naming a language

[Johanna Rubba]

I have faced a similar problem with my dissertation language, a  
dialect of Modern Aramaic. I don't know that there has been a lot of  
discussion of names in studies of modern Aramaic dialects, but I have  
pondered the question myself. Many scholars refer to the current  
dialects as Neo-Aramaic, but some find Modern Aramaic a better name;  
if we go by native speakers, we get different names for different  
dialects, e.g. "Assyrian" vs. "Chaldean." My speaker identifies her  
language as Sureth (my spelling), so should we use that? I don't know  
if the term is used by speakers of other dialects. Perhaps we should  
call them all Syriac ...

Dr. Johanna Rubba, Ph. D.
Associate Professor, Linguistics
Linguistics Minor Advisor
English Dept.
Cal Poly State University San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Ofc. tel. : 805-756-2184
Dept. tel.: 805-756-2596
Dept. fax: 805-756-6374
E-mail: jrubba at calpoly.edu
URL: cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba