This detail distinguishes Hatran as well as Syriac and Mandaic from the western Jewish and Christian dialects.
•
A weakening of the laryngeal ‘ayn; in one inscription, the masculine singular demonstrative adjective is written ‘dyn (‘dyn ktb’ "this inscription") which corresponds to Mandaic and Babylonian Talmudic Aramaic hādēn.
Mandaic |
During the last decade the indigenous Mandaic community of Iraq, which used to number 60-70,000 persons, has collapsed due to the Iraq War, with most of the community relocating to nearby Iran, Syria and Jordan and forming diaspora communities outside of the Middle East.
Neo-Mandaic survives in three subdialects, which arose in the cities of Shûshtar, Shāh Wāli, and Dezful in northern Khūzestān, Iran.