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Why is there so much emphasis in the Yeshivish world to learn Gemara in Aramaic? Why can't you find an English artscroll shas in most charedi yeshiva?
It is not Lashon Hakodesh and it was written in Aramaic as that was the language spoken at the time but nowadays where English is the vernacular why should Yeshiva students be pushed to learn Gemara in an extinct language.
I don't see it as a "punishment" any more than one is punished by having to read Shakespeare in his Elizabethan English, rather than in an "updated" text. It's not because the language is sacred, it's because that's the one that it was written in. After all, every translation is a commentary; are you really satisfied with limiting yourself to those composed by other people, never once learning how to read the actual thing yourself? And since the translators working for Artscroll aren't actually infallible, you'd do well not to rely so completely on what they've written, but learn how to critique it. And what better place to do so than in a charedi yeshiva!
According to Tiferes Yisroel the gemara was redacted multiple times by Ravina and Rav Ashi. The reformatted the words to make them more contemporary. The Masechtos they didn't get around to have uncommon words. But apparently even they didn't pull off a complete switcharoo.
Over those centuries Latin and other languages were interpolated. But no complete upheaval of the language.
Many times authorities are unsure of a word's meaning, and that word has halachic ramifications. We can't just get rid of the original and replace it with our possibly flawed translation. We must study it to become experts in it.
One example comes to mind is Rabbeinu Tam in Seffer Hayashar talking about business transactions on Chol Hamoed. He points out that Chazzal disallowed Prakmatia, a word only used to connote a business transaction, not personal acquisitions. This is a subtlety that might have been lost had someone previously translated that word into a more common, respectively modern, language.
Aramaic is actually one of the biblical languages (Daniel, Ezra/Nehemia) and even has words in the Pentateuch (e.g. "ygar sahadutha" by the treaty of Lavan and Yaakov). The Maharal interprets the unique significance of Aramaic and advocates that shnayim mikra v'echad targum specifically employ Targum Onkelos for this reason. (In seeming contrast, the gemara in Bava Kamma [at the end of Hachovel(?)]) criticizes those who combine the language of the Babylonians with Hebrew [i.e. the classical version of "Yiddish"] so this likely is irrelevant since the Babylonian tongue alone is advocated there.) Nonetheless, there is certainly a solid argument to be made that if the language comes at the cost of the lomdus, the tafel has replaced the ikar.
I am rather surprised at the answers here. There is nothing wrong with learning gemoro in English. But the fact is, it was written in Aramaic. Anyone who has learned meforshim will tell you that each word is 'counted'. There are no superfluous words. Every word contains a chiddush! No one can write like that today, so the English translation is not like the original. Therefore there is no alternative but to learn it in its original language.
I must add that the rambam and many others wrote in Arabic.
It's helpful if said bochurim plan to learn almost any post-Talmudic Torah literature too. Commentaries on the Gemara, commentaries on Shulchan Aruch, responsa, and much else use a lot of Talmudic expressions.
I haven't been in that many Chreidi yeshivot, but I gather that many of them speak Yiddish for the most part, not English. So, I don't quite see how Art Scroll would assist.
Regardless, it is always best to read something in its original text and try to learn the language. So, I would extend the premise of your question a bit further. Why aren't yeshivot teaching Aramaic so that students can understand the Gemarra in its original language? When I was in yeshiva, we learned Hebrew for about two years and spoke Hebrew to the teacher and our students in class for half the day. By the time I started learning Chumash with Rash"i, I barely needed the English translation to understand almost every word.
In 6th grade, when I began to learn Gemara, we had 5 pages of gilyonot - mimeographed sheets (who here recalls what a mimeograph was?) with Aramaic vocabulary words that we had to memorize and were quizzed on every few days. That was both before and coincidental to learning Gemarah. I should mention that Art Scroll didn't exist then, but Hertz and Soncino were around, but we didn't use them.
My point - inevitably, something is lost in translation. It's unavoidable. So, it makes sense to learn it in the original language. The problem, as I said, is that few yeshivot these days are teaching the original language. So, I think that much of your premise isn't completely factual.
To expound on Loewain's great answer. You see Aramaic in each Corpus of Tanach (TaNaCh). In Torah as Loewain pointed out the Torah (Book of Genesis) says when Lavan and sons were chasing after Yakov and family, the Pasuk says the 2 made a "Peace Treaty Memorial" by gathering a "Heap of stones" and Yackov called it "Gal Eid" (Hebrew for "Pile (of stones) (should be a) Witness (as to the fact that we made a Peace Treaty)and Lavan called it Ygar Sahadusa (Aramaic for same). In The Corpus of Neviem (Prophets) there are many words in Aramaic.In the Corpus of Cisuvim (Writtings) Ezra (I don't think 2nd part- I.e. Nechemia) has several entire Verses on Aramaic; But the Book of Daniel has the Most, even Chapters of Aramaic. (Interestingly, the Aramaic is mostly only written down when the players in the Book spoke or wrote on Aramaic, and we are quoting them or reading or writing thier Letters. I believe it was The Ramban that wrote that Aramaic is a Holy Language, and in fact our Forefather Avraham spoke Aramaic. (As he was from Or Chasdim in Babylon which explains why Lavan who came out of that family also spoke Aramaic, as well as the Chaladians in The Book of Daniel. However, since "The Men of the Great Assembly" edited and organized some Books in the Corpus of "Writtings" (Daniel for example Did write the Book of Daniel in a Rough Draft sort of format, as did Nechemia, however, "The Men of the Great Assembly" (71 members whom according to many; All served in the Great Sanhedrin of 71, either before the 1st Temple was destroyed, or after the 2nd Temple was built, they also had the last three Prophets amongst them) wrote the Final Draft, through Prophesy & Great Wisdom Consensus, they decided to write Aramaic whenever the Character did in fact speak in Aramaic. The Ramban (Nachmonides) explains that they did this because it's more accurate to have the real words used instead of translating it into Hebrew. They could do this now, he writes, because the Jews now, after having lived or still living in Exile Babylon can read Aramaic!
