Editing Anatolian Languages (section)

== 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'''.