< Previous Page Both schools found inspiration and assistance in
an unlikely place: Sweden. There, Aramaic-speaking communities
who descended from the Middle East have sought to keep their
language alive. They publish a newspaper, "Bahro Suryoyo,"
pamphlets and children’s books, including "The Little Prince,"
and maintain a satellite television station, "Soryoyosat," said
Arzu Alan, chairwoman of the Syriac Aramaic Federation of
Sweden. There’s also an Aramaic soccer team, "Syrianska FC" in
the Swedish top division from the town of Sodertalje. Officials
estimate the Aramaic-speaking population at anywhere from 30,000
to 80,000 people. For many Maronites and Syrian Orthodox
Christians in the Holy Land, the television station, in
particular, was the first time they heard the language outside
church in decades. Hearing it in a modern context inspired them
to try revive the language among their communities. "When you
hear (the language), you can speak it," said Issa, the teacher.
Aramaic dialects were the region’