[Heb-NACO] ALA/LC romanization(?) for Aramic as used in Babylonian Talmud, Talmud Yerushalmi, midrashitc texts

[Robert M. TALBOTT]

Hmm.  I don't know that the language warrants a gold standard analog to
Even Shoshan:

1) The corpus is finite: Nothing new is being written in any of the various
Jewish takes on Aramaic (so far as I know), so the need to standardize is
greatly reduced;

2) Lexicon is only part of the issue: As you know, Aramaic existed in a
number of strata, and though it's mostly consistent-ish, there's enough
variance that grammars for linguistic layers would have to recommended too;

3) The cost will be too much for some:  A number of libraries can't afford
to get the latest edition of ES, so I think adding the burden of further
resources would be ill-advised.  For instance, a quick Amazon search
reveals the two Sokoloff books can be had for a little less than  $500.
Grammars would inevitably add much much more to that.  Jastrow, on the
other hand is readily available, and it has gotten me through many a dark
and stormy evening (true stories from chez Talbott) but it's got some
defects.

For my money, I think allowing people do what they can with the resources
available to them would be the best option.  Yes, there's going to be a bit
of variance, but weighing the volume of material against possible
inconsistencies I think the net outcome of trust in cataloging/added work
cleaning up errors would be acceptable.

One thing that we could do is beef up our references in the "Aramaic"
section of the HCM. Right now, it's just Jastrow.  It has always been just
Jastrow.  I'm not suggesting that we ditch Jastrow, but given the number of
resources that have been published in the last twenty-some odd years, it
may be time to expand the list a bit.

My two cents.

Bob


On Mon, Nov 14, 2022 at 9:17 AM Heidi G Lerner via Heb-naco <
heb-naco at lists.osu.edu> wrote:

> Dear safranim, Is it possible that in our years of developing romanization
> schemata for several Jewish languages written in Hebrew script we have not
> codified any guidelines for Aramaic used in talmudic and
> midrashic/aggadic/cabalistic texts?
> Dear safranim,
>
> Is it possible that in our years of developing romanization schemata for
> several Jewish languages written in Hebrew script we have not codified any
> guidelines for Aramaic used in talmudic and midrashic/aggadic/cabalistic
> texts?
>
> Up until now my practice has been to follow the ALA/LC table for Hebrew.
> If I don't find a particular Aramaic word in  Even-Shoshan or Alkalay, i
> turn to Jastrow,  Sefaria, Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (covers all
> dialects).
>
> What have the rest of you been doing? Should a preferred  method be
> codified?
>
> I look forward to learning your practices have been.
>
> Best, Heidi
>
>
>
> Heidi G. Lerner
>
> Metadata Librarian for Hebraica and Judaica Emerita, Stanford University
> Libraries
>
>
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> Heb-naco at lists.osu.edu
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>


-- 
Bob Talbott

Hebraica cataloger/Curatorial Assistant to the Judaica Collection

UC Berkeley

250 Moffitt

Berkeley, CA 94720

Lue musaraba shu biburueada Bilgameshe nam habadabkure.
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