Editing Anatolian Languages (section)

== 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.