User:Alichtwa/Moabite language

Mesha Stele
An altar inscription written in Moabite and dated to 800 BC was revealed in an excavation in Motza. Most knowledge about Moabite comes from the Mesha Stele, which is the only known extensive text in the language. In addition, there is the three-line El-Kerak Inscription and a few seals. The inscription, on Mesha Stele is also referred to as “Kanaanäische und Aramäische Inschriften,” (KAI) which is German for Canaanite and Aramaic Inscriptions. It is to be read from right to left.

The following table presents the first four lines of the inscription of Mesha Stele including its transliteration and English translation by Alviero Niccacci.

Grammar
Vowel values and diphthongs had potential to vary wildly between Semitic languages and were largely typical of other Semitic tongues. There is inconsistent evidence to suggest that ā contracted to ō much like in Hebrew and later Phoenician. At the same time, there is evidence to suggest that the diphthongs /aw/ and /ay/ eventually contracted to ō and ē, another characteristic shared by Hebrew and later Phoenician.

Arrows
In numbered examples, non-Roman script representations are signaled by arrows, namely ⟶ or ⟵, to indicate the text’s direction of writing as it is presented in the volume. As for Ugaritic, Hebrew (epigraphic and Tiberian), Phoenician, and Moabite, the arrow will typically point in the same direction as the original writing.

Numerals
The absolute numeral precedes singular (collective) nouns, for instance “thirty years” is expressed as “šlšn.št” in line 2 of KAI; it has been transliterated as well as translated by Alvierra Niccani. Others are followed by a plural noun. Numeral phrases can stand in apposition with a noun (phrase) coming before or after. This is seen in KAI’s line 17: “ymh.wḥṣy.ymy.bnh.’rb’nšt,” meaning“his days and half the days of his son, for forty years”.

Sentence Boundaries
In the inscriptions on Mesha Stele a vertical stroke, /, appears 37 times. However, its function causes disagreement among researchers. Van Zyl claims that the strokes are used to divide clauses. Similarly, Segert explains that they can be seen as tools for the punctuation of sentences. A. Poebel goes into a different direction and states that vertical strokes are used to separate sentences forming a mentally cohesive group. According to Andersen the only two parallels that can be found in accordance with the stroke are in the Gezer Calendar. Rather, he suggest that a dot fulfills the function as a word divider based on its occurrence in a variety of Old Aramaic inscriptions, the Siloam Inscription and other texts of the early Hebrew.

Classification as Canaanite dialects
Information about the dialect geography of the Levant experienced a lot of adjustments throughout the past few years. Coastal Canaanite languages and other Northwest Semitic languages stand apart from each other, although both include languages that are often regarded as dialects of Canaanite, including Moabite.

Isogloss
A lexical isogloss exists between the Northwest Semitic languages Aramaic, Hebrew and Moabite. For example, the verb 'to be', from the root(s) *HWY/HYY. The coastal languages, Phoenician and Ugaritic, both used the root *KWN, and that seems to be the case in the mother tongue of the Amarna scribes from Canaan as well; it is also standard in Arabic.

Syntactic features
A syntactic feature that Aramaic, Hebrew and Moabite share is the syntagma of the narrative preterit. Supported by three inscriptions, prefix preterite narrative sequences are found in Moabite as well as Old Southern Aramaic and Hebrew. First, it was discerned in the Old Aramaic inscription of Zakkur by king of Hamath and proclaimed to be of Canaanite influence on an Aramaic text. Second, it occured in the Deir Alla Inscription. Finally the prefix preterite, appeared in the Tel Dan stele with and without the sequential conjunction. This feature is absent in Phoenician, a language that is certain to be Canaanite, which suggests that the classification of Moabite as a Canaanite dialect is does not apply.