Introduction to Syriac: An Elementary Grammar With Readings from Syriac Literature [Paperback]

Wheeler M. Thackston (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0936347988 | ISBN-13: 978-0936347981 | Publication Date: September 1, 1999

Language Reference. Middle-Eastern Studies. Syriac is the Aramaic dialect of Edessa, an important center of early Christianity in Mesopotamia. Today it is the classical tongue of the Nestorians and Chaldeans of Iran and Iraq and the liturgical language of the Jacobites of Eastern Anatolia and the Maronites of Greater Syria. Syriac literature flourished from the third century on and boasts of writers like Ephraem Syrus, Aphraates, Jacob of Sarug, John of Ephesus, Jacob of Edessa, and Barhebraeus. In this text the language is presented both in Syriac script, as it will always be seen, and in transcription, which is given so that the pronunciation of individual words and the structure of the language as a whole may be represented as clearly as possible. The majority of the sentences in the exercises-and all of the readings in the later lessons-are taken directly from the Peshitta, the standard Syriac translation of the Bible. For many of those whose interest in Syriac stems from Biblical studies or from the history of eastern Christianity, Syriac may be their first Semitic language. Every effort has been made in the presentation of the grammar to keep the Semitic structure of the language in the forefront and as clear as possible for those who have no previous experience with languages of that family. Wheeler M. Thackston is Professor of Persian and other Near East Languages at Harvard University, where he has taught Persian and Arabic for over twenty years.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I wish that this grammar had been around when I was learning Syriac. Thackston's grammar is without doubt the best introduction to the Syriac language presently available, and although I have not been asked to write an overview of introductory Syriac grammars, I find that some comparison will be necessary. Thackston's introduction far surpasses Robinson's trusted grammar in several areas: better exercises, clearer explanations, a better glossary, a real index, and a very nice chrestomathy.
...
On the whole, this is the best teaching grammar for Syriac that is presently available, and in spite of a few weaknesses, it is far superior to its nearest competitor, which in my opinion remains Robinson's venerable (and out of print) grammar. --Stephen J. Shoemaker. Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies

From the Publisher

A Key to Exercises & English-Syriac Vocabulary has been published to accompany this book. The ISBN is 1588140458.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Ibex Pub (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936347988
• ISBN-13: 978-0936347981
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #428,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #91 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Arabic

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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best teaching grammar yet!, January 9, 2000

By 

Richard A. Weaver (lawrenceville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Introduction to Syriac: An Elementary Grammar With Readings from Syriac Literature (Paperback)

After having tried to learn Syriac (without too much success) from a number of texts (Healey, Ungnad, Muraoka, Robinson), this grammar was like a breath of fresh air! For me, the Syriac script was the major sticking point. Professor Thackston gets the student past this obstacle by using unpointed Estrangela, and by giving transliterations of all paradigms, examples, and vocabulary. In a clear introduction to the sounds and script, he covers the complexities of syllabic division, accentuation, and spirantization in a succinct and understandable manner. There are twenty lessons, and the methodology is similar to that of Lambdin (Biblical Hebrew, Coptic) and Huehnergard (Akkadian): several grammatical points explained clearly, with examples; vocabulary (in Estrangela and in transliteration); and sample sentences / reading exercises. Although I'm only on Lesson 3, I find this book stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable. I'm certain that after completing this text, the conscientious student should have no trouble tackling the New Testament with the aid of a dictionary, or going back to the other works (cited at the beginning of this review) to get extra practice in grammar and reading. The only thing that I feel would have improved this text is a key to the exercises. What I'm doing is to translate the Syriac sentences into English, and after a day or two, translate them back into Syriac, and compare them with the original. This, along with a careful reading of the grammatical principles, gives good feedback. Professor Thackston saw fit to publish a key to his "Introduction to Koranic and Classical Arabic"; hopefully we'll see a key to this work some day as well. But all in all, a pleasure and a wonderful resource.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's not Greek to me..., July 16, 2004

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Introduction to Syriac: An Elementary Grammar With Readings from Syriac Literature (Paperback)

Many Westerners see the historical split between East and West in Christendom in 1054 as creating a monlithic 'East'; whereas the Western church split into a myriad of sects, from the Western perspective, the East seemed fairly uniform. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth, as increasing attention in history, culture, and language studies complement the study of religion in the Eastern realms. Thackston's book on Syriac is one such study that helps to broaden the understanding of Christian history and the cultural diversity of the East.

If you've never heard of Syriac, you are not alone. Syriac literature flourished in the third century C.E. forward, primarily around the major city of Edessa, which was one of the trading centres of the Eastern Roman Empire, so important as a crossroads that evidence exists as far afield as Iceland and China, Ethiopia and northern Russia of traders who made the trek for goods from (or to trade their goods in) Edessa. Ephraim, one of only a handful of saints beyond the apostles to be acknowledged by practically every branch of the church, was from Edessa; his hymns were carried back with the travellers along the trade routes.

Syriac played a crucial role in the preservation of Greek literature in the Islamic times, which later was reintroduced to Europe prior to the Renaissance. Syriac continues as the the liturgical language of some churches, such as the Malabar Church of St. Thomas in India, and the Jacobites and Maronites in the Near East; it is also the classical language of the Nestorians and the Chaldeans. The Mongol language script is a derivative of Syriac.

Syriac is related to various Aramaic strands (Babylonia, Palestinian, Samaritan) and Canaanite (Ugaritic, Hebrew, Phoenician). More distantly related are languages such as Arabic, Ethiopic and Akkadian.

This is a fast-moving book, well-organised and formatted. Despite the occasional typographical error and one or two minor issues, it is a great text. In twenty lessons, a solid introduction to the Syriac language is covered -- for the motivated student, this could be done in one semester. The book presents Syriac in transliteration as well as Syriac script throughout. The tranliterations assist in vocalisation, as Syriac, like many related languages, tends to leave part of the words unwritten.

Prior to the twenty lessons are ten preliminary matters -- if each of these is viewed as an additional lesson, the book would make a good two-semester text of 30 weeks or so. These preliminary matters involve alphabet, vocalisation and syllabification (yes, that is a word), numbers, and some linguistic comparisons.

Thackston, knowing his primary audience, uses the Psitta, the standard Syriac translation of the Bible, as the primary text from which sentences and words are used in the lessons. This is also a recognition of the influence the Bible had on the development of Syriac language. Thackston also recognises that the student might not be familiar with Hebrew, Arabic or other Semitic languages prior to undertaking the study of Syriac, and thus keeps grammar issues at the forefront. In fact, Syriac makes an excellent introductory Semitic language for study prior to the more difficult Hebrew or Arabic.

Recognising that students might not have a ready supply of Syriac documents upon which to practice, there is a 'reader' of sorts, 40 pages of Syriac writings as an appendix. There is also a Syriac-English vocabulary (the point of this text is reading knowledge, rather than construction, so there is no English-Syriac list).

Overall, Thackston's book is an excellent language study.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Please--a second edition!, March 19, 2003

By 

olaf01 (New Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Syriac: An Elementary Grammar With Readings from Syriac Literature (Paperback)

This is a difficult review to write. On the negative side, there are simply an unacceptable number of typographical errors--including some baffling errors/ editorial decisions(????) in the chrestomathy. This text book is in dire need of a second edition to correct the numerous publication errors that have found their way into the text.

That being said...

This is arranged and set up as a VERY nice introduction to the Syriac language. In organization and grammatical treatment, it does indeed represent a large step forward from Robinson's grammar. It presupposes no prior knowledge of Semitic language, is clear in its presentation of grammatical concepts, and does a very good job of balancing vocalized forms (in transliteration) with their (as will almsot always be encountered) unvocalized forms in Syriac script.

I fully recommend the use of this grammar--however, because of the fact that numerous errors have crept into the published version, it should only be used in a class taught by an individual with a good knowledge of Aramaic and Semitic verbal morphology.