. This makes its usage closer to a living cultural practice rather than a ceremonial tradition.
- Also, the community engaging with JBA is larger, more active, and more globally dispersed than any comparable Ancient Greek-speaking community. --Eliahu21 (talk) 17:09, 28 January 2025 (UTC)
Discussion
editThe language spoken by the Nash Didan community, known as Jewish Neo-Aramaic, is a direct descendant of JBA. This is because the Nash Didan are direct descendants of the Jewish Babylonian diaspora. The Nash Didan community’s language and cultural heritage represent a modern continuation and evolution of JBA. While JBA has been preserved in its classical form, the dialect spoken by the Nash Didan are descendant branch that developed from the same cultural and linguistic roots. In this way, JBA serves as the classical, literary form, while Jewish Neo-Aramaic functions as its modern living form. This is why Jewish Neo-Aramaic is also called Targum (see here). Although Jewish Neo-Aramaic, has evolved over centuries and includes some borrowed words from Persian or Kurdish, it remains remarkably similar to JBA. As a fluent JBA speaker, I can personally attest to the fact that almost all the Aramaic words in Nash Didan are comprehensible to me. This highlights that Jewish Neo-Aramaic is rather a modern, slightly adapted form of JBA. While, of course, the Nash Didan community is welcome to create a Wikipedia in their own dialect if they wish, a Wikipedia in JBA still directly supports their linguistic and cultural heritage. --Eliahu21 (talk) 18:40, 28 January 2025 (UTC)