Hattic language
Encyclopedia
Hattic was a language spoken by the Hattians
in Asia Minor
between the 3rd
and the 2nd
millennia BC. Scholars call this language 'Hattic' to distinguish it from the Hittite language
--the Indo-European language of the Hittite Empire.
The heartland of this oldest attested language of Anatolia
, before the arrival of Hittite language
speakers, ranged from Hattusa
(which they called "Hattus") northward to Nerik
. Other cities mentioned in Hattic include Tuhumiyara and Tissaruliya.
The Hittites conquered Hattus from Kanesh to its south, and thence eventually absorbed or replaced the Hattic speakers (Hattians
); but they retained the name Hatti for the region.
The Hittite term for Hattic was hattili after the city of Hattus, whereas the Hittite dynasty called their own language nesili after their city of origin Kanesh. The form "Hittite" in English originally comes from biblical Heth
, quite possibly connected to common Assyrian and Egyptian designations of "Land of the Hatti" (Khatti) west of the Euphrates
. It is unknown what native speakers of "hattili" called their own language.
Roots of Hattic words can also be found in the names of mountains, rivers, cities and gods. Other Hattic words can be found in some mythological texts. The most important of these is the myth "The Moon God who fell from the Sky", written in both Hattic language and Hittite.
The catalogued Hattic documents from Hattusa
span CTH 725-745. Of these CTH 728, 729, 731, 733, and 736 are Hattic / Hittite bilinguals. CTH 737 is a Hattic incantation for the festival at Nerik. One key (if fragmentary) bilingual is the story of "The Moon God Who Fell from the Sky".
There are additional Hattic texts in Sapinuwa
, which had not been published as of 2004.
The conservative view is that the Hattic language is a language isolate
and it is completely different from neighbouring Indo-European
and Semitic languages, though, based on toponyms and personal names, it may have been related to the otherwise unattested Kaskian language
. Certain similarities between Hattic and both Northwest
(e.g., Abkhaz
) and South Caucasian
(Kartvelian) languages have led to assumptions by some scholars about the possibility of a linguistic block stretching from central Anatolia
to the Caucasus
.
Known words include:
Hattic formed a collective plural by attaching the prefix
fa-: e.g., fa-shaf "gods". It formed conventional plurals with a le- prefix: "children" = le-pinu. The genitive case
, which signifies 'of' in English, was declined with the suffix -(u)n (e.g. fur "land" but furun "of the land"). While some linguists like Polomé & Winter have claimed the accusative case
was marked with es- (nb. the example they give is ess-alep 'word'), this has been identified as a pronominal clitic meaning 'their' by others.
Hattians
The Hattians were an ancient people who inhabited the land of Hatti in present-day central part of Anatolia, Turkey, noted at least as early as the empire of Sargon of Akkad , until they were gradually displaced and absorbed ca...
in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
between the 3rd
3rd millennium BC
The 3rd millennium BC spans the Early to Middle Bronze Age.It represents a period of time in which imperialism, or the desire to conquer, grew to prominence, in the city states of the Middle East, but also throughout Eurasia, with Indo-European expansion to Anatolia, Europe and Central Asia. The...
and the 2nd
2nd millennium BC
The 2nd millennium BC marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age.Its first half is dominated by the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and Babylonia. The alphabet develops. Indo-Iranian migration onto the Iranian plateau and onto the Indian subcontinent propagates the use of the chariot...
millennia BC. Scholars call this language 'Hattic' to distinguish it from the Hittite language
Hittite language
Hittite is the extinct language once spoken by the Hittites, a people who created an empire centred on Hattusa in north-central Anatolia...
--the Indo-European language of the Hittite Empire.
The heartland of this oldest attested language of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, before the arrival of Hittite language
Hittite language
Hittite is the extinct language once spoken by the Hittites, a people who created an empire centred on Hattusa in north-central Anatolia...
speakers, ranged from Hattusa
Hattusa
Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. It was located near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of the Kızıl River ....
(which they called "Hattus") northward to Nerik
Nerik
Nerik was a Bronze Age city to the north of the Hittite capitals Hattusa and Sapinuwa. The Hittites held it as sacred to a storm god who was the son of Wurusemu, sun goddess of Arinna...
. Other cities mentioned in Hattic include Tuhumiyara and Tissaruliya.
The Hittites conquered Hattus from Kanesh to its south, and thence eventually absorbed or replaced the Hattic speakers (Hattians
Hattians
The Hattians were an ancient people who inhabited the land of Hatti in present-day central part of Anatolia, Turkey, noted at least as early as the empire of Sargon of Akkad , until they were gradually displaced and absorbed ca...
); but they retained the name Hatti for the region.
The Hittite term for Hattic was hattili after the city of Hattus, whereas the Hittite dynasty called their own language nesili after their city of origin Kanesh. The form "Hittite" in English originally comes from biblical Heth
Heth
-People:* Children of Heth, a Canaanite nation in the Hebrew Bible, purportedly named after Heth, son of Canaan, son of Ham, son of Noah* figures in the Book of Mormon:** Heth , an early Jaredite** Heth a later Jaredite...
, quite possibly connected to common Assyrian and Egyptian designations of "Land of the Hatti" (Khatti) west of the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
. It is unknown what native speakers of "hattili" called their own language.
Corpus
No documents have been found in which the native Hattic speakers wrote their own language. Scholars today rely on indirect sources or mentions by their neighbours and successors, the Nesian-speaking Hittites. Some Hattic words can be found in religious tablets of Hittite priests, dating from the 14th and 13th centuries BC. Those passages contained between the lines of the text signs with the explanation "the priest is now speaking in Hattili".Roots of Hattic words can also be found in the names of mountains, rivers, cities and gods. Other Hattic words can be found in some mythological texts. The most important of these is the myth "The Moon God who fell from the Sky", written in both Hattic language and Hittite.
The catalogued Hattic documents from Hattusa
Hattusa
Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. It was located near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of the Kızıl River ....
span CTH 725-745. Of these CTH 728, 729, 731, 733, and 736 are Hattic / Hittite bilinguals. CTH 737 is a Hattic incantation for the festival at Nerik. One key (if fragmentary) bilingual is the story of "The Moon God Who Fell from the Sky".
There are additional Hattic texts in Sapinuwa
Sapinuwa
Sapinuwa was a Bronze Age Hittite city at the location of modern Ortaköy in Turkey. It was one of the major Hittite religious and administrative centres, a military base and an occasional residence of several Hittite kings...
, which had not been published as of 2004.
The conservative view is that the Hattic language is a language isolate
Language isolate
A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common with any other language. They are in effect language families consisting of a single...
and it is completely different from neighbouring Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
and Semitic languages, though, based on toponyms and personal names, it may have been related to the otherwise unattested Kaskian language
Kaskian language
Kaskian was a non-Indo-European language of the Kaskians of northeastern Bronze Age Anatolia, in the mountains along the Black Sea coast....
. Certain similarities between Hattic and both Northwest
Northwest Caucasian languages
The Northwest Caucasian languages, also called Abkhazo-Adyghean, or sometimes Pontic as opposed to Caspian for the Northeast Caucasian languages, are a group of languages spoken in the Caucasus region, chiefly in Russia , the disputed territory of Abkhazia, and Turkey, with smaller communities...
(e.g., Abkhaz
Abkhaz language
Abkhaz is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken mainly by the Abkhaz people. It is the official language of Abkhazia where around 100,000 people speak it. Furthermore, it is spoken by thousands of members of the Abkhazian diaspora in Turkey, Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara, Syria, Jordan...
) and South Caucasian
South Caucasian languages
The Kartvelian languages are spoken primarily in Georgia, with a large group of ethnic Georgian speakers in Russia, the United States, the European Union, and northeastern parts of Turkey. There are approximately 5.2 million speakers of this language family worldwide.It is not known to be related...
(Kartvelian) languages have led to assumptions by some scholars about the possibility of a linguistic block stretching from central Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
to the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
.
Known words include:
- alef = 'word'
- ashaf = 'god'
- fa-zari = 'humankind, population'
- fel = 'house'
- *findu = 'wine' (found in the compound findu-qqaram "wine-ladle")
- fur = 'land'
- Furun-Katte = 'King of the Land', the Hattic war god
- Furu-Semu = Hattic sun goddess
- Hanfasuit = Hattic throne goddess
- hilamar = 'temple'
- Kasku = the Hattic moon god
- katte = 'king'
- -nifas = 'to sit'
- pinu = 'child'
- zari = 'mortal'
- -zi = 'to put'
Hattic formed a collective plural by attaching the prefix
Prefix
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the root of a word. Particularly in the study of languages,a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the words to which it is affixed.Examples of prefixes:...
fa-: e.g., fa-shaf "gods". It formed conventional plurals with a le- prefix: "children" = le-pinu. The genitive case
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
, which signifies 'of' in English, was declined with the suffix -(u)n (e.g. fur "land" but furun "of the land"). While some linguists like Polomé & Winter have claimed the accusative case
Accusative case
The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
was marked with es- (nb. the example they give is ess-alep 'word'), this has been identified as a pronominal clitic meaning 'their' by others.
External links
- A detailed description by Igor DiakonovIgor DiakonovIgor Mikhailovich Diakonov was a Russian historian, linguist, and translator and a renowned expert in the Ancient Near East and its languages....
- Hattic grammar by A. S. Kassian