Greek-isms???????

[Yochanan5730]

Akhan Yochanan,

Languages are funny sometimes. I remember having a discussion one day with my Lebanese-born mother in Neo-Aramaic over the phone. She told me she had gone to see the "dokhtor" that morning for her back pain. Being a smart-a**, I asked her why she insisted on using a loan-word from English when there's a perfectly good word for physician in Aramaic, "Asya". I could see "computer" or "internet", since these words are relatively new to the world and simply don't have an Aramaic word to describe them. But "physician?" Medicine has been practiced in Mesopotamia for how long, Mom?

Her reply was "The Iraqis say Asya, we Lebanese say Dokhtor....live with it."

I guess English and French were second languages in Lebanon while she was growing up. Explains her use of "Garson" for the waiter....even at middle-eastern restaurants. Yes, there's an Aramaic word for "waiter" as well. But "Garson" sounded better to her in the middle of an otherwise proper Aramaic sentence. Go figure.

I said all that to say this: there are lots of loan-words in Semitic languages from a variety of other languages, Greek is no exception. And vice-versa, Greek is like a sponge when it comes to outside influences, especially Semitic. English is another sponge. All languages enrich themselves in this manner, unless they are isolated in the Amazon rain forest or something like that.

How loan-words come into existence in the first place can be a wonderful study of history and basic human psyche that is beyond the scope of my learning, but not my experience.

Aramaic, especially Neo-Aramaic, contains little presents from every other culture we've ever come into contact with. Aramaic is alive, and constantly evolving. The only language that doesn't change over time is a dead language.

To my mother, "Garson" and "Dokhtor" were as Aramaic as "Abba" and "Maranatha" and you'd better not tell her otherwise lest she label you an Iraqi.

+Shamasha Paul

PS - 2 John, with its "Antee-Christos" isn't part of the Peshitta. It was translated from the Greek....which may have had an Aramaic original, who knows.

Shalom Paul <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s -->

thank you very much for the links and the info. i especially got a great smile from your story about your mom <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s --> i think that's cool that you are part Lebanese, i have a special place in my heart for the lebanese people. i used to date a beautiful lebanese girl, but her own family chased her away lol you see, her family loved me to death, and they would always ask when we were getting married lol i think she was overly influenced by the "western lifestyle" of being single and having fun.

though my scholarship is kind of lacking in this area, and it's a bit off topic here, doesn't God have a special place in His heart for Lebanon also? i seem to recall beautiful things in scripture about L'vanon, i will have to make it a personal study i guess <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s -->

(added in editing)
okay, about the additional letter/books: 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation...

these are the ones i was thinking of that were translated back into Aramaic from the Greek in the PeshittO, correct? <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s -->
also, i looked at that link <!-- s:onfire: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/onfire.gif" alt=":onfire:" title="On Fire" /><!-- s:onfire: --> <!-- s:biggrin: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/biggrin.gif" alt=":biggrin:" title="Big Grin" /><!-- s:biggrin: --> <!-- s:onfire: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/onfire.gif" alt=":onfire:" title="On Fire" /><!-- s:onfire: --> i'm ecstatic! ty ty ty very much! <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s --> i wish you could have seen the smile i felt on my face when i opened it up...

anyhoo, thanks again, and much love and blessing in Yeshua...
Z'ev Yochanan