Hittite
The oldest attested Indo-European language, written in cuneiform and preserved in the archives of the Hittite capital Hattusa.
Overview
Hittite (Nesili, “language of Nesa”) is the oldest attested Indo-European language, known from over 30,000 cuneiform tablets found in the archives of Hattusa (Boğazköy, Turkey). Deciphered by Bedřich Hrozný in 1915, Hittite revolutionized comparative linguistics and our understanding of Indo-European prehistory. It belongs to the Anatolian branch, which some linguists consider the first to split from Proto-Indo-European.[6]
Key Features
- Cuneiform script — Borrowed from Mesopotamia, adapted for the Hittite language; includes Sumerograms and Akkadograms
- Two genders — Common and neuter (not the three-gender system of most Indo-European languages)
- Laryngeals — Hittite preserves reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European laryngeal consonants (ḫ), confirming a hypothesis made decades before their discovery
- Relatively simple morphology compared to later Indo-European languages
- -mi and -ḫi conjugations — Two main verb classes[2]
Sample Text
From the Hittite Laws (§1):[5]
𒌝𒈠 𒀭𒌓𒌓 𒄩𒀜𒌅𒅆𒇷 𒇻𒃶𒀀𒇷takku LÚ-an našma MUNUS-an šuwaizzi nu-an-kan kuenzi nāwi šer 4 SAG.DU pāi
“If anyone kills a man or a woman in a quarrel, he shall bring him (for burial) and give 4 persons (as replacement).”
The Hittite Laws are among the most important legal texts of the ancient Near East, notable for their emphasis on restitution rather than retribution — a striking contrast with the Mesopotamian tradition of lex talionis.
Learning Resources
Textbooks
- Theo van den Hout, The Elements of Hittite — The standard introductory textbook
- Harry Hoffner & H. Craig Melchert, A Grammar of the Hittite Language — Comprehensive reference (2 vols.)
- Silvia Luraghi, Old Hittite Sentence Structure — For advanced linguistic study
Online Resources
- Hethitologie Portal Mainz — Central digital portal for Hittite studies
- Chicago Hittite Dictionary (CHD) — The authoritative Hittite lexicon
- CHDS Catalog — Catalogue of cuneiform tablets from Hattusa
References
- ↑ *Theo van den Hout, The Elements of Hittite*** — The standard introductory textbook
- ↑ *Harry Hoffner & H. Craig Melchert, A Grammar of the Hittite Language*** — Comprehensive reference (2 vols.)
- ↑ *Silvia Luraghi, Old Hittite Sentence Structure*** — For advanced linguistic study
- ↑ Hethitologie Portal Mainz — Central digital portal for Hittite studies https://www.hethport.uni-wuerzburg.de/
- ↑ Chicago Hittite Dictionary (CHD) — The authoritative Hittite lexicon https://hittitedictionary.uchicago.edu/
- ↑ CHDS Catalog — Catalogue of cuneiform tablets from Hattusa https://catalog.hethiter.net/