Eblaite /ˈɛblə.aɪt/ (also known as Eblan ISO 639-3) is an extinct Semitic language which was used in the 23rd century BC in the ancient city of Ebla, at Tell Mardikh (تل مرديخ), between Aleppo and Hama, in western modern Syria.
Eblaite has been described as an Eastern Semitic language which may be very close to pre-Sargonic Akkadian. According to Cyrus H. Gordon[1], although scribes might have spoken it sometimes, Eblaite was probably not spoken much, being rather a written lingua franca with East and West Semitic features.
The language is known from about 15,000 tablets[2] written with cuneiform script which were found since the 1970s mostly in the ruins of the city of Ebla.
References [edit]
- ^ "Amorite and Eblaite", page 101
- ^ Gordon: "Amorite and Eblaite", page 101
- A. Archi. 1987. "Ebla and Eblaite," Eblaitica 1. Ed. C.H. Gordon. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. Pages 7–17.
- Cyrus H. Gordon. 1997. "Amorite and Eblaite," The Semitic Languages. Ed. Robert Hetzron. New York: Routledge. Pages 100-113.
- G. Rubio 2006. "Eblaite, Akkadian, and East Semitic." In The Akkadian Language in its Semitic Context (ed. N.J.C. Kouwenberg and G. Deutscher. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten), pp. 110–139.
External links [edit]
