Answering Christianity

HORRIBLE (no reply)

Answering Christinaity (a site about Islam) made claims that the word for God in Aramaic (Élaha) is identical to the word for God in Arabic (Alah). Indeed, the word Alah did evolve from Élaha, but through some misuse of Lexicons the author tries to reassign the vowels of the word, making it closer to the Arabic than it actually is. Unfortunately, the point is not valid. The author also tries to pass off the Absolute Construct as "slang Aramaic" and makes many references to "slang Aramaic" (for which there is no source, "slang Aramaic" as the author puts it does not exist). A very misleading page in terms of Aramaic use.

 

Aramaic Bible, The	GOOD
An impressive undertaking to translate the Aramaic Scriptures idiomatically with many footnotes! In order to access the entire project so far, however, you need to pay a fee (which I, personally, think is worth it). What I've read of the Author's work is solid as can be.

 

Aramaic Write	GOOD
A nifty word processor that writes in English, Hebrew, Serta, Estrangela, and Arabic. :-)

 

Aramaic Bible Society, The

BAD

Based on the work of George Lamsa, I found this site a bit disturbing on a theological level, for it claims to be Christian, yet endorses Islam (but that is not the reason for the rating). It is associated with and endorses Metamind Publications Bookstore (which is listed here, check it out for reasons) as well as the poor textual criticism of Lamsa (Lamsa lied about several important aspects of Old Syriac manuscripts to promote his views of Peshitta primacy). A lot of Lamsa's work, however is important and enlightening, so I reccommend it for a good read. Unfortunately, The Aramaic Bible Society has turned it all commericialist, seemingly trying to print what it can while it can. (I really feel bad about saying this, and I'm not joshing around.)

 

Assyrian Aramaic Language Website, The

EXCELLENT

This is an ALL INCLUSIVE tutorial to the Assyrian dialect of Aramaic (one of the modern dialects still spoken today) when it is finished, it will be akin to an Aramaic textbook, online for free. Each word in Aramaic it teaches (or mentions) is linked to a sound file to teach you proper pronounciation, each lesson builds on the last, and there are exercises galore! (THIS is what I want MY Aramaic Primer to look like!) In a phrase: Freakin' awesome!

 

Assyrian/Syriac Fonts	GOOD
A pretty extensive list of all sorts of ancient language fonts (mostly Aramaic and Syriac here). They're from various sources, and I haven't checked them all out yet, but the ones I have downloaded so far are awesome :-)

 

CAL Database, The

EXCELLENT

The CAL, or Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, Database is a MUST for Aramaic scholars and students alike. It has a Lexicon with God knows how many entries in dozens of dialects. You can browse dozens of ancient Aramaic manuscripts in electronic format (They have a copy of the Old Syriac Gospels!). The Hebrew letters that they use are in Unicode format, while they offer their Estrangela Syriac font (CALSyriac) free for download. They also have a way to search for words in English to Aramaic, and Aramaic to English. Impressive beyond all other Lexicons!

Learn Assyrian by Robert Oshana

GOOD

This was the first website that I was exposed to when I was learning about the language. It's a good resource for learning the Modern Assyrian dialect of Aramaic still spoken today. Although the romanization system that Mr. Oshana uses is a bit difficult to catch at the beginning, after a while it becomes second nature. :-) There is an extensive vocabulary section, a section dedicated to Aramaic songs, and a nifty screensaver. If you're just starting to learn the language, this is a must see :-)