The existence of present-day Aramaic speech communities living in Syria is widely known. Less common knowledge is the fact that Aramaic speakers known as Süryani also live in Southeast Turkey, in a region of the province of Mardin called Turabdin. Due to waves of oppression in the 1900s, a strong Süryani diaspora has formed in Germany. Since 2000 Süryanis have been trickling back to Turabdin bearing German language, housing supplies and sausage; some simply for summer residence while others strive to re-establish themselves year-round. All are facing questions of identity anchored to concepts of ethnicity, nationality, traditions, and language.
Keri Miller is a doctoral student in the joint program in Middle Eastern Studies and Anthropology. Ms. Miller holds a BS in Apparel and Merchandizing from Colorado State University, an MFA in Theatre Design from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MA in Linguistic of Middle Eastern Languages from the University of Arizona. Within anthropology she is primarily focused on linguistic anthropology. Keri is most interested in language contact particularly in Near Eastern languages, language ideology and use of language in education.
