Editing Suret language (section)

=== Iraqi Koine ===
[[File:IraqiKoine.ogg|thumb|right|Sample of the Iraqi Koine dialect (voice by [[Linda George (Assyrian singer)|Linda George]]). Notice how it combines the phonetic features of the Hakkari (Turkey) and Urmian (Iran) dialects]]
Iraqi Koine, also known as Iraqi Assyrian and "Standard" Assyrian, is a compromise between the rural Ashiret accents of Hakkari and [[Nineveh Plains]] (listed above) and the former prestigious dialect in [[Urmia]]. Iraqi Koine does not really constitute a new dialect, but an incomplete merger of dialects, with some speakers sounding more Urmian, such as those from [[Habbaniyah]], and others more Hakkarian, such as those who immigrated from northern [[Iraq]]. Koine is more analogous or similar to Urmian in terms of manner of articulation, place of articulation and its [[consonant cluster]] formations than it is to the Hakkari dialects, though it just lacks the regional [[Persian language|Persian]] influence in some consonants and vowels, as the [[front vowel]]s in Urmian tend to be more fronted and the [[back vowel|back ones]] more rounded.<ref name="Shamāshā Dāwīd 1963, p. 895"/> For an [[English accent]] equivalence, the difference between Iraqi Koine and Urmian dialect would be akin to the difference between [[Australian English|Australian]] and [[New Zealand English]].<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

During the [[World War I|First World War]], many Assyrians living in the [[Ottoman Empire]] were [[Sayfo|forced from their homes]], and many of their descendants now live in [[Iraq]]. The relocation has led to the creation of this dialect. Iraqi Koine was developed in the [[Urban area|urban]] areas of Iraq (i.e. [[Baghdad]], [[Basra]], Habbaniyah and [[Kirkuk]]), which became the meccas for the rural Assyrian population. By the end of the 1950s, vast number of Assyrians started to speak Iraqi Koine. Today, Iraqi Koine is the predominant use of communication between the majority of the Assyrians from [[List of largest cities of Iraq|Iraqi cities]] and it is also used as the standard dialect in music and formal speech.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

Some modern Hakkari speakers from Iraq can switch [[accent reduction|back and forth]] from their Hakkari dialects to Iraqi Koine when conversing with Assyrian speakers of other dialects. Some [[Assyrians in Syria|Syrian-Assyrians]], who originate from Hakkari, may also speak or sing in Iraqi Koine. This is attributed to the growing exposure to Assyrian Standard-based literature, media and its use as a [[Sacred language|liturgical]] language by the [[Church of the East]], which is based in Iraq. Elements of original ''Ashiret'' dialects can still be observed in Iraqi Koine, especially in that of older speakers. Furthermore, [[Assyrian folk/pop music|Assyrian songs]] are generally sung in Iraqi Koine in order for them to be intelligible and have widespread recognition. To note, the emergence of Koine did not signify that the rest of the spoken dialects vanished. The ''Ashiret'' dialects are still active today and widely spoken in northern [[Iraq]] and northeastern Syria as some Assyrians remained in the rural areas and the fact that the [[Immigrant generations|first generation]] speakers who relocated in urban areas still maintained their native dialects.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>