Koineisation and Language Contact in Syrian Ṭuroyo

This chapter investigates koineisation and language contact in Syrian Ṭuroyo, a Central Neo-Aramaic language spoken around Qamishli, Syria. Originally confined to the Ṭūr ʿAbdīn region in Turkey, Ṭuroyo’s linguistic ecology shifted following migrations triggered by the 1915 Sayfo genocide and the establishment of the French Mandate. These migrations led to a trilingual environment (Ṭuroyo–Arabic–Kurdish) in Syria, altering the language’s dynamics. Drawing on novel data collected in Northern Syria and Belgium, this study examines two key phenomena: the emergence of koineised varieties and the impact of contact with Arabic.

Koineisation in Syrian Ṭuroyo is characterised by morphological simplifications, the loss of gender distinctions in the second person singular, and the emergence of innovative paradigms. Levelling and hybridisation of grammatical structures, particularly the verbal predicate, are highlighted. The study identifies the integration of Arabic lexical and grammatical items through matter replication, such as borrowed nouns and adjectives with preserved Arabic inflections, and pattern replication, including the adoption of Arabic-like argument structures and clause-combining strategies. While Ṭuroyo maintains a distinct relativisation strategy, the influence of Arabic is evident in discourse markers, inchoative constructions, and semantic patterns.

The chapter concludes that, although Ṭuroyo shows significant convergence with Arabic, full assimilation has not occurred. Sociolinguistic changes since 2011, due to the mass migration of Syriac speakers to Europe, suggest the need for future research to evaluate the ongoing evolution of this linguistic ecosystem. The findings contribute to broader discussions on language contact and koineisation in minority languages.