Luwian cuneiform
| Luwian | |
|---|---|
| luwili | |
Luwian hieroglyph
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| Native to | Hittite Empire, Arzawa, Neo-Hittite kingdoms |
| Region | Anatolia, Northern Syria |
| Extinct | around 600 BC |
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Indo-European
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| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either: xlu – Cuneiform Luwian hlu – Hieroglyphic Luwian |
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Linguist list
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xlu Cuneiform Luwian
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hlu Hieroglyphic Luwian
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| Glottolog | luvi1235 |
Distribution of the Luwian language
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Luwian (/ˈluːiən/; sometimes spelled Luvian, rarely Luish) is an ancient language or group of languages of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The two varieties of Luwian are named for the scripts that they were written in: Cuneiform Luwian (CLuwian) and Hieroglyphic Luwian (HLuwian). As to whether these were one language or two, there is no consensus.
Several other languages in Anatolia have been identified as being most similar to Luwian, which suggests that they belong in their own branch with CLuwian and HLuwian. Some linguists name the branch "the Luwian Group" or just "Luwian" and, in that sense, Luwian means all of the Luwian languages. Other linguists, following Melchert, prefer to use Luwic for the branch and Luwian for CLuwian and HLuwian. Proto-Luwian can mean the common ancestor of the two, or the common ancestor of the several although, in the tree-naming conventions, if the branch is to be called Luwic, its ancestor should be Proto-Luwic or Common Luwic.
The name "Luwian" comes from the name of the land, Luwiya (also spelled Luwia or Luvia), where the speakers lived. It is mentioned in the Hittite laws. The region was later called Lydia.
Luwian is closely related to Hittite.
Luwian has been deduced as one of the likely candidates for the language spoken by the Trojans.
Some fringe hypotheses rejected by mainstream historical linguistics are a relationship with Lemnian, a Thracian connection, and a Greek connection.
According to James Mellaart, the earliest Indo-Europeans in northwest Anatolia were the horse-riders who came to this region from the north and founded (Eskisehir Province) in Phrygia c. 3000 BC. They were ancestors of the Luwians who inhabited Troy II, and spread widely in the Anatolian peninsula.
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