From identity to script, from script to literature: Syriac, Garshuni Arabic and Neo-Aramaic

The identification and expression of a confessional identity through script have considerable chronological depth in the history of Syriac Christianity. Different communities, belonging to various religious traditions and denominations, have been using variants of the Syriac alphabet over time, to write Classical Syriac as well as other languages. In the present paper two case studies are addressed -- Garshuni Arabic and Neo-Aramaic -- so as to tackle three related issues in the relationship between script and cultural identity: 1. the use of a traditional script to stress communal identity; 2. the limits and failure of nonnative writing systems; and 3. the roles of the script and print in the development of literary traditions and national feelings.