Canaano-Akkadian language

Canaano-Akkadian
Region	Canaan
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic East and West Semitic Akkadian and Central Semitic Akkadian and Northwest Semitic Akkadian and Canaanite Canaano-Akkadian
Writing system	Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–

Canaano-Akkadian or Amarna Canaanite is an ancient Semitic language which was the written language of the Amarna letters from Canaan, Alashiya and Amurru. ^{[1] [2] [3]} It is a mixed language with mainly Akkadian vocabulary and Canaanite grammatical features. It has been variously described as a Canaanite dialect of Akkadian, Canaanite coded in Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform and a purely scribal language. ^[4]

Linguistic features

Canaano-Akkadian combined the Akkadian lexicon with Canaanite grammar, which influenced the syntax and morphology of the language. As such, the hybridization manifested in numerous ways, including: ^[1]

• Akkadian verbs were conjugated using Canaanite verb affixes, using the Akkadian term's 3MS form as the base.
• a change i > e, seen in Canaano-Akkadian edin, for Akkadian idin , "give!".
• elision of vowels between the root radicals r and b, seen in CA tîrbu for Akk. têrubu, "you enter".
• a change -Vn > -CV in words which end with the energic marker -(n)na followed by a suffix or enclitic participle, seen in CA ištimûš+šu for Akk. ištemun+šu, "I have heard it"; and CA nûbbalûš+šu for Akk. nubbalun+šu, "we must bring him".

See also

• Kanbun
• Sadhu bhasha

References

1. Izre'el, Sh. "Canaano-Akkadian: Some Methodological Requisites for the Study of the Amarna Letters from Canaan" (PDF).
2. Izre'el, Sh. (1998). Canaano-Akkadian. Lincom Europa.
3. Mandell 2015 , p. 26
4. Mandell 2015 , p. 24

Bibliography

• Mandell, Alice Helene (2015). Scribalism and Diplomacy at the Crossroads of Cuneiform Culture: The Sociolinguistics of Canaano-Akkadian (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of California Los Angeles.