Diglossia and the Neo-Assyrian Empire’s Akkadian and Aramaic Text Production

Radner, Karen (Mai 2021): Diglossia and the Neo-Assyrian Empire’s Akkadian and Aramaic Text Production. In: Jonker, Louis C.; Berlejung, Angelika und Cornelius, Izak (Hrsg.): Multilingualism in Ancient Contexts: Perspectives from Ancient Near Eastern and Early Christian Contexts. Stellenbosch: African Sun Media. S. 146-181

Abstract

As this paper aims to highlight, the Assyrian Empire’s language environment, and in particular its scribal production, was diglossic, with a sharp distinction between the highly codified literary language of Standard Babylonian for high status texts and three vernacular languages for lower status communications (Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian and Aramaic). It is argued that between these languages, the distinction between the highly codified lect on the one hand and the three vernacular languages on the other hand is far more significant than the fact that three of these languages were written in cuneiform and the other in alphabetic script.

• Dokumententyp: Buchbeitrag
• Publikationsform: Publisher's Version
• Keywords: diglossia; cuneiform script; alphabet; Akkadian; Neo-Assyrian; Neo-Babylonian; Aramaic; scribal production; language environment; Assyrian Empire
• Fakultät: Geschichts- und Kunstwissenschaften > Historisches Seminar > Alte Geschichte
• Themengebiete: 400 Sprache > 490 Andere Sprachen ; 900 Geschichte und Geografie > 930 Geschichte des Altertums (bis ca. 499), Archäologie ; 900 Geschichte und Geografie > 950 Geschichte Asiens
• ISBN: 978-1991201164
• Ort: Stellenbosch
• Sprache: Englisch