Questions tagged [ancient]
The ancient tag has no usage guidance.
45 questions
3
votes
1
answer
471
views
What kind of genitive is involved in the sentence "A Mazda is a poor man's Ferrari'?
I'm not a linguist but am struggling to describe a similar locution in ancient Greek. It is not a simple genitive of possession since the poor man does not possess a Ferrari. It is not a genitive of ...
- 39
0
votes
2
answers
155
views
How did Ancient Greek πτ become φ (ph)?
How did Ancient Greek πτ become φ (ph): κρύπτω / κρύφω?
0
votes
0
answers
38
views
Ancient Egyptian ph2 and th2 clusters esp as reflected in Greek transcriptions
on the off chance that someone might find this interesting, there is an issue that seems not to have been addressed in the literature (which is itself interesting because, given the limited data and ...
0
votes
0
answers
125
views
Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age Sprachbund
I would like to know whether there is any research on the interactions between Bronze Age languages of the Near and Middle East like Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Phoenician, Persian and Hittite, in a way ...
- 134
5
votes
1
answer
588
views
How did the pronunciation of zeta vary by dialects in Ancient Greek?
From what I understand, zeta was pronounced as /zd/ in Attic during the 5th century BC arising from a previous /dz/.
Was this metathesis unique to 5th c. BC Attic or was it innovated by other dialects ...
- 423
-2
votes
2
answers
303
views
Uniquenesses of Hebrew
Franz Philipp Kaulen, S.J. (1827-1907)
was impressed in favor of [ancient] Hebrew by the following facts:
In no other language is there such an intimate relation between nouns and their objects;
the ...
- 396
0
votes
2
answers
99
views
Vocalization of a totally unknown language
(If this is not the right place to ask this question, please direct me elsewhere. I do not even know how to tag this question.)
There are examples of experts decoding or partly decoding ancient ...
- 473
3
votes
0
answers
99
views
Are there online resources from which I can study ancient Umbrian?
Unfortunately I can not find a substantial resource that can help me in the study of ancient Umbrian. I have tried to search up on the Web, however the only resources I had found were about lexicon.
...
- 31
2
votes
1
answer
248
views
Questions about the "Hand of Irulegi"
The Hand of Irulegi is a recently found artifact from Navarra, Spain. It is dated in 1st c. BCE and carries an inscription touted as the oldest attestation of the Basque language.
The text can be ...
- 31.1k
0
votes
1
answer
183
views
How to Solve NACLO problem on Old Persian Cuneiform?
Below is a problem from NACLO 2022 Open Round titled "Set in Stone". The language is Old Persian cuneiform.
The goal is to match the translations. The problem also states
Note that one ...
0
votes
1
answer
85
views
Are there any common Hebrew or Koine Greek markers for when a sentence is a summary of a previous thought?
Question pertains to the Hebrew Scriptures, and the Septuagint, so it may be more appropriate in a different SE. But, in case this is an acceptable place to ask:
Are there any ancient Hebrew or Koine ...
-1
votes
1
answer
170
views
What was the meaning of the word "Guedena"? [closed]
According to Wikipedia, Guedena, (also, "Gu-Edin", or "Gu'edena") was a fertile plain in Sumer.
Guedena
Gu-Edin (also transcribed "Gu'edena" or "Guedena") was ...
- 149
2
votes
0
answers
83
views
Why do Proto-germanic "-as" nouns have e-grade?
Why do Proto-germanic "-as" nouns have e-grade (don't have an ablaut like Ancient Greek τρέπ-ω τρόπ-ος, πέκ-ω πόκ-ος, λέχ-ομαι λόχ-ος, φέβ-ομαι φόβ-ος)?
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Is the Dispilio tablet evidence of a pre-Sumerian and pre-Egyptian writing system?
Sumerian tablets 3100bc
The Sumerian tablets are widely recognised as the worlds earliest known writing system, dating to approximately 3100bc.
Stages, Wikipedia
Archaic Sumerian is the earliest ...
- 149
-3
votes
1
answer
416
views
What was a general called in ancient Egypt? [closed]
What was a general called in ancient Egypt?
website in the web used only term "general", "commander of nubian units" or other similar. Nobody used a name of commander rank in ...
3
votes
1
answer
251
views
Why do so many ancient/reconstructed languages lack labial fricatives?
[I saw this question somewhere else (where it wasn't answered at the time) but I don't remember where and I'm unable to find it.]
So there are a number of ancient and/or reconstructed languages that ...
- 1,389
9
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Did Eureka lose its H?
Archimedes famously proclaimed Eureka, I have found it, but should the word itself proclaim I have lost my H?
According to wiktionary and wikipedia, Eureka simply comes from the greek εὕρηκα, perfect ...
- 193
1
vote
1
answer
172
views
How to decode the Cuneiform ORACC data?
I just found this, the "OGSL Signlist" for Cuneiform. Remove the frame to get here. I click on a sign like A.EDIN and see this:
Values:eribₓ; eru₄; erua; erum₄; ummuₓ; ummudₓ.
for |A.EDIN| as ...
- 4,438
2
votes
0
answers
73
views
Some idea of PIE in the ancient world? [duplicate]
Did the ancient Greeks and Romans have the idea (at least partly) similar to the concept the Proto-Indoeuropean language?
Many among the elite spoke Greek fluently or at least learnt it intensively. ...
- 121
-1
votes
2
answers
400
views
Can you build words by sound in Sumerian Cuneiform?
I am messing around with Sumerian from here. Can you build words out of components and map them to "letters" of some sort? Like, how can you build new words in Sumerian? Basically, "ka-la-nu", can I ...
- 4,438
3
votes
2
answers
485
views
Had the ancient languages fewer words than modern languages?
By ancient languages I mean in the Antiquity (or before).
They were less rich in vocabulary than modern languages (for instance Indo-European languages if we need a reference), or we could think that ...
- 632
0
votes
1
answer
203
views
What was the diffusion and the use of dictionaries in ancient times? Every civilization with a dictionary?
Did they have dictionaries in the ancient times?
I mean who used the dictionaries? Did authors use them to know how to write?
I don't think it worked this way. But when in the history dictionaries ...
- 632
1
vote
1
answer
2k
views
How different is Old Persian / Avestan / Farsi from each other?
I am looking at dictionaries of the avesta and old persian of which there isn't much, and would like to collect words in the old persian cuneiform and avestan script. First part of the question is, ...
- 4,438
2
votes
2
answers
4k
views
A Lesson in Transcribing Egyptian Hieroglyphics
I am trying to transcribe some images of illustrations of hieroglyphics into Unicode. I am having a hard time and right off the bat there seem to be slight variations in the structure of the ...
- 4,438
4
votes
0
answers
198
views
Relation between keltoi and galatai?
The ancient Greeks used both words and appeared to have originated both. The first form appears first in 517BC by Hecateus of Milietus. The word is still known in the 12th century AD where it's used ...
- 141
1
vote
1
answer
445
views
Is there a connection between the Sumerian En and the Semite El?
En means lord in Sumerian and El god or deity in Semitic.
Semitic peoples use the word lord as a synonym of god, it seems that the same happens with Sumerian and its gods like Enlil, Enki, Enzu etc.
...
- 67
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What language(s) should I learn to read the Epic of Gilgamesh?
I wasn't sure where to ask this question. I hope this is the right place...
My question is a little more complicated than the title suggests.
I'm wanting to read the Epic of Gilgamesh in the ...
- 141
0
votes
3
answers
589
views
I have some questions about deciphering an ancient language
I’m very fascinated in learning new languages. I want to know:
It is possible to decipher and learn how to talk in a ancient language?
How to decipher at home any ancient language? Such as Ancient ...
- 109
2
votes
1
answer
441
views
Voiced aspirated alveolar trill
Was there voiced aspirated alveolar trill in Ancient Greek? It was written in some sites in Russian that all Ancient Greek words which began with "rho" pronounced with the sound [rʰ], but it was ...
8
votes
2
answers
407
views
Why are the scripts of Crete known as "Linear"?
Two famous, apparently related scripts now known as Linear A (which encoded an as-yet undeciphered language) and Linear B (used to write Greek) were discovered on the island of Crete.
Why are these ...
- 1,047
5
votes
1
answer
169
views
Why is it that Babylonian king names do not match their Akkadian equivalent?
I am trying to figure out why it is that Babylonian (and Assyrian) king names do not match their Akkadian transcription.
For example, in the one known inscription for Nabonassar, which is written in ...
- 833
0
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Rules to constructing a proper compound noun in Ancient Greek
I am currently in the process of translating a text from one language into another, and the original uses a compound noun that can either be translated into English as "fly-eating" (losing the ...
- 119
1
vote
1
answer
55
views
What is a study trying to synthesise different meanings of a root (synchronically) called?
A relatively straightforward research question in the study of dead languages is of the form: "We have root XYZ that means A in context P and B in context Q. How can we generalise A and B to arrive at ...
- 4,840
2
votes
0
answers
561
views
Similarity of I am / you are in Sumerian
It follows from this course of Sumerian grammar and basic syntax, that the forms of copula (though I prefer to call it 'a predicate-indicating final verb') for the 1st and 2nd singular were identical.
...
- 2,779
2
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Etymology of Sanskrit नारक / नरक [nāraka / naraka]
If the word नर [nara], sometimes represented as नार [nāra] primarly means 'man, human, person' and the word नारक / नरक [nāraka / naraka] means 'hell', 'infernal' and/or 'inhabitant of hell', then ...
- 2,779
1
vote
1
answer
173
views
Participle of empty verbs in ancient Hebrew
What is PIEL participle of "empty" (that is 2-wav or 2-yud) verbs in (ancient) Hebrew? Do such particles have wav or yud or only two letters of the root after mem?
It seems for me, that this topic ...
- 125
1
vote
2
answers
321
views
Declension of the word "water" (maim) in Hebrew? [closed]
What is the conjugated (that is used in smikhut) form of the word "maim" (water)? Is it "maim" or "mai"? (I'm asking about ancient biblical Hebrew, but I am almost sure it is the same as in modern ...
- 125
8
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Are There Ancient Greek Words Descended From Sumerian?
Does the lexicon of Ancient Greek contain words believed to be of Sumerian origin? If so, can some estimate of their number be provided?
Thanks
- 209
3
votes
5
answers
27k
views
What is the difference between Greek zōē and bios? [closed]
Ancient Greek has two words that are translated as life in English: zōē and bios. What is the difference between them? What are their cognates in other Indo-European languages?
- 256
2
votes
1
answer
203
views
Relation between Hebrew 'סמפוניה' and English 'Symphony'
In the Mishna, it mentions a musical instrument called a 'סמפוניה', transliterated 'Simp-O-nya'.
This sounds rather like the English word symphony, which is a musical composition.
What is the ...
- 147
6
votes
5
answers
590
views
Wordplay in ancient texts
I learned once that ancient texts (for example in Latin) did not
separate words. Was that always true or only in specific kinds of
documents and writings.
Since I have been a bit interested in ...
- 1,477
2
votes
1
answer
291
views
How did the ancient Greeks say out loud "1" (which was written in another way)?
I have read about alpha, but back in time there was another notation, using the vertical sign |. I'd like to know how they pronounced it.
EDIT: with a bit of more research, I've actually found that ...
- 131
-1
votes
2
answers
649
views
What is this language? Is it an ancient language?
I have recently procured an artefact, which was excavated in Yemen. At the bottom of the artefact there is engraving as shown in the picture. Some of the letters (on two sides) look like Egyptian ...
- 15
3
votes
3
answers
209
views
University Level Hieroglyphics Material
What educational material can you recommend me for learning (Egyptian) Hieroglyphs given the following goals and background.
Goals:
I must have an understanding of the the geographical and spatial ...
- 31
3
votes
2
answers
376
views
original sens of ἑκηβόλος, an epiklesis of Apollon
I was very surprised to learn (in LSJ s.v. ἑκηβόλος) that ἑκηβόλος originally meant "attaining his aim" and not "far-shooter" as I always thought.
If the Liddell-Scott-Jones recalls the later ...
- 2,017