Posted by Jeff from bgp01107368bgs.wbrmfd01.mi.comcast.net (68.42.59.180) on Wednesday, July 03, 2002 at 2:15PM :
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Check out this page
Date: Tue, 01 Jun 1999 11:55:59 -0700, Mon, 31 May 1999 15:01:17 -0500, Mon, 31 May 1999 14:01:17 -0500
From: "Ghassan Hanna" <ghanna@jps.net>
To: "Jeff" <Soritha@mediaone.net>
References: <3.0.1.32.19990601085005.00719120@mail.jps.net>
Dear Jeff,
Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac are different names that different
communities of the same people are referring to themselves. All of those
different communities refer to each other as "Suraya" in their language
Aramaic/Syriac, however, each of those communities decided to identify
itself (more out of religious differences) with one period of the long
history of this ancient Mesopotamian nation. So, the followers of the
Church of the East (Nestorian) picked up the Assyrian name to identify
themselves with, while the Catholic Chaldeans picked up the next period of
the Mesopotamian regimes, that of the Chaldeans, while the followers of the
Syriac church (Monophysite) picked up the following period using the name
(Syriac or in Arabic Suryan) given to us by the newly occupying Arab Muslims.
There is our biggest problem. We have three major sects of the Suraya
nation each identifying itself with one period of the Mesopotamian regimes.
The Assyrians claiming Assyria and its heritage, while the Chaldeans
claiming Babylon and its heritage, and the Syriac claiming all the
contributions of our people to the Arab empire. I and few others are now
trying to promote the name "Suraya" to be the alternative that can
encompass all the Mesopotamian civilization whether it's Sumerian,
Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac (i.e. transcend the
tribal names and their regimes and go for the word that all use in Aramaic
to refer to each other (i.e. Suraya) and forget about what each tribe was
called by and the name of the regime that it established). It's a real
problem for a 7000 years ancient nation like ours (you see the Jews have
been able to mold their people to the extent that Jewish, Hebrew, and
Israelite as much as Ishkenazi, Safardi nor even Yedish are anymore a
problem of identity for them). I hope we too will succeed in unifying our
people under one name (however since we don't have a separate state and its
powerful media and other controlling appartus like the Jews do, our task
will be much more difficult). In other words to answer your question
directly, the Chaldeans are Assyrians as much as the Assyrians are
Chaldeans as much as they both are Syriacs and vice versa. Saying that,
ignorance prevail among some.
As to the Chaldeans' dialect, you're right it's Eastern like the Assyrians,
while the Syriacs speaks the western. Saying that the Chaldeans speak it
with a noticeable accent than the Assyrians.
Take care.
Ghassan
-- Jeff
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