Assyrian Neo-Aramaic language

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
ܐܬܘܪܝܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ Ātūrāyā, ܣܘܪܝܬ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ Sūrët, Āshuri, Suryāyā, Sureth
Sūrët in written Syriac (Madnkhaya script)
Pronunciation	surɛt, surɛθ
Native to	Iraq, Syria, Iran
Region	Northern Iraq, Hakkari (Turkey), Urmia (Iran)
Native speakers	232,300 (1994)
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic Central Semitic Northwest Semitic Aramaic Eastern Aramaic Northeastern Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
Dialects	Urmian, Iraqi Koine, Tyari, Jilu, Nochiya, Barwari, Baz and Gawar
Writing system	Syriac
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog	assy1241

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic (Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܬ‎, sūrët), or just simply Assyrian, is a Northeastern Neo-Aramaic language spoken by an estimated 200,000 people throughout a large region stretching from the plain of Urmia in northwestern Iran, to the Nineveh plains, and the Irbil, Mosul, Kirkuk and Duhok regions in northern Iraq, together with the Al Hasakah region of northeastern Syria, and formerly parts of southeastern Turkey. In recent years, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic has spread throughout the Assyrian diaspora.

Speakers of Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic and Turoyo are ethnic Assyrians and are descendants of the ancient Assyrian inhabitants of Northern Mesopotamia. Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is the largest speaking Neo-Aramaic group (232,000 speakers), followed by Chaldean Neo-Aramaic (206,000 speakers) and Turoyo (112,000 speakers). Despite the terms Chaldean Neo-Aramaic and Assyrian Neo-Aramaic indicating a separate ethnic identity, both languages and their native speakers originate from the same Upper Mesopotamian region (which was Assyria).

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is, to a significant degree, mutually intelligible with Chaldean Neo-Aramaic and is closely related to it, as both evolved from the same distinct Syriac language after 1st century AD. To a moderate degree, Assyrian is also intelligible with Senaya, Lishana Deni and Bohtan Neo-Aramaic (which are, at times, all considered Assyrian dialects). It is somewhat partially intelligible with Lishan Didan, Hulaulá and Lishanid Noshan. Its mutual intelligibility with Turoyo is rather limited.