Aramaic language

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/aramaic-language

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the language family?Northwest Semitic
2. What is the earliest extant inscriptions?c. 1100 BCE
3. What is Aramaic and why is it important?Aramaic is an ancient language that was used by many people in the Middle East. It was a common language for trade, government, and religion.
4. How did Aramaic become a language of many empires?The Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, and Achaemenid empires used Aramaic for administration and commerce. Its simple grammar and flexible alphabet made it easy to learn.

Lingua Franca: A language systematically used to communicate between people of different native languages.
Semitic Languages: A branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family originating in the Middle East, characterized by a triliteral root system.
Alphabet: A writing system in which each symbol represents a phoneme (a basic unit of sound), as opposed to syllabaries or logographic systems.