Lemnian language
Encyclopedia : L : LE : LEM : Lemnian language
The Lemnian language is the language of a 6th century BC inscription found on a funerary stela on the island of Lemnos (termed the Lemnos stele, discovered in 1885 near Kaminia).
- 1 Writing system
- 2 Classification
- 3 Classical sources
- 4 The Lemnos stela
- 5 Translation of the Lemnos Stele
- 5.1 No,
is not a numeral - 5.2 The value of <šivai>
- 5.3 The name of the person to whom this was dedicated
- 5.4 Suffixes <-m> & <-c>
- 5.5 Is Hulaie's age \"60\" or \"40\"?
- 6 See also
- 7 References
- 8 External links
Writing system
The inscriptions are in an alphabet similar to that used to write the Etruscan language and the older Phrygian inscriptions, all derived from Euboean scripts (Western Greek alphabet, alphabets of Asia Minor). These scripts are ultimately of West Semitic origin and were adapted by various peoples from the 8th century. Characters similar to those used in Lemnos Stele inscription are also found on some pottery fragments on Lemnos.Classification
Lemnian and Etruscan
A relationship between Lemnian and Etruscan, sometimes grouped together as Tyrrhenian or Aegean languages is largely accepted because of the strong connections between vocabulary and grammar. For example, both Etruscan and Lemnian share two unique dative cases, masculine *-si and feminine-collective *-ale, shown both on the Lemnos Stele (Hulaie-ši "for Hulaie", Φukiasi-ale "for the Phocaean") and in inscriptions written in Etruscan (aule-si "To Aule" on the Cippus Perusinus as well as the inscription mi mulu Laris-ale Velχaina-si "I was blessed for Laris Velchaina"). They also share the masculine genitive in *-s and a simple past tense in *-a-i (Etruscan <-e> as in ame "was" (< *amai); Lemnian <-ai> as in šivai "lived"). Such strong evidence such as this provides little doubt of their true kinship.
Like Etruscan, the Lemnian language appears to have had a four-vowel system consisting of "i", "u", "a" and "e". Having a contrast between front and back vowels, it would appear to lack a high back vowel (a "u"-like sound) which is curious because this defies the linguistic universal of contrast maximization. Since vowel systems such as these without "u" are rare, it is strongly likely that what we transliterate as "o" from the symbol omikron was in fact meant to record a high, back, rounded vowel instead (written in IPA as /u/). This is not unusual considering that different languages may take the same letter to transcribe different sounds. Note for example how "u" in English is used to write a front vowel in French muet, a sound that does not exist in standard English. Note also that in English, the "o" may also denote /u/, e.g. in the word "to". Also, there is the argument concerning the origin of Tyrrhenians in general. If it is true that they originate from Lydia, it is rather coincidental that the languages neighbouring this region, namely Hittite and Akkadian, also happen to have the same four-vowel systems lacking "o". This suggests early areal influence.
Eteocypriot, Eteocretan
Beyond Etruscan and Rhaetian, further relationships to Lemnian become more tentative and highly debated. There is a possible affiliation of Eteocypriot to the above Tyrrhenian grouping. Texts in Eteocypriot (few are known, making it difficult to determine language affinity) have been found in the vicinity of the Lemnian language sphere, amidst the Aegean islands.
Debate continues on concerning the relationship of Eteocypriot, Eteocretan and Minoan to this family. The Amathus bilingual written in Eteocretan shows important structural similarities bearing what appears to be a genitive in -O-SE (Etruscan <-as> and Lemnian <-š>) as well as a 3ps animate pronoun A-NA (Etruscan
Some modern scholars have claimed that the Tyrrhenian family as a whole is distantly related to the Indo-European languages (IE), citing similarities in grammatical endings and vocabulary. With the paucity of complete texts, this is merely conjecture at present. For now, many remain conservative and consider Tyrrhenian to be an isolate group. A connection with IE is merely one of the strongest possibilities so far but not proven satisfactorily. Some contend that the <-s> and <-l> genitival endings seen in Tyrrhenian languages are evidence of substrate influence from the Anatolian languages (which are part of the Indo-European family), acquired during a time when Tyrrhenian languages were still centered around Asia Minor.
In his Natural History (1st century AD), Pliny wrote about Alpine peoples: "The Rhaetians and the Vindelicans border with these
The inscription consists of 198 characters forming 33 to 40 words, word separation sometimes indicated with one to three dots. The text consists of three parts, two written vertically and one horizontally. Comprehensible is the phrase avis sialchvis ("aged sixty", B.3), reminiscent of Etruscan avils maχs śealχisc ("and aged sixty-five").
Transcription:
In order to properly translate the stele, one must sift through a sea of hearsay and speculation that abounds about this cloudy text. Some words attract an especially inordinate amount of controversy, yielding multiple and conflicting translations for the same word. We need to obtain a more accurate picture of what this text is telling us. The only way to do this is through a balanced analysis of the smallest details while keeping sight of the larger context at the same time. Let's undo some of the myths that continue to rear their ugly head.
Assuming this pattern is real for a moment, if we find <ša> on one side and
Also, based on the first pattern, if <ša> is really "four",
Some common sense is in order by directing our attention to the phrase
So in all, it's likelier that Hulaie was in fact sixty at the time of his death, meaning that
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.Indo-European
Scholars now generally agree that these Tyrrhenian languages are not members of the Indo-European family and any connections with the Anatolian languages in particular are probably due to areal influence at best. At the present time without strong evidence one way or another, most academics remain conservative about external connections and consider Tyrrhenian, however it may be eventually defined, an isolate family.Classical sources
The ancient Greek historian Herodotus referred to the pre-Greek population of Lemnos as the Πελασγοι 'Pelasgoi' (see Pelasgian). However, Herodotus may well have incorrectly lumped two distinct non-Greek peoples together. According to other authors like Thucydides, the pre-Greek population of Lemnos were called Τυρσενοι 'Tyrsenoi' (alternatively, Tyrrhenoi) (see Tyrrhenian).The Lemnos stela
The stela was found built into a church wall in Kaminia and is now at the National Museum, Athens. The 6th-century date is based on the fact that in 510 BC the Athenian Miltiades invaded Lemnos and Hellenized it. The stele bears a low-relief bust of a helmeted man and is inscribed in an alphabet similar to the western ("Chalcidian") Greek alphabet. The inscription is in Boustrophedon style, and has been transliterated but had not been successfully translated until serious linguistic analysis based on comparisons with Etruscan, combined with breakthroughs in Etruscan's own translation started to yield fruit.Translation of the Lemnos Stele
No,
One of these overly debated words is The value of <šivai>
Most have already seen that <šivai aviš sialχviš> is surely relatable to well attested phrases in Etruscan, most notably The name of the person to whom this was dedicated
As one would expect, the person being celebrated is very likely at the beginning of the text on A.1 (Suffixes <-m> & <-c>
The comparison between the instances of both Is Hulaie's age \"60\" or \"40\"?
Another important controversy involves the value of See also
References
External links
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