Aramaic is a Semitic language with a 3,000-year history. It has been the language of administration of empires and the language of divine worship. It is the original language of a large section of the biblical books of Daniel and Ezra. It was probably the language of Jesus, it is the main language of the Talmud, and it is still spoken today as a first language by numerous small communities. Aramaic belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family. Within this diverse family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic subfamily. Aramaic is a part of the Northwest Semitic group of languages, which also includes the Canaanite languages (including Hebrew).

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramaic_language

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1025: Boleslaus the Brave was crowned in Gniezno and became the first King of Poland. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boleslaus_I_of_Poland)

1906: A major earthquake and subsequent fires devastated San Francisco, California. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_San_Francisco_earthquake)

1942: World War II: Sixteen B-25 Mitchell bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet carried out the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doolittle_Raid)

1980: Rhodesia became the Republic of Zimbabwe, with Canaan Banana as the country's first President. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwe)

1992: General Abdul Rashid Dostum revolted against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and allied with Ahmed Shah Massoud to capture the Afghan capital of Kabul. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_Afghanistan)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"Music can be all things to all persons. It is like a great dynamic sun in the center of a solar system which sends out its rays and inspiration in every direction.... Music makes us feel that the heavens open and a divine voice calls. Something in our souls responds and understands." -- Leopold Stokowski (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leopold_Stokowski)