Turoyo phonology is its use of reduced vowels in closed syllables. The phonetic value of such reduced vowels differs depending both on the value of original vowel and the dialect spoken. The Miḏyoyo dialect also reduces vowels in pre-stress open syllables. That has the effect of producing a syllabic schwa in most dialects (in Classical Syriac, the schwa is not syllabic). Consonants Vowels Turoyo has the following set of vowels: Morphology The verbal system of Turoyo is similar to that used in other Neo-Aramaic languages. In Classical Syriac, the ancient perfect and imperfect tenses had started to become preterite and future tenses respectively, and other tenses were formed by using the participles with pronominal clitics or shortened forms of the verb hwā ('to become'). Most modern Aramaic languages have completely abandoned the old tenses and form all tenses from stems based around the old participles. The classical clitics have become incorporated fully into the verb form, and can be considered more like inflections. Turoyo has also developed the use of the demonstrative pronouns much more than any other Aramaic language. In Turoyo, they have become definite articles: masculine singular: u malko (the king) feminine singular: i malëkṯo (the queen) plural common: am malke (the kings), am malkoṯe (the queens). The other Central Neo-Aramaic dialect, of Mlahsô and Ansha villages in Diyarbakır Province is somewhat different from Turoyo. It is virtually extinct; its last few speakers live in Qamishli in northeastern Syria and in the diaspora. Syntax Turoyo has three sets of particles that take the place of the copula in nominal clauses: enclitic copula, independent copula, and emphatic independent copula. In Turoyo, the non-enclitic copula (or the existential particle) is articulated with the use of two sets of particles: kal and kit. See also References Sources External links Turoyo alphabets and pronunciation at Omniglot Semitisches Tonarchiv: Dokumentgruppe "Aramäisch/Turoyo" The Turoyo language today Syriac Turoyo-Bible Turoyo is studied and taught at the HSE Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies Eastern Aramaic languages Languages of Syria Languages of Turkey Neo-Aramaic languages Endangered Afroasiatic languages Tur Abdin Languages of Kurdistan