/san(n)awiya-/, sa-na-wa/i-ia-
‘to become good’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- verb
- ID
- 1744
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/san(n)awiya-/, sa-na-wa/i-ia-
‘to become good’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is a hapax legomenon, whose sole attestation can be found in an inscription from Tabal, dating to between 740 and 730 BCE.
[AH.B.]
1.1.2Forms
| 3sg. pret. ind. act.(?) | /san(n)awiyatta/ | sa-na-wa/i-ia-ta-a | SULTANHAN, §7 (Tabal) |
Yoshida 2012a:349f. and Yakubovich 2016b:471f. analyse the form in SULTANHAN, §7 as medio-passive rather than active, arguing that a 3sg. pret. act. would be expected to contract to **/san(n)awitta/. While this is certainly possible in this late inscription, the present analysis will rely on the more straightforward interpretation as 3sg. pret. act. for this hapax legomenon until further evidence to the contrary has been discovered.
[AH.B.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
As part of the word family around /san(n)awi-/ ‘good’ and recorded with fully syllabic spelling, this lexeme can be fixed with a reasonably certain phonological interpretation. Only with regard to the ending is there some doubt, because the HLuw. spelling system does not distinguish between fortis and lenis consonants, i.e. it is not clear if the dental of the personal ending is lenited or not; see the discussion of the stem below.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The meaning assigned to this lexeme is readily apparent from both its structure as well as its context. Clearly related to the adjective /san(n)awi-/ ‘good’ (see e.g. Starke 1990a:387), it is a deadjectival verb, very likely a factitive, cf. the discussion under Stem below. This etymologically assigned meaning finds support from the context the word appears in. Thus, the relevant clause in SULTANHAN, §7 runs (“VITIS”)wa/i-ia-ni-sa-pa-wa/i-a za-ri+i sa-na-wa/i-ia-ta-a, i.e. /wiyanis=ba=wa zadi san(n)awiyatta/ ‘And the vine was good here’ (cf. e.g. Yakubovich 2016b:472) in a passage on agricultural abundance in a certain region.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
Derived from the adjective /san(n)awi-/ ‘good’ (Yakubovich 2016b:472), this verb is likely formed with the factitive suffix /-a-(ti)/ (cf. Sasseville 2021a:20f.). A formation with /-a-(ti)/ is the simplest option here, although based purely on the attested form, a derivation in /-iya-(i)/ could be considered, too.
[AH.B.]