Carian language
Encyclopedia
The Carian language is an extinct language of the Luwian
subgroup of the Anatolian branch
of the Indo-European
language family
. The Carian language was spoken in Caria
, a region of western Anatolia
between the ancient regions of Lycia
and Lydia
, by the Carians
, a name possibly first mentioned in Hittite
sources. Prior to the late 20th century CE the language remained a total mystery even though many characters of the script appeared to be from Greek alphabet
. Using Greek phonetic values of letters investigators of the 19th and 20th centuries were unable to make headway and classified the language as non-Indo-European. Speculations multiplied, none very substantial. Progress finally came as a result of rejecting the presumption of Greek phonetic values.
The Athenian Bilingual
The Greek is:
The translation is:
The first line is repeated in Carian:
where san is equivalent to τόδε and evidences the Anatolian language assibilation
, parallel to Luwian za-, "this." If śías is not exactly the same as soua it is roughly equivalent.
and Milyan (Lycian B), and both are closely related to, though not direct descendents of, Luwian. Whether the correspondences between Luwian, Carian, and Lycian are due to direct descent (i.e. a language family as represented by a tree-model), or are due to dialect geography
, is disputed.
The Achaean Greeks arriving in small numbers on the coasts of Anatolia
in the Late Bronze Age found them occupied by a population that did not speak Greek and were generally involved in political relationships with the Hittite Empire. After the fall of the latter the region became the target of heavy immigration by Ionian
and Dorian Greeks who enhanced Greek settlements and founded or refounded major cities. They assumed for purposes of collaboration new regional names based on their previous locations: Ionia
, Doris
.
The writers born in these new cities reported that the people among whom they had settled were called Carians
and spoke a language that was "barbarian", "barbaric" or "barbarian-sounding." No clue has survived from these writings as to what exactly the Greeks might mean by "barbarian." The reportedly Carian names of the Carian cities did not and do not appear to be Greek. Such names as Andanus, Myndus, Bybassia, Larymna, Chysaoris, Alabanda, Plarasa and Iassus were puzzling to the Greeks, some of whom attempted to give etymologies in words they said were Carian. For the most part they still remain a mystery, to be accepted on faith until further evidence turns up.
Writing disappeared in the Greek Dark Ages
but no earlier Carian writing has survived. When inscriptions, some bilingual, began to appear in the 7th century BCE it was already some hundreds of years after the city-naming phase. The earlier Carian may not have been exactly the same.
The local development of Carian excludes some other theories as well: it was not widespread in the Aegean, is not related to Etruscan
, was not written in any ancient Aegean scripts, and was not a substrate Aegean language. Its occurrence in various places of Classical Greece
is due only to the travel habits of Carians, who apparently became co-travellers of the Ionians
. The Carian cemetery of Delos
probably represents the pirates mentioned in classical texts. The Carians who fought for Troy if they did were not classical Carians any more than the Greeks there were classical Greeks.
Being penetrated by larger numbers of Greeks and under the domination from time to time of the Ionian League
Caria eventually Hellenized and Carian became a dead language. The interludes under the Persian Empire perhaps served only to delay the process. Hellenization would lead to the extinction of the Carian language in the first century BCE or early in the Common Era.
Luwian language
Luwian is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. Luwian is closely related to Hittite, and was among the languages spoken during the second and first millennia BC by population groups in central and western Anatolia and northern Syria...
subgroup of the Anatolian branch
Anatolian languages
The Anatolian languages comprise a group of extinct Indo-European languages that were spoken in Asia Minor, the best attested of them being the Hittite language.-Origins:...
of the Indo-European
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
language family
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
. The Carian language was spoken in Caria
Caria
Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
, a region of western Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
between the ancient regions of Lycia
Lycia
Lycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
and Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
, by the Carians
Carians
The Carians were the ancient inhabitants of Caria in southwest Anatolia.-Historical accounts:It is not clear when the Carians enter into history. The definition is dependent on corresponding Caria and the Carians to the "Karkiya" or "Karkisa" mentioned in the Hittite records...
, a name possibly first mentioned in Hittite
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
sources. Prior to the late 20th century CE the language remained a total mystery even though many characters of the script appeared to be from Greek alphabet
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
. Using Greek phonetic values of letters investigators of the 19th and 20th centuries were unable to make headway and classified the language as non-Indo-European. Speculations multiplied, none very substantial. Progress finally came as a result of rejecting the presumption of Greek phonetic values.
Sources
Carian is known from these sources:- Personal names with a suffix of -ασσις, -ωλλος or -ωμος in Greek records
- Twenty inscriptions from CariaCariaCaria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
including four bilingualBilingual inscriptionIn epigraphy, a bilingual is an inscription that is extant in two languages . Bilinguals are important for the decipherment of ancient writing systems.Important bilinguals include:...
s - Inscriptions of the Caromemphites, an ethnic enclave at Memphis, EgyptMemphis, EgyptMemphis was the ancient capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first nome of Lower Egypt. Its ruins are located near the town of Helwan, south of Cairo.According to legend related by Manetho, the city was founded by the pharaoh Menes around 3000 BC. Capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, it remained an...
- GraffitiGraffitiGraffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
elsewhere in Egypt - Scattered inscriptions elsewhere in the Aegean world
- Words stated to be Carian by ancient authors.
Principles
Two features that help identify the language as Anatolian:- Asigmatic nominative (without the Indo-European nominativeNominative caseThe nominative case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or the predicate noun or predicate adjective, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments...
ending *-s) but -s for a genitiveGenitive caseIn grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
ending: úśoλ, úśoλ-s - Similarity of basic words to other Anatolian languages: ted "father"; en "mother"
Fragments
| Greek | Transliterated | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ala | horse | |
| βάνδα | banda | victory |
| γέλα | gela | king |
| γίσσα | gissa | stone |
| soua(n) | tomb |
| Greek | Transliterated | Carian |
|---|---|---|
"Hecatomnid" |
Hekatomnō Genitive case Genitive case In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun... Patronymic Patronymic A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms... |
Xtmñoś |
| Καύνιος | Kaunios | Kbdùn |
| Kaunos | Kbid | |
| Πιγρης | Pigrēs | Pikre |
| Πονυσσωλλος | Ponussōllos | Pnuśoλ |
| Σαρυσσωλλος | Sarussōllos | Šaruśoλ |
| Υλιατος | Uliatos | Úliat |
| Greek | Transliterated | Carian |
|---|---|---|
| Λυσικλέους (genitive) | Lysikleous | Lùsiklas |
| Λυσικράτους (genitive) | Lysikratous | Lùsikratas |
| (accusative) | Athēnaion | Otonosn |
The Athenian Bilingual
The Greek is:
The translation is:
- This is the tomb of Tur
- the Carian, the son of Scylax
The first line is repeated in Carian:
- Śías: san Tur
where san is equivalent to τόδε and evidences the Anatolian language assibilation
Assibilation
In linguistics, assibilation is the term for a sound change resulting in a sibilant consonant. It is commonly the final phase of palatalization.-Romance languages:...
, parallel to Luwian za-, "this." If śías is not exactly the same as soua it is roughly equivalent.
Language history
Carian is closely related to LycianLycian
Lycian may refer to:* Anything related to Lycia* Apollo Lyceus, a type of ancient Greek statuary* Lycian language, the language of Lycia* Lycian script, the writing system of Lycian language* Lycian Way, a footpath in Turkey...
and Milyan (Lycian B), and both are closely related to, though not direct descendents of, Luwian. Whether the correspondences between Luwian, Carian, and Lycian are due to direct descent (i.e. a language family as represented by a tree-model), or are due to dialect geography
Sprachbund
A Sprachbund – also known as a linguistic area, convergence area, diffusion area or language crossroads – is a group of languages that have become similar in some way because of geographical proximity and language contact. They may be genetically unrelated, or only distantly related...
, is disputed.
The Achaean Greeks arriving in small numbers on the coasts of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
in the Late Bronze Age found them occupied by a population that did not speak Greek and were generally involved in political relationships with the Hittite Empire. After the fall of the latter the region became the target of heavy immigration by Ionian
Ionians
The Ionians were one of the four major tribes into which the Classical Greeks considered the population of Hellenes to have been divided...
and Dorian Greeks who enhanced Greek settlements and founded or refounded major cities. They assumed for purposes of collaboration new regional names based on their previous locations: Ionia
Ionia
Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
, Doris
Doris
- Geography :* Doris , region of Asia Minor inhabited by Dorians* Doris , region in central Greece in which the Dorians had their traditional homeland* Doris, Iowa, USA- People :* Doris, mother of Antipater...
.
The writers born in these new cities reported that the people among whom they had settled were called Carians
Carians
The Carians were the ancient inhabitants of Caria in southwest Anatolia.-Historical accounts:It is not clear when the Carians enter into history. The definition is dependent on corresponding Caria and the Carians to the "Karkiya" or "Karkisa" mentioned in the Hittite records...
and spoke a language that was "barbarian", "barbaric" or "barbarian-sounding." No clue has survived from these writings as to what exactly the Greeks might mean by "barbarian." The reportedly Carian names of the Carian cities did not and do not appear to be Greek. Such names as Andanus, Myndus, Bybassia, Larymna, Chysaoris, Alabanda, Plarasa and Iassus were puzzling to the Greeks, some of whom attempted to give etymologies in words they said were Carian. For the most part they still remain a mystery, to be accepted on faith until further evidence turns up.
Writing disappeared in the Greek Dark Ages
Greek Dark Ages
The Greek Dark Age or Ages also known as Geometric or Homeric Age are terms which have regularly been used to refer to the period of Greek history from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean Palatial civilization around 1200 BC, to the first signs of the Greek city-states in the 9th...
but no earlier Carian writing has survived. When inscriptions, some bilingual, began to appear in the 7th century BCE it was already some hundreds of years after the city-naming phase. The earlier Carian may not have been exactly the same.
The local development of Carian excludes some other theories as well: it was not widespread in the Aegean, is not related to Etruscan
Etruscan language
The Etruscan language was spoken and written by the Etruscan civilization, in what is present-day Italy, in the ancient region of Etruria and in parts of Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna...
, was not written in any ancient Aegean scripts, and was not a substrate Aegean language. Its occurrence in various places of Classical Greece
Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a 200 year period in Greek culture lasting from the 5th through 4th centuries BC. This classical period had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire and greatly influenced the foundation of Western civilizations. Much of modern Western politics, artistic thought, such as...
is due only to the travel habits of Carians, who apparently became co-travellers of the Ionians
Ionians
The Ionians were one of the four major tribes into which the Classical Greeks considered the population of Hellenes to have been divided...
. The Carian cemetery of Delos
Delos
The island of Delos , isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece...
probably represents the pirates mentioned in classical texts. The Carians who fought for Troy if they did were not classical Carians any more than the Greeks there were classical Greeks.
Being penetrated by larger numbers of Greeks and under the domination from time to time of the Ionian League
Ionian League
The Ionian League , also called the Panionic League, was a confederation formed at the end of the Meliac War in the mid-7th century BC comprising twelve Ionian cities .These were listed by Herodotus as*Miletus, Myus, and...
Caria eventually Hellenized and Carian became a dead language. The interludes under the Persian Empire perhaps served only to delay the process. Hellenization would lead to the extinction of the Carian language in the first century BCE or early in the Common Era.
Sources
- Adiego, I.J. The Carian Language. Leiden: Brill, 2006.
- Melchert, H. Craig. 2004. Carian in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 609–613.
- Blümel, W., Frei, P., et al., ed., Colloquium Caricum = Kadmos 38 (1998).
- Giannotta, M.E., Gusmani, R., et al., ed., La decifrazione del Cario. Rome. 1994.
- Adiego, Ignacio-Javier, Studia Carica. Barcelona, 1993.
- Ray, John D.John D. RayProfessor John D. Ray is the current Sir Herbert Thompson Professor of Egyptology at the University of Cambridge. His principal field of interest covers the Late and Hellenistic periods of Egypt, with special reference to documents in the demotic script, and he is also known for deciphering the...
, An outline of Carian grammar, Kadmos 29:54-73 (1990). - Откупщиков, Ю. В. "Догреческий субстрат. У истоков европейской цивилизации" [Otkupschikov, Yu. V. "Pre-Greek substrate. At the beginnings of the European civilization"]. Leningrad, 263 pp. (1988).
- Ray, John D.John D. RayProfessor John D. Ray is the current Sir Herbert Thompson Professor of Egyptology at the University of Cambridge. His principal field of interest covers the Late and Hellenistic periods of Egypt, with special reference to documents in the demotic script, and he is also known for deciphering the...
, An approach to the Carian script, Kadmos 20:150-162 (1981).
External links
- Palaeolexicon -