Hittite grammar
The
Basic noun and adjective declension
The nominal system consists of the following cases: nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, dative-locative, ablative, ergative, allative, and instrumental, and distinguishes between two numbers (singular and
The basic scheme of suffixation is given in the table below, which is valid for almost all nouns and adjectives. The sample word shown is antuhsa meaning "man".
| antuhsa man c. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
Nominative
|
antuhsas | -s | antuhses | -es |
| Ergative | antuhsanza | -anz(a) | antuhsantēs | -antēs |
Vocative
|
antuhsa | -∅ | antuhsa | -∅ |
Accusative
|
antuhsan | -n | antuhsus | -us |
Genitive
|
antuhsas | -as | antuhsas | -as |
locative
|
antuhsi | -i | antuhsas | -as |
Ablative
|
antuhsaz(a) | -az(a) | antuhsaz(a) | -az(a) |
Allative
|
antuhsa | -a | antuhsas | -as |
| Instrumental | antuhsit | -it | antuhsit | -it |
Verb conjugation
When compared with other early-attested Indo-European languages, such as
Additionally, the verbal system displays two infinitive forms, one verbal substantive, a supine and a participle. Rose (2006) lists 132 hi-verbs and interprets the hi/mi oppositions as vestiges of a system of grammatical voice ("centripetal voice" vs. "centrifugal voice").
The basic conjugational endings are as follows:[1]
| Active | Mediopassive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| mi-conj. | hi-conj. | ||
| Indicative Present-Future | |||
| Sg. 1 | -mi | -(ah)hi | -hahari (-hari, -ha) |
| 2 | -si | -ti | -ta(ti) |
| 3 | -zi | -i | -(t)a(ri) |
| Pl. 1 | -weni | -wasta(ti) | |
| 2 | -teni | -duma(ri) | |
| 3 | -anzi | -anta(ri) | |
| Indicative Preterite | |||
| Sg. 1 | -(n)un | -hun | -(ha)hat(i) |
| 2 | -s (-t, -ta) | -ta (-sta) | -at, -ta, -tat(i) |
| 3 | -t(a) | -s (-ta, -sta) | -at(i), -ta, -tat(i) |
| Pl. 1 | -wen | -wastat | |
| 2 | -ten (-tin) | -dumat | |
| 3 | -er (-ir) | -antat(i) | |
| Imperative | |||
| Sg. 1 | -(a)llu | -allu | -(ha)haru |
| 2 | - (-i, -t) | - (-i) | -hut(i) |
| 3 | -du | -u | -(t)aru |
| Pl. 1 | -weni | -wastati | |
| 2 | -ten (-tin) | -dumat(i) | |
| 3 | -andu | -antaru | |
| Set | Verbal substantive | Infinitive | Supine | Participle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ia | -war (gen. -was) | -wanzi | -wan | -ant- |
| Ib | -mar (gen. -mas) | -manzi | ||
| II | -ātar (gen. -annas) | -anna |
The Set I endings are default; the Set II endings are taken primarily by monosyllabic Ablauting mi-verbs. Within Set I verbs, the Ib endings are taken by stems ending in -u.[2]
Syntax
Hittite is a
Hittite syntax shows one noteworthy feature that is typical of Anatolian languages: commonly, the beginning of a sentence or clause is composed of either a sentence-connecting particle or otherwise a fronted or topicalized form, and a "chain" of fixed-order clitics is then appended.
Literature
Dictionaries
- Goetze, Albrecht (1954). Review of: Johannes Friedrich, Hethitisches Wörterbuch (Heidelberg: Winter). Language 30.401–405.[1]
- Sturtevant, Edgar H. (1931). Hittite glossary: words of known or conjectured meaning, with Sumerian ideograms and Accadian words common in Hittite texts. Language, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 3–82., Language Monograph No. 9.
- Puhvel, Jaan (1984–). Hittite Etymological Dictionary. Berlin: Mouton.
Grammar
- Hoffner, Harry A.; Melchert, H. Craig (2008). A Grammar of the Hittite Language. Winona: Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1-57506-119-1.
- Hrozný, Friedrich (1917). Die Sprache der Hethiter, ihr Bau und ihre Zugehörigkeit zum indogermanischen Sprachstamm. Ein Entzifferungsversuch. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung.
- ISBN 0-19-924905-9.
- Luraghi, Silvia (1997). Hittite. Munich: Lincom Europa. ISBN 3-89586-076-X.
- ISBN 90-5183-697-X.
- Patri, Sylvain (2007). L'alignement syntaxique dans les langues indo-européennes d'Anatolie. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-05612-0.
- Rose, S. R. (2006). The Hittite -hi/-mi conjugations. Innsbruck: Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Innsbruck. ISBN 3-85124-704-3.
- Sturtevant, Edgar H. A. (1933, 1951). Comparative Grammar of the Hittite Language. Rev. ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1951. First edition: 1933.
- Sturtevant, Edgar H. A. (1940). The Indo-Hittite laryngeals. Baltimore: Linguistic Society of America.
- Watkins, Calvert (2004). "Hittite". The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages: 551–575. ISBN 0-521-56256-2.
- Yakubovich, Ilya (2010). Sociolinguistics of the Luwian Language. Leiden: Brill.
Text editions
- Goetze, Albrecht & Edgar H. Sturtevant (1938). The Hittite Ritual of Tunnawi. New Haven: American Oriental Society.
- Sturtevant, Edgar H. A., & George Bechtel (1935). A Hittite Chrestomathy. Baltimore: Linguistic Society of America.
- Knudtzon, J. A. (1902). Die Zwei Arzawa-Briefe: Die ältesten Urkunden in indogermanischer Sprache. Leipzig: Hinrichs.
Journal articles
- Hrozný, Bedřich (1915). "Die Lösung des hethitischen Problems". Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft. 56: 17–50.
- Sturtevant, Edgar H. (1932). "The Development of the Stops in Hittite". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 52 (1). American Oriental Society: 1–12. JSTOR 593573.
- Sturtevant, Edgar H. (1940). "Evidence for voicing in Hittite g". Language. 16 (2). Linguistic Society of America: 81–87.
- Wittmann, Henri (1969). "A note on the linguistic form of Hittite sheep". Revue hittite et asianique. 22: 117–118.[3]
- Wittmann, Henri (1973) [1964]. "Some Hittite etymologies". Die Sprache. 10, 19: 144–148, 39–43.[4][5]
- Wittmann, Henri (1969). "The development of K in Hittite". Glossa. 3: 22–26.[6]
- Wittmann, Henri (1969). "A lexico-statistic inquiry into the diachrony of Hittite". Indogermanische Forschungen. 74: 1–10.[7]
- Wittmann, Henri (1969). "The Indo-European drift and the position of Hittite". International Journal of American Linguistics. 35 (3): 266–268.
References
External links
- Hittite in the wiki Glossing Ancient Languages (recommendations for the Interlinear Morphemic Glossing of Hittite texts)
- Lauffenburger, Olivier (2006). "The Hittite Grammar Homepage".