Lydian language

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Lydian was an Indo-European language spoken in the region of Lydia in western Anatolia (present-day Turkey). It belongs to the Anatolian subgroup of the Indo-European language family. Within this subgroup, it occupies a unique position due to a number of features not shared with the other Anatolian languages. It is not presently known whether these represent unique developments in pre-Lydian or the retention of archaic features lost in the other Anatolian languages (Melchert 2004).

Lydian is attested in coin legends of the 7th century BC and in some 100 inscriptions dating to the 5th and 4th centuries BC. The inscriptions include many epitaphs (inscriptions on funerary stelae) but also many short graffiti. The epitaphs typically begin with eś wãnaś "this grave".

Lydian became extinct around the first century BC, giving way to Greek.

Writing system

The Lydian alphabet was closely related to the other alphabets of Asia Minor as well as to the Greek alphabet. Unlike the Carian alphabet, which had an f derived from Φ, the Lydian f has the peculiar 8 shape also found in the Etruscan alphabet.

The Lydian alphabet is usually transliterated as follows.

a ã b d δ e ẽ f g h i k l λ m n ν o p q r s ś t τ u w

ã and ẽ are nasalized vowels.

The letters δ, τ, λ, ν and ś indicate palatalized variants of d, t, l, n and s.

Early Lydian texts are written both from left to right and from right to left. Later texts are exclusively written from right to left.

Phonology

Lydian is notable for its extensive consonant clusters, which resulted from the loss of word-final short vowels together with massive syncope.

Morphology

Nouns and adjectives distinguish singular and plural forms and occur in two genders, animate and inanimate. Only three cases are securely attested: nominative, accusative, and dative-locative. There may have been other cases that remain unknown due to the paucity of material.

Syntax

The basic word order is Subject-Object-Verb, but constituents may be extraposed to the right of the verb. Lydian had at least one postposition. Modifiers of the noun normally precede the noun.

Sample Lydian text

A notable inscription is an Aramaic-Lydian bilingual found at Sardis, with eight lines of the Lydian text preserved (the first line of the text was destroyed):

[o]raλ islλ bakillλ est mrud eśśk [wãnaś]

laqrisak qelak kudkit ist esλ wãn[aλ]

bλtarwod akad manelid kumlilid silukalid akit n[ãqis]

esλ mruλ buk esλ wãnaλ buk esνaν

laqirisaν bukit kud ist esλ wãnaλ bλtarwo[d]

aktin nãqis qelλk fẽnsλifid fakmλ artimuś

ibśimsis artimuk kulumsis aaraλ biraλk

kλidaλ kofuλk qiraλ qelλk bilλ wcbaqẽnt

References

Fortson, Benjamin W. (2004). Indo-European Language and Culture : an Introduction. Malden: Blackwell. ISBN 1-4051-0316-7.
Gusmani, R. Lydisches Wörterbuch. Mit grammatischer Skizze und Inschriftensammlung, Heidelberg 1964 (Ergänzungsband 1-3, Heidelberg 1980-1986).
Melchert, H. Craig (2004) "Lydian", in Roger D. Woodard (ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56256-2. pp. 601-608.
Shevoroshkin, V. The Lydian Language, Moscow, 1977.

External links

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Last updated on Friday January 04, 2008 at 09:07:59 PST (GMT -0800)
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