Anatolian languages

The Anatolian languages ​​are an extinct language branch of the Indo-European family of languages ​​that were spoken in Anatolia in the 2nd and 1st millennium BC. Its most important representative is the Hittite. The oldest found so far Indo-European written records ( 17th century BC) are written in Hittite.

Origins and relations

After the Indo-European studies considered the most likely theory, the carrier of the Anatolian languages ​​in two waves of migration from the lower Volga region ( Southern Russia) have migrated to the Caucasus and on the Balkan Peninsula Asia Minor. The Anatolian languages ​​form an independent branch of the Indo-European.

Supporters of competing Anatolia hypothesis ( eg Colin Renfrew ) seen in the Anatolian languages ​​of the oldest Indo-European language branch and see Asia Minor as the original home to.

According to the classical Indo-European studies include the Anatolian languages ​​of the oldest surviving written Indo-European languages ​​. At present the position glottochronology and comparative considerations of Mycenaean Greek, the oldest Hittite written records and the oldest Indian and Iranian written testimonials takes a common proto-language roughly to around 3000 BC. Blade Schmitt hired in 2005 following consideration to. The testified by written monuments Mycenaean dialect around 1200 BC already has a historical orthography. The writing of the Greek tradition is therefore likely to be older and more likely to already have begun around 1400 BC. The language was already slightly differentiated dialectically, so that we may assume the first half of the 2nd millennium BC for the Urgriechische. In about the same time the Urindoiranische, the assumed basic language of the Indian and Iranian ranges. The earliest attestation of Hittite words in the Old Assyrian texts Anatolia ( 19th or 18th century BC) suggests that the latest possible date for the Uranatolische at the end of the 3rd millennium BC was. Urindogermanisch or Urindohethitisch should thus be provided BCE or somewhat later in the period around 3000. ( Much younger but not because the splitting of the Indo-European languages ​​must have taken place well after the invention of occurring in the common basic vocabulary wheel ). The often used assumption of 4000 BC keeps blades Schmitt thus unlikely.

Structure of the Anatolian branch

The Anatolian branch of Indo-European languages ​​is usually divided into the following languages:

  • Zentralanatolisch Hittite
  • Westanatolisch Palaisch
  • Lydian
  • Luwian Cuneiform Luwian
  • Hieroglyphic Luwian
  • Pamphylisch Pisidisch
  • Side table
  • A Lycian
  • Lycian B or Milyisch

Luwian, Lycian, Carian, Pisidisch and side table are sometimes grouped together as Luwian languages ​​, since they seem to be more closely related.

Hittite language Volga River Caucasus Mountains Anatolian hypothesis
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