Jason H. asked:talmid56 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 11:37 am
I... hope to start learning Syriac sometime this year.
Thanks for asking! I would like to do paid lessons (The Biblical Languages Center course looks helpful, for instance), but can't afford them. I would dearly love to do such a group study, but lack the means to do this now. (I live in a rural area, so not much interest locally, I'm afraid. And I don't have high-speed internet, so doing it with interactive video isn't an option.)Do you have a direction mapped out for the study? I never finished biblical Aramaic, but I think that Syriac might be a better attack vector, given that it has a larger corpus of literature. Are you going to do paid lessons, or would you like to perhaps start a chavruta to study together?
Here's how I plan to start:
Current plan is to start in the summer after I have cataract surgery on both eyes. As it is a new script for me to learn, that would be best. I plan to learn to write it by hand, as well as to type it.
Grammar: Steven C. Hallam’s modern grammar, Basics of Classical Syriac: Complete Grammar, Workbook, and Lexicon (Zondervan Academic, 2016); older grammars online such as Nestle, Nöldeke, etc. found online at http://peshitta.org or http://syri.acc. The newer online one by Mark Francois appears promising, as well (online at the WordPress blog Between the Perfect and the Doomed (gotta love the man’s sense of humor!).
I will probably get the Logos software edition of Hallam rather than the print edition.
I will be using the digital flashcard apps/platforms Anki and Quizlet for learning and review of vocabulary and grammar. I will use existing sets and probably also make some of my own.
There are a few resources of basic vocabulary that include pictures and sound files at http://learnassyrian.com. While they are focused on modern Neo-Aramaic dialects, some of it surely works for Syriac (they also have some classical Syriac grammar links on their site, so I would suppose so).
I have found a couple of sets of audio files for the Gospels that may prove useful (on https://archive.org/details/Peshitta-As ... leReadings. There is also this one: https://www.thearamaicscriptures.com/. I will start with the Gospels (probably with John) for reading, and the Psalms. I have some PDFs of the Gospels and a Logos personal book version of the Peshitta New Testament. At first until I am comfortable with the script I’ll use a square-script version of the text.
I will be using combinations of text and sound files, visual aids, probably TPR, and some conversational bits drawn from the Bible, and any online videos out there. I am a member of a Syriac Facebook group, so hopefully they can recommend some of the videos. I want to use as much of an immersion method as possible. After I get comfortable writing it and learn some basics of grammar and vocabulary, I will try to find a partner to practice with. Either email or texting, or both. Speaking with someone would be great too.
Besides the lexicons at Peshitta.org and Syri.ac, the online Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon has a Syriac section that looks helpful. They also have a full range of Syriac texts, both the Bible and Syriac texts of church fathers.
Any of our B-Hebrew members who are currently studying or teaching Syriac, feel free to offer suggestions for learning methods and useful resources!