The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor [Paperback]

Roger D. Woodard (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 052168496X | ISBN-13: 978-0521684965 | Publication Date: May 12, 2008

This 2008 book, derived from the acclaimed Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages, describes the ancient languages of Asia Minor, for the convenience of students and specialists working in that area. Each chapter of the work focuses on an individual language or, in some instances, a set of closely related varieties of a language. Providing a full descriptive presentation, each of these chapters examines the writing system(s), phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon of that language, and places the language within its proper linguistic and historical context. The volume brings together an international array of scholars, each a leading specialist in ancient language study. While designed primarily for scholars and students of linguistics, this work will prove invaluable to all whose studies take them into the realm of ancient language.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

This 2008 book describes the ancient languages of Asia Minor, for the convenience of students and specialists working in that area. Each chapter examines the writing system(s), phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon of a language, and places that language within its proper linguistic and historical context.

About the Author

Roger D. Woodard is the Andrew Van Vranken Raymond Professor of the Classics at the University of Buffalo. His numerous publications include The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages (2004).

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052168496X
• ISBN-13: 978-0521684965
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,700,527 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A useful introduction to these languages, but be aware that the content dates from the mid-1990s, September 13, 2011

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Christopher Culver - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor (Paperback)

After producing the massive "Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages", Cambridge University Press curiously decided to divide the encyclopedia up and publish individual volumes for each region. Well, for those interested solely in the languages of Asia Minor, that might have been a good thing, because you can economically purchase one of the few general overviews of the ancient languages of this part of the world.

Students of comparative Indo-European linguistics, for example, often work from textbooks that might reflect information gleaned from Anatolian and other IE languages of Asia Minor, but they don't usually get a clear picture of what these languages were like in general. This volume contains brief but highly informative grammars of Hittite, Luvian, Palaic, Lycian, Lydian, Carian, Phrygian and Classical Armenian. These chapters are written by noted experts in the field: Calvert Watkins, H. Craig Melchert, Claude Brixhe and James Clackson.

Some of the Caucasian languages of Asia Minor were documented already in ancient times. Hurrian, Urartian and Early Georgian are also covered by Gernot Wilhelm and Kevin Tuite. The general editor Roger Woodward contributes a general introduction that gives some historical and archaeological background for how we know about all these languages.

The downside of this volume is that, in spite of its 2002/2007 publication date, all the material dates from the mid-1990s. Anatolian studies has come a long way just in the last 15 years (see Ignacio J. Adiego's THE CARIAN LANGUAGE for a convincing decipherment of that language's enigmatic alphabet) and so the grammars here badly need an update. Nonetheless, if you're just looking for a sketch, the material here is enjoyable reading.