Assyrian

The language of the ancient A yrians, or people of As syria, a tract lying upon the R. Tigris, between the thirty-fourth and thirty-seventh parallels. This language has become known to us within the last twenty years, through inscriptions disinterred from the buried cities of this region. The form of speech is found to be Semitic , akin to Arabic, Syriac, Chaldee, Phœnician, and especially to Hebrew. It is written, however, unlike most Semitic tongues, from left to right. The characters are very numerous and complicated; they are of the cla called “cuneiform” or “arrow-headed,” being formed out of combinations of wedges. The best account of the A yrian alphabet will be found in the “ Expédition Scient i fique en Mésapotamie ” of M. Oppert. The language must be studied in the “A yrian Dictionary” of Mr. Norris, and the “ Elémens de la Grammaire A yrienne ” of M. Oppert.     G. R.   Astek , see Aztec . Aswarek , see Serawulli .