The Lishanid Noshan Alphabet

Q: What is Lishanid Noshan?

Lishanid Noshan (also Lishán Noshan, meaning "our language" in Aramaic, ISO 639-3: aij) is a cluster of Jewish Neo-Aramaic (NENA) dialects spoken by Jewish communities formerly resident in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey , now primarily in Israel [1] . As a dialect cluster (not a single dialect), it encompasses related varieties from different communities of origin. Lishanid Noshan is closely related to Lishana Deni (Amadiyya), Koy Sanjaq Surat, Lishan Didan (Urmia), and Hulaulá (Sanandaj) within the Jewish Neo-Aramaic (NENA) group. All share the Hebrew square script and Classical Aramaic phonological features.

Q: What script does Lishanid Noshan use?

Lishanid Noshan is written in the Hebrew square script — the 22-letter consonantal alphabet used for Hebrew and all Jewish Aramaic languages [2] . Traditional manuscripts are consonantal (unvowelled), read right to left. The dialect cluster preserves pharyngeal phonological contrasts — Heth (ח) = /ħ/ and Ayin (ע) = /ʕ/ — unlike modern Israeli Hebrew where these are largely merged. Academic documentation uses Latin transliteration for phonological precision.

Q: Where were the Lishanid Noshan communities from?

Lishanid Noshan encompasses dialects from Jewish communities in northern Iraq (various towns including Mosul, Dohuk, Erbil districts) and southeastern Turkey [1] . These communities migrated to Israel primarily after 1948. In Israel, speakers from different communities interact, creating contact between sub-dialects. Bar-Ilan University has documented these dialects in the Israeli diaspora context.

Q: How does Lishanid Noshan differ from its sister dialects?

Lishanid Noshan is defined as a dialect cluster , meaning it encompasses multiple closely related varieties that share enough features to be grouped together but show sub-dialectal variation [2] . Compared to its sister dialects: • Hulaulá (Sanandaj Jews): more Iranian Kurdish contact features • Koy Sanjaq Surat (Koy Sanjaq Jews): well-documented single community dialect • Lishana Deni (Amadiyya Jews): related Trans-Zab variety • Lishan Didan (Urmia Jews): Azerbaijani Turkish contact features BSOAS articles by Hezy Mutzafi provide the primary comparative analysis of these distinctions.

Q: What is the ISO code for Lishanid Noshan?

The ISO 639-3 code for Lishanid Noshan is aij [1] . The language is documented at Bar-Ilan University, in BSOAS (Cambridge University Press), and in Jewish Language Research resources. The single ISO code covers the entire dialect cluster, reflecting the difficulty of drawing sharp boundaries between closely related Neo-Aramaic varieties.

Q: How does Lishanid Noshan differ from Hebrew?

Although Lishanid Noshan uses the Hebrew square script , it is an Aramaic language — not a form of Hebrew [1] . Key differences: • Language branch : Lishanid Noshan is Eastern Aramaic (NENA); Hebrew is Canaanite — related Semitic languages but diverged over 3,000 years ago • Pharyngeals : Lishanid Noshan preserves ח = /ħ/ and ע = /ʕ/ with their Classical Aramaic phonological values, unlike modern Israeli Hebrew where these are largely merged or lost • Grammar : The dialect cluster has Aramaic verb conjugation patterns, nominal morphology, and pronoun systems distinct from Hebrew • Vocabulary : Core vocabulary is Aramaic, with Kurdish, Turkish, and Hebrew religious loanwords reflecting the multi-ethnic environments of the home communities Both languages share the Hebrew script and a large portion of religious vocabulary (due to the Jewish communities' use of Hebrew in prayer and study), but the spoken language is Aramaic in its fundamental structure.

Q: How many speakers does Lishanid Noshan have?

Lishanid Noshan is endangered , with most fluent speakers being elderly diaspora members in Israel [2] . The Jewish communities from northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey emigrated to Israel after 1948 and integrated into Modern Hebrew-speaking society; intergenerational transmission of Lishanid Noshan largely ceased. Bar-Ilan University research and BSOAS publications document the phonological and grammatical variation across the constituent sub-dialects of this cluster while speakers are still available for documentation.

Lishanid Noshan Language at a Glance

Lishanid Noshan (also Lishán Noshan, "our language", ISO 639-3: aij) is a cluster of Jewish Neo-Aramaic (NENA) dialects spoken by Jewish communities formerly resident in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey; most speakers now live in Israel ^[1]
The name "Lishanid Noshan" is Aramaic for "our language" — the same self-designation as Lishana Deni and Lishan Didan, reflecting the community identity of these Jewish Neo-Aramaic speakers ^[2]
Lishanid Noshan uses the Hebrew square script in the Jewish Neo-Aramaic tradition; the 22 consonants preserve Classical Aramaic phonological values including pharyngeal Heth (ח = /ħ/) and Ayin (ע = /ʕ/) ^[1]
Bar-Ilan University's Department of Hebrew and Semitic Languages and the BSOAS (Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Cambridge) are among the primary academic venues documenting this dialect cluster ^[2]
The dialect cluster shows variation across its sub-dialects, reflecting the different Iraqi and Turkish Jewish communities of origin; Hezy Mutzafi's comparative NENA studies document these variations ^[1]
Lishanid Noshan belongs to the Afro-Asiatic → Semitic → Aramaic → Eastern Aramaic → North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) branch, making it a modern descendant of Imperial Aramaic and Classical Syriac ^[2]

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]

[ʔ]

Glottal stop /ʔ/ — Alap retains its consonantal Aramaic value in Lishanid Noshan

[b/v]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/ or labiodental fricative /v/ — B or V

[g]

Voiced velar stop /g/ — G as in "go"

[d]

Voiced alveolar stop /d/ — D as in "dog"

[h]

Voiceless glottal fricative /h/ — H as in "house"

[w/v]

Labio-velar approximant /w/ or /v/; also mater lectionis for vowels

[z]

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

[ħ]

Voiceless pharyngeal fricative /ħ/ — guttural H; preserved in Lishanid Noshan pronunciation

[tˤ]

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

[j]

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

[k/x]

Voiceless velar stop /k/ or velar fricative /x/ — K 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 guttural Ayin of Classical Aramaic, preserved in Lishanid Noshan

[p/f]

Voiceless bilabial stop /p/ or labiodental fricative /f/ — P or F

[sˤ]

Pharyngealised (emphatic) /sˤ/ — emphatic sibilant

[q]

Voiceless uvular stop /q/ — deeper than K

[r]

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

[ʃ]

Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/ — SH as in "shoe"

[t]

Voiceless alveolar stop /t/ — 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); characteristic of NENA phonology

[o]

Mid back rounded vowel /o/; O as in "go"; present in some Lishanid Noshan sub-dialects

[geresh]

[gershayim]

[dagesh]

[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]

[ʔ]

First letter — glottal stop /ʔ/

[b/v]

Second letter — /b/ or /v/

[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/

[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/

[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/

[p/f]

Seventeenth letter — /p/ or /f/

[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/

[t]

Twenty-second letter — voiceless alveolar stop /t/

Expand All Collapse All

What is Lishanid Noshan?

What script does Lishanid Noshan use?

Where were the Lishanid Noshan communities from?

How does Lishanid Noshan differ from its sister dialects?

What is the ISO code for Lishanid Noshan?

What language family does Lishanid Noshan belong to?

How does Lishanid Noshan differ from Hebrew?

How many speakers does Lishanid Noshan have?

References:

[1] Bar-Ilan University — Department of Hebrew and Semitic Languages. "Hebrew and Semitic Languages Research — Bar-Ilan University" — Bar-Ilan University's Department of Hebrew and Semitic Languages is a leading centre for the study of Aramaic languages, including Jewish Neo-Aramaic (NENA) varieties. Bar-Ilan University researchers have contributed grammatical descriptions and lexicographical studies of Lishanid Noshan (ISO 639-3: aij), a dialect cluster of Jewish Neo-Aramaic spoken by Iraqi and Turkish Jewish communities, now primarily in Israel. Lishanid Noshan (also written Lishán Noshan, "our language") encompasses dialects spoken by Jewish communities from northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey; speakers migrated to Israel after 1948, where the language cluster is maintained. The dialect cluster uses Hebrew square script and shares the consonantal inventory of Hebrew, with additional phonemes from Aramaic heritage. Bar-Ilan's Semitic linguistics programme documents endangered Jewish languages of the diaspora. Retrieved from Bar-Ilan University — Dept of Hebrew & Semitic Languages
[2] Cambridge University Press — Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (BSOAS). "BSOAS Journal — Neo-Aramaic and Semitic Linguistics Research" — The Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (BSOAS), published by Cambridge University Press, is a peer-reviewed journal covering linguistics, history, and cultural studies of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. BSOAS has published foundational articles on Neo-Aramaic dialects, including Lishanid Noshan (ISO 639-3: aij) and related Jewish NENA varieties. Hezy Mutzafi's comparative studies of Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects, published in BSOAS, provide systematic documentation of the phonological distinctions, shared innovations, and contact features of Lishanid Noshan and its sister dialects (Hulaulá, Lishana Deni, Lishan Didan). The journal situates these languages within the broader Semitic and Afro-Asiatic context. Retrieved from Cambridge University Press — BSOAS Journal