Samaritan Aramaic

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A language of Palestine

ISO 639-3
sam
Population

No known L1 speakers in Palestine. Ethnic population: 620 (1999 H. Mutzafi).

Location

West Bank near Nablus; Tel Aviv, Israel. Also in Israel.

Language Status

9 (Dormant).

Classification
Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Western
Language Use

Ceased as L1 for daily functions in 10th–12th centuries A.D. Samaritan Hebrew and Samaritan Aramaic [sam] secondarily mainly used as liturgical languages. About 30% live near Nablus and speak Palestinian Arabic [ajp] as L1. Others live near Tel Aviv and speak Hebrew [heb] as L1. Religion.

Writing
Hebrew script. Samaritan script, no longer in use. Syriac script.