Talk:Mlaḥsô language

Latest comment: 7 years ago by Sitush in topic Last speaker detail

The letter 'ö'

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Why is Mlahsö written with a final 'ö'? Was it pronounced as the modern Turkish 'ö' or does it represent a long 'o'? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Xemxi (talkcontribs) 21:02, 25 January 2007 (UTC).Reply

There is a distinct possibility that the final ö was added mistakenly in secondary literature, perhaps for ô. However, there is a possibility that it is intentional. I'm checking Jastrow now, but imagine that, when I created this article, I may have copied a misprint from the catalogue. — Gareth Hughes 11:50, 27 January 2007 (UTC)Reply
I tracked down a copy of a Jastrow article myself ("The Turoyo Language Today"), and as you said it is written "ô" there. Could you tell me the significance of the circumflex accent? Does it indicate a long vowel like "ō" or something different? Xemxi 17:43, 27 January 2007 (UTC)Reply

If i'm not wrong you pronounce Mlahso as in the Swedish "Å"...As in most endings in the Western Syriac-Aramaic (Turoyo,Surayt,Suryoyo) you pronounce it with a "Å", which also is one of five vowels in the alphabet.--Yohanun 22:45, 17 February 2007 (UTC)Reply

Last speaker detail

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I have just removed the following

The last speaker of Mlaḥsô, Ibrahim Ḥanna, died in 1998 in Qamishli. His daughter Rahel passed away in January 2017 in Damascus. His daughters, Munira in Qamishlo, Shamiram in Lebanon, and son Dr. Isḥaq in Germany are the only left who can speak the language, but they have no one to converse with.

It appears to be unsourced and it makes no sense on several levels. Eg: if Ibrahim Hanna was the last speaker then his surviving children must not be able to speak it. And if more than one child still survives then they do in fact have someone to converse with. - Sitush (talk) 20:19, 8 January 2017 (UTC)Reply