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Western Aramaic languages

Eurasian Language Families

Western Aramaic is a group of Aramaic dialects once spoken widely throughout the ancient Levant, predominantly in the south, and Sinai, including ancient Damascus, Nabataea, and the Palestine region with Judea, Transjordan and Samaria, as well as today's Lebanon and the basins of the Orontes as far north as Aleppo. The group was divided into several regional variants, spoken mainly by the Palmyrenes in the east and the Aramaeans who settled on Mount Lebanon, ancestors of the early Maronites.

Facts
Region
Anti-Lebanon mountains of Syria, mainly Maaloula and Jubb'adin 1
Proto-Language Status
Descends from Late Middle Aramaic, which diverged into eastern and western branches 1
Sources
1. Western Aramaic languages - Wikipedia
  • Present section
    spoken by no more than a few thousand people in the Anti-Lebanon mountains of Syria, mainly in Maaloula and Jubb'adin
  • History section
    During the Late Middle Aramaic period, spanning from 300 B.C.E. to 200 C.E., Aramaic diverged into its eastern and western branches.
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