karšantalla/i-

The sole attestation of the noun comes from a NS letter fragment.

[E.R.]

Checked against the photographs in the Mainzer Fotoarchiv. – Contra HW:102 and CLL:102, the reading is certain.

[E.R.]

The gloss-wedge word occurs in the following passage: ^(15’)ki-nu-un-ma GIM-an ŠA EN-IA ḫar-ga-an iš-dam-ma-aš-šer ^(16’)[na-a]t-kán nam-ma ar-ru-ú-⸢ša pa-a⸣-er na-⸢aš^?-šu^?⸣-m[a] ^(17’)UN^MEŠ ⸢kar⸣-ša-an-tal-li-uš “but now that they have heard of the death of my lord, they have defected once again or^? (become) karšantalli- people” (KUB 19.23 rev. 15’-17’, building on Hoffner 2009a:349). Based on the contextual evidence and the assumed derivational relationship with the Hittite verb karš- ‘to cut, to neglect’, the translations suggested in the literature focused on the two different semantic aspects of the verb, i.e. on the separation, which yielded ‘cutoff-agent, secessionist’ (van Brock 1962a:111, Berman 1972a:129, HED K:105), or alternatively on the neglect, leading to ‘illoyal, negligent’ (HW:102, Kronasser 1966a:214, HEG A-K:521f., del Monte & Tischler 1978a:240, HHw:74, HW² K:198, Ünal 2007a:321). No translations are offered in DLL:54, CLL:102, and EDHIL:455.

Since the only meaning attested for CLuw. karš- is ‘to cut, severe’ and the stem formation implies an adjective ‘related to what is cut-off, related to the off-cutting (person/item)’, it is the ‘secessionist’ reading that seems preferable. The syntax does not reveal the part of speech leaving it open whether the word represents the original adjective or its substantivization.

[E.R.]

It is now common sense that the word has to be analyzed as the root karš- ‘to cut, sever’ plus the participial suffix -ant(i)- (synchronically unproductive) plus the adjectival formant -alla/i- (van Brock 1962a:111, Berman 1972a:129, CHD L-N:316, HED K:105; outdated Kronasser 1966a:214).

[E.R.]

While van Brock 1962a:111 insists on a Hittite origin in spite of the gloss-wedges, other scholars regard the word as Luwian (DLL:54, Berman 1972a:129, CLL:102, Melchert 2005a:451, van den Hout 2006a:241). Apart from the gloss-wedge, also the suffix -alla/i- indicates that we are dealing with a Luwian borrowing. Melchert 2005a:450 lists karšatti- among the Luwian borrowings in Hittite, but not so in CLL:102. In fact, there is no positive reason to assume a Luwian origin. Instead, see Rieken 1999a:109 for an inner-Hittite derivation. Cf. also HW² K:199f.

[E.R.]

For the lemma head see CLuw. karš-^(ti).