The Hulaulá Alphabet

Q: What is the Hulaulá language?

Hulaulá (also written Hula-ula or Holaulan, ISO 639-3: huy) is a Jewish Neo-Aramaic (NENA) language spoken by the descendants of the Jewish community of Sanandaj (Senneh) in Iranian Kurdistan [1] . Most speakers migrated to Israel after 1948, where an estimated 3,000–5,000 people maintain the language, primarily among the elderly generation. Hulaulá belongs to the North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) group — a cluster of modern Aramaic dialects spoken by Christian and Jewish communities formerly resident in northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, and northwestern Iran. Hulaulá is particularly notable for preserving pharyngeal consonants (ח and ע) with their Classical Aramaic phonological values.

Q: What script does Hulaulá use?

Hulaulá uses the Hebrew square script (the same 22-letter consonantal alphabet used for Biblical Hebrew and other Jewish religious texts) [2] . This is the standard writing system for all Jewish Aramaic languages — Hulaulá, Lishana Deni, Lishanid Noshan, and Lishan Didan all use Hebrew script. Traditional manuscripts are consonantal (unvowelled), with readers inferring vowels from context. Academic transliteration uses Latin diacritics for phonological precision.

Q: How does Hulaulá differ from Hebrew?

Although Hulaulá uses the Hebrew alphabet , it is an Aramaic language , not a Hebrew dialect [1] . The key differences: • Language family : Hulaulá is Aramaic (NENA); Hebrew is a different Semitic branch (Canaanite) • Phonology : Hulaulá preserves pharyngeal sounds (ח = /ħ/, ע = /ʕ/) that are reduced or lost in modern Israeli Hebrew • Grammar : Hulaulá has Aramaic verb conjugation, pronominal suffixes, and noun patterns distinct from Hebrew • Vocabulary : Core lexicon is Aramaic, with borrowings from Kurdish, Persian, and Hebrew Think of the relationship like Spanish and Italian — same script family (Latin), same broader Semitic family, but distinct languages.

Q: Where is Hulaulá spoken today?

Hulaulá is spoken today primarily in Israel , where most of the Jewish community of Sanandaj migrated after 1948 [2] . Some speakers also live in the United States and other diaspora communities. The language is considered endangered — most fluent speakers are elderly, and intergenerational transmission has largely ceased. Formerly, Hulaulá was spoken in Sanandaj (Senneh), the capital of Kurdistan Province in northwestern Iran.

Q: What is the ISO code for Hulaulá?

The ISO 639-3 code for Hulaulá is huy [1] . The language is documented in the Cambridge NENA database, in Jewish Language Research resources, and in comparative linguistic studies of Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects. The name "Hulaulá" reflects the Aramaic word for the community's self-designation, meaning something close to "our people's speech."

Q: What language family does Hulaulá belong to?

Hulaulá belongs to the Afro-Asiatic → Semitic → Aramaic → Eastern Aramaic → NENA → Jewish NENA branch [2] . Its closest relatives in the Jewish NENA group are Lishana Deni, Lishanid Noshan, Lishan Didan, and Koy Sanjaq Surat. The Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects preserve features of Aramaic spoken by Jewish communities in Kurdistan and Iran over many centuries, shaped by proximity to Kurdish, Persian, and Turkish while maintaining their core Semitic Aramaic structure.

Q: What Persian and Kurdish influences does Hulaulá show?

Hulaulá shows contact influences from Kurdish and Persian , reflecting centuries of Jewish life in Sanandaj among Kurdish and Persian-speaking neighbours [1] . These include Kurdish and Persian loanwords in everyday vocabulary, some phonological influence on vowel patterns, and occasional syntactic calques on Kurdish and Persian constructions. Despite these contact features, the core grammar, verb system, and basic vocabulary of Hulaulá remain firmly Aramaic in origin. The layering of Aramaic core, Hebrew religious vocabulary, and Kurdish–Persian borrowings gives Hulaulá its distinctive character among the Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects.

Q: What is the status of Hulaulá among younger generations?

Hulaulá is endangered , with most fluent speakers being elderly diaspora members in Israel [2] . Intergenerational transmission has largely ceased — children and grandchildren of speakers grew up speaking Modern Hebrew as their primary language, with Hulaulá remaining a home language of the older generation. This pattern of language shift is shared by virtually all Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects, whose communities migrated to Israel in the mid-20th century and assimilated into Modern Hebrew-speaking society. Documentation efforts — the Cambridge NENA database and Jewish Language Research resources — aim to preserve detailed records of Hulaulá phonology, vocabulary, and grammar before the last fluent speakers are lost.

Hulaulá Language at a Glance

Hulaulá (ISO 639-3: huy) is a Jewish Neo-Aramaic (NENA) language spoken by the Jews of Sanandaj (Senneh) in Iranian Kurdistan; most speakers now live in Israel following migration after 1948 ^[1]
Hulaulá is written in the Hebrew square script — the same 22-letter consonantal alphabet used for Hebrew and other Jewish Aramaic texts — with Alap as a glottal stop and Ayin as a voiced pharyngeal fricative ^[2]
The language belongs to the Afro-Asiatic → Semitic → Aramaic → Eastern Aramaic → North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) branch, making it a modern descendant of Classical Syriac and Imperial Aramaic ^[1]
Hulaulá is closely related to other Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects: Lishana Deni (Amadiyya Jews), Lishanid Noshan (Iraqi and Turkish Jews), and Lishan Didan (Urmia Jews) ^[2]
The Cambridge NENA project, led by Professor Geoffrey Khan, has documented Hulaulá and related Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects, providing grammatical descriptions, lexical databases, and audio archives before the speaker community is lost ^[2]
Hulaulá shows contact influence from Kurdish and Persian (reflecting the Iranian Kurdistan origin of its speakers) alongside its ancient Aramaic Semitic core ^[1]

Consonants (Hebrew Script):

[ʔ]

[b/v]

[g]

[d]

[h]

[w/v]

[z]

[ħ]

[tˤ]

[j]

[k/x]

[l]

[m]

[n]

[s]

[ʕ]

[p/f]

[sˤ]

[q]

[r]

[ʃ]

[t/θ]

[ʔ]

Glottal stop /ʔ/ — in Hulaulá and other Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects, Alap retains its consonantal value as a glottal stop, unlike modern Hebrew where it is largely silent

[b/v]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/ (with dagesh) or voiced labiodental fricative /v/ (without dagesh) — B as in "boat" or V as in "vase"

[g]

Voiced velar stop /g/ — G as in "go"; in Aramaic tradition also /ɣ/ (fricative)

[d]

Voiced alveolar stop /d/ — D as in "dog"; spirantised /ð/ in some positions

[h]

Voiceless glottal fricative /h/ — H as in "house"; often elided in spoken Hulaulá

[w/v]

Voiced labio-velar approximant /w/ or /v/ — W as in "water"; also used as mater lectionis for vowels

[z]

Voiced alveolar fricative /z/ — Z as in "zebra"

[ħ]

Voiceless pharyngeal fricative /ħ/ — a deep guttural H sound; in Hulaulá the pharyngeal value is preserved unlike in many modern Hebrew dialects

[tˤ]

Pharyngealised (emphatic) /tˤ/ — an emphatic T sound inherited from Proto-Semitic

[j]

Palatal approximant /j/ — Y as in "yes"; also used as mater lectionis for /i/ vowel

[k/x]

Voiceless velar stop /k/ (with dagesh) or voiceless velar fricative /x/ (without dagesh) — K as in "kite" or CH as in "loch"

[l]

Alveolar lateral approximant /l/ — L as in "lamp"

[m]

Bilabial nasal /m/ — M as in "mother"

[n]

Alveolar nasal /n/ — N as in "night"

[s]

Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/ — S as in "sun"

[ʕ]

Voiced pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/ — the deep guttural Ayin sound preserved in Hulaulá pronunciation, as in Classical Aramaic and Arabic

[p/f]

Voiceless bilabial stop /p/ (with dagesh) or voiceless labiodental fricative /f/ (without dagesh) — P as in "pie" or F as in "fun"

[sˤ]

Pharyngealised (emphatic) /sˤ/ — emphatic sibilant inherited from Proto-Semitic

[q]

Voiceless uvular stop /q/ — produced further back than K; a Semitic consonant absent from European languages

[r]

Alveolar trill or approximant /r/ — R as in "rain"

[ʃ]

Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/ — SH as in "shoe" (also /s/ in some positions)

[t/θ]

Voiceless alveolar stop /t/ (with dagesh) or voiceless dental fricative /θ/ (without dagesh, in some positions) — T as in "time"

Vowels (Latin Transliteration):

[a]

[aː]

[e]

[i]

[iː]

[u]

[ə]

[o]

[a]

Short open vowel /a/; A as in "cat"

[aː]

Long open vowel /aː/; A as in "father"

[e]

Short mid front vowel /e/; E as in "met"

[i]

Short close front vowel /i/; I as in "bit"

[iː]

Long close front vowel /iː/; EE as in "machine"

[u]

Short close back rounded vowel /u/; U as in "put"

[ə]

Central reduced vowel /ə/ (schwa); a reduced unstressed vowel characteristic of NENA phonology

[o]

Mid back rounded vowel /o/; O as in "go"; present in some Hulaulá vowel patterns

[geresh]

[gershayim]

[dagesh]

–

[dash]

[ḥad]

[trēn]

[tlātha]

[arbʿa]

[xamša]

[šitta]

[šbaʿ]

[tmānya]

[tšaʿ]

[ʿsara]

[ḥad]

One — Aramaic ḥad; cognate with Syriac ܚܕ (ḥad) and Hebrew אחד (eḥad)

[trēn]

Two — Aramaic trēn; cognate with Syriac ܬܪܝܢ (trēn)

[tlātha]

Three — Aramaic tlātha; cognate with Arabic ثلاثة (thalātha) and Syriac ܬܠܬܐ

[arbʿa]

Four — Aramaic arbʿa; cognate with Arabic أربعة (arbaʿa) and Hebrew ארבע

[xamša]

Five — Aramaic xamša; cognate with Arabic خمسة (khamsa) and Hebrew חמש

[šitta]

Six — Aramaic šitta; cognate with Arabic ستة (sitta) and Hebrew שש

[šbaʿ]

Seven — Aramaic šbaʿ; cognate with Arabic سبعة (sabʿa) and Hebrew שבע

[tmānya]

Eight — Aramaic tmānya; cognate with Arabic ثمانية (thamāniya) and Hebrew שמונה

[tšaʿ]

Nine — Aramaic tšaʿ; cognate with Arabic تسعة (tisʿa) and Hebrew תשע

[ʿsara]

Ten — Aramaic ʿsara; cognate with Arabic عشرة (ʿashara) and Hebrew עשר (ʿeser)

[ʔ]

[b/v]

[g]

[d]

[h]

[w/v]

[z]

[ħ]

[tˤ]

[j]

[k/x]

[l]

[m]

[n]

[s]

[ʕ]

[p/f]

[sˤ]

[q]

[r]

[ʃ]

[t/θ]

[ʔ]

First letter — glottal stop /ʔ/ (consonantal in Hulaulá, unlike modern Hebrew where often silent)

[b/v]

Second letter — /b/ (with dagesh) or /v/ (without dagesh)

[g]

Third letter — voiced velar stop /g/

[d]

Fourth letter — voiced alveolar stop /d/

[h]

Fifth letter — voiceless glottal fricative /h/

[w/v]

Sixth letter — /w/ or /v/; also mater lectionis for vowels

[z]

Seventh letter — voiced alveolar fricative /z/

[ħ]

Eighth letter — voiceless pharyngeal fricative /ħ/ (preserved in Hulaulá)

[tˤ]

Ninth letter — pharyngealised emphatic stop /tˤ/

[j]

Tenth letter — palatal approximant /j/; also mater lectionis for /ī/

[k/x]

Eleventh letter — /k/ or /x/ (velar fricative)

[l]

Twelfth letter — alveolar lateral /l/

[m]

Thirteenth letter — bilabial nasal /m/

[n]

Fourteenth letter — alveolar nasal /n/

[s]

Fifteenth letter — voiceless alveolar fricative /s/

[ʕ]

Sixteenth letter — voiced pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/ (preserved in Hulaulá)

[p/f]

Seventeenth letter — /p/ (with dagesh) or /f/ (without dagesh)

[sˤ]

Eighteenth letter — pharyngealised emphatic sibilant /sˤ/

[q]

Nineteenth letter — voiceless uvular stop /q/

[r]

Twentieth letter — alveolar rhotic /r/

[ʃ]

Twenty-first letter — voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/; SH as in "shoe"

[t/θ]

Twenty-second letter — /t/ (with dagesh) or /θ/ (without dagesh, in some positions)

Expand All Collapse All

What is the Hulaulá language?

What script does Hulaulá use?

How does Hulaulá differ from Hebrew?

Where is Hulaulá spoken today?

What is the ISO code for Hulaulá?

What language family does Hulaulá belong to?

What Persian and Kurdish influences does Hulaulá show?

What is the status of Hulaulá among younger generations?

References:

[1] Jewish Language Research — jewishlanguages.org. "Jewish Aramaic Languages — Hulaulá, Lishana Deni, Lishanid Noshan, Lishan Didan" — Jewish Language Research (jewishlanguages.org) is an academic resource dedicated to the documentation and study of Jewish languages, maintained by scholars in Jewish linguistics. The site provides profiles of all major Jewish Aramaic varieties, including Hulaulá (ISO 639-3: huy) — a Jewish Neo-Aramaic (NENA) language formerly spoken by the Jews of Sanandaj (Senneh), Iranian Kurdistan, now spoken primarily in Israel. The site also covers related Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects: Lishana Deni (Amadiyya Jews), Lishanid Noshan (various Iraqi and Turkish Jewish communities), and Lishan Didan (Urmia Jews). Hulaulá uses the Hebrew square script for writing, with a phonological system reflecting both Aramaic heritage and Iranian contact features. The language belongs to the Afro-Asiatic → Semitic → Aramaic → Eastern Aramaic → Neo-Aramaic → NENA branch. Retrieved from Jewish Language Research — Jewish Aramaic
[2] University of Cambridge — Research News. "Endangered Dialects of Aramaic — University of Cambridge" — The University of Cambridge has been at the forefront of documenting endangered Aramaic dialects through its North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) project. Cambridge research highlights the critical endangerment of dialects including Hulaulá (ISO 639-3: huy), the Jewish Neo-Aramaic language of Sanandaj (Senneh), Iranian Kurdistan. The NENA project documents these dialects before their extinction, producing grammatical descriptions, lexical databases, and audio archives. Hulaulá shares features with other Jewish NENA dialects: it is written in Hebrew script, uses the 22-letter Hebrew consonantal alphabet for primary orthography, and its phonology reflects eastern Aramaic heritage combined with borrowings from Kurdish and Persian. The Cambridge NENA database (nena.ames.cam.ac.uk) archives linguistic data for Hulaulá and related Jewish Neo-Aramaic varieties. Retrieved from University of Cambridge — Endangered Dialects of Aramaic