Luwili
Luwian
Indo-European (Anatolian) · historical / hidden variety
Luwian was an Indo-European language of the Anatolian branch, closely related to Hittite and attested from the sixteenth through the seventh centuries BCE in Anatolia and northern Syria. It survives in two written traditions: Cuneiform Luwian occurs mainly in passages and tablets from Hittite archives, while Hieroglyphic Luwian uses the indigenous Anatolian hieroglyphic script, which is unrelated to Egyptian hieroglyphs. After the Hittite Empire fell around 1200 BCE, hieroglyphic inscriptions continued in Iron Age states including Carchemish, Melid, and Tabal until Assyrian expansion in the seventh century BCE. The discovery of the Luwian–Phoenician bilingual at Karatepe in 1947 aided decipherment, and revised sign readings in the 1970s established more securely that the hieroglyphic texts recorded Luwian.
Where it is spoken
87 core words in Luwian
Sources
- Melchert (2003) The Luwians
- Hawkins (2000) Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions
- Glottolog: luwi1235
Words compared
Compared with languages in the same classification: Indo-European (Anatolian)
| Meaning | Luwian | Phrygian | Meroitic | Venetic | Old Persian | Hittite | Messapic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | wār /waːr/ | bedu /ˈbedu/ | 𐦠𐦶 /ato/ | ouriom /ˈouriom/ | 𐎠𐎱 /aːpi/ | 𒉿𒀀𒋻 /waːtar/ | — /—/ |
| Fire | pāḫur /ˈpaːxur/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎠𐎫𐎼 /aːtar/ | 𒉺𒄴𒄯 /paxːur/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | 𔖖𔓚 /ˈtiwad/ | — /—/ | 𐦨𐦯 /ˈmasa/ | — /—/ | 𐏃𐎢𐎺𐎼 /huwar/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | 𔓜𔒄𔗦 /ˈarmas/ | masê /maˈseː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎶𐎠𐏃 /maːha/ | 𒀀𒅈𒈠 /arma/ | — /—/ |
| Star | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎿𐎫𐎠𐎼 /staːra/ | 𒄩𒀸𒋼𒅕𒍝 /xasterts/ | — /—/ |
| Night | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎧𐏁𐎱 /xʃapa/ | 𒅖𒉺𒀭𒍝 /ispants/ | — /—/ |
| Earth | tiyamma- /tijamma/ | — | — | — | 𐎲𐎢𐎷𐎡 /buːmi/ | 𒋼𒂊𒅗𒀭 /teːkan/ | — |
| Stone | assu- /ˈasːu/ | — | — | — | 𐎠𐎰𐎥 /aθaŋɡa/ | 𒉺𒀸𒅆𒆷𒀸 /pasːilas/ | — |
| Mountain | watti- /ˈwatːi/ | — | — | — | 𐎣𐎢𐎳 /kaufa/ | — | — |
| Mother | anni- /ˈanni/ | mater /ˈmater/ | — /—/ | matur /ˈmatur/ | 𐎶𐎠𐎫𐎼 /maːtar/ | 𒀭𒈾 /anːa/ | — /—/ |
| Father | 𔐞𔑣𔓯𔗔 /ˈtadis/ | atas /aˈtas/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎱𐎡𐎫𐎠 /pitaː/ | 𒀜𒋫 /atːa/ | ana /ˈana/ |
| Daughter | duttariyati- /ˈdutːarijati/ | — | — | — | — | — | bilia /ˈbilia/ |
| I | 𔐀 /ˈamu/ | az /az/ | — /—/ | eχo /ˈexo/ | 𐎠𐎭𐎶 /adam/ | 𒌑𒊌 /uːk/ | — /—/ |
| You | tu /tu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎬𐎢𐎺𐎶 /tuvam/ | 𒍣𒅅 /tsik/ | — /—/ |
| We | anzāš /ˈantsaːs/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎺𐎹𐎶 /vajam/ | 𒌑𒂊𒌍 /weːs/ | — /—/ |
| Name | 𔐓𔓇𔒄𔖪 /ˈalamantsa/ | onoman /ˈonoman/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎴𐎠𐎶 /naːma/ | 𒆷𒀀𒈠𒀭 /laːman/ | — /—/ |
| Person | ziti- /ˈtsiti/ | — | — | — | 𐎶𐎼𐎫𐎡𐎹 /martija/ | 𒀭𒌅𒉿𒀪𒄩𒀸 /antuwaxːas/ | — |
| Head | ḫarmaḫi- /ˈxarmaxi/ | — | — | — | — | 𒄩𒅈𒊭𒅈 /xarsar/ | — |
| Eye | tawi- /ˈtawi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐏂𐏁𐎶𐎴 /tʃaʃman/ | 𒊭𒆪𒉿 /sakuwa/ | — /—/ |
| Ear | tummant- /ˈtumːant/ | — | — | — | 𐎥𐎢𐏁 /ɡauʃa/ | 𒅖𒋫𒈠𒀭 /istaman/ | — |
| Mouth | āssa- /ˈaːsːa/ | — | — | — | — | 𒀀𒄿𒅖 /ajs/ | — |
| Tooth | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𒅗𒀀𒂵 /kaːɡa/ | — /—/ |
| Tongue | lāli- /ˈlaːli/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐏃𐏀𐎠𐎴𐎶 /hizaːnam/ | 𒆷𒀀𒆷 /laːla/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | 𔑁𔓯𔑶𔖸 /ˈistri/ | zeira /ˈzeːra/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎭𐎿𐎫 /dasta/ | 𒆠𒅖𒊭𒅈 /kesːar/ | — /—/ |
| Foot | pāta- /ˈpaːta/ | petes /ˈpetes/ | 𐦯𐦴 /ˈsata/ | — | 𐎱𐎠𐎭 /paːda/ | 𒉺𒋫 /pata/ | — |
| Heart | zārt- /tsaːrt/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐏀𐎼𐎭 /zard/ | 𒆠𒅕 /ker/ | — /—/ |
| Bone | ḫāssa- /ˈxaːsːa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𒄩𒀸𒋫𒄿 /xastaːi/ | — /—/ |
| Blood | āšḫar- /ˈaːsxar/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𒂊𒌍𒄯 /eːsxar/ | — /—/ |
| Love | azza- /ˈatsːa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎳𐎼𐎡𐎹 /frija/ | 𒀀𒀸𒅆𒅀𒋻 /aːsːijatar/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𒋫𒊒 /taru/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | zuwana- /tsuˈwana/ | kan /kan/ | 𐦥𐦬𐦡 /wal/ | — /—/ | 𐎿𐎱𐎣 /spaka/ | 𒆪𒉿𒀭 /kuwan/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fish | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Horse | azzu- /ˈatsːu/ | — | — | ekvon /ˈekwon/ | 𐎠𐎿 /asa/ | — | — |
| House | 𔔙𔐤𔖪 /ˈparnantsa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎶𐎠𐎴𐎡𐎹 /maːnija/ | 𒂍 /peːr/ | — /—/ |
| Honey | malli- /ˈmalːi/ | — | — | — | — | 𒈪𒇷𒀉 /milit/ | — |
| Eat | ad- /ad/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎧𐎼 /xar/ | 𒂊𒄑𒍝𒊍𒍣 /eːtsːatsːi/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | ū- /uː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎱𐎠 /paː/ | 𒂊𒆪𒍣 /ekutsi/ | — /—/ |
| One | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎠𐎡𐎺 /aiwa/ | 𒀸 /as/ | — /—/ |
| Two | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎯𐎢𐎺 /duva/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Three | tarri- /ˈtarːi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐎨𐎡𐏂 /θraja/ | 𒋼𒊑 /teri/ | — /—/ |
| Four | māuwa- /ˈmaːuwa/ | — | — | — | — | 𒈪𒂊𒉿𒀸 /miewas/ | — |
| Five | panta /ˈpanta/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | 𔖢 /ˈwaːsu/ | — /—/ | 𐦨𐦬𐦣 /ˈmalu/ | — /—/ | 𐎴𐎡𐎲 /naiba/ | 𒀸𒋗 /asːu/ | — /—/ |
| New | nāwa- /ˈnaːwa/ | — | — | — | — | 𒉈𒂊𒉿𒀸 /neːwas/ | — |
| Red | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𒈪𒄿𒋾𒅖 /miːtis/ | — /—/ |
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