JAB'EDINE - another Aramaic-speaking village in Syria:

The language of Christ awaits resurrection (Financial Times)
By Kim Ghattas
Published: March 27 2004 4:00 | Last Updated: March 27 2004 4:00

Khaled Ahmad Alloush and Mohammed Qassem Tawil are anxiously waiting to hear whether there will be a special screening of Mel Gibson's controversial film, The Passion of the Christ, in their isolated village of Jab'edine, perched in the hills north of Damascus.
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The two farmers are among the few thousand people who will not need subtitles to understand the language spoken throughout the movie, Aramaic.

Mostly considered a dead language, Aramaic, which was once spoken all over the Middle East, is still alive in three Syrian villages, Jab'edine, Bakh'aa and Maaloula. Even young children play and tease each other in Aramaic.

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It is unclear why Aramaic survived in this particular region but the most common explanation is the villages' isolation, which preserved them from the spread of Arabic.

For the Christians of Maaloula, Aramaic has an added significance. Ten years ago, villagers celebrated Good Friday mass in Aramaic for the first time in centuries. Everything from the sermon to the hymns was translated.

This was made possible by one man, George Rizkallah, Maaloula's Aramaic expert. He has been working hard to promote the language and develop it beyond simple, everyday, Aramaic.

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