Journal of Sociology and Social Work

Syriac Language Maintenance among the Assyrians of Iraq
Prof. Bader S. Dweik, Tiba A. Al-Obaidi

Abstract
This study aimed to explore the factors that support the maintenance of the Syriac language among the Assyrians who constitute a large ethnic community in Iraq. The researchers used informal interviews and a sociolinguistic questionnaire following Bickerton’s method (1971) who suggested that using the method of readily obtainable group of people would enable the researchers to gain fruitful results and would overcome some problems. A random sample that consisted of 150 participants was selected. Results indicated that the Assyrians have been relatively successful in maintaining their ethnic language despite the long-term contact with many languages such as Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish and Persian. The factors that helped maintain the Syriac language include using it at home with family members and relatives, the church, the tight social relations, the media, the positive attitudes they exert towards it and internal marriages.

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