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EntityQ34040· pop 29· linked from 430 articles

Also known as Surayt, Suryoyo, Syriac, West Syriac, Turabdinian

language from the Central Neo-Aramaic language family

Key facts

Pronunciation
[tˤuˈrɔjɔ]
Native to
Turkey , Syria
Region
Mardin Province of southeastern Turkey ; Al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria
Ethnicity
Assyrians
Native speakers
100,000 (2019–2023)
Language family
Afro-Asiatic Semitic Central Semitic Northwest Semitic Aramaic Eastern Aramaic Central Neo-Aramaic Turoyo
Writing system
Syriac alphabet (West Syriac Serṭo) , Latin alphabet ( Turoyo alphabet )
Recognised minority language in
Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Turkey
Iso 639 3
tru
Glottolog
turo1239
Elp
Turoyo

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Turoyo language map 1960s-Russian.png
Show 5 more facts
Wikimedia language code
tru
native label
Surayt
Commons category
Turoyo language
number of speakers, writers, or signers
84000
Sources (7)

via Wikidata · CC0

~13 min read

Article

Turoyo (Turoyo: ܛܘܪܝܐ), also referred to as Surayt (Turoyo: ܣܘܪܝܬ), or modern Suryoyo (Turoyo: ܣܘܪܝܝܐ), is a Central Neo-Aramaic language traditionally spoken by the Syriac Christian community in the Tur Abdin region located in southeastern Turkey and in northeastern Syria. Turoyo speakers are mostly adherents of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Originally spoken and exclusive to Tur Abdin, it is now majority spoken in the diaspora. It is classified as a vulnerable language. Most speakers use the Classical Syriac language for literature and worship. Its closest relatives are Mlaḥsô and western varieties of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic like Suret. Turoyo is not mutually intelligible with Western Neo-Aramaic, having been separated for over a thousand years.

Etymology

On the map

15 mapped locations

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