This paper questions the possibility of knowing Anatolian languages of fragmentary attestation through secondary sources. After having provided a general discussion on the problems that arise from the use of definitions such as ‘direct’ vs. ‘indirect’ sources, as well as ‘Korpussprachen’, ‘Restsprachen’, and ‘Trümmersprachen’, we will offer a new multidimensional approach to the analysis of linguistic expressions that have reached us through a mediated pathway. For this purpose, one should take into account the different levels of mediation—i.e., chronological, linguistic, philological, and textual—that can be involved in the transmission of a given linguistic form from its original source to the document that actually attests it. An application of our approach will be sourced from analysing some Anatolian (mainly Lydian) glosses found in the Lexicon by Hesychius (5th/6th century CE), in order to show how these different levels of mediation interact in the transmission of non-Greek lexemes into Hesychius’ work as witnessed in the manuscript Venet. Marc. Gr. Z. 622 (ca. 1410–1430 CE).
'Restsprachen' in ancient Anatolia: Direct and indirect sources, transmission, and reconstruction
Valerio Pisaniello;
2024-01-01
Abstract
This paper questions the possibility of knowing Anatolian languages of fragmentary attestation through secondary sources. After having provided a general discussion on the problems that arise from the use of definitions such as ‘direct’ vs. ‘indirect’ sources, as well as ‘Korpussprachen’, ‘Restsprachen’, and ‘Trümmersprachen’, we will offer a new multidimensional approach to the analysis of linguistic expressions that have reached us through a mediated pathway. For this purpose, one should take into account the different levels of mediation—i.e., chronological, linguistic, philological, and textual—that can be involved in the transmission of a given linguistic form from its original source to the document that actually attests it. An application of our approach will be sourced from analysing some Anatolian (mainly Lydian) glosses found in the Lexicon by Hesychius (5th/6th century CE), in order to show how these different levels of mediation interact in the transmission of non-Greek lexemes into Hesychius’ work as witnessed in the manuscript Venet. Marc. Gr. Z. 622 (ca. 1410–1430 CE).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
