This is the first book-length study of the Neo-Aramaic dialect spoken by the people of Jilu
one of the smaller Nestorian tribes of the Hakkâri mountaints in South-Eastern Turkey. Like the
other Nestorian tribes the people of Jilu were forced to leave their homeland in 1915 and
have ever since lived in exil. The study is based on research conducted with two elderly Jilu
speakers living in Chicago. The Neo-Aramaic dialect of Jilu which is now heading towards
extinction possesses a number of unique linguistic features. The book contains an introduction
of Jilu and its people a grammatical description a long text with an English translation a
glossary and a bibliography.
