Turoyo language

Turoyo (also Syriany, Suryoyo or Suroyo) is an Eastern Aramaic language traditionally spoken in eastern Turkey and north-eastern Syria by Assyrians/Syriacs of the Syriac Christian faith.

Most speakers use the Syriac language which originated in 5th century BC Achaemenid Assyria for literature and worship. Turoyo/Surayt speakers are currently mostly members of the Syriac Orthodox Church although there are also Turoyo speaking members of the Chaldean Catholic Church especially from the town of Midyat, and Assyrian Church of the East.

This is most acute among non-Turoyo/Surayt-speaking Syriac Orthodox Church members, whose tend to be from The Levant (modern Syria excluding the north eastern corner), and whose first language may be Arabic, German, Swedish, English, Malayalam or another language. This, and the church's preference for Syriac, has had some impact on Turoyo/Surayt.

Turoyo is not mutually intelligible with Western Neo-Aramaic having been separated for over a thousand years, while mutual intelligibility with Assyrian Neo-Aramaic and Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is considerable, but to a limited degree. Contrary to what these language names suggest, they are not specific to a particular church, with members of the Assyrian Church of the East and Chaldean Catholic Church speaking Turoyo, and members of the Syriac Orthodox Church speaking Assyrian or Chaldean Neo-Aramaic dialects.