/wasszza-(i)/, (“BONUS”)wa/i-sà-za-
‘to begin to be dear/respectful (?)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- verb
- ID
- 1814
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/wasszza-(i)/, (“BONUS”)wa/i-sà-za-
‘to begin to be dear/respectful (?)’1.1.1Transmission
Attested once, this lexeme occurs in an inscription from Tabal, dating to the second half of the 8th century BCE.
[AH.B.]
1.1.2Forms
| 1sg. pret. ind. act. | /wasszzahha/ | (“BONUS”)wa/i-sà-za-ha | BULGARMADEN, §2 (Tabal) |
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
In spite of the fully syllabic spelling attested, the phonological interpretation of this lexeme depends on the analysis of the morphological make-up of the form. Undoubtedly, the word belongs to the family around /wass-/ ‘to be dear’, but the shape /wasszza-/ suggested here is based on the assumption that it represents a deradical formation. An alternative view would assume the form to be /wassazza-/, see the discussion of the stem below.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
At first, the meaning suggested for this verb was ‘to be dear’, i.e. the same as its likely derivational base /wass-/ ‘to be dear’, see e.g. Hawkins & Morpurgo Davies 1979a:393, but Sasseville 2021a:450f. notes that formations in /-zza-/ are frequently inchoative, esp. when their base verb is still in use alongside the zza-formation, as is the case here. The newly proposed meaning fits the context in BULGARMADEN, §2: a-wa/i-ta á-mi-i DOMINUS-ni-i wa/i+ra/i-pa-la-wa/i-ia-´ REX-ti-i (“BONUS”)wa/i-sà-za-ha, i.e. /a=wa=tta ammi nanni Warpallawaya hantawatti wasszzahha/, ‘I began to be dear to my master, King Warpallawa’, which is followed by a clause detailing a reward the author received from his master. In this case, the action would entail benevolence by a lord towards one of his subjects. However, Yakubovich 2002a:198f., incorporating the first semantic assignment by Meriggi 1962b:151, points out that the context is ambiguous, and in fact the relevant clause could also mean ‘I began to be respectful to my master, King Warpallawa’, where the beneficial action is directed upwards in the hierarchy. Considering that a root cognate of the verb is used several clauses down in the phrase /wasu usnussahha/ (§8), and that this quite probably means ‘I would (habitually) benefit (my lord)’ (see HLuw. /usnussa-(i)?/, u-sa-nu-sa- ‘to please, benefit’), it seems likely, albeit unproven, that §2 indicates the top-down directed positive action suggested first. Only additional data can further elucidate the meaning of this verb, however, and show whether it is ambiguous or has perhaps become fixed with one of the two possible meanings.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
If the attested form represents /wasszza-/, the verb is derived with use of the suffix /-zza-/ (thus first identified by Hawkins, Morpurgo Davies & Neumann 1973a:43) directly from the root verb /wass-/ ‘to be dear’ (see Sasseville 2021a:450). While this is the most likely explanation, there is an alternative analysis that should not go unmentioned. Thus, Yakubovich 2002a:198 analyses the stem as a derivation in /-zza-/ from a thematised stem */wassa-/, which is unattested as a verb in HLuw. This view partially follows a suggestion by Starke 1990a:354 incl. n. 1253a, as he assumes it derives from the HLuw. noun /wassa-/ ‘goodness’, see under lemma. But a noun cannot serve as a derivational basis here, because the verbal stem class in /-zza-/ has been identified as purely deverbal (see Sasseville 2021a:439f. with further literature). The views expressed in Hawkins & Morpurgo Davies 1979a:393 and Nowicki 1981a:261 are likewise outdated, as they rely on older interpretations of forms. Outdated is the view advanced by Hawkins 2000a:447, 477, 523 that /wassazza-/ and /wassiyazza-/ are variants of the same stem.
[AH.B.]