A historical grammar of Phrygian (Sorgo 2026)

Our take

Dive into the rich tapestry of the Phrygian language with "A Historical Grammar of Phrygian" (Sorgo 2026), the inaugural comprehensive exploration of this ancient tongue. Spoken in central Anatolia from the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE to the mid-1st millennium CE, Phrygian is encapsulated in around 500 inscriptions that reveal its evolution. The grammar delineates two distinct phases: Old Phrygian, characterized by its native alphabet and flourishing until approximately 300 BCE, and New Phrygian, transitioned to the Greek alphabet, showcasing about 120 inscriptions from the early centuries CE. Previous studies have primarily analyzed inscriptions or focused on isolated grammatical features. This groundbreaking work provides a holistic synchronic and diachronic grammar, emphasizing Phrygian's dialectal nuances within the vast Indo-European language family. Prepare to uncover the voice of a civilization long past yet echoing

“This dissertation serves as the first full comprehensive grammar of the Phrygian language, which was spoken in central Anatolia from the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE to the middle of the 1st millennium CE and is attested in a total of about 500 inscriptions. The language as attested is divided into two stages; Old Phrygian, which was written in a native alphabet, spans from the earliest Phrygian inscriptions to about 300 BCE, whereas New Phrygian, which was written in the Greek alphabet, encompasses about 120 inscriptions from the beginning of the first millennium CE. Previous scholarship has for the most part focused on interpreting Phrygian inscriptions, the lexicon of the language, or tackled individual issues of grammar; this work aims to produce a full synchronic and diachronic grammar of the language, focusing prominently on the dialectal position of Phrygian within the Indo-European group of languages.”

submitted by /u/Hippophlebotomist
[link] [comments]

Read on the original site

Open the publisher's page for the full experience

View original article →

Tagged with

#language evolution#philosophy of language#humor in language#creative language use#linguistics#cognitive linguistics#Phrygian#grammar#inscriptions#Anatolia#Old Phrygian#New Phrygian#1st millennium BCE#1st millennium CE#native alphabet#Greek alphabet#lexicon#Indo-European#scholarship#synchronic