Palaic language
Encyclopedia
Palaic is an extinct Indo-European
language, attested in cuneiform
tablets in Bronze Age
Hattusa
, the capital of the Hittites
. Its name in Hittite
is palaumnili, or "of the people of Pala"; Pala was probably to the northwest of the Hittite core area, so in the northwest of present mainland Turkey
. That region was overrun by the Kaskas
in the 15th century BC, and the language likely went out of daily use at that time.
The entire corpus of Palaic spans only CTH 750-754 in Emmanuel Laroche
's catalog of Hittite texts; in addition Hittite texts elsewhere cite passages in Palaic in reference to the god Zaparwa (Hittite
Ziparwa) - totaling 21 passages, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Of the pure Palaic texts, CTH 750 is an account of the festival of Zaparwa, and CTH 752 is another ritual. In addition to Zaparwa, the Palaumnili-speakers worshipped a sky god Tiyaz (Luwian
Tiwaz).
Palaic is a fairly typical specimen of Indo-European. Old Hittite has the genitive singular suffix -as as of circa 1600 BC (compare Proto-Indo-European *-os); where Cuneiform
Luwian instead uses the -ssa adjectival suffix. Palaic, on the northern border of both, like later Hieroglyphic Luwian has both an -as genitive and an -asa adjectival suffix. Palaic also shows the same gender distinction as seen in Hittite, i.e. animate vs. inanimate; and has similar pronoun forms. Therefore Palaic is thought to belong to the Anatolian languages
, although whether as a sister language to Old Hittite or Cuneiform Luwian is unknown.
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, attested in cuneiform
Cuneiform
Cuneiform can refer to:*Cuneiform script, an ancient writing system originating in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC*Cuneiform , three bones in the human foot*Cuneiform Records, a music record label...
tablets in Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
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 ....
, the capital of the Hittites
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...
. Its name in Hittite
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...
is palaumnili, or "of the people of Pala"; Pala was probably to the northwest of the Hittite core area, so in the northwest of present mainland Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. That region was overrun by the Kaskas
Kaskas
The Kaska were a loosely-affiliated Bronze Age non-Indo-European tribal people of mountainous Pontic Anatolia, known from Hittite sources...
in the 15th century BC, and the language likely went out of daily use at that time.
The entire corpus of Palaic spans only CTH 750-754 in Emmanuel Laroche
Emmanuel Laroche
Emmanuel Laroche was an expert of ancient Anatolian languages . He was professor of Anatolian studies at the Collège de France, 1973–1985.-Works:*Dictionnaire de la langue louvite, 1959...
's catalog of Hittite texts; in addition Hittite texts elsewhere cite passages in Palaic in reference to the god Zaparwa (Hittite
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...
Ziparwa) - totaling 21 passages, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Of the pure Palaic texts, CTH 750 is an account of the festival of Zaparwa, and CTH 752 is another ritual. In addition to Zaparwa, the Palaumnili-speakers worshipped a sky god Tiyaz (Luwian
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...
Tiwaz).
Palaic is a fairly typical specimen of Indo-European. Old Hittite has the genitive singular suffix -as as of circa 1600 BC (compare Proto-Indo-European *-os); where Cuneiform
Cuneiform script
Cuneiform script )) is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. Emerging in Sumer around the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium , cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs...
Luwian instead uses the -ssa adjectival suffix. Palaic, on the northern border of both, like later Hieroglyphic Luwian has both an -as genitive and an -asa adjectival suffix. Palaic also shows the same gender distinction as seen in Hittite, i.e. animate vs. inanimate; and has similar pronoun forms. Therefore Palaic is thought to belong to the Anatolian languages
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:...
, although whether as a sister language to Old Hittite or Cuneiform Luwian is unknown.