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.