Sunday, July 29, 2007

LESSON # 1: Personal Pronouns, To Be (ܗܘܐ) (Past, Present), and School Vocabulary

Preliminary Notes:
"Zqapa" vowel = ā
"Pthaha" = a

Example: āna (Translation: I)
Example: bāba (Translation: father)
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LESSON # 1 (Personal pronouns and a basic verb conjugation)

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

SINGULAR
I - āna
You (masc.) - āyit
You (fem.) - āyat
He - āwo
She - āya (yen) āyee

PLURAL
We - akhny
You (plural) - akhto or akhtun (*Also referred to as "Ye" or "Y'all")
They - anay (yen) anee

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VERB: TO BE
ROOT: hwa (ܗܘܐ)
TENSE: PRESENT

I (masc.) am: āna ee-win
I (fem) am: āna ee-wan

You (m) are: āyit ee-wit
You (f) are: āyat ee-wat

He is: āwo ee-lih
She is: āya ee-lah (yen) āyee ee-lah

We are: akhny ee-wookh
Ye are: akhto(n) ee-wotoon
They are: anay ee-lay or anee ee-lay
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VERB: TO BE
ROOT: hwa (ܗܘܐ)
TENSE: PAST

I (masc.) was: āna win-wa
I (fem) was: āna wan-wa

You (m) were: āyit wit-wa
You (f) were: āyat wet-wa

He was: āwo wae-wa
She was: āya wa-wa (yen) āyee wa-wa

We were: akhny wookh-wa
Ye were: akhto(n) wot-wa (yen) wotoon-wa
They were: anay wa-wae or anee wa-wae
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VOCABULARY: (Of course, we start with school-related words)

Student - Talmeedha (Note: the dh is pronounced with the same noise as the 'th' in the word 'the')
Teacher - Malpāna
School - Madrasa
Lesson - dariss
Book - kthāwa
Pencil - qalāma
Chair - koorsey
Paper - warāqa

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

hello,

i am from detroit, Mi. i was wondering if this is the assyrian form of chaldean. I am trying to learn the version of chaldean that my parents speak and they are from telkaph.

thanks,

tom

Jeffrey said...

To answer your question, "yes", this is the Surath dialect from Telkeppe.

But a few things to keep in mind:
· "Surath" is the word we use for the language that the Chaldeans speak, which in English is actually called Syriac or Aramaic.

So, keep this in mind. There isn't an 'Assyrian' form of 'Chaldean'. There isn't 'Assyrian' or 'Chaldean' languages. Our people speak Surath (aka Syriac or Aramaic).

Anonymous said...

Hi, this website is so so so helpful to me! Is there anyway you can put some more vocab for me. Thank you!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Is there a form of surath Alqoshnia, that you can teach...i need to learn alqoshnia surath...please help or if you have any link of anything please, desperate..

civicmd said...

I would love for you to teach me I'm have trouble learning it I live in glendale az please help

Jeffrey said...

Hello CivicMD,

There are Chaldeans in Arizona that can teach you. Otherwise, I read recently that there is a new 9-part-DVD that teaches people how to speak Surath by Raheem Hanna Shayota. It's sold at the Chaldean Church in Southfield, MI (Our Lady of Chaldeans Cathedral), as well as in one additional location, called Holy Martyrs. I believe the cost is $20.

Otherwise, enjoy reading through these lessons and let me know if you have any questions or feedback!

Unknown said...

Where did you learn to speak chaldean?

Jeffrey said...

I don't speak it very well, unfortunately, but the more you practice with family and friends, the better you will get!

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot, this is very helpful!
Could you do something about writing Syriac as well?

Unknown said...

I miss talking with other Chaldeans. I think there are very few here in Tucson that speak Sureth. This is a fun way to refresh my first language knowledge.
Thank you !