Editing Anatolian Languages

The <u>Anatolian</u> languages are now '''extinct''' but were commonly spoken in <u>Asiatic Türkiye</u> and <u>N Syria</u> during the 1st and 2nd millennia BCE. The most important of the <u>Anatolian</u> languages was '''Hittite''', official to the <u>Hittite Empire</u> of the 2nd millennium BCE.

== Subregions of Anatolia (and Surroundings) ==

* <u>Lydia</u>: W Anatolia, bordered by <u>Mysia</u> to the north, <u>Phrygia</u> to the east, <u>Caria</u> to the south, and the <u>Aegean Sea</u> to the west.
* <u>Troas</u> (Troad): NW Anatolia, around the <u>Hellespont</u> (Dardanelles), bordered by the <u>Aegean Sea</u> and <u>Mysia</u>.
* <u>Mysia</u>: NW Anatolia, north of <u>Lydia</u> and east of the <u>Aegean Sea</u>, including the southern shore of the <u>Sea of Marmara</u>, bordering <u>Bithynia</u> to the east.
* <u>Caria</u>: SW Anatolia, north of <u>Lycia</u>, south of <u>Lydia</u> and <u>Mysia</u>, bordering the <u>Aegean Sea</u> to the west.
* <u>Pisidia</u>: SW Anatolia, in the interior north of <u>Lycia</u> and <u>Pamphylia</u>, south of <u>Phrygia</u>.
* <u>Lycia</u>: S coast of Anatolia, between <u>Caria</u> to the west and <u>Pamphylia</u> to the east.
* <u>Pamphylia</u>: S-Central coast of Anatolia, between <u>Lycia</u> to the west and <u>Cilicia</u> to the east.
* <u>Cilicia</u>: SE Anatolia, along the <u>Mediterranean</u> coast, east of <u>Pamphylia</u>; includes <u>Cilicia Trachea</u> (rough, mountainous region) and <u>Cilicia Pedias</u> (flat, fertile region).
* <u>Cappadocia</u>: Central Anatolia, east of <u>Phrygia</u>, north of <u>Cilicia</u>, and west of the <u>Euphrates River</u>.
* <u>Armenia</u>: E of <u>Cappadocia</u> beyond the <u>Euphrates River</u>, traditionally divided into <u>Lesser Armenia</u> (west) and <u>Greater Armenia</u> (east).
* <u>Pontus</u>: N Anatolia, along the southern coast of the <u>Black Sea</u>, east of <u>Bithynia</u> and <u>Paphlagonia</u>.
* <u>Paphlagonia</u>: N Anatolia, along the <u>Black Sea</u>, between <u>Bithynia</u> to the west and <u>Pontus</u> to the east.
* <u>Bithynia</u>: NW Anatolia, east of <u>Mysia</u>, bordering the <u>Black Sea</u> to the north and <u>Phrygia</u> to the south.
* <u>Thracia</u> (Thrace): Not in Anatolia but closely connected in various historical periods. Located to the northwest of Anatolia, across the Hellespont (Dardanelles), it includes parts of modern-day Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey.
* <u>Syria</u>: Not in Anatolia, but closely connected in various historical periods. Southwest of <u>Cilicia</u>, extending south along the eastern <u>Mediterranean</u> coast.
* <u>Mesopotamia</u>: Not in Anatolia, but closely connected in various historical periods. Located between the <u>Tigris River</u> and <u>Euphrates River</u>, covering modern-day <u>Iraq</u>, parts of northeastern <u>Syria</u>, southeastern <u>Türkiye</u>, and southwestern <u>Iran</u>. Divided into: <u>Northern Mesopotamia</u> (<u>Assyria</u>), characterized by hills and plains; <u>Southern Mesopotamia</u> (<u>Sumer</u>), which features flat, alluvial plains.

The earliest recovered documents from <u>Anatolia</u> are the '''Cappadocian tablets''', which date to before 1700 BCE; however, they are written in <u>Old Assyrian</u>, a dialect of <u>Akkadian</u>, and represents the presence of <u>Assyrian</u> trade colonies rather than reflecting the linguistic landscape of <u>Anatolia</u> itself. It is a [[Semitic Languages|<u>Semitic</u> language]], closely associated with other languages from the <u>Fertile Crescent</u>. The prominence of <u>Old Assyrian</u> is closely linked to the commercial activities of <u>Assyrian</u> merchants, who established a network of trade outposts across the region, with the most notable being at '''Nesha''' / '''Kanesh''' (modern <u>Kültepe, Turkey</u>).

The disappearance of these <u>Assyrian</u> trade colonies from <u>Anatolia</u> and the concurrent rise of the <u>Hittite Empire</u> in <u>central Anatolia</u> marked a significant linguistic transition in the region. This change was not merely the replacement of one language by another but reflected broader shifts in political power, economic structures, and cultural exchanges.

The exact date when <u>Indo-European</u> peoples entered the <u>Anatolian</u> region is unknown but is generally held to be in the 3rd millennium BCE. The first language of the <u>Anatolian</u> sub-family attested in history is '''Hattian''', a pre-Indo-European language that is believed to be a '''language isolate''' with no known genealogical links to other languages.

Generally, the <u>Indo-European Anatolian</u> languages (that followed <u>Hattian</u>) are split into four sub-divisions: <u>Palaic</u> (<u>northern Anatolia</u>), <u>Hittite</u> (<u>central Anatolia</u>), <u>Luwic</u> (<u>southern Anatolia</u>), and <u>Lydian</u> (<u>western Anatolia</u>).

== Hattian Language (pre-Indo-European language isolate; ~2000-1400 BCE) ==
Hattian (or '''Hattic''') was called ''Hattili'' in later '''Hittite''' cuneiform texts, and it is sometimes referred to as <u>proto-Hittite</u>. Hattian has left behind a scant linguistic record, primarily because it was not written in its own '''script'''. Our knowledge of Hattian comes from later cuneiform texts written by the <u>Hittites</u>, who adopted and adapted their '''cuneiform''' writing system from <u>Mesopotamia</u>. The Hittites used this script to record Hattian in a number of religious texts and rituals, which provides the primary evidence for linguistic study.

The <u>Halys River</u>, now known as the <u>Kızıl River</u>, was a significant geographical marker, serving not just as a physical boundary but also as a linguistic and cultural demarcation line; the '''Hattians''' inhabited the region around and inside the bend of the Halys River, primarily in central and north-central <u>Anatolia</u>, south of the <u>Black Sea</u>. They settled on a central plateau, surrounded by mountains and intersected by fertile river valleys; the Halys River was a crucial waterway for agriculture, trade, and communication; this was a region called '''Hatti''' (Biblical <u>Heth</u>).  The Assyrian and Egyptian designation of an area west of the Euphrates was the 'Land of the Hatti' (, or <u>Khatti</u>). This position also provided some measure of isolation for the Hattians, separated geographically from the influences of neighboring cultures in its earliest stages of their development. In the narrative of the ''Bible'' (''<u>Genesis 10:15</u>''), '''Heth''' is a son of '''Noah''' who was given the land of <u>Canaan</u>. The Hittites, among other groups, represent the indigenous populations that the Israelites encountered and sometimes fought against, according to biblical narratives.

The heartland of the language before the arrival of Hittite-speakers ranged from '''Hattusa''' (then called <u>Hattus;</u> near modern <u>Boğazkale, central Türkiye</u>) northward to '''Nerik''' (coastal north-central <u>Türkiye</u>). By the rise of the <u>Hittite New Empire</u> (~1400 BCE), this language had been replaced even in its heartland, outcompeted by <u>Indo-European</u> '''Hittite'''.

Hattian language seems to have been agglutinative, with a variety of both prefixes and suffixes that when added to its root word can change its meaning; these markers could represent tense, mood, and possession. Unlike <u>Indo-European</u> languages, Hattian seems to have lacked gender distinctions for its nouns / pronouns, and it is believed to have a case system to denote grammatical functions such as subject, object, and possession (typical for languages of the region). It also seems to have favored a subject-object-verb (SOV) word order, which is common for agglutinative languages, as well, as for languages that possess a rich lexicon of case markers.

Hittite texts frequently incorporated religion-oriented Hattian words and phrases in '''rituals''', '''prayers''', and descriptions of '''gods''', indicating a deep respect for the religious traditions of their predecessors. This adoption seems to have extended beyond vocabulary, influencing the structure and practice of Hittite religious ceremonies and belief systems.

Aside from religious terms, Hittite absorbed a number of Hattian loanwords, particularly in the areas of '''agriculture''', '''flora''', and '''fauna''', which suggests a degree of cultural exchange and influence in everyday life and knowledge.

While the core structure of <u>Hittite</u> remained <u>Indo-European</u>, the prolonged contact with Hattian may have influenced certain '''syntactic''' or '''morphological''' aspects, especially in the context of ritual language. Isolating these influences is challenging due to the nature of the available texts, which are primarily religious and therefore might not reflect everyday language use.

== Luwian (Western and Southern Anatolia; ~2000-600 BCE) ==
<u>Luwian</u> (also known as <u>Luvian</u> or <u>Luish</u>) is an extinct language associated with the <u>Luwian</u> people of <u>Anatolia</u> and <u>N Syria</u>. Luwian comes from <u>Luwiya</u> (also spelled ''Luwia'' or ''Luvia'') - the name of the region in which the Luwians lived. The two varieties of the language are known after the scripts in which they were written: <u>Cuneiform Luwian</u> (or <u>Kizzuwatna Luwian</u>, adapted from <u>Old Babylonian</u> cuneiform, the same script used by the <u>Hittites</u>) and <u>Hieroglyphic Luwian</u> (formerly incorrectly known as <u>Hieroglyphic Hittite</u>; a unique, native script); these may have been used to write the same spoken language, or they could represent closely-related variants.

It is believed that several other Anatolian languages, notably <u>Carian</u>, <u>Lycian</u>, and <u>Milyan</u> (all described below) are linked to <u>Luwian</u>, more closely connected to each other than other members of the same filial branch. This likely represents a later-developing sub-branch from which they mutually descended. <u>Luwian</u> has been proposed as one of the likely candidates for the language spoken by the [[Iliad|Trojans]]. According to some, the name of '''Priam''', king of Troy at the time of the Trojan War, is connected to the Luwian compound ''Priimuua'', which meant "exceptionally courageous."

The earliest <u>Luwian</u> texts in cuneiform are attested in connection with the <u>Kingdom of Kizzuwatna</u> in <u>southeastern Anatolia</u>, as well as a number of locations in <u>central Anatolia</u>. Beginning in the 1300s BCE, <u>Luwian</u>-speakers came to constitute the majority in the <u>Hittite</u> capital '''Hattusa'''. It appears that by the time of the collapse of the <u>Hittite Empire</u> ''~''1180 BCE, the royal family were fully fluent in <u>Luwian</u>. Long after the extinction of the <u>Hittite</u> language, <u>Luwian</u> continued to be spoken in the <u>Neo-Hittite</u> states of <u>Syria</u>, such as <u>Milid</u> and <u>Carchemish</u>, as well as in the <u>central Anatolian</u> kingdom of <u>Tabal</u> that flourished in the 8th century BCE. Luwian hieroglyphic texts contain a limited number of lexical borrowings from <u>Hittite</u>, <u>Akkadian</u>, and <u>Northwest Semitic</u>; the lexical borrowings from <u>Ancient Greek</u> are limited to proper nouns.

Luwian possessed two grammatical genders (based on '''animacy'''), and two grammatical number distinctions ('''singular''' or '''plural'''), and three '''persons''' (1st, 2nd, and 3rd, both singular and plural). Some animate nouns could also take a collective plural in addition to the regular numerical plural. Luwian had six '''cases''' (below), though the <u>vocative</u> case occurs rarely in surviving texts and only in the singular. The usual word order is '''SOV''', but words can be moved to the front of the sentence for stress or to start a clause.
{| class="wikitable"
!Case
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!Nominative animate
| -s
| rowspan="2" | -anzi, -inzi
|-
!Accusative animate
| -n, -an
|-
!Nominative/accusative inanimate
| -Ø, -n
| -a, -aya
|-
!Genitive
| -s, -si
|–
|-
!Dative/locative
| -i, -iya, -a
| -anza
|-
!Ablative/instrumental
| colspan="2" | -ati
|}

== Hittite (Central Anatolia; ~1650-1100 BCE) ==
'''Hittite''' (natively: 𒌷𒉌𒅆𒇷, ''nešili'' / "the language of Neša", or ''nešumnili'' / "the language of the people of Neša") is the extinct language of the long-lived <u>Hittite</u> peoples; by the 13th century BCE, <u>Hittite</u> was the primary language of <u>Hattusa</u>, the <u>Hittite</u> capital. <u>Hittite</u> was given its name based on an incorrect correlation between the <u>Hittites</u> and the earlier <u>Hattians</u>; in reality the <u>Hattians</u> were an earlier pre-Indo-European people in the region. A more appropriate Anglicized designation would be '''Nesite''' / '''Nessite''' / '''Neshite''', but these have not yet caught on.

In multilingual texts from <u>Hattusa</u>, passages written in <u>Hittite</u> are preceded by the adverb ''nesili'' (or ''nasili'', ''nisili''), 'in the [speech] of Neša (Kaneš),' an important city during the early stages of the <u>Hittite Old Kingdom</u>. In one case, the label is ''Kanisumnili'', 'in the [speech] of the people of Kaneš.'

<u>Hittite</u> is primarily known from cuneiform tablets and inscriptions on stelae and other objects; the written script is technically known as <u>Hieroglyphic Luwian</u>. It has traditionally been stratified into '''Old Hittite''' (OH), '''Middle Hittite''' (MH) and '''New Hittite''', corresponding to the <u>Old</u>, <u>Middle</u> and <u>New Kingdoms</u> (~1750–1500 BCE, ~1500–1430 BCE and ~1430–1180 BCE, respectively).

Hittite is the '''<u>oldest attested Indo-European language</u>''', and it lacks several grammatical features that are exhibited by other early-attested <u>Indo-European</u> languages such as <u>Vedic</u>, <u>Classical Latin</u>, <u>Ancient Greek</u>, <u>Old Persian</u> and <u>Old Avestan</u>. <u>Hittite</u> did not have a masculine-feminine gender system, instead utilizing a rudimentary '''noun-class system''' that was based on an older '''animate - inanimate opposition'''.

<u>Hittite</u> inflects for nine '''cases''': nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, dative-locative, ablative, ergative, allative, and instrumental; two '''numbers''': singular, and plural; and two '''animacy''' classes: animate (common), and inanimate (neuter). Adjectives and pronouns '''agree''' with nouns for animacy, number, and case.

=== '''Cases of the Hittite Language''' ===

* <u>Nominative</u>: The subject. '''The man''' eats. / '''The place''' is here.
* <u>Accusative</u>: The direct object. I see '''the man'''. / I found '''the place'''.
* <u>Vocative</u>: Used for direct address. '''Man''', you are acting crazy. / '''Place''', I love you!
* <u>Genitive</u>: Possession or relation. The house of '''the man'''. / '''The place''' of the spirits.
* <u>Dative/Locative</u>: Indirect object or location. I gave it '''<u>to</u> the man'''. / I am '''<u>at</u>''' '''the place'''.
* <u>Ablative</u>: Movement ''away''. I ran '''<u>from</u> the man''' / I departed '''<u>from</u> the place'''.
* <u>Allative</u>: Movement ''toward''. I moved '''toward the man''' / She drove '''toward the place'''.
* <u>Instrumental</u>: How an action is done. I walked '''<u>with</u> the man''' / I switched my home '''<u>with</u> the place'''.

== Palaic (North Anatolia; ~1600-1200 BCE) ==
Palaic was spoken in '''Palā''', a land located to the northwest of <u>Hittite</u> territory and across the <u>Halys River</u>; this region became known as <u>Blaëne</u> by the <u>Greeks</u> and <u>Paphlagonia</u> by the <u>Romans</u>, both likely representing linguistic continuity from its indigenous root name. There is scant evidence for Palaic - about a dozen ritual fragments were preserved in <u>Hittite cuneiform</u> in archives at Hattusa; the <u>Hittite</u> word ''palaumnili'' seems to mean 'in Palaic' or 'of the people of <u>Palā</u>'.

While evidence is sparse, it is clear that the language was contemporary with <u>Hittite</u>, and it was <u>Indo-European</u> in origin. The presence of the '''/f/''' sound in <u>Palaic</u> (through <u>Hattian</u> loanwords) indicates direct linguistic interaction between the two linguistic communities; perhaps surpassing the <u>Hittites</u>, who did not adopt the '''/f/''' phoneme (instead replacing it with '''/p/''' and '''/h/''' sounds when it appeared).

The language appears to have slipped out of daily use ~1400s BCE, when the '''Kaška''' (<u>Kaskians</u>) entered the region and possibly displaced the 'people of <u>Palā</u>.'

== Lycian A (Lycian; Southwestern Anatolia; 500-200 BCE) ==
<u>Lycian</u> (𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊍𐊆 ''Trm̃mili)'' is an extinct language spoken by the <u>Lycian</u> peoples of <u>southwestern Anatolia</u>, in a region then known as <u>Lycia</u>. West of <u>Lycia</u> was the region of <u>Caria</u>, and north was the region called <u>Phrygia</u>; at its south and west was the <u>Mediterranean Sea</u>, providing it with an extensive coastline. To <u>Lycia's</u> east was the Pamphylian plain (<u>Pamphylia</u>). The natural border between Lycia and Pamphylia was generally considered to be the <u>Limyra River</u> (modern <u>Alakır Çayı</u>). Lycia was known for its rugged terrain adjacent to the <u>Taurus Mountains</u>, stacked up against the coastline; this allowed for the creation of numerous settlements in defensive positions, on hills or cliffs overlooking the sea.

Evidence for Lycian consists of more than 150 inscriptions on stone, some 200 on coins, and a handful on other objects. Lycian became '''extinct''' ~200 BCE, replaced by <u>Ancient Greek</u> during the '''Hellenization''' of <u>Anatolia</u>. The <u>Lukka</u> (as they were referred to in <u>Egyptian</u> sources, which mention them as a constituent of the <u>Sea Peoples</u>) probably inhabited the region called '''Lycaonia''', located between the modern cities of <u>Antalya</u> and <u>Mersin</u>.

As indicated above, modern scholarship generally considers <u>Lycian</u> to be closely related to <u>Luwian</u> (outlined above), along with other close relatives that likely form a separate branch within the family: <u>Carian</u>, <u>Sidetic</u>, <u>Milyan</u>, and <u>Pisidian</u>. Of the so-called <u>Luwic</u> languages, only <u>Luwian</u> is attested prior to 1000 BCE, so it is unknown when the others diverged.

Nouns and adjectives distinguish singular and plural forms; there are two genders (animate / common and inanimate / neuter). A trilingual text (<u>Lycian</u>-<u>Greek</u>-<u>Aramaic</u>) describing the establishment of a cult shrine for the goddess '''Leto''' was discovered by <u>French</u> excavators in 1973 CE; it confirmed much previous scholarship. While the language does have much in common with <u>Luwian</u>, <u>Lycian</u> also shows crucial divergences that clearly mark it as an independent branch. Two <u>Lycian</u> texts are written in a dialect known as <u>Lycian B</u> / <u>Milyan</u> (described below), whose precise relationship to <u>Lycian A</u> is indeterminate.

== Lycian B (Milyan; 500-200 BCE) ==
<u>Lycian B</u>, also known as <u>Milyan</u> (previously <u>Lycian 2)</u>, is an extinct <u>Anatolian</u> language, attested from three inscriptions: two poems on the ''Xanthian Stele'', and another inscription on a sarcophagus. All known 'Milyan' language inscriptions come from the near-coastal cities of '''Xanthos''' and '''Antiphellos''', and are not associated with the <u>Milyae</u> (inhabitants of <u>Milyas</u>, an isolated, inland part of <u>Lycia</u>) for whom they were initially named. Regardless of the name used, the consensus view is that Milyan/Lycian B is a '''dialect''' of Lycian. '''Diether Schürr''' characterizes <u>Lycian B</u> as "poetical Lycian, with some conservative traits, a few idiosyncratic developments, and some elements that it shares with <u>Carian</u>."

On the Xanthan stele, there are two poems; the first, on the northern side, is 34 lines in length. Its '''leitmotiv''' seems to be how the <u>Lycian</u> king '''Kheriga''' received his orders for military activities as well as divine help from the gods, especially from '''Natri''' (<u>Lycian</u> '''Apollo''') and the weather god '''Trqqiz''' ('''Tarḫunz'''). Below the last '''strophe''' there is an empty space, which shows that the poem is complete and that the text on the west side of the stele is a separate poem.

The west side has 71 engraved lines, but the text is not complete: it breaks off in the middle of the 23rd strophe. This seems to be due to miscalculation of the engraver, who also made the mistake to engrave one strophe twice. This poem also relates to Kheriga and Trqqiz, but Natri is absent and instead the '''Nymphs of <u>Phellos</u>''' (a city in Lycia) are mentioned. Some entity named '''Muni''' is also named, possibly the widow of Kheriga who ordered the poem to be written'''. Dieter Schürr''' suspects that the central theme of the poem may be the legitimization of '''Muni's''' regency, perhaps after her husband's death or killing.

The third text is the ''Pixre Poem'' on a grave monument from Antiphellos. Its nine lines make up thirteen strophes; '''Pixre''' is supposedly the name of a <u>Lycian</u> poet buried there, who in the inscription tells of the nymphs who acted as his '''Muses'''. In <u>Greek</u> and <u>Roman</u> mythology, nymphs are minor gods or spirits of nature, often associated with specific features like rivers, mountains, trees, and seas. They were believed to inhabit and personify the vital essence of these natural places.

== Lydian (Western Anatolia; 700-200 BCE) ==
<u>Lydian</u> is an extinct language spoken in the region of <u>Lydia</u>, in <u>western Anatolia</u>. The language is attested in graffiti and in coin legends from 700s-200s BCE, but well-preserved inscriptions of significant length are so far limited to the 400s-300s BCE, during the period of <u>Persian</u> domination. Thus, <u>Lydian</u> texts are effectively contemporaneous with those in <u>Lycian</u>. '''Strabo''' mentions that around his time (1st century BCE), the <u>Lydian</u> language was no longer spoken in <u>Lydia</u> proper but was still being spoken among the multicultural population of '''Kibyra''' (now Gölhisar) in <u>southwestern Anatolia</u>, by the descendants of <u>Lydian</u> colonists who founded the city.

Nouns and adjectives distinguish singular and plural forms; words in the texts are predominantly singular. Plural forms are scarce, and a dual has not been found in <u>Lydian</u>. There are two genders (animate/common and inanimate/neuter); only three cases are securely attested: nominative, accusative, and dative-locative. A genitive case seems to be present in the plural, but in the singular usually a possessive is used instead, which is similar to the <u>Luwic</u> languages. Just as in other <u>Anatolian</u> languages, verbs in <u>Lydian</u> were '''conjugated''' in the present-future and preterite tenses with three persons singular and plural. The basic word order is subject-object-verb, but constituents may be extraposed to the right of the verb. Like other <u>Anatolian</u> languages, <u>Lydian</u> features '''clause-initial particles''' with '''enclitic pronouns''' attached in a chain. It also has a number of '''preverbs''' and at least one '''postposition'''. Modifiers of a noun normally precede it.

Though the language is extinct, there are arguably still words of Lydian origin in use today. '''Labrys''' (Greek: λάβρυς, lábrys) is the term for a symmetrical double-bitted axe originally from <u>Crete</u>, one of the oldest symbols of <u>Greek</u> civilization. The priests at '''Delphi''' were called '''Labryades''' (the men of the double axe). The term ''labrys'' "double-axe" is not found in any surviving <u>Lydian</u> inscription, but on the subject, Plutarch states that "the Lydians call the axe ''labrys''" (Λυδοὶ γὰρ ‘λάβρυν’ τὸν πέλεκυν ὀνομάζουσι).

Another possibly <u>Lydian</u> loanword may be ''tyrant'' "absolute ruler", which was first used in <u>Ancient Greek</u> sources, without negative connotations, from ~800s BCE. It is possibly derived from the native town of King '''Gyges''' of <u>Lydia</u>, founder of the '''Mermnad dynasty''', which was '''Tyrrha''' in classical antiquity and is now <u>Tyre, Türkiye</u>. Yet another is the element '''molybdenum''', borrowed from <u>Ancient Greek</u> ''mólybdos'', "lead", from Mycenaean Greek ''mo-ri-wo-do'', which in Lydian was ''mariwda-'' "dark". All of those loanwords confirm a strong cultural interaction between the <u>Lydians</u> and the <u>Greeks</u> since the <u>Creto-Mycenaean</u> era (~2000s BCE).

== Carian (Southwestern Anatolia; 700-200 BCE) ==
<u>Carian</u>, an extinct language once spoken in <u>Caria</u>, southwest <u>Anatolia</u>. Most evidence for the language comes from <u>Egypt</u>, where <u>Carian</u> mercenaries in the service of the '''pharaohs''' from the 600s-400s BCE left behind more than a hundred tomb inscriptions and numerous instances of graffiti. Caria itself has yielded a limited number of texts, dated roughly to the 500s-300s BCE. In the 1980s CE, the pervasive theory that Carian was an Indo-European language of the Anatolian group was confirmed after the decipherment of such features as an ''-s'' suffix forming '''patronymic''' and the '''relative pronoun''' ''xi''.

No undisputable verb forms have yet been discovered in Carian; if verbal conjugation resembles the other Anatolian languages, it likely possessed 3rd person singular and plural forms, in both present and preterite, which ended in ''-t'' or ''-d'', or a similar sound. Virtually nothing is known of <u>Carian</u> syntax: first, due to uncertainty as to which words are verbs; second, the longer <u>Carian</u> inscriptions show very few word dividers.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples of Carian names in Greek
!Greek
!Transliterated
!Carian
|-
|Ἑκατόμνω
|Hekatomnō
|𐊴𐊭𐊪𐊳𐊫𐊸 K̂tmñoś
|-
|Καύνιος
|Kaunios
|𐊼𐊬𐊢𐊿𐊵 Kbdwn
|-
|Καῦνος
|Kaunos
|𐊼𐊬𐊹𐊢 Kbid
|-
|Πιγρης
|Pigrēs
|𐊷𐊹𐊼𐊥𐊺 Pikre
|-
|Πονυσσωλλος
|Ponussōllos
|𐊷𐊵𐊲𐊸𐊫𐊦 Pnuśoλ
|-
|Σαρυσσωλλος
|Sarussōllos
|𐊮𐊠𐊥𐊲𐊸𐊫𐊦 Šaruśoλ
|-
|Υλιατος
|Uliatos
|𐊿𐊣𐊹𐊠𐊭 Wliat
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples of Greek names in Carian
!Greek
!Transliterated
!Carian
|-
|Λυσικλέους (genitive)
|Lysikleous
|𐊣𐊿𐊰𐊹𐊼𐊣𐊠𐊰 Lùsiklas
|-
|Λυσικράτους (genitive)
|Lysikratous
|𐊣𐊿𐊰𐊹𐊼𐊥𐊠𐊭𐊠𐊰 Lùsikratas
|-
|Ἀθηναῖον (accusative)
|Athēnaion
|𐊫𐊭𐊫𐊵𐊫𐊰𐊵 Otonosn
|-
|Φίλιππος (nominative)
|Philippos
|𐊷𐊹𐋃𐊹𐊷𐊲𐊰 Pilipus
|}

== Pisidian (~200-1 BCE) ==
<u>Pisidian</u> is an extinct language of the <u>Anatolian</u> branch of the <u>Indo-European</u> language family, spoken in Pisidia, in <u>Anatolia</u>. <u>Pisidia</u> was north of <u>Pamphylia</u>, northeast of <u>Lycia</u>, west of <u>Isauria</u> and <u>Cilicia</u>, and south of <u>Phrygia</u> (roughly equivalent to the province of <u>Antalya, Türkiye</u>). <u>Pisidia</u> appears to have been part of the region the <u>Hittites</u> called <u>Arzawa</u>.

There can be little doubt that the <u>Pisidians</u> and <u>Pamphylians</u> descended from the same people, but a distinction between the two seems to have been established at an early period. '''[[Herodotus]]''', who does not mention the <u>Pisidians</u>, enumerates the <u>Pamphylians</u> among the nations of <u>Asia Minor</u>, while '''[[Ephorus]]''' mentions them both, correctly including one among the nations on the interior and the other among those of the coast.

Known from some fifty short inscriptions dating from ~0-200 CE, it appears to be closely related to <u>Lycian (A and B)</u> and <u>Sidetic</u>. Pisidian is known from about fifty funeral inscriptions, most of them from Sofular (classical Tymbrias). The first were discovered in 1890; five years later sixteen of them were published and analyzed by Scottish archaeologist William Mitchell Ramsay. The texts are basically of a genealogical character (strings of names) and are usually accompanied by a relief picturing the deceased. Recently inscriptions have also been found at Selge, Kesme (near Yeşilbağ), and Deḡirmenözü. Four inscriptions from the Kesme region seem to offer regular text, not merely names. By far the longest of them consists of thirteen lines. The specific form of '''patronymics''', with an ''-s'' suffix matching that of <u>Luwian</u>, <u>Lycian</u>, <u>Carian</u>, and <u>Sidetic</u>, points to <u>Pisidian</u> being a close relation.

== Sidetic (~400-200 BCE) ==
Sidetic was an extinct Anatolian language, spoken in the ancient city of '''Side''' on the coast of <u>Pamphylia</u>. The language is known from a few coins and some half-dozen inscriptions, which appear to be votive in nature, which date from 200-100s BCE; the coins are probably somewhat older. Patronymics with an ''-s'' suffix, and a word for ‘god’ that is likely cognate with that of <u>Luwian</u>, <u>Lycian</u>, and <u>Carian</u>, argue that <u>Sidetic</u> is closely related.

The <u>Greek</u> historian '''[[Arrian]]''' in his ''Anabasis Alexandri'' (~150 CE) mentions the existence of a peculiar indigenous language in the city of '''Side'''. Texts in <u>Sidetic</u> are written right to left in an alphabet of about 25 characters. The inscriptions show that <u>Sidetic</u> was already strongly influenced by <u>Greek</u> at the time when they were created. Like <u>Lycian</u> and <u>Carian</u>, it was part of the <u>Luwian</u> language family, and a few words can be derived from <u>Luwian</u> roots, like ''maśara'' 'for the gods' (<u>Luwian</u> ''masan(i)-'', 'god', 'divinity'), and possibly ''malwadas'' 'votive offering' (<u>Luwian</u> ''malwa-).'' Like the neighboring <u>Pamphylian Greek</u> dialect, '''aphaeresis''' (a sound-change in which a word-initial vowel is lost) is frequent in names in <u>Sidetic</u> (''Poloniw'' for Apollonios, ''Thandor'' for Athenodoros), as is '''syncope''', the loss of one or more sounds from the interior of a word, especially the loss of an unstressed vowel (''Artmon'' for Artemon).
[[Category:Linguistics]]