In this week’s public lesson, we’re going to learn how to ask someone how old they are, as well as respond. It also shows us an important Aramaic idiom where a speaker can express their membership in a particular group or classification. 

In Galilean (and other Aramaic dialects) one asks “How old are you?” by literally stating “A son/daughter of how many years are you?”

= “How old are you?” (to a man)

= “How old are you?” (to a woman)

To which the response is literally, “I am a son/daughter of X years.” For example:

= “I am twenty nine years old.” (man speaking)

= “I am forty two years old.” (man speaking)

Over the course of the next few public lessons, we’ll be learning how to count in Galilean, so you will be able to fill in the blank for your own age.

[Audio will be up soon for the three prior lessons… I promise.]