Documenting the language of the Modern Assyrian Mountaineers of Nala: an ancient language endangered though migration and oblivion

The Endangered Language Documentation Programme (ELDP) provides grants worldwide to for the linguistic documentation of endangered language and knowledge. Grantees create multimedia collection of endangered languages. These collections are preserved and made freely available through the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) housed at the library of SOAS University of London.

Modern Assyrian Language (Sorith) in Nala, a language of speakers among villagers of 7 pure Christian countries, These villages are belong to Amadiya District / Duhok Governorate in Kurdistan / Iraq . The indigenous people, speaker of this language are about (1000) living in these villages. Their isolated and remote villages helped speakers keep their authentic language and vocabularies inherited thousands of years. In fact, the situation now is different and their language is endangered and vulnerable to die also due to the increase migrating to other places especially after ISIS appearance and also being obliged to go outside their area to work, a case that threatens the entity of their own and Assyrians in all in Iraq. Primary investigator: Mikhael Dawoud

Project Details


Location: Iraq, Middle East, Asia Organiser(s): Endangered Languages Documentation Programme Project partner(s): University of Cambridge, The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Funder(s): Arcadia Funding received: £9,095.00 Commencement Date: 01/2014 Project Status: Active
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