A Study of Language Contacts among the Cuneiform Languages in the Ancient Near East

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

It is clear that the language contact among the cuneiform languages in the Ancient Near East is widespread. The particle -ma in Hittite is clearly attested, functionally corresponding to Hurrian, non-Indo-European, particle- ma, since the Hurrian had a great influence on the Hittite royalty. And the particle -si in Hieroglyphic Luwian is also functionally parallel to Palaic- si as a reflexive particle, though Palaic is written in cuneiform writing. Moreover, from the viewpoint of Hittite comparative study, the morphological changes in 3 sg. Mediopassive endings, -a>-ta and -a>atta, were still operating during attested Hittite history, and also this fact shows that 3 sg. Mediopassive verbs in *-to do not go back to a very early period, that is, Hittite still preserves an archaism of remarkable antiquity for reconstructing the Proto-Indo-European verbal system. And also it is very important for us to understand the homeland of Semitic languages for Semitic comparative study. At present there are various kinds of theories for the homeland of Semitic. And we consider that the linguistic migration theory is valid for it that is, (1) model of maximum diversity and minimal moves and (2) center of gravity model. Thus we assume that the homeland of Semitic is possibly located in both an agricultural area and a linguistic contact area among Semitic people, such as some area of Mesopotamia or Syria/Palestine. The annual meeting of Western Asiatic Linguistic Society is held at Kyoto Sangyo University which Prof. Oshiro presides for reporting research results.