Qatabanian language
| Qatabānian | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Yemen |
| Era | 800 BC – 200 AD |
Afro-Asiatic
| |
| Ancient South Arabian | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xqt |
xqt | |
| Glottolog | qata1238 |
Qatabānian (or Qatabānic), one of the four better-documented languages of the
Ancient South Arabian Monumental Script, known as Musnad. These inscriptions are mainly found in Wādī Bayhān and Wādī Ḥārib to the south-east of Ma'rib, and from the plateau to the south of that area. Qatabanian inscriptions increase after the beginning of the 4th century BC when the Sabaeans
ceased to dominate the area, and Qatabān became an independent kingdom.
Qatabanian was spoken in an area across the kingdom of Qatabān as far as
Ḥaḑramawt finally defeated Qatabān, and the inscriptions ended.[1]
The language used to write inscriptions in the kingdom of Awsān, known as Awsānian (or Awsānite), is virtually identical to Qatabānic, but it is so poorly attested (25 inscriptions) that it remains uncertain whether it is a Qatabānic dialect or a distinct language.
Numerals
Qatabānian has an unusual form for the
Hebrew).[3]
The Qatabānian forms for "three" and "six" are the same as the Old Sabaean words: s2lṯ (fem. s2lṯt) and s1dṯ (fem. s1dṯt).
Qatabānian expresses distributives by repeating the number, thus: b-ˤs2r ˤs2r ḫbṣtm mṣˤm l-ṭt ṭt ywmm "ten full Ḫabṣat coins each for each day".[2]
References
- ^ Kogan, Leonid; Korotayev, Andrey (1997). "Ṣayhadic Languages (Epigraphic South Arabian". Semitic Languages. London: Routledge. pp. 157–183.
- ^ a b Nebes & Stein 2004, p. 472.
- ^ Mazzini, Giovanni (2011). "Some Qatabanian Lexical Items". Aula Orientalis. 29: 121–129.
Bibliography
- Avanzini, Alessandra (2004). Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions I-III. Qatabanic, Marginal Qatabanic, Awsanite Inscriptions (Arabia Antica 2) (Edited ed.). Pisa: PLUS. ISBN 88-8492-263-1.
- Nebes, Norbert; Stein, Peter (2004). "Ancient South Arabian". In Woodard, Roger D. (ed.). The Cambridge encyclopedia of the World's ancient languages. Cambridge: ISBN 0-521-56256-2.
- Nebes, Norbert; Stein, Peter (2008). "Ancient South Arabian". In Woodard, Roger D. (ed.). The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia. Cambridge: ISBN 9780511486890.
- Ricks, Stephen D. (1988). Lexicon of Inscriptional Qatabanian. Rome: ISBN 978-8876535703.
- Stein, Peter (2011). "Ancient South Arabian". In Weninger, Stefan (ed.). The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook. Berlin: ISBN 3110186136.