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Hittite

Hittite was an Indo-European language once spoken in Türkiye.

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Hittite · 40.0°N 35.0°E

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Hittite is the oldest written Indo-European language, attested from around the 17th century BCE. In 1915 Bedřich Hrozný read on a clay tablet “now you will eat bread and drink water” — and recognised watar, a cousin of English water.

Hittite, also known as Nesite, is an extinct Indo-European language formerly spoken in Anatolia during the Bronze Age. The language is attested in cuneiform texts, primarily from the archives of the city of Hattusa, between the 17th century BC to the 13th century BC. Isolated Hittite words and personal names appear in Old Assyrian documents in Kanesh from as early as the 20th century BC, making it the earliest attested use of the Indo-European languages.

By the Late Bronze Age, Hittite had started losing ground to its close relative Luwian. It appears that Luwian was the most widely spoken language in the Hittite capital of Hattusa during the 13th century BC. After the collapse of the Hittite New Kingdom during the more general Late Bronze Age collapse, Luwian emerged in the early Iron Age as the main language of the so-called Syro-Hittite states, in southwestern Anatolia and northern Syria.

From Wikipedia · Hittite language · CC BY-SA 4.0

Words in Hittite

MeaningWordRomanization
mother𒀭𒈾𒀸
father𒀜𒋫atta
man𒇽𒀸LÚ-aš
name𒆷𒀀𒈠𒀭lāman
friend𒀀𒊏𒀸a-ra-aš
hand𒆠𒌍𒊬kessar
heart𒆠𒅕kir
blood𒂊𒌍𒄯ēšḫar
knee𒄀𒉡ge-nu
breast𒋼𒂊𒋫𒀭te-e-ta-an
water𒉿𒀀𒋻wa-a-tar
fire𒉺𒀪𒄯paḫḫur
star𒄩𒀸𒋼𒅕𒍝ḫasterza
sky𒉈𒂊𒁉𒅖nēpis
stone𒉺𒀸𒅆𒆷𒀸passilas
sea𒀀𒊒𒈾𒀸a-ru-na-aš
tree𒋫𒀀𒊒tāru
night𒅖𒉺𒀭𒍝išpanz
dog𒆪𒉿𒀸
horse𒀲𒆳𒊏𒍑ekkus
one𒁹𒅖1-iš
two𒈫𒍑2-uš
three𒐈𒂊𒌍3-e-eš
four𒈪𒂊𒉿𒀸
I𒌑𒊌
we𒌑𒂊𒌍
eat𒂊𒀉𒈪e-id-mi
sleep𒊺𒌍𒍣še-eš-zi
bread𒉒NÍNDA
love𒀀𒀸𒅆𒅀𒋻āssiyatar

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Glottolog · hitt1242 · Wikipedia (English) · Ethnologue · hit