800 to 1,000 speakers in Iran, out of an ethnic group of 5,000 in Khuzistan, Iran who speak Western Farsi. 23,000 ethnic Mandaeans in Iraq all speak Arabic (1994 H. Mutzafi), but some people are reported to be bilingual in Mandaic. Population total both countries 800 to 1,000.
The classical Mandaean language is a type of Oriental Aramaic, with features similar to those of the language of the Babylonian Talmud and with external influence, especially Persian. Spoken Mandaean, called raTtna, uses a simplified language system and betrays considerable Arabic influence. The alphabet is made of (24) signs, of which (22) represent the normal letters, the 23rd is a double letter, and the last one is the repetition of the first "a". In this way a multiple of (6) is obtained (the number that symbolically indicates Mandaean things), as well as the correspondence to the number of hours in a day. Unlike other Semitic languages, the vowels do not appear as little dots or secondary graphical signs compared to consonants but are always written in their full form, being thought of as letters like the rest.
Noeldeke stated Mandaean to be a Babylonian dialect: 'Mandaean is closely related to the ordinary dialect of the Babylonian Talmud. Both the dialects are neighbours, geographically speaking... actually, we may assume that the language of the Babylonian Talmud was that used in Upper, and Mandaean that used in Lower Babylonia.' (N., pp. xxv ff.)
Elsewhere he wrote: 'Close relationship between Mandaean and the Talmudic language is apparent throughout the grammar: the Mandaean, however, appears to be a later from than the Talmudic, but not throughout, for the Mandaean texts are purer linguistically and not so mixed with foreign elements, and represent the Aramaic speech of Babylon better than the Talmud. Had the Arabs preserved for us something more than a few accidentally introduced words of the dialect of the Iraqi Nabateans, (i.e. the Aramaic-speaking inhabitants of Babylonia), we should again find the main features of Mandaitic and Talmudic, and far more clearly than is now possible.' (N., p. xxvi.)
These pages represent a first tentative step towards making resources on the Mandaic language freely available online. When completed, Mandaic.org will include information on the classical dialect of Mandaic, the incantation texts, and the modern dialects of Mandaic (Ahwaz, Khorramshahr, and others). This information will consist of texts, recordings, an online lexicon, sketch grammars, a comprehensive and annotated bibliography, and links to other resources. For the immediate future, however, the material contained on this website consists primarily of my own research into the Neo-Mandaic dialect of Khorramshahr.
Texts from The Neo-Mandaic Dialect of Khorramshahr (Harrassowitz, in press)
Text I - Speech delivered by Nasser Sobbi at Harvard University, 13 June 1999. Recording Made 13 June 2003 - MP3PDF
Text II - Anecdote about Lady Drower from Nasser Sobbi's youth. Recording made 13 December 2003 - MP3PDF
Text III - Account of two trips to Shushtar Recording made 13 December 2003 - MP3 PDF
Text IV - Iraqi version of the Bridge of Shushtar, as retold by Nasser Sobbi Recording made 27 March 2004 - MP3PDF
Text V - The city of mice who eat iron (from Kalila wa-Dimna) Recording made 7 November 2004 - MP3PDF
Texts VI - An overheard prayer Recording made 7 November 2004 - MP3PDF
Texts VII - Two hashish fiends Recording made 7 November 2004 - MP3PDF
Texts VIII - The bathhouse patron Recording made 7 November 2004 - MP3PDF
Texts VI-X - The liar outdone Recording made 7 November 2004 - MP3PDF
Texts VI-X - Joha and the cooking pot Recording made 7 November 2004 - MP3PDF
Cyrus, I am surprised that no one else ever responded to this post! If your contentions are correct, then this small sect or tribe needs very close examination by linguistic and cultural experts from around the world!
But, it would of course cause a great imposition upon their culture and livelyhoods!
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