Editing Turoyo language

{{Short description|Central Neo-Aramaic language}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Turoyo
| nativename       = {{lang|tru|ܛܘܪܝܐ}} {{Transliteration|syr|Turoyo}}
| altname          = Surayt/Suryoyo
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|[tˤuˈrɔjɔ]}}
| states           = [[Turkey]], [[Syria]]
| region           = [[Mardin Province]] of southeastern [[Turkey]]; [[Al-Hasakah Governorate]] in northeastern [[Syria]]
| ethnicity        = [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|104,900|2}}
| date             = 2019–2023
| ref              = e27
| familycolor      = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2             = [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
| fam3             = [[Central Semitic languages|Central Semitic]]
| fam4             = [[Northwest Semitic languages|Northwest Semitic]]
| fam5             = [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]
| fam6             = [[Eastern Aramaic languages|Eastern Aramaic]]
| fam7             = [[Central Neo-Aramaic]]
| script           = [[Syriac alphabet#West Syriac Serṭā|Syriac alphabet (West Syriac Serṭo)]]<br>[[Latin script|Latin alphabet]] ([[Turoyo language#Alphabet|Turoyo alphabet]])
| module           = {{Listen|embed = yes|filename=  |title=Spoken Turoyo Neo-Aramaic| type = speech| description= |format=[[Ogg]]}}
<!-- | ELP = 10770 
| ELPname = Turoyo -->| notice           = IPA
| minority         = {{unbulleted list
| {{flag|Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria}}{{efn|The right to get an education in one's native tongue has been established as a legal guarantee.}}<ref>{{cite interview |last=Elissa |first=Jalinos |interviewer=Jacob Mirza |title=Breakthrough in Syriac school crisis in Zalin (Qamishli) in North and East Syria, Olaf Taw Association explains to SuroyoTV |work=SuroyoTV |publisher=SyriacPress |date=23 September 2021 |location=Zalin, Syria |url=https://syriacpress.com/blog/2021/09/23/breakthrough-in-syriac-school-crisis-in-zalin-qamishli-in-north-and-east-syria-olaf-taw-association-explains-to-suroyotv/ |access-date=14 April 2022}}</ref>
| {{TUR}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Akbulut |first=Olgun |date=2023-10-19 |title=For Centenary of the Lausanne Treaty: Re-Interpretation and Re-Implementation of Linguistic Minority Rights of Lausanne |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/ijgr/aop/article-10.1163-15718115-bja10134/article-10.1163-15718115-bja10134.xml |journal=International Journal on Minority and Group Rights |volume=-1 |issue=aop |pages=1–24 |doi=10.1163/15718115-bja10134 |issn=1385-4879|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Erdem |first=Fazıl Hüsnü |last2=Öngüç |first2=Bahar |date=2021-06-30 |title=SÜRYANİCE ANADİLİNDE EĞİTİM HAKKI: SORUNLAR VE ÇÖZÜM ÖNERİLERİ |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/duhfd/issue/63313/959939 |journal=Dicle Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi |language=tr |volume=26 |issue=44 |pages=3–35 |issn=1300-2929}}</ref>
}}
| iso3             = tru
| glotto           = turo1239
| glottorefname    = Turoyo
| mapcaption       = [[Neo-Aramaic languages]], including Turoyo (represented in red colour)
| map              = Syriac Dialects EN.svg
}}
{{Assyrian culture}}

'''Turoyo''' ({{langx|tru|ܛܘܪܝܐ|links=no}}), also referred to as '''Surayt''' ({{langx|tru|ܣܘܪܝܬ|links=no}}), or modern '''Suryoyo''' ({{langx|tru|ܣܘܪܝܝܐ|links=no}}), is a [[Central Neo-Aramaic]] language traditionally spoken by the [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac Christian]] community in the [[Tur Abdin]] region located in southeastern [[Turkey]] and in northeastern [[Syria]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=SyriacPress |date=2021-11-27 |title=What Suryoye Need More Of: The Surayt-Aramaic Online Language Project |url=https://syriacpress.com/blog/2021/11/27/what-suryoye-need-more-of-the-surayt-aramaic-online-language-project/ |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=Syriac Press |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ritter |first=Hellmut |url=https://archive.org/details/turoyodievolkssp0001hell/page/n9/mode/2up |title=Turoyo: Die Volkssprache der Syrischen Christen des Tur 'Abdin, B: Wörterbuch [Vol. 1] |date=1979 |publisher=Beirut: Orient-Institut der DMG / Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag |others=Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute |pages=2}}</ref> Turoyo speakers are mostly adherents of the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]].{{sfn|Weaver|Kiraz|2016}} Originally spoken and exclusive to Tur Abdin, it is now majority spoken in the diaspora.{{sfn|Weaver|Kiraz|2016|p=19-36}} It is classified as a vulnerable language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/3502|title=Turoyo|website=Endangered Languages |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa|access-date=30 April 2017|date=2022}}</ref>{{sfn|Saouk|2015|p=361-377}} Most speakers use the [[Classical Syriac language]] for literature and worship.{{sfn|Brock|1989b|p=363–375}}  Its closest relatives are [[Mlaḥsô language|Mlaḥsô]] and western varieties of [[Northeastern Neo-Aramaic]] like [[Suret language|Suret]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Ronald |title="Stammbaum" or Continuum? The Subgrouping of Modern Aramaic Dialects Reconsidered |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=2008 |volume=128 |issue=3 |pages=505–531 |jstor=25608409 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25608409 |issn=0003-0279}}</ref> Turoyo is not [[mutually intelligible]] with [[Western Neo-Aramaic]], having been separated for over a thousand years.{{sfn|Owens|2007|p=268}}

==Etymology==
Term {{lang|arc-Latn|Ṭuroyo}} comes from the word ''{{lang|arc-Latn|ṭuro}}'', meaning 'mountain', thus designating a specific [[Neo-Aramaic language]] of the mountain region of [[Tur Abdin]] in southeastern part of modern [[Turkey]] (hence ''Turabdinian'' Aramaic). Other, more general names for the language are ''{{lang|arc-Latn|Surayt}}'' or ''{{lang|arc-Latn|Suryoyo}}''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uobw_kBXx74C |title=Modern Aramaic-English/English-Aramaic: Dictionary and Phrasebook |date=2007 |isbn=9780781810876 |access-date=17 August 2012 |last1=Awde |first1=Nicholas |last2=Lamassu |first2=Nineb |last3=Al-Jeloo |first3=Nicholas |publisher=Hippocrene |location=New York City, NY}}</ref>{{sfn|Talay|2017|p=}}

Term ''Surayt'' is commonly used by its speakers, as a general designation for their language, modern or historical. It is also used by the recent EU funded programme to revitalize the language, in preference to ''{{lang|arc-Latn|Ṭuroyo}}'', since Surayt is a historical name for the language used by its speakers, while Turoyo is a more academic name for the language used to distinguish it from other Neo-Aramaic languages, and Classical Syriac. However, especially in the [[diaspora]], the language is frequently called ''Surayt'', ''Suryoyo'' (or ''Surayt'', ''Sŭryoyo'' or ''Süryoyo'' depending on dialect), meaning "Syriac" in general. Since it has developed as one of western variants of the Syriac language, Turoyo is sometimes also referred to as ''Western Neo-Syriac''.{{sfn|Tezel|2003|p=}}

==History==
Turoyo has evolved from the [[Eastern Aramaic]] colloquial varieties that have been spoken in [[Tur Abdin]] and the surrounding plain for more than a thousand years since the initial introduction of [[Aramaic]] to the region. However, it has also been influenced by [[Classical Syriac]], which itself was the variety of the [[Eastern Middle Aramaic]] spoken farther west, in the city of [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]], today known as [[Urfa]]. Due to the proximity of Tur Abdin to Edessa, and the closeness of their parent languages, meant that Turoyo bears a greater similarity to Classical Syriac than do Northeastern Neo-Aramaic varieties.

The homeland of Turoyo is the [[Tur Abdin]] region in southeastern Turkey.{{sfn|Jastrow|2011|p=697}} This region is a traditional stronghold of [[Syriac Orthodox Christians]].{{sfn|Palmer|1990|p=}}{{sfn|Barsoum|2008|p=}} The Turoyo-speaking population prior to the [[Sayfo]] largely adhered to the Syriac Orthodox Church.{{sfn|Jastrow|2011|p=697}} In 1970, it was estimated that there were 20,000 Turoyo-speakers still living in the area, however, they gradually migrated to [[Western Europe]] and elsewhere in the world.{{sfn|Jastrow|2011|p=697}} The Turoyo-speaking diaspora is now estimated at {{sigfig|104,900|2}}.<ref>https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tru/</ref> In the [[diaspora]] communities, Turoyo is usually a second language which is supplemented by more mainstream languages.{{sfn|Weaver|Kiraz|2016|p=19-36}} The language is considered endangered by [[UNESCO]], but efforts are still made by Turoyo-speaking communities to sustain the language through use in homelife, school programs to teach Turoyo on the weekends, and summer day camps.{{sfn|Weaver|Kiraz|2016|p=19-36}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sibille |first1=Jean |title=Turoyo |url=http://www.sorosoro.org/en/turoyo/ |website=Sorosoro |access-date=30 July 2022 |date=2011}}</ref>

Until recently, Turoyo was a spoken vernacular and was never written down: Kthobonoyo ([[Syriac language|Classical Syriac]]) was the written language. In the 1880s, various attempts were made, with the encouragement of western missionaries, to write Turoyo in the [[Syriac alphabet]], in the ''Serto'' and in ''Estrangelo'' script used for West-Syriac Kthobhonoyo. One of the first comprehensive studies of the language was published in 1881, by orientalists [[Eugen Prym]] and [[Albert Socin]], who classified it as a [[Neo-Aramaic]] dialect.{{sfn|Prym|Socin|1881|p=}}

However, with upheaval in their homeland through the twentieth century, many Turoyo speakers have emigrated around the world (particularly to [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], [[Sweden]] and [[Germany]]). The Swedish government's education policy, that every child be educated in his or her first language, led to the commissioning of teaching materials in Turoyo. Yusuf Ishaq thus developed an alphabet for Turoyo based on the [[Latin script]]. Silas Üzel also created a separate Latin alphabet for Turoyo in Germany.

A series of reading books and workbooks that introduce Ishaq's alphabet are called {{transliteration|tru|Toxu Qorena!}}, or "Come, Let's Read!" This project has also produced a [[Swedish language|Swedish]]-Turoyo dictionary of 4500 entries: the ''Svensk-turabdinskt Lexikon: Leksiqon Swedoyo-Suryoyo''. Another old teacher, writer and translator of Turoyo is Yuhanun Üzel (1934-2023) who in 2009 finished the translation of the [[Peshitta]] Bible in Turoyo, with Benjamin Bar Shabo and Yakup Bilgic, in [[Serto]] (West-Syriac) and Latin script, a foundation for the "Aramaic-Syriac language". A team of AI researchers completed the first translation model for Turoyo in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syriac.IO - Translator |url=https://www.syriac.io/translate |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=www.syriac.io |language=en}}</ref>

==Dialects==
Turoyo has borrowed some words from [[Arabic language|Arabic]],{{sfn|Tezel|2015a|p=554-568}} [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]], [[Armenian language|Armenian]], and [[Turkish language|Turkish]]. The main dialect of Turoyo is that of [[Midyat]] (Mëḏyoyo), in the east of Turkey's [[Mardin Province]]. Every village have distinctive dialects (Midwoyo, Kfarzoyo, `Iwarnoyo, Nihloyo, and Izloyo, respectively).{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} All Turoyo dialects are mutually intelligible with each other. There is a dialectal split between the town of Midyat and the villages, with only slight differences between the individual villages.{{sfn|Jastrow|2011|p=697}} A closely related language or dialect, [[Mlahsô language|Mlaḥsô]], spoken in two villages in [[Diyarbakır Province|Diyarbakır]], is now deemed extinct.{{sfn|Jastrow|2011|p=697}}

==Alphabet==
Turoyo is written both in Latin and [[Syriac script|Syriac]] ([[Serto]]) characters. The orthography below was the outcome of the International Surayt Conference held at the University of Cambridge (27–30 August 2015).{{sfn|Talay|2017|p=}}<ref name="DYK">{{cite web | url=https://userblogs.fu-berlin.de/saop/didyouknow/ | title=Did you know |website=Surayt-Aramaic Online Project |publisher=Free University of Berlin}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable"  style="text-align:center"
|+ Consonants
|-
!scope="row"| Latin letter 
| '
| B b
| V v
| G g
| Ġ ġ
| J j
| D d
| Ḏ ḏ
| H h
| W w
| Z z
| Ž ž
| Ḥ ḥ
| Ṭ ṭ
| Ḍ ḍ
| Y y
|-
!scope="row"| Syriac letter
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܐ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܒ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܒ݂}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܓ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܓ݂}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܔ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܕ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܕ݂}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܗ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܘ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܙ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܙ݅}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܚ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܛ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܜ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܝ}}
|-
!scope="row"| Pronunciation
| [{{IPA link|ʔ}}], ∅
| [{{IPA link|b}}]
| [{{IPA link|v}}]
| [{{IPA link|g}}]
| [{{IPA link|ɣ}}]
| [{{IPA link|dʒ}}]
| [{{IPA link|d}}]
| [{{IPA link|ð}}]
| [{{IPA link|h}}]
| [{{IPA link|w}}]
| [{{IPA link|z}}]
| [{{IPA link|ʒ}}]
| [{{IPA link|ħ}}]
| [{{IPA link|tˤ}}]
| [{{IPA link|dˤ}}]
| [{{IPA link|j}}]
|-
|colspan="17" style="background:#FFF;border-left:hidden;border-right:hidden;padding:2px"|
|-
!scope="row"| Latin letter 
| K k
| X x
| L l
| M m
| N n
| S s
| C c
| P p
| F f
| Ṣ ṣ
| Q q
| R r
| Š š
| Č č
| T t
| Ṯ ṯ
|-
!scope="row"| Syriac letter
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܟ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܟ݂}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܠ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܡ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܢ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܣ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܥ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܦ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܦ݂}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܨ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܩ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܪ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܫ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܫ݂}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܬ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܬ݂}}
|-
!scope="row"| Pronunciation
| [{{IPA link|k}}]
| [{{IPA link|x}}]
| [{{IPA link|l}}]
| [{{IPA link|m}}]
| [{{IPA link|n}}]
| [{{IPA link|s}}]
| [{{IPA link|ʕ}}]
| [{{IPA link|p}}]
| [{{IPA link|f}}]
| [{{IPA link|sˤ}}]
| [{{IPA link|q}}]
| [{{IPA link|r}}]
| [{{IPA link|ʃ}}]
| [{{IPA link|tʃ}}]
| [{{IPA link|t}}]
| [{{IPA link|θ}}]
|}

{|class="wikitable"  style="text-align:center"
|+ Vowels
|-
!scope="row"|Latin letter 
| A a
| Ä ä
| E e
| Ë ë
| O o
|rowspan="3" style="background:#FFF;border-top:hidden;border-bottom:hidden;padding:2px"|
| Y/I y/i
| W/U w/u
|-
!scope="row"| Syriac vowel mark <br />(or ''[[mater lectionis]]'')
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܰ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܱ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܶ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܷ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܳ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܝ}}
|style="font-size:150%"| {{Script/Serto|ܘ}}
|-
!scope="row"|Pronunciation
| [{{IPA link|a}}]
| [{{IPA link|a|ă}}]
| [{{IPA link|e}}]
| [{{IPA link|ə}}]
| [{{IPA link|o}}]
| [{{IPA link|j}}]/[{{IPA link|i}}]
| [{{IPA link|w}}]/[{{IPA link|u}}]
|}

Attempts to write down Turoyo have begun since the 16th century, with Jewish Neo-Aramaic adaptions and translations of Biblical texts, commentaries, as well as hagiographic stories, books, and folktales in Christian dialects. The East Syriac Bishop Mar Yohannan working with American missionary Rev. Justin Perkins also tried to write the vernacular version of religious texts, culminating in the production of school-cards in 1836.{{sfn|Tomal|2015|p=29-52}}

In 1970s Germany, members of the Aramean evangelical movement (''Aramäische Freie Christengemeinde'') used Turoyo to write short texts and songs.<ref name=":2">{{cite book |last1=Talay |first1=Shabo |title=Alice in a World of Wonderlands: The Translations of Lewis Carroll's Masterpiece |date=2015 |publisher=Oak Knoll |location=New Castle, DE |isbn=9781584563310 |chapter=Turoyo, the Aramaic language of Turabdin and the translation of Alice |editor1-first=Jon A. |editor1-last=Lindseth |editor2-first=Alan |editor2-last=Tannenbaum |volume=I: Essays}}</ref> The Syriac evangelical movement has also published over 300 Turoyo hymns in a compedium named ''Kole Ruhonoye'' in 2012, as well as translating the four gospels with Mark and John being published so far.<ref name=":2" />

The alphabet as used in a forthcoming translation of ''New Peshitta in Turoyo'' by Yuhanun Bar Shabo, ''Sfar mele surtoṯoyo – Picture dictionary'' and Benjamin Bar Shabo's ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]''.

In the 1970s, educator Yusuf Ishaq attempted to systematically incorporate the Turoyo language into a Latin orthography, which resulted in a series of reading books, entitled [toxu qorena].{{sfn|Weaver|Kiraz|2016|p=19-36}} Although this system is not used outside of Sweden, other Turoyo speakers have developed their own non-standardized Latin script to use the language on digital platforms.

The Swedish government's "mother-tongue education" project treated Turoyo as an immigrant language, like Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, and began to teach the language in schools.<ref name=":2" /> The staff of the National Swedish Institute for Teaching Material produced a Latin letter-based alphabet, grammar, dictionary, school books, and instructional material. Due to religious and political objections, the project was halted.<ref name=":2" />

There are other efforts to translate famous works of literature, including The Aramaic Students Association's translation of ''The Little Prince'', the Nisbin Foundation's translation of ''Cinderella'' and ''Little Red Riding Hood.''<ref name=":2" />[[File:Iliana speaking Turoyo.webm|thumb|Iliana speaking Turoyo language|277x277px]]

==Phonology==
Phonetically, Turoyo is very similar to Classical Syriac. The additional [[phoneme]]s {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}} (as in '''''j'''u'''dg'''e''), {{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}} (as in '''''ch'''ur'''ch''''') {{IPA|/ʒ/}} (as in ''a'''z'''ure'') and a few instances of {{IPA|/ðˤ/}} (the Arabic [[ẓāʾ]]) mostly only appear in loanwords from other languages.

The most distinctive feature of Turoyo phonology is its use of [[reduced vowel]]s in [[syllable|closed syllable]]s. The phonetic value of such reduced vowels differs depending both on the value of original vowel and the dialect spoken. The Miḏyoyo dialect also reduces vowels in pre-stress open syllables. That has the effect of producing a syllabic [[schwa]] in most dialects (in Classical Syriac, the schwa is not syllabic).

=== Consonants ===

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan=2|
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="6" |[[Dental consonant|Dental]]/[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Palato-alveolar consonant|Palato-<br />alveolar]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyn-<br />geal]]
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|[[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="4" |<small>plain</small>|| colspan="2" |[[pharyngealization|<small>emphatic</small>]]
|- align=center
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|m}}
| colspan="2" style="border-right: 0;" | || colspan="2" style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|n}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | ({{IPA link|nˤ}})
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
|- align=center
! [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
| style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|p}}|| style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|b}}
| colspan="2" style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|t}} || colspan="2" style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|d}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|tˤ}} || style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|dˤ}}
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|k}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|q}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|ʔ}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
|- align=center
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
| colspan=2|
| colspan="4" |
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|tʃ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|dʒ}}
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
|- align=center
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|f}} || style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|v}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|θ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|ð}}
| style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|s}}|| style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|z}}
| style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|sˤ}}|| style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|ðˤ}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|ʃ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|ʒ}}
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|x}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|ɣ}}
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|ħ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|ʕ}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|h}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
|- align=center
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|w}}
| colspan="2" style="border-right: 0;" | || colspan="2" style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|l}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | ({{IPA link|lˤ}})
| colspan=2|
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|j}}
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
|- align=center
! [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
| colspan=2|
| colspan="2" style="border-right: 0;" | || colspan="2" style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|r}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | ({{IPA link|rˤ}})
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
| colspan=2|
|}

=== Vowels ===
Turoyo has the following set of vowels:{{sfn|Jastrow|2011|p=697–707}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA link|i}}
|
|{{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}}
|
|{{IPA link|o}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|{{IPA link|a}}
|
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Lax vowels
!
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|
|{{IPA|ŭ}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|ə}}
|
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|{{IPA|ă}}
|
|}

==Morphology==
The verbal system of Turoyo is similar to that used in other [[Neo-Aramaic languages]]. In Classical Syriac, the ancient [[perfect tense|perfect]] and [[imperfect tense]]s had started to become [[preterite]] and [[future tense]]s respectively, and other tenses were formed by using the [[participle]]s with [[pronoun|pronominal]] [[clitic]]s or shortened forms of the verb ''hwā'' ('to become'). Most modern Aramaic languages have completely abandoned the old tenses and form all tenses from stems based around the old participles. The classical clitics have become incorporated fully into the verb form, and can be considered more like inflections.

Turoyo has also developed the use of the [[demonstrative pronoun]]s much more than any other Aramaic language. In Turoyo, they have become [[definite article]]s:
*masculine singular: u malko (''the king'')
*feminine singular: i malëkṯo (''the queen'')
*plural common: am malke (''the kings''), am malkoṯe (''the queens'').

The other Central Neo-Aramaic dialect, of [[Mlahsô language|Mlahsô]] and Ansha villages in [[Diyarbakır Province]] is somewhat different from Turoyo. It is virtually extinct; its last few speakers live in [[Qamishli]] in northeastern [[Syria]] and in the diaspora.{{sfn|Jastrow|2011|p=697–707}}

== Syntax ==
Turoyo has three sets of particles that take the place of the [[Copula (linguistics)|copula]] in [[nominal clause]]s: enclitic copula, independent copula, and emphatic independent copula. In Turoyo, the non-enclitic copula (or the existential particle) is articulated with the use of two sets of particles: ''kal'' and ''kit''.{{sfn|Tomal|2015|p=29-52}}

{{Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialects map}}

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=27em|
* [[Aramaic language]]
* [[Neo-Aramaic languages]]
* [[Central Neo-Aramaic languages]]
* [[Aramaic studies]]
* [[Bible translations into Aramaic]]
* [[Bible translations into Syriac]]
* [[Syriac language]]
* [[Syriac alphabet]]
* [[Syriac literature]]
* [[Syriac studies]]
* [[Syriac Christianity]]
* [[Romanization of Syriac]]
}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|35em}}
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{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/turoyo.htm Turoyo alphabets and pronunciation] at ''Omniglot''
{{Incubator|code=tru}}
*[http://semarch.uni-hd.de/dokumentgruppen.php4?ST_ID=5&DT_ID=106 Semitisches Tonarchiv: Dokumentgruppe "Aramäisch/Turoyo"] {{in lang|de}}
*[http://www.jaas.org/edocs/v1/jastrow.pdf The Turoyo language today] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070925024141/http://www.jaas.org/edocs/v1/jastrow.pdf |date=2007-09-25 }}
*[http://www.msihoye.de Syriac Turoyo-Bible]
*[https://iocs.hse.ru/turoyo Turoyo is studied and taught at the HSE Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies]

{{Languages of Syria}}
{{Neo-Aramaic}}
{{Syriacs}}
{{Assyrian topics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turoyo Language}}
[[Category:Eastern Aramaic languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Syria]]
[[Category:Languages of Turkey]]
[[Category:Neo-Aramaic languages]]
[[Category:Endangered Afroasiatic languages]]
[[Category:Tur Abdin]]
[[Category:Languages of Kurdistan]]