Now on academia.edu. Verb paradigms in Hittite infinitives present past imperative participles substantives here (click on the image):I have been learning Hittie for the past 5 months and I have fully mastered the language. Hittie is the first ever Indo-European language, from which Minoan Linear A, Mycenaean Linear B, ancient Greek, Latin and all modern Occidental languages are derived. Here is list of Verb paradigms in Hittite infinitives present past imperative participles substantives: Common verbs classified: + Linear A (LA=) + Linear B (LB=) + Greek (gr=) & Latin (la=) (where applicable) + English + français existence/creation: es = to be = la = essere = to be = English = is = français = être/es/est LB = eesi = they are gr = ei0mi essa/issa = to realize, do tahr? to be able to tarna = to let, allow; to abandon; to leave; to forgive; to let, put (a spoon in a liquid) huinu = to cause asas/ases = to sit = English = sit = français = s'asseoir LA = ase/asi = to sit, to settle, to put into ki/kikki = to lie down gr = kei=mai aniya = to act, create, work, achieve; ? to make grow (a plant) samn?i = to create, bring up, raise = English = to assemble = français = assembler give food: ad/ed = to eat + azzikk = to eat again + hassik/ispai = to eat until full = English = edible eku = to drink akkusk = to drink a lot life & death: ak/ek/akkisk = to die armaniya/irmaliya = to fall ill = English = harm dassanu = to make strong has = to open; to give birth (for a woman); to testify (for a man) huis/huisw?i = to live, to stay alive haddules = to recover maliskunu = to weaken = English = malaise = français = mal, malade, malaise ses/suppariya = to sleep, to fall asleep = English = supine teshaniya = to sleep, dream perception: uh/usk//sakuwai = to see usk = to see often istamas = to hear = English = to listen gr = i3sthmi = to stand expression: dariyanu = to call halz?i = to call, name + halzessa = to call , to name; to read = English = hail lamniya = to name; to call; to order; to assign, appoint mem?i = to talk, say; to announce = la = memoria = memory English = memory = français = mémoire talliya = to call, invite; to implore te/tar (2 infinitives) = to speak tarsik = to talk again, proclaim tarsikk = to say/speak/talk several times tekkus(sa)nu = to indicate; to show; to accuse = English = accuse = français = accuser gr = dei/knumi tekuss?i = to appear, show s?kiya = to declare gr = fa/skw tarkumm?i = to announce, report watarnah = to order; to entrust; to inculcate; to command, lead; to ask; to inform punus = to ask, to examine uesk = to implore = English = ask wek = to wish, ask, demand, claim = English = wish/ask LB = eukoto = he wishes wewakk(iya) = to ask again LB = eukoto = he wishes education: hatrai = to write = English = write LA = jatikutu = to write? handai = to add = English = hand/handle kupawi/kappuwar = to count = English = cut = français = couper sak/sek = to know = English = to seek annanu= to teach, educate ishiullah = to teach lazziya = to rectify, set straight LA = kireza? siy?i = to open (by pushing), push; to stamp, flatten; ? to draw; ? to seal; to cover with a seal = English = to seal gr = shmai/nw = to signify, mark, seal motion: uwa = to come ?nna = to drive; to receive; to come, hurry pai = to go gr = bai/nw = to go arr?sa p?war = to go d?la/d?liya = to leave = English = dally tiya = to move forward watkunu = to drive away, to dismiss huwai(huya) = to run, to flee = English = flee = français = fuir pars = to run, to flee = français = partir = je pars piddai = to run, hasten, flee + to pay = English = pittance LA = daipita = to lay, put, sit, pay as = to stay, to come to stay sakuwantariya = to stop, rest zenna/zinna = to end, finish; to settle, put an end to; to demolish husk = to wait istand?i = to remain, stay; to hesitate, wait, tarry = English = stand gr = i3sthmi = to stand ispart = to escape = la = evanescere = to disappear English = escape = français = disparaître kark = to disappear sanna = to conceal, hide maus = to fall waktu = to jump wahnu/weh = to turn up = to rise (the sun) = English = up action: dai/te/ti/tai = to put tittanu = to put, set. awan arha t. : to remove, withdraw tittiya = to put, set out ep = to grab iya = to do hark(iya) = to hold, to have + to collapse LA = apieke LB = oka + LB = ekee= to have + ekei = he has + ekonsi = they have d? = to take; to take as possession; ? to take for oneself + to decide in favor of s.o. huitiya = to pull hamenk= to attach, to link; to marry tarm?i = to attach, fix karp = to lift w?k = to bite, bite off = English = to whack duwarn?i = to break parsiya = to break LA = parosu la = to detach mark = to cut, distribute = English = mark LA = makarite, almost definite! tuhs/tuhhus = to cut; to separate (a girl from her lover) mat/maz/mazas = to support = français = mettre sarkuwai = to tighten wesuriya = to squeeze maninkuwah/maninkues = to shorten wete= to build + wetenu = to have sth. built, reinforced, fortified Linear B = wete = he works gr = e1rgon = work sarlai = to raise = la = sublevare = to raise = français = soulever taks/takkes/taggas = to gather; to implement, undertake; ? to found, buildLB = akere = to collect + LB = apeeke = to let go gr = ta/cij = arranging, putting in place, order, arrangement etc. zikk = to put several times has/hes = to open siy?i = to open (by pushing), push; to stamp, flatten; ? to draw; ? to seal; to cover with a seal = la = consignare = to seal = English = to seal gr = shmai/nw = to signify, mark, seal hatk = to close istap = to close; to block = la = subsistere = to stand = English = stop gr = i3sthmi = to stand less?i = to pick up = français = laisser karsanu = to omit kanes = to point out; to obtain, get; to find out, realize; to acknowledge, accept LB = dekasato = to be accepted harp?i = to pile, to heap = English = heap sarnink = to replace was/wes = to buy/to dress + wessiya = to dress arnu = to bring, to send; to address uwate = to bring uda = to bring; to cause (distress) LB = pere = to bring piya = to send uppa = to send piyanna = to give = English = pay = français = payer ussaniya = to give, sell piyan?i = to reward, give a present = la = dependere = to pay = English = pay = français = payer maniyahh = to give back pesk = to give several times dask = to take several times LB = dosei = he gives wemiya = to find sah/sahn = to search n?i/ne = to guide, lead; to turn sth. nann? = to drive, shove, push pehute = to supply assanu/asnu = to prepare/obtain = la = assignare = to assign = English = assign (absolutely the same word!) newah = to renew = la = novus = newb= English = new/renew gr = ne/oj = new pahs = to protect pahsanu = to ensure; to guarantee, protect; to strenghten, reinforce hap (Mid.) = to succeed wek = to require = la = egere = call for = English = require LB = weke = to work gr= e1rgon handalliya = to dare, risk mal?i = to approve markiya = to disagree agriculture & vessels/pottery: ahu(w?i) = to pour; to empty (a container) = English = wash LA = ra2sa (raisa?)/rua?/rujami? + lahu(w?i) = to pour; to empty (a container) LA = ra2sa (raisa?)/rua?/rujami? ishuw?i = to pour + ishuwann?i = la = effusus = pouring rain = to pour out = English = wash less?i = to pick up LB = resi? suhha = to pour suppiyahh = to clean parkunu = to cleanse; to excuse = la = purus = clean arra = to wash français = arrosser =to water hat = to dry = English = hot salliya = to melt (away), dissolve = la = (dis)solvi = to dissolve = English = dissolve m?i = to grow, blossom; to prosper + mid. miyari = he/she is born makkes = to become many, grow = la = maximus = the greatest = English = maximum/maximize = français = maximum salles = to grow, increase = la = salio = to spring, to jump, to leap LA = sareju? parkiya = to raise, grow; to remove; to flatter maknu = to multiply, increase, pile up = = la = maximus = the greatest = English = maximum/maximize = français = maximum mes (Mid.) = to grow, prosper = la = maxime = the most (adv.) = English = most uliliya = to grow, blossom ul?i = to unite, blend zanu/zeya = to cook sallanu = to make larger; to stretch; to raise, bring up = la = salio = to spring, to jump, to leap dankues = to get dark = la = obscurus = dark = English = dark LA = dakusene luk = to light; to set ablaze + middle = to brighten, get light = English = light maiszasti = to glow, shine = la = micare = to glitter teth?i = to thunder = = la = (in)tonare = to thunder = English = to thunder war/+warnu (set on fire) = to burn = English = warm wars = to wipe off, slip off; to pluck, harvest = English = wash wesiya/wisiya = to graze (trans.) military/government: tamas = to squeeze; to press; to attack, pester, force = English = pester dammesh?i = to damage, strike, punish = English = to damage = français = endommager dannattah = to devastate, ravage = = la = damno = to condemn, sentence, punish = English = to damage tarh(za) = to defeat, submit, conquer (with -za) harni(n)k = to destroy hull?i/hulliya = to fight = to topple (a decree) hullanz?in = to give battle harr/kuskus = to crush = la = fungere = to crush = English = crush kakkur = to cut, maim = la = caedere = to cut = English = cut gr = ko/ptw t?ya = to rob, steal; to abduct s?ruw?i = to plunder ispar = to spread; to cover; to crush, tread on = la = dissipare = to disperse = English = disperse = français = disperser, éparpiller gr = spei/rw = to sow, scatter, spread ninik= to mobilize hatkesnu = to bother, disturb; to attack, plague, press; to add h?ni(n)k = to injure, to damage, to hurt = = English = hurt wen = to harm hurna = to hunt hatukes = to worsen kuen = to strike, kill = la = caedere = to kill = English = kill gr = a0poktei/nw walh = to strike; to attack zah = to strike zahhiya = to fight walhann?i = to hit, beat hazziknu = to beat, hit, strike; to fight s.o. hazziya = to push, stab, strike pessiya = to throw, push, project; to dismiss, reject, abolish = English = push/press = français = presser hatt?i = to put to death; to cut off = English = hit hariya = to bury taksul?i = to be friendly, peaceful, tolerate each other; to sign a treaty hassuw?i/hassuizn?i = to govern as king emotional: dusk = to rejoice, be happy m?g?i = to complain = la = mugire = to rumble, groan ilaliya = to desire, envy nah = to fear uwai = to worry = English = worry wiya = to lament/wesk = iterative of wiya sa= to be angry waggariya = to be indignant, rebel = English = to wag indignant judicial/religious: ha = to believe walla/wallu = to glorify, praise; to pride oneself on sth. ariya = to study an oracle, ask an oracle =la =oraculum = oracle = Eng= oracle = fr = oracle azzikk = to adore (all the time) assiya = to love hahhars = to laugh = English = haha parkus/parkues = to become pure = = la = parcere = to spare, economize = English = pure = français = pur gr = kaqaro/j = pure + kaqai/rw = to purify warressa = to hasten to help = English = hasten hanna = to judge, decide has = to open; to give birth (for a woman); to testify (for a man) tuwadd = to have mercy, pity hanti tiya = to accuse wasta = to sin = English = waste idalawes = to become evil = la = idolon = a spectre = English = idol/idolize = français = idole/idolizer idalawahh = to behave badly = la = idolon = a spectre = English = idol/idolize = français = idole/idolizer huwap = to do evil huek = to swear (under oath) + to throw down = English = heck/heckle sull?i/sulliya = to argue, quarrel; to scold, rebuke = English = sully zammur?i = to offend, insult h?wart?- : to swear, curse link = to swear mald= to vow, swear wars/warsiya = to calm down (intrans.) Conjugations follow 35 pp.
Tag Archive: Indo-European
CONJUGATION OF VERBS IN HITTITE: Present and Preterite (past tense) Conjugation: Present active: MI: HI: uncommon sing. Sing. 1 mi 1 hi (/hhi/ahhi) 2 si 2 ti 3 zi 3 i pl. pl. MI = HI 1 weni//wani/ueni 1 weni 2 teni 2 teni 3 anzi 3 anzi PRESENT: es = to be MI 1 esmi 2 essi 3 eszi 1 esuwani ... 3 asanzi ses = to sleep MI 1 sesmi 2 ... 3 seszi 1 sesueni 2 ... 3 sesanzi ed = to eat MI 1 edmi 2 ezzassi 3 ezzazzi/ezzai 1 eduwani 2 ezzatteni 3 adanzi kuen = to strike, kill MI Cf. kill (English) + tuer (French) 1 kuemi 2 kuesi 3 kuenzi 1 kuennummeni 2 kuenatteni 3 kunanzi hark = to hold, to have MI 1 harmi (k dropped before consonant) 2 harsi/harti (k dropped before consonant) 3 harzi (k dropped before consonant) 1 harweni/harwani (k dropped before consonant) 2 harteni (k dropped before consonant) 3 harkzani istamas = to hear MI 1 istamasmi 2 istamassi (istamasti/istamaszi) 3 istamaszi 1 istamasteni 2 ... 3 istamassanzi punus = to ask MI 1 punusmi 2 ... 3 punuszi 1 punussueni 2 ... 3 punussanzi uwate = to bring MI 1 uwatemi 2 uwatesi 3 uwatezzi 1 uwateweni (uwatewani 2 uwatetteni (uwatettani) 3 uwadanzi lami = to detach HI? 1 lami 2 lasi 3 lai 1 ... 2 ... 3 lanzi te = to speak MI 1 temi 2 tesi 3 tezzi 1 tarweni (te -> ta in the plural) 2 tarteni 3 taranzi pai = to go MI 1 paimi 2 paisi (pasi/paitti) 3 paizzi 1 paiweni (paiwani) 2 paitteni (paittani) 3 panzi hatrai = to write MI 1 hatrami 2 hatrasi 3 hatraizzi 1 hatraweni 2 ... 3 ... kupawi = to count MI Cf. français “couper” 1 ... 2 kupuesi 3 kuppuwaizi (kupuezzi) 1 ... 2 kuppuwateni 3 kuppwanzi handai = to add MI 1 handami 2 handasi 3 handaizzi (hantesa/handai) 1 ... 2 ... 3 handanzi iya = to do MI 1 iyami (iyammi) 2 iyasi 3 iyazi (iyazzi/iezi) 1 iyaweni (iyawani) 2 iyatteni 3 iyanzi wemiya = to find MI 1 wemiyami 2 wemiyasi 3 wemiyaz(z)i (wemiezi) 1 wemiyaweni 2 ... 3 wemiyanzi harnink = to destroy HI 1 harrikmi (drops n before consonant) 2 harrikti (drops n before consonant) 3 harrnikti (drops n before consonant) 1 ... 2 harnikteni (drops n before consonant) 3 harninkanzi sarnink = to replace MI 1 sarnikmi (drops n before consonant) 2 ... 3 sarnikzi (drops n before consonant) 1 sarninkueni 2 sarnikteni (drops n before consonant) 3 sarninkanzi ninik = to mobilize MI 1 ... 2 ... 3 ninikzi 1 ... 2 ninikteni 3 nininkanzi akkusk = to drink a lot MI 1 ... 2 uskusi (uskatti) ask -> usk 3 uskizzi 1 ... 2 uskatteni 3 uskanzi azzikk = to adore (all the time) MI 1 ... 2 ... 3 azzikizzi 1 ... 2 azzikkittani 3 azzikktanzi arnu = to bring MI 1 arnum(m)i 2 arnusi 3 arnuz(z)i 1 arnummeni 2 arnutenni 3 arnuwa(n)zi assanu/asnu = to prepare/obtain MI 1 assanumi 2 assanusi/asnusi 3 assanuz(z)i/asnuzi 1 ... 2 ... 3 assanuanzi PRETERITE: Preterite active: MI: HI: 1 (n)un 1 h(hun) 2 sta 2 (s)ta 3 sta/t 3 s pl. 1 wen/uen 1 wen MI = HI 2 ten 2 ten 3 er/ir 3 er/ir es = to be MI 1 esun 2 esta 3 esta 1 esuen 2 esten 3 esir ses= to sleep MI 1 sesun 2 sesta 3 ... 1 sesuen 2 ... 3 seser ed = to eat MI 1 edun 2 ... 3 ezta 1 ... 2 ... 3 eter kuen = to strike, kill MI 1 kuenun (kuenunun) 2 kuinnesta kue -> kui 3 kuenta 1 kueun (kuinnummen) 2 kuenten 3 kuennir hark = to hold, to have MI (Alexandre, please double check this!) 1 harkun 2 ... 3 harta 1 harwen 2 harten 3 harkir istamas = to hear MI 1 istamassun 2 ... 3 istamasta 1 ... 2 istamasten 3 istamassir punus = to ask MI 1 punussun 2 punusta 3 punusta 1 punussuen 2 ... 3 punussir uwate = to bring MI? 1 uwatenun 2 uwatet 3 uwatet 1 uwatewen 2 ... 3 uwater lami = to detach MI? 1 laun 2 lais 3 lait 1 lawen 2 ... 3 ... te = to speak MI 1 tenun 2 3 tet 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... pai = to go MI 1 paun 2 ... 3 pait/paitta 1 paiwen 2 .... 3 pair hatrai = to write MI/HI? 1 hatranun 2 hatraes 3 hatrait/hatraes 1 ... 2 ... 3 hatrair kupawi = to count MI Cf. to count (English), compter (French), contare (Italian) 1 kappuwanun – kup -> kapp 2 kappuit 3 kappuwait/kappuet 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... handai = to add MI 1 hatrunun d -> t (drops n before consonant t) 2 hatraes (drops n before consonant t) 3 hatrai/hatraes 1 ... 2 ... 3 hatrair (drops n before consonant t) iya = to do MI 1 iyanun 2 iyas/iyat 3 iyas/iet 1 iyawen 2 iyatten 3 ier wemiya = to find MI 1 wemiyanun 2 ... 3 wemiyat/wemit 1 wemiyawen 2 ... 3 wemiyer harnink = to destroy HI? 1 harinkun 2 harikta (drops n before consonant k) 3 harnikta (drops n before consonant k) 1 ... 2 3 harninkir sarnink = to replace 1 sarninkun 2 ... 3 sarnikta 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... akkusk = to drink a lot MI 1 uskinun 2 ... 3 uskit 1 usgawen 2 ... 3 ... arnu = to bring MI 1 arnunun 2 ... 3 arnut 1 ... 2 ... 3 arnuir/arnuer assanu/asnu = to prepare/obtain 1 assanunun 2 ... 3 assanut 1 ... 2 ... 3 assanuir April 25 2020
Is the Minoan language proto-Altaic or proto-Japanese? The vast bulk of current diachronic linguistic research stacks up squarely against this hypothesis: According to Ms.Gretchen Leonhardt of:and I quote: While there has been much debate about the underlying language of Linear A, I disagree that LinA does not resemble a known language. Despite its similarities to Japanese, historical linguists dismiss a correlation for at least two reasons: (1) the apparent lack of genetic evidence and (2) the universally held belief that LinA is an Indo-European language. Regarding the first justification, if linguists are looking to mainland Japan for genetic evidence, they are looking too far north. By whatever means, it appears that, around 1000 BCE, the Minoans entered Japan from the southern islands, and gradually moved north. Regarding the second justification, Minoan scholarship generally agrees that the Minoans migrated from the Anatolian region**, which suggests an Altaic origin or influence. Likewise, Japanese scholarship suggests that the Japanese language belongs to the Japonic-language family, which is believed to have an Altaic origin or influence. General consensus dates the demise of the high Minoan civilization as late as 3,500 years ago, with the widespread destruction of the palace centers, while Neil Gordon Munro dates the commencement of the Yamato culture, which is the presumed progenitor of modern Japanese civilization, as early as 3,000 years ago. According to Munro, the origin of the Yamato culture is unknown but had arrived in a highly advanced state. The culture is notable for its grave goods–bronze arrowheads, bells, and halberds. The culture is also notable for its wheel-thrown pottery, which employed “restrained” decoration with “subdued color” [1908:4]. Comment: Munro was writing in 1908, when linguistic assumptions about Altaic languages were in their infancy! Modern scholarship has all but refuted the assumptions about Altaic languages in vogue at the beginning of the twentieth century, i.e. 100 years ago! She continues: The Okinawan (Uchina’a) Japanese remain culturally, genetically, and linguistically distinct from the mainland (Yamato) Japanese, although the two cultures are believed to share a common proto language. This forum will provide support–through disciplines such as archaeology, architecture, art, genetics, and language–for my dual theories that LinA is proto Japanese and that the Minoan civilization provides a rich backdrop for Japanese history, which, for millennia, has been shrouded in mystery. I hasten to add that in the preceding passage, Ms. Leonhardt has made egregious errors with respect to Minoan Linear A. These are: 1. On the one hand, she claims to disagree that “LinA does not resemble a known language.” 2. and then goes straight ahead to flatly contradict herself by decrying “the universally held belief that LinA is an Indo-European language.” Universally held? Very far from it. The controversy over the origin and language class Linear A purportedly belongs to still rages on, as attested by innumerable studies on academia.edu alone which contradict one another with respect to the language family or class to which Linear A purportedly belongs. All this after she has just lament the fact that Linear A does not resemble any known language (1.) 3. She goes on... “it appears that, around 1000 BCE, the Minoans entered Japan from the southern islands, and gradually moved north. Regarding the second justification, Minoan scholarship generally agrees that the Minoans migrated from the Anatolian region** (Does it? Perhaps in 1908, but I sincerely doubt this is the case today), which suggests an Altaic origin or influence.” But what she obviously overlooks in this statement is the distinct probability, and indeed strong likelihood that the Minoan language almost certainly had already existed for some 1,200 years before the Minoans migrated to the southern Japanese islands, if they ever did so in the first place... which is a highly contentious claim. Moreover, while a few researchers still claim that the proto-Japanese dialect she is referencing belongs to the Altaic class of languages, the majority of current researchers number are convinced that this cannot be so. And I quote (all italics mine):
Micro-Altaic includes about 66 living languages,[9] to which Macro-Altaic would add Korean, Japanese and the Ryukyuan languages for a total of about 74. (These are estimates, depending on what is considered a language and what is considered a dialect. They do not include earlier states of languages, such as Middle Mongol, Old Korean or Old Japanese.) Opponents maintain that the similarities are due to areal interaction between the language groups concerned. The inclusion of Korean and Japanese has also been criticized and disputed by other linguists. The original Altaic family thus came to be known as the Ural–Altaic.[13] In the "Ural–Altaic" nomenclature, Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic are regarded as "Uralic", whereas Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic are regarded as "Altaic"—whereas Korean is sometimes considered Altaic, as is, less often, Japanese. In other words, proto-Japanese, including the dialect with which Ms. Leonhardt is concerned, may not be (proto-) Altaic at all.
4. Moroever, the following timetable seems to be the most realistic for the appearance of written Japanese (italics mine):
(3) Timetable: To illustrate the prehistory of Japan, I'd put two lines on the timetable. The first line comes around 400 to 300 BC. This is the time when wet rice culture and iron processing came to the Japanese Islands, and the way of life there changed. Yet an older form of the Japanese language started to be spoken from that time. I'd call this phase of the language "proto-Japanese", which later evolved to our Old Japanese. Comment: Now it is clear from this diachronic timeline that proto-Japanese appeared at least 1,800 years after the first attestation of the Minoan language ca. 2200 BCE. And again (italics mine):
Along with the foreign faith, Japan establishes and maintains for 400 years close connections with the Chinese and Korean courts and adopts a more sophisticated culture. This new culture is essentially Chinese and includes literature, philosophy, art, architecture, science, medicine, and statecraft. Most important is the introduction of the Chinese writing system, revolutionizing Japan, which heretofore had no writing system of its own, and ushering in the country’s historical period. (Comment: in other words, writing appeared in Japan only after 500 AD, some 2,700 years after the advent of the Minoan civlization. 5. Leonhardt continues, “Minoan scholarship generally agrees that the Minoans migrated from the Anatolian region**, which suggests an Altaic origin or influence.” after asserting in 1. above that “LinA does not resemble a known language.” and in 2. above, touting “the universally held belief that LinA is an Indo-European language.” Good God, can she make up her mind? Is it 1. 2. or 5.? 6. Leonhardt then cites research a century old! (again, italics mine) She states, “According to Munro, the origin of the Yamato culture is unknown but had arrived in a highly advanced state. The culture is notable for its grave goods–bronze arrowheads, bells, and halberds. The culture is also notable for its wheel-thrown pottery, which employed “restrained” decoration with “subdued color” [1908:4]. For confirmation of the general span of dates of his publications, see:
Munro was writing in 1908, when linguistic assumptions about Altaic languages were in their primitive infancy! Modern scholarship has all but refuted the assumptions about Altaic languages in vogue at the beginning of the twentieth century, i.e. 100 years ago! And he wrote in this very journal. 7. But the most damning evidence against her thesis comes from (italics mine): Paleoglot: How NOT to reconstruct a protolanguage
Paleoglot: ... So let's go through my cheeky list of important strategies that we can follow (using examples from the Tower of Babel project) if we want to isolate ourselves and be rejected by all universities around the world. 1. Use "phonemic wildcards" obsessively! Cast the net wider and you might catch something! The abuse of mathematical symbols like C, V, [a-z], (a/é/ö), etc. are an excellent way to make your idle conjecture look like a valid theory. It might be called "reconstruction by parentheses" since parentheses are either explicitly shown or hidden by a single variable. An example of this is *k`egVnV (claimed to be the Proto-Altaic word for "nine" in the Tower of Babel database). Obviously, if V represents all possible vowels in this proto-language and there are, say, ten of them possible in either position, then the fact that there are two wildcards in the same word means that the word represents a humungous, two-dimensional matrix of ONE HUNDRED possible permutations (10*10=100): *k`egana, *k`egena, *k`egina, *k`egüna, *k`egïna, etc. *k`egane, *k`egene, *k`egine, *k`egüne, *k`egïne, etc. *k`egani, *k`egeni, *k`egini, *k`egüni, *k`egïni, etc. *k`eganü, *k`egenü, *k`eginü, *k`egünü, *k`egïnü, etc. etc. language Since no single form is actually being posited when wildcards are present, any claim of regular correspondence by such a theorist can be easily identified as fraud. If such linguists can't take themselves seriously enough to hypothesize a structured and testable theory, why then should we take them seriously in turn? It is this very method, if you can call it that by any yardstick of scientific methodology that Ms. Leonhardt indulges in:
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as we can see all too clearly from this chart of her derivations of Minoan words from so-called Altaic roots: To summarize, Ms. Leonhardt has seized herself in a web of self-contractions, severely outdated research and claims with respect to the authenticity of southern proto-Japanese as a so-called proto-Altaic language which cannot possibly stand the test of valid scientific methodology. I short, her pretensions that southern proto-Japanese is at the root of the Minoan language are just that, presentions, and egregious to boot. So what are the alternatives? What language family or class might the Minoan language fall into? We shall address that question head on in the next post.
6 more Minoan Linear A putative proto-Greek or proto-Mycenaean words: DA-DI. But are they proto-Greek at all?As we forge our way through Prof. John G. Younger’s Reverse Linear A Lexicon, in which he Latinizes the orthography of Minoan Linear A words, we now arrive at Linear A words beginning with the syllabograms DA through to DI. It is absolutely de rigueur to read the Notes in the table above; otherwise, my tentative decipherments of 6 more Minoan words in Linear A as being possibly proto-Greek or proto-Mycenaean will not make any sense at all. The table also draws attention to those words which are of moderate frequency (MF) on Minoan Linear A tablets and fragments, with the far greater proportion of them appearing on mere fragments. I cannot emphasize this point enough. In view of the fact that the vast majority of Minoan Linear A extant remnants are just that, remnants or fragments and nothing more, it is of course next to impossible to verify whether or not the 6 words I have extrapolated (or for that matter any other so-called proto-Greek words) as possibly being proto-Greek or proto-Mycenaean are that at all. Add to this caveat that researchers and linguists specializing in ancient Greek often hypothesize that, and I quote verbatim: It is possible that Greek took over some thousand words and proper names from such a language (or languages), because some of its vocabulary cannot be satisfactorily explained as deriving from the Proto-Greek language (italics mine). Among these pre-Greek substratum words we find Anatolian loanwords such as: dépas ‘cup; pot, vessel’, Mycenaean di-pa, from the Luwian = tipa = sky, bowl or cup, one of the pre-Greek substratum words right in the table above! + eléphas ‘ivory’, from Hittite lahpa; + kýmbachos ‘helmet’, from Hittite kupahi ‘headgear’; + kýmbalon ‘cymbal’, from Hittite huhupal ‘wooden percussion instrument’; + mólybdos ‘lead’, Mycenaean mo-ri-wo-do, from Lydian mariwda(s)k ‘the dark ones’ etc. But there is more, significantly more. Wikipedia, Greek language:
has this to say about Greek vocabulary. Vocabulary: Greek is a language distinguished by an extensive vocabulary. Most of the vocabulary of Ancient Greek was inherited, but it includes a number of borrowings from the languages of the populations that inhabited Greece before the arrival of Proto-Greeks. (italics mine) [25] Words of non-Indo-European origin can be traced into Greek from as early as Mycenaean times; they include a large number of Greek toponyms. Further discussion of a pre-Greek substratum continues here:
Where, in addition to the pre-Greek substratum words I have already cited above, we find, and again I quote verbatim: The Pre-Greek substrate consists of the unknown language or languages spoken in prehistoric Greece before the settlement of Proto-Greek speakers in the area (italics mine). It is thought possible that Greek took over some thousand words and proper names from such a language (or languages), because some of its vocabulary cannot be satisfactorily explained as deriving from the Proto-Greek language Possible Pre-Greek loanwords Personal names: Odysseus; Theonyms: Hermes; Maritime vocabulary: thálassa = sea; Words relating to Mediterranean agriculture: elai(w)a = olive & ampelos = vine Building technology: pyrgos = tower; Placenames, especially those terminating in -nth- : Korinthos, Zakynthos & in -ss- : Parnassos & in and -tt- : Hymettus And, to ram my point home, one of the pre-Greek substrata identified is the Minoan language itself. It is on this basis and upon this foundation, among others, that I posit the following hypothesis: Pre-Greek substratum words are both proto-Greek and not, simultaneously! The assumption that certain Minoan words in Linear A appear to be proto-Greek or even proto-Mycenaean (if we wish to stretch the notion one small step further, which I believe is entirely justified) does not in and of itself necessarily imply that some or even quite possibly most of them are de facto actually of proto-Indo-European proto-Greek origin, when quite plainly (so) many of them are not of such origin. In other words, we find ourselves face to face with an apparent contradiction in terms, a dye-in-the-wool linguistic paradox: some, many or even most of the so-called pre- + proto-Greek words we encounter in Minoan Linear A are likely to be proto-Greek, but only insofar as they crop up again and again in later ancient Greek dialects, right on down from the earliest East Greek dialect, Mycenaean, through Arcado-Cypriot on down to Ionic and Attic Greek and beyond, while simultaneously being of non-Indo-european origin, if you can wrap your head around that notion... which I most definitely can. So if anyone dares claim that all of those words in Minoan (of which there seem to be quite a substantial number) are de facto proto-Greek, that person should think again. Think before you leap. It is much too easy for us to jump to spurious conclusions with respect to the supposed proto-Greek origin(s) of many words in Minoan Linear A. To compound the matter further, let us consider the situation from the opposite end of the spectrum. It is widely known, by both intellectual non-linguists, i.e. intelligent native speakers of any given language, and by professional linguists alike, that pretty much every modern language borrows not just thousands, but tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of words from prior languages. The one modern language which exemplifies this phenomenon par excellence is non other than English, in which we find hundreds of thousands of loanwords from ancient Greek, Latin and Norman French. Now it goes without saying that all languages, ancient and modern, follow the same pattern of accumulating some and even as many as thousands of loanwords. Ancient Latin did so with ancient Greek. And here lies the rub. So must have Mycenaean Greek with the Minoan language. In Chris Tslentis’ Linear B Lexicon, we find many words which cannot possibly be accounted for as being proto-Greek, but which must be of some other origin. And one of the most likely origins for a relatively large subset of these words is probably the Minoan language itself. Allow me to cite just a few of the more glaring examples: adete = binder Akireu = Achilles Aminiso = Amnisos harbour (Cf. Linear A, Uminaso) Damate = Demeter (Cf. Linear A, Idamate) dipa = cup (Cf. Linear A, depa) erepa = ivory kama = a unit of land kanako = safflower, saffron (Cf. Linear A, kanaka) kidapa = (ash) wood? mare/mari = wool (Cf. Linear A, maru) opa = workshop? serino = celery (Cf. Linear A, sedina) tarasa = sea Now if even most of the so-called Mycenaean Greek terms listed here are actually Minoan, then it is stands to reason that Mycenaean Greek inherited them from the Minoan language itself, and ergo, that they are not necessarily proto-Greek words at all. It is as if we were in a flip-flop. Either way, whether or not any of the words which we have flagged (and shall continue to tag) as possibly being proto-Greek in the Minoan language or the other way around, whether or not certain words in Mycenaean Greek are not proto-Greek at all, and not even of proto-Indo-European origin, we find ourselves floundering in a Saragossa Sea of linguistic incertitude from which we really cannot extricate ourselves. So to all those researchers, past and present, into the Minoan language who make the claim, categorical or not, that much of the vocabulary of the Minoan language is proto-Greek, I say “Beware!” lest you fall into a trap from which you cannot reasonably hope to extricate yourselves.