The Definite and Indefinite Articles in Assyrian Aramaic

12 Pages·2006·0.21 MB·English

by  Daniel Benjamin

The Definite and Indefinite Articles
in Assyrian Aramaic
Dr. Zomaya S. Solomon

Introductory Remarks
1. As far as is known, there are only a very few languages that take their
definite article at the termination of the noun they modify. In the Semitic
languages, it is the Old Aramaic language that has this peculiarity. Among the
Indo-European languages, it is the Romanian language that takes its definite
article at the very end of the word it qualifies. In most languages, including the
Semitic languages, the article usually comes at the very beginning of the word it
modifies. In some languages it is prefixed, in others it stays independent, usually
depending on the article's size. The article, both in Hebrew, Ha- חַ , originally Hal
לחַ, and in Arabic, al- ـ(cid:1127)ﻟاَ, never inflects; whereas, in Assyrian Aramaic, originally
the article, definite or indefinite, inflects to some extent for gender and number.
2. It is a well known fact that the Aramaic language underwent certain dramatic
changes very early in its development period. It appears that it was during that
time, approximately in the middle of the second millennium B. C. — a time
when not only Aramaic, but also Hebrew and some other adjacent and cognate
languages — experienced this linguistic instability possibly even before these
languages were properly put into writing.
3. With respect to the Romanian definite article and the language itself, we
know that it took place as a result of the Roman soldiers being encamped in
every occupied territory and province of the Roman Empire. Accordingly, the
newly emerging Latin dialects eventually became new languages. Among these
new languages, something rather well known from the recorded history, the
Romanian language came into existence. For the Aramaic language, however, the
old suffixed article, -a d@čÀÀÀ which Arayathinal calls ParagogicAlap,1 apparently
lost its grammatical function almost entirely. Possibly this happened, (1) because
of the article's excessive usage; (2) also because of its precariously end position
as a suffix to a noun; and (3) because of the morphological weakness of the
suffix itself. Although it fell from use early on; its lingering influence still
remains, here and there, in Assyrian Aramaic.
4. Paragoge means, according to Pei, that "[T]he addition of a sound, letter, or
syllable to the end of a word, without any etymological justification, often for
euphony or ease in pronunciation, without changing or affecting the meaning of
the word."2 In reality, this could not have been a proper description with respect
to this Old Aramaic article; but at this current juncture of history, maybe Pei's
description of it is quite justified.
5. Possibly, unlike all the other branches of Aramaic, the new definite article in
Assyrian Aramaic is quite commonly employed, prepositioned at the very
beginning of the noun it defines. What it lacks nowadays is a systematic
operativeness or a satisfying function. The fact is that the new definite article is
used more sporadically in its function, especially when the hints of the old
1
2 Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, Vol. 20, no. 2, 2006
definite article still exist and that, in the mind of an Assyrian writer of today,
such a noun is somewhat modified by its old archaic function which is calls
rightfully Paragoge.
6. With respect to the Greek article's many uses, Dana says: "Scholars have not
accorded it sufficient attention, nor sought with proper diligence to apprehend the
real genius underlying its various uses."3 This same thing, one believes, has
happened with respect to the new definite article in Assyrian Aramaic. As a
matter of fact, what Dana has stated for the Greek article, something like it has
likewise happened with respect to the article in Assyrian Aramaic. And so the
article in Assyrian Aramaic has hardly received, thus far, any proper attention
that counts either with respect to its etymologic entity or with respect to its
syntactic function, both of which are very important matters particularly in
Assyrian Aramaic.
7. Etymologically speaking and for English, says Jespersen, "The may be
considered a weakened that. A remnant of the t is seen in the dialectal form the
t'other (originally that-other). As the is phonetically a weaker that, its meaning
also is weakened: instead of pointing out, it serves to designate or single out.
[And so,] the is generally called the definite article."4 While this definite article,
the, does not inflect for gender and number in English, in Assyrian Aramaic, both
the definite and the indefinite articles usually inflect for both genders and, to
some extent, even numbers. By way of definition, an article is "The designation
of auxiliary words used in many languages as a particle inserted before or
prefixed to the noun to define, limit or modify its use. Articles are classified
mainly as definite [and] indefinite...”5
8. The Assyrian writers and, for that matter, speakers too, ought to be grateful
for the fact that we do have these two basically complete sets of articles — the
definite and the indefinite — and we should make every effort to put them to
good usage in our Assyrian Aramaic. Because it is very important for us to
apportion to our language through the use of these articles a good concordance,
we have presented here a rather lengthy study. In light of the following statement
that every relevant information that can be added to a language, particularly to
Assyrian Aramaic, it should be done so and without any hesitation. Likewise,
every bit of information that is removed, even if through sheer negligence, it
becomes a disservice to any language, particularly to our beautiful and living
language, the Assyrian Aramaic.
Stoddard's Definite Article
9. This is how Stoddard speaks about the definite and indefinite articles in his
1853 grammar book; possibly, the very first complete grammar book of its kind
in Assyrian Aramaic, saying:
In general, says Stoddard, the pronouns ëe ,ðe and o@ Àãač are used for the
definite article, but with far less latitude than חַ in Hebrew [and ـ (cid:1127)ﻟأ in Arabic].
They are also omitted in multitudes of cases where the is employed in English;
for example, _@cë óÀí@dßč ñč @còč ßč …@d’Ž ãč a@ Were (the) men of (the) village there?
d@@Àčßþìîi@cŽóÀčç@ð‰ñ@twice in (the/a) day; @o@@ ÀÛbič Šè ß@dÀîĆ ãŁë…… å@À·đ a@ when
The Definite and Indefinite Articles in Assyrian Aramaic 3
(the) world tempt me (expression); _dĆŁì@ñflìí@ôŁìİÛŁìÐß Have you brought
out (the) horse? ... Łìí…a@óÛaña@a‰Łìç@ëe The older (son) came today...
10. The indefinite article @d@Àyč [or †ž@ Àyđ (ms.) and], a@†č Ày [(fs.)] is postpositioned
less frequently than [the English] indefinite article, but more frequently than in
the ancient language [Old Aramaic]. (Hoff, 109, 4). Take the following as an
example of this usage: òÀ@Èđ àč uč @@@@@ìÀçč @óÀÜ àÓ @dÀ’č ãč a@dÀyč @@a man stood up in the
meeting, [where the first noun, d’č ãč a , is marked indefinite; but the noun òÈđ àč uč
meeting,] does not take any type of article. Sometimes, Mindiy p@ †Àäflß a thing ,
is annexed to another noun with much the force of an indefinite article; for
example,_„ŁìÛa₣Œy@p†äflß@djč Ü×đ @@ Did you see a certain dog? We should
suppose this to mean, Did you see a dog or anything (of the kind)?6 Also notice:
_@@æŁìÀþìäfli‹@hÀÛô@p†äflßDid you purchase something? (Lit. "Did you purchase
some certain thing?") _æŁëòÀÀí@ač†ÀÀčrÈĆi@p†ÀÀäflß hčÛŁìÀÀ‘ Are you (cp.) doing
something? (Lit. "Are you doing a certain thing?")@aŠčßbÛ@„ŁìÛòma@p†äflß@dčß
@@@_ðóîčm…@ñŁìiWhat do you have to say about them? (Lit. "What thing do you
have to say about them?")

Origin of the Article
a. Origin of Definite Article
11. It appears that the new definite article in Assyrian Aramaic arose from the
demonstrative and pronominal elements of the Old Aramaic. For the masculine
singular, the new definite article, is Haw ëe@; for the feminie singular, the new
definite article is Hay ðe ; for the common plural, the definite article is ániy
oÀÀãač from Hanín ´ÀÀãĆ ô . But in this new Assyrian Aramaic, the article,
throughout the ages, has changed and for Haw ëe , we have now O ëač the; for
Hay ðe , we have now E ðča the; as is the case already for Hanín ´@ ÀãĆ ô , we
have Aniy @o@ Àãač (<@ï@ ÀãĆ ač @@< @´@ ÀãĆ ač @< ´@ ÀãĆĆ ô I@the. It should be remembered
that, (1) very often the Hi (ى) of the Old Aramaic is usually replaced by Alap (ا)
in the new Aramaic, and even in the Israeli Hebrew;7 (2) the suffix, Nun (å@Àã),
drops to become ï@ ÀãĆ ač ; and (3) because this Zlama Yarikha ( Ćـ (cid:1127)ــ ) is directly
followed by an unvowelled Y odh (ïÀ), which does not exist as a vowel in a final
position in any Aramaic branch, particularly Assyrian Aramaic; but it
immediately reverts to Khwas'a (oÀ), as in oãač they, the.
b. Origin of Indefinite Article
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12. It is interesting to observe that both in French and subsequently in English,
which the latter borrowed from the former, the indefinite article arose from the
number element, one. Thus is the case in Assyrian Aramaic where its indefinite
article comes out of the number element one. In Assyrian Aramaic, the indefinite
article inflects for gender and number, as in Kha ž†đy (or dyđ ) a or an (ms.); Khdha
a@†č Ày a or an (fs.); and Khakma c@ÿàč ׆Àyđ some, a plural form that is hardly ever
employed as an indefinite article. Examples are: Kha nasha d@À’č ãč a †ž@ Àyđ a man,
Khdha bakhta c@òč À‚iđ a@†č Ày a woman, and Khakma nashi d@À’Ž ãč a c@ÿàč ׆Àyđ some
people. It appears that the indefinite article is more commonly employed and
more regular in its usage in Assyrian Aramaic than is the case with the definite
article. Nonetheless, both sets of articles are quite adequate for defining or
leaving it as an indefinite noun. Observe the following chart:
Type Mas. Sing. Fem. Sing. Corn. Plur.
Syriac ëe the ðe the ´ãĆĆ ô the/they
Assyr. Aram. ëač the ðča the ناٍ the
Pronominals Łëôča he who pôča she who ﺖﻧاِ they who
Article as a Determinant
13. Moscati points out — which is contrary to what some other linguists have
claimed — that neither mimation (in Akkadian and Hebrew), nor nunation (in
Akkadian, Syriac and Arabic) have anything to do with determining the
definiteness or indefiniteness of a noun in a language. Erroneously, Arabic has
usually been the language cited as an example for this determination
phenomenon. About Akkadian, Muscati says: "It can thus be seen that mimation
and nunation co-exist in Akkadian, [not interchangeably though], but they do not
possess the function of distinguishing definitness and indefiniteness — as is the
case in some other languages."9 It is apparent that when Moscati makes his
statement, "as is the case in some other languages," he refers primarily to the
Arabic language. Moscati further defends himself — and this author fully agrees
with him — by saying: "In North-West Semitic, as indeed in North-East Semitic,
no properly established relationship can be ascertained between mimation and
nunation, on the one hand, and aspect of determination, on the other."10
14. To begin with, nunation has absolutely no power of determination in the
Semitic languages, including Arabic. It is very important to point out that in
Arabic nouns are always found morphologically bound, i.e. attached to elements
of one of the following five possibilities: (1) Taking the prefixed definite article,
Al- ـ(cid:1127)ﻟا the, as in al-Kitaabu ب ُ ﺎ(cid:1127)ﺘَﻜِﻟا the book, thereby making the noun definite. (2)
Being in construct with a definite noun, as in Kitaabu al-mu‘allimi ﻢ(cid:1127)ﻠِﻌَﻤُﻟا بُ ﺎ(cid:1127)ﺘَآِ the
book o f the teacher, or the teacher's book, where the book is defined because it is
in construct with another definite noun. (3) Being in construct with an indefinite
noun, Kitaabu mu‘allim1n ﻢٍ (cid:1127)ﻠِﻌَﻡُ بُ ﺎ(cid:1127)ﺘَآِ The book of a teacher, or A teacher's book.
Observe, however, how the word book is translated in English as definite, the
book of a teacher, instead of, a book of a teacher. Although in English, this noun
The Definite and Indefinite Articles in Assyrian Aramaic 5
is presented definite; in Arabic, we have here a noun that is somewhat defined
but yet distinct from being a definite noun.

15. (4) The same noun may be construed with a definite pronominal suffix, as in
Baytukum ﻢﻜُﺘَ(cid:1127)ﻴْﺑَ your house, where the noun is construed to the pronominal suffix
-kum ﻢﻜُـ . Since the pronominal suffixes are innately defintite, because they
always refer back to another noun; nouns construed to them become likewise
definite. (5) When none of the above four possibilities exists, then and only then
nunation takes over and must be attached to such a noun, as in malikun ‘Azjimun
ﻢٌﻴ(cid:1127)ﻈِ ﻋَ ﻚٌ (cid:1127)ﻜﻠِﻡَ a great king. Therefore, no noun in the Arabic language escapes its
attachment to one of these five possibilities. This means that no nunation for
Arabic, much less mimation/nunation for Akkadian can determine a noun, or an
adjectival noun for that matter, to be either definite or indefinite.
Nunation and Mimation (N/M)
16. The word Nunation arises from the sound of the letter
Nuun (4'..) used for this "strange" grammatical phenomenon, primarily in the
Arabic language. It should be pointed out that most Arabic nouns and adjectives
that are singular, and some nouns that are of the broken plural but
morphologically similar to the singular nouns, take this
"superficial" sound of Nuun hence nunation. In a figurative manner, the written
form of nunation is affected by the doubling of the written sign, or form, of the
grammatically employed final vowel of a word, as in Kitaabun jadiidun ﺪ ٌ(cid:1127)یﺪﺟَ بٌ ﺎ(cid:1127)ﺘِآ a
new book, for the nominative case; kitaaban jadiidan اًﺪ(cid:1127)یﺪﺟَ ﺄ (cid:1127)ﺑﺎﺘِآ a new book, for
the accusative case; kitaabin jadiidin a new book, for the genitive case.

17. For the nouns of the sound plural and dual, which usually end with a long
vowel, this nunation is affected by lengthening the final vowel of these elements
and adding to this long vowel the character
Nuun (ن) itself, as in Mudiiruuna qawiyyuuna ن َ ﻮ(cid:1127)یُﻮِﻗَ نَ وﺮُیﺪِ(cid:1127)ﻡُ the strong principals,
for the nominative case, and Mudiiriina qawiyyiina ﻦَ یِِﻮِ(cid:1127)(cid:1127)(cid:1127)ﻗَ ﻦَ یﺮِیﺪِ(cid:1127)(cid:1127)(cid:1127)ﻡُ the strong
principals, for the oblique case, i.e. the accusative and the genitive cases
combined in their form and in their function. Since for this nunation, the nouns of
the sound plural and their dual take the character Nuun (ن); and since this letter is
a true consonant, it must then take a "superficial" vowel sign of its own, which is
always Pthakha (ــَ), as in نَ وﺮُﻴﺜِآَ ﻢْهُ نﻮیُرِﻮﺷُ اَ Assyrians are many.

ـَـ
18. In reality, this Pthakha ( ) too is a real Paragoge, when
considering Pei's description of it, as in Mudiiruun ن َ وﺮُیﺪِ(cid:1127)ﻡُ , where the word ends
superficially with it. For the archaic use of this NIM phenominon in the other
Semitic languages, it is called either Nunation (for Syriac and Akkadian), or
Mimation (for Hebrew and Akkadian). Strangely enough, Akkadian roughly
employs for its singular and plural nouns Mimation; but for its dual nouns, the
language uses Nunation.11

N/M in Other Semitic Languages
6 Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, Vol. 20, no. 2, 2006

19. It is interesting to point out that since the dual and sound plural nouns, at
least in Arabic, take nunation; it is this nunation/mimation, when it is applied to
the sound plural and dual of nouns and adjectives of the other languages that
gives us a strong tip-off that this phenomenon exists also in the other Semitic
languages. When such plural and dual nouns themselves are attached to the first
four situations cited above, they drop their nunation consonant, Nuun (ن). And
when the long vowel at the end of a noun, which is the sign of the sound plural
and dual, remains, this Nun likewise remains in the other Semitic languages as an
indicator of the same Nunation/Mimation of the plural or dual used in them.
20. The remnants of these nunated/mimated nouns exist usually as relics, to
some extent, in the other Semitic languages; it exists more so in Hebrew and less
in Syriac. Nunation in Syriac is found only in a very few remaining geographic
nouns that are dual, as in Mis'rin å@í‰Ć ûÀßfl Egypt (upper and lower Egypt), Bith-
nahrin @å@í‰Ć óÀãđ @ò@ ÀîiĆ Mesopotamia (the land, or the house, of the two rivers),
Trin å@Àí‰Ć ñ two (m.) and Tartin å@Àíñ ‰ñđ two (f.), where the final Nun (å@Àã),
preceded by a long vowel Zlama Yarikha (´@ ÀĆÀ), is the indicator of this written
Nunation. In Hebrew, the same thing happens, but using mimation, Mim (ם),
instead, and it is more commonly used in that language.

21. Etymologically speaking, when considering nunation/mimation as a whole,
Hebrew and Akkadian have a closer affinity to each other than Syriac and Arabic
with respect to Mimation (ם) only. Likewise, Syriac and Arabic have closer
affinity to each other than Hebrew and Akkadian with respect to Nunation (å@Àã)
only. Also, Akkadian shares with Hebrew the use of Mimation (ם) in its singular
and plural nouns; but it shares with Syriac the use of Nunation (å@Àã) in the latter's
dual nouns only. In Hebrew, such a dual suffix still persists regularly in nouns of
the human body that occur in pairs, as in Yadayim םֽידַַי hands, Raglayim םֽילַיגֲרַ
feet, ،Enayim םֽיַנעְ eyes; and also in the dual of gadgets that are made of two
parts, as in Ophanayyim םֽינאָוֹא bicycle (having two wheels); Misparayim ְסְמֽ a
pair of scissors, (A gadget made of two identical parts).
Generic and Abstract Nouns
a. Generic Nouns
22. In some way, like the abstract nouns given below, the generic noun, unless
specified, usually does not take an article. According to Pei, "[A] generic term [is
a] non-specific, non-distinctive term, applicable to a great number of individual
members of a class or group."12 Briefly stated, the distinction between an abstract
noun and a generic noun is that the first is a deverbal noun, and the second is
originally a concrete noun used to indicate a certain quality. When a noun is used
generically, it does not usually take an article, as in @@”ŁìÀi@ŠØđ n@@@À‘@åjfl Àzfl ßč @dÀ×
d@À’č qŁë… @O@ač…ëõ‹ ; I love sugar more than honey. Observe how in the sentence
The Definite and Indefinite Articles in Assyrian Aramaic 7
mentioned above there are no articles employed with either Š@ Øđ nÀ‘ sugar, or
d’č qŁë… honey.
23. Not only in Assyrian Aramaic, but also in English, such nouns as Š@ Øđ nÀ‘
and d’č qŁë… found in the sentence, d@À’č qŁë… O@dči‰@”Łìi ŠđØn‘@åjfl zfl ßč @d× ,are

employed generically and often collectively, and so they do not take either
article, definite or indefinite. However, observe carefully the following
augmented sentence:@O@@@@@óÀÀÜ í@dÀîč Üyfl @”ŁìÀi@æòđ ÀÀÓč @„ŁìÀÛañ Łìß…@dÀ’č qŁë…@ëe@
æ@@ đòÀčÓ@„ŁìÀÛañŁìß@„ŁìãŁìyča…@dč’qŁë…@ëe…; The honey you brought for us is
sweeter than the honey your brother brought for us. Since we have specified here
the repeated term d@À’č qŁë… honey, it must now take the definite article, as in وﺁ
d’č qŁë… the honey.
b. The Abstract Nouns
24. In most languages, abstract nouns are deverbal, that is, they are derived from
verbs and usually function in a verbal way often having a subject and an object.
Says Pei, "[An] abstract noun [is a] word denoting a quality or characteristic in
general. [It also indicates], in general, any term, word or expression which
denotes a notion, concept, idea, in contradistinction to a concrete term."13 This
being the case, these deverbal elements are employed as nouns, usually taking no
article of any kind. However, they may also be used as Non-abstract nouns; and
depending on their syntax, sometimes they may be only defined to some extent
but not made definite. When an abstract noun is specified, however, then it will
usually take an article and be made definite. For example:@@@ìÀè i…@„ŁëñŠÀßđ ‹
c@@ë óÀí@còč àÀfl ič @c@Š Àič @@aŠ ߣìÀÇ Your chanting in the church was very pleasant.
Here, we have specified the abstract noun c@čñŠÀđß‹ singing, chanting through the
employment of the pronominal suffix, -ukh „@ ŁìÀÀ your, which could be rendered
into, The chanting of yours in the church was very pleasant, or your chanting in
the church was very pleasant.
Lingering Effect of the Old Definite Article
25. The definite article in Assyrian Aramaic has, for its significance, two aspects
that are quite distinct from any other article. It appears that, first psychologically,
whether we use the new definite article in Assyrian Aramaic or not, it often
depends on the import maintained in a rather peculiar way in today's Assyrian
Aramaic as distinct from the Old Aramaic. This is why, at times, it is very
difficult for the majority of the Assyrian writers to employ their new definite
article with certain nouns that already end with that old,
morphologically-speaking suffix, -a d@ÀčÀÀ . Aِِs we have just mentioned, Arayathinal
calls this definite article, Paragogic Alap (a), as in _@@@@còč Àßč …@dÀ’Ž ãč a@cë óÀí@dÀßč ñč
Were the people of the village there? Observe how every word in this sentence
8 Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, Vol. 20, no. 2, 2006
ends with this old definite article. Notice also how, in Assyrian Aramaic, the
nouns in this very sentence take no definite article, somehow depending on the
Old Aramaic relic, the definite article, Alap (d@ÀčÀÀ). Accordingly, the Assyrian
writer should make every effort to use his new articles of determination in
Assyrian Aramaic, as much as possible, as in _c@@@@òč Àßč …@dÀ’Ž ãč a@cë óÀí@dÀßč ñč Were
the people of the village there?
26. Again, psychologically speaking, it is usually unbeknown to us, the Assyrian
writers, who have often become totally oblivious of the new article, and usually
psychologically dependent upon the old archaic existece of the definite article.
Observe how in the following sentence @dčŁì@@oÛaò‘Łìß@dčßþìîi@cŽóčç@ð‰ñ@
d@Ànč ß Twice a day I gave the horse water (to drink), how, by way of analysis, we
have the following three words each functioning differently with respect to the
use of the new article. For example: Yuma dčßþìí day is used indefinitely; Susa
d@Àč Łì horse is used definitely, and Miyya dč À@nß water is used generically. By
way of repetition, it should be remembered that the generic and the abstract
nouns, unless specified, are used without an article.
28. Dealing with the same sentence given above, here too we have three
grammatically distinct usages of the three nouns: the first, d@Àßč þìí a day, is
expected to be indefinite; used with its preposition, B- l in, and employed as an
adverbial prepositional phrase. Within this prepositional phrase, the word is
employed generically in contrast to, for example, Shaptha c@òč jÀ‘đ a week, or
Shita còč@ äž À‘Ć a year. The second noun is d@Àč Łì horse, which is supposed to be
definite, yet receives no definite article. Here again the writer, instead of using
his new definite article, has unconsciously depended upon the old archaic article,
a semantic relic from the Old Aramaic, -a d@ÀčÀÀ . In reality, it is the new definite
article that should have been used, as in @ëča@@oÛaòÀ‘Łìß@dčßþìí@ž†č¡@cŽóčç@ð‰ñ
dÀÀÀnč ß@dÀÀÀč Łì@ Twice (in a) day I had the horse to drink water.
Likewise, the words Yuma dčßþìí and Susa d@Àč Łì may also take any of the two
definite and indefinite articles, as in @@ž@†Àčy@@@oÛaòÀ‘Łìß@dÀčßþìí@ëbč@@Ài@cŽóÀčç@ð‰ñ
čdnß@dĆŁì Twice thelthat day I gave water to a horse (to drink). Of course, only
Miyya d@Ànč ß water, which is generically employed and is not specified, takes no
definite article.
29. Since both articles of definition and indefinition, in Assyrian Aramaic,
basically inflect for gender and number; yet we see sentences, for example, that
contain nouns that have no definite article. Let us take the following sentences:
(1) fi Ôyđ @ìè i@d’č ãč a@oÛaŒ₣ y I saw (a / the) man in (a I the) field. (2) @oÜÔÏ ñ
The Definite and Indefinite Articles in Assyrian Aramaic 9
d@@Àíč Š Ôifl @còč À‚jđ iI met (a I the) woman reading. (3) @@@@ìÀèi@dĆiˆÀflÇ@oÜÔnrÀ‘
ač@‰ŁìÀ I left the sheep in (a I the) mountain. Roughly, in everyone of these three
sentences, certain nouns are cited that should have been preceded by a definite
article, which are: d’č ãč a@ëe
the man, còč@À‚iđ @ðe the woman, and d@iĆ ˆÀÇfl æča the sheep. Observe, however,
that in the sentence just quoted, the words @hÀ@Üč Ôyđ field, and ač@‰ŁìÀ mountain,
have no definite or indefinite article used with them to determine their state. The
writer mistakenly and subtly ignores these nouns with respect to their new
definite article, primarily subconciously depends upon the intricate archaic effect
of the Old Aramaic's definite article, —a d@ÀčÀÀ . While Assyrian Aramaic is rich in
its tenses, moods and voices; nonetheless, it is rather poor, thus far, in the
employment of its definite and indefinite articles.
30. It should be made very clear here that the difference between the definite
article and the demonstrative element, from which the article originally came
about, to begin with, has a propensity towards often reverting in both mind and
action of the writer or speaker to its demonstrative origin. For example, @@oÀÛaŒ₣ y
hčÜÔđy@ôač…@ìèi@dč’čãa@ôča I saw this man (of which we have just spoken) in this
field (of which we have just spoken); dčíŠÔfli@cčò‚đi@ôčbi@oÜÔÏñ I met this
woman (of which we have just spoken) reading; and @dĆiˆÀÀÀflÇ@dÀÀÀãĆ ča@oÜÔnrÀÀÀ‘
ač@‰ŁìÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀ@ìÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀÀè i
I left these sheep (of which we have just spoken) in that mountain (of which we
have just spoken).14 Therefore, whether we have this sentence containing a
regular definite or indefinite article or a demonstrative element, would really
hardly make any semantic or grammatical difference.

31. What is meant by "of which we have just spoken" employed several times in
the above paragraph? When one talks about someone or something indefinite,
and then that indefinite noun is once again repeated, this second time, and as
many times thereafter, the noun is mentioned as a definite one. This is a common
feature in almost every language. In reality, when one mentions for the first time
someone or something that is not specific, that noun is going to be usually
indefinite. However, when this very indefinite entity is referred to again, it
becomes instinctively specific and hence it requires a definite
article. For example:@@@@@@dÀič ‰ @dÀ’č ãč a@ëeë@~c@@@@@òč Àäž m†ß@ìÀè i@dÀ’č ãč a@†ž Àyđ @oÀÛaŒĆ y
cëóm@†äđßòčÛë…č I saw a man in the city; and the man was very rich.

32. In conclusion, knowing the fact that we Assyrians have a set of definite and
indefinite articles in our Assyrian Aramaic, we should then make every effort to
10 Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, Vol. 20, no. 2, 2006
learn how and when to employ them in the place of the old ones in our writing
and, even if possible, in our conversation. Here we will present a written segment
quoted from the book of Revelation, in Assyrian Aramaic, given in its original
version; then we will provide a new version, in Assyrian Aramaic, where the
article — definite or indefinite — is, as best as possible, fully employed (21
times). However, through the use of these articles we will bring this old
translation of our Assyrian Aramaic Bible of 1893 to reflect the today's writing
system of our language.

33. In conclusion, it is important to remember that the reading of these renewed
passages with these new articles, in the beginning, will sound somewhat slightly
awkward to the ear. Later on, however, it will surprise you as you read it several
times and find out how refreshing, delightful and pleasant this new rendition is.
We should be aware that even in English and in many other languages, the article
is often either outright misused, or not employed at all. Nevertheless, it is usually
employed rather well. And so it should be the situation even with our own
Assyrian Aramaic, where the article is most commonly used.
34. Passage One:15
b@qč òč ÀÀÀ×@ZþþìÀÀÀãë‰ñ@ÝÀÀÀđÇ@cëžô@dčrmòÀÀÀí…@ëe…@óÀÀÀĆänàđí@ÝÀÀÀđÇ@oÀÀÀÛaĆŒyë@1@@
J@@Na@@@@‡Ć ôìßč @Éjđ ’đ i@‰ôìßč @cë ôž @dîč zßfl …@ZôƉòči@Oë@@oíì çč @O@c@ë ôž @drč mò×…
d@@yč òč ÀÐÛ @|’fl yč …@hÜ í@oäßč @Za@@‰Łìç@hčÜčÔi@c₣‹þëŠØđß…@dčäčÜîčy@d@č‚đÜđß@oÛaĆŒyë@@@2
Ý@@@@ ÀÇđ @hÀÛč ë@Zd@@îč àč ’i@cë ôž @cûČŞ ßč @@@@d’č ãč a@hÛč ë@3@J@@_ómĆ …@@ @aƇôìčß@dčíŠ’Ûë@Zdqč òč ØÛ
@NóĆni@aŠčîzÛ@hčÛë@Zdqč òč ØÛ@dyč òč ÐÛ @ZdÇč ‰ađ @O@ò Ûü @hÛč ë@ZdÇč ‰ađ @
Z@@dÀÀčy@~ŁìÀÀãŁë‰ñ@ëač…@”fl‰@cëóÀÀí@dčrmòÀÀm…@@Łëôa…@óÀÀĆänàđí@O@oÀÀÛaĆŒyë@1
É@@@@ jđ À’đ i@dÀîč zßfl @@@@@@cë óÀí@dÀ’č nÏ…ë@~ô‰Ć ò ič @Oë@@ôĆìçč @O@c@@ë óí@drč mò×…@bqč òč ×
d@À@@¡č @cë ó@@@@@@ Àí@c‹₣ þëŠÀØßđ …@dÀäč Üč îyč @d@À‚č Üđ ßđ @d@Àyč @@@@c‹₣ @ÒŁëa@oÛaŒĆ yë 2 @@J@NaƇôìčß
a@ƇôìÀÀč½@cĆŠÀÀč‘ë@ZdčqčòÀÀ×@ëü@òÀÀčÏ…@dčznÀÀ’y@óÀÀÜí@oÀÀäčß@B@@Za‰ŁìÀÀç@hÀÀčÜčÓ
Ý@@@ ÀÇđ @h@ÀÛč ë@~d@@@@@Àîč đ @ìÀè i@hÀÛč @~ó@@@@@ yĆ òč ÀÐÛ @óÛ aû₣ Àß@hÛč @d’č ãč a@@dyč łÏëa@@@3@@J@B_óĆm…
NónĆ i@dÓ Łì’è ½@hÛč ë@~dÇč ‰ađ @O@ò Ûü @hÛč ë@~dÇč ‰ađ
(Seven newly used articles)

1 And I saw on the right hand of him who sat on the throne a book written within
and on the backside, which was sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw [also] a
strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book,
and to loose the seals thereof?" 3 No man was able to open the book, either in
heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, neither was he able to look there into.

35. Passage Two:
h@@ÀÛč ë@Zd@@@@qč òč ÀØÛ@dyč òč ÀÐÛ @cë ôž @|À’fl yč …@hÜ zØ ’ž ß@hÛč @d’č ãč a@kjč č @Zd@ič ‰ @oÜØ ië@4