User:Rimon Wehbi
Linguist and researcher specializing in Aramaic.
Founder and director of Yawna, a non-profit educational initiative dedicated to reviving Aramaic, Jesus’s language, and preserving the rich cultural heritage of Maaloula.
Native Maaloula Aramaic speaker.
Education
[edit]- Ph.D. Candidate, Linguistics (2023–2026) – Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Dissertation: The Syntax of Maaloula Aramaic (Focus: Definiteness, Indefiniteness, Specificity, Demonstratives)
- M.A., Semitic Studies (2015–2017) – Heidelberg University. (Grade: 1.3, Very Good). Thesis: Die aramäischen Wassermühlen in Maalula
Publications
[edit]- Wehbi, Rimon (2017). Die aramäischen Wassermühlen in Maalula. Heidelberg: Heidelberg University.
- Wehbi, Rimon (2021). "Zwei neuwestaramäische Texte über die Wassermühlen in Maalula (Syrien)". Mediterranean Language Review (in German). 28 (1). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag: 135–153. doi:10.13173/MLR.28.1.135.
Talks & Presentations
[edit]- 2024 – Semitic in the Context of Afro-Asiatic Languages, HHU Düsseldorf (Invited Talk)
- 2024 – Toward a Comprehensive Syntax of Maaloula Aramaic, Ph.D. Seminar, HHU Düsseldorf
- 2024 – The Middle East and the Birth of Civilization, KAAD Annual Academy, Bonn
- 2023 – Die politische Instrumentalisierung von Religion im Nahen Osten, KAAD Seminar, Frankfurt
- 2023 – The History of the Syrian Christians, Weltmissionssonntag, Sankt Augustin
- 2023 – Maaloula, die Erinnerung an Fels und Mensch, Kreuzberg Sprachinstitut, Bonn
- 2018 – Aramaic and its Scripts: A Historical Overview, City Hall, Maaloula
- 2017 – The Aramaic Watermills in Maaloula, Semitic Studies, Heidelberg University
- 2017 – The Patterns qaṭṭel and iqṭel in Western Neo-Aramaic, Semitic Studies, Heidelberg University
- 2016 – Book review: A Grammar of the Christian Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Diyana-Zariwaw, Semitic Studies, Heidelberg University
- 2015 – Book review: Western Neo-Aramaic vocabulary, Semitic Studies, Heidelberg University
Conferences & Workshops & Summer Schools Attended
[edit]- 2024 – Summer School: Academia Grammaticorum Salensis: Linguistic data from fieldwork to R, Antalieptė, Lithuania
- 2024 – Colloquium Series: Current Topics in Linguistics, HHU Düsseldorf
- 2016 – Symposium: 3000 Jahre Aramäisch. Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart, Heidelberg
Awards & Scholarships
[edit]- KAAD Ph.D. Scholarship (2023–2026) – Full scholarship.
- KAAD M.A. Scholarship (2015–2017) – Full scholarship.
Media Attention & Interviews
[edit]- 2017 KAAD Annual Report
- 2018 RNZ Newspaper
- 2021 Syria-In Website
- 2021 Syrian Education TV
- 2021 KAAD Annual Report
- 2022 Al-Khabar TV
- 2022 BBC Arabic Radio
- 2022 Al-Araby al-Jadeed News Media
- 2023 KAAD Alumni Brochure and Website
- 2024 KAAD Ein Netzwerk für eine gemeinsame Zukunft
- 2024 Zenith Magazine
- 2025 KAAD Education Commission
Yawna Initiative
[edit]- Developing modern educational resources and communicative courses for Maaloula Aramaic learning.
- Creating a free digital dictionary with images and audio.
- Extensive fieldwork documenting Maaloula’s cultural heritage (since 2006), including folktales, photos, songs, traditional crafts, and interviews both in Maaloula Aramaic and Maaloula Arabic.
- Conducted a comprehensive digital archive documenting over 25,000 photos and 200+ hours of recordings.
- Delivered free Aramaic language courses (for children in Maaloula 2019; online for youth of the Katholische Melkitische Jugend-DE in Germany 2024).
- Published free educational articles on Yawna’s website about Aramaic and Maaloula.
Languages
[edit]- Maaloula Aramaic (Mother Tongue = L1a)
- Damascus Arabic (Second Native Language = L1b)
- Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) (Fluent = L2)
- English (C2) / (C2, 2011)
- German (C1) / (C1, 2023)