A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Languages

Rebecca Hasselbach-Andee

John Wiley & Sons, Mar 31, 2020 - History - 560 pages

Covers the major languages, language families, and writing systems attested in the Ancient Near East

Filled with enlightening chapters by noted experts in the field, this book introduces Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) languages and language families used during the time period of roughly 3200 BCE to the second century CE in the areas of Egypt, the Levant, eastern Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Iran. In addition to providing grammatical sketches of the respective languages, the book focuses on socio-linguistic questions such as language contact, diglossia, the development of literary standard languages, and the development of diplomatic languages or “linguae francae.” It also addresses the interaction of Ancient Near Eastern languages with each other and their roles within the political and cultural systems of ANE societies.

Presented in five parts, The Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Languages provides readers with in-depth chapter coverage of the writing systems of ANE, starting with their decipherment. It looks at the emergence of cuneiform writing; the development of Egyptian writing in the fourth and early third millennium BCI; and the emergence of alphabetic scripts. The book also covers many of the individual languages themselves, including Sumerian, Egyptian, Akkadian, Hittite, Pre- and Post-Exilic Hebrew, Phoenician, Ancient South Arabian, and more.

• Provides an overview of all major language families and writing systems used in the Ancient Near East during the time period from the beginning of writing (approximately 3200 BCE) to the second century CE (end of cuneiform writing)
• Addresses how the individual languages interacted with each other and how they functioned in the societies that used them
• Written by leading experts on the languages and topics

The Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Languages is an ideal book for undergraduate students and scholars interested in Ancient Near Eastern cultures and languages or certain aspects of these languages.

Contents

• The Emergence of Cuneiform Writing: 27
• The Development of Egyptian Writing in the Fourth: 47
• The Emergence of Alphabetic Scripts: 65
• Ancient Near Eastern Languages: 83
• Egyptian: 107
• Akkadian: 129
• Eblaite: 149
• Amorite: 185
• Hurrian: 203
• Hittite: 221
• Luwian: 239
• Ugaritic: 257
• Ancient Hebrew: 279
• Phoenician and Punic: 297
• Old and Imperial Aramaic: 319
• Ancient South Arabian: 337
• Ancient Near Eastern Languages Used as Administrative: 355
• Aramaic as Lingua Franca: 373
• Language Contact in the Ancient Near East: 401
• Language Contact of Ancient Egyptian with Semitic: 421
• Hebrew and Aramaic in Contact: 439
• Multilingualism and Diglossia in the Ancient Near East: 457
• The Development of Literary Languages and Literary Contact: 471
• Standardization in Egyptian: 489
• The Influence of Sumerian on Hittite Literature: 505
• Ancient Near Eastern Literary Influences on Hebrew Literature: 521
• Index: 537

About the author

Rebecca Hasselbach-Andee, PhD, received her PhD in Semitic Philology from Harvard University in 2004. After working as a preceptor for Semitic languages at Harvard, she was hired as Professor for Comparative Semitics at the University of Chicago. Hasselbach-Andee's research interests lie in the comparative study of Semitic languages. The main methodologies she applies are those of Historical Linguistics, Typology, and Sociolinguistics. Some of her publications include Sargonic Akkadian: A Historical and Comparative Study of the Syllabic Texts and Case in Semitic: Roles, Relations, and Reconstruction.

Bibliographic information

• Title: A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Languages; Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World
• Editor: Rebecca Hasselbach-Andee
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2020
• ISBN: 111919329X, 9781119193296
• Length: 560 pages
• Subjects: History / Ancient / General; History / General