Main Content

LuwGramm - Grammar of the Luwian Language

Luwian is a language of pre-classical Anatolia and Syria, which is attested in writing between 1500 and 700 BC. It belongs to the Anatolian group of the Indo-European language family and is therefore a close relative of Hittite. It is attested in two scripts: Anatolian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform. The Luwian language has been deciphered over the last hundred years. The result has now reached the stage of a broad communis opinio on the basics of its grammatical structure. It is therefore remarkable that there is no comprehensive grammatical description of the Luwian language, with the exception of a fifty-year-old grammar in Italian, which is limited to hieroglyphic texts.  Other grammatical descriptions of Luwian published in this century are all very concise and emphasize different aspects of its structure.

The main purpose of the project “LuwGramm – Grammar of the Luwian Language” is to create a reference grammar of Luwian that will be equally useful for linguists and philologists of ancient languages. The core of the grammar will comprise the synchronic description of Luwian phonology, morphology and syntax. Since the decipherment of Luwian is by no means complete, bibliographical sections will be added to reflect the different views on the more controversial aspects of Luwian grammar. The historical-comparative sections will be geared to the interest of Hittitologists and Indo-Europeanists. It is expected that our joint work will lead to new discoveries, and therefore an additional aim of the planned project is the preparation of 6-8 separate research papers devoted to specific problems of Luwian grammar.

The DFG-funded project is headed by Prof. Elisabeth Rieken and Dr. habil. Ilya Yakubovich (project start: February 1, 2022)