In our timeline, the Kaifeng Jewish community had originally spoken Persian as their lingua franca, before adopting the Kaifeng dialect of Mandarin that their neighbors spoke. But just change a little and all of history could be different! This is a translation of Ḥad Gadya in a timeline where Judeo-Aramaic was a little more prevalent in eastern Persia all those years ago. In this timeline, instead of speaking Judeo-Persian before adopting Chinese, the Kaifeng Jews spoke Aramaic. And this dialect of Aramaic, like many other languages spoken in the greater Chinese cultural sphere, underwent tonogenesis! . . .
Tags: נרצה Nirtsah, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., alternate timeline, Aramaic, constructed languages, חד גדיא Ḥad Gadya, Kaifeng, פיוטים piyyutim, predation, salvation, זמירות zemirot
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