/tani(ya)-/, (LITUUS.AVIS)ta-ni-

This lexeme is attested five times in inscriptions from Karkamiš, Tell Ahmar and unknown, dating from the 10^th to the early 9^th century BCE.

[A.P.]

acc. sg.	/tanin/	AVIS-ni-na	POTOROO, 8a (unknown)
acc. pl.	/taninzi/	(DEUS.AVIS)ta-˹ní˺-zi	TELL AHMAR 2, §10 (Tell Ahmar)
dat./loc. pl.	/taniyanza/	(LITUUS.AVIS)ta-ni-ia-za	KARKAMIŠ A2+3, §7 (Karkamiš)
		(DEUS.AVIS)ta-ní-ia-za	KARKAMIŠ A11a, §10 (Karkamiš)
		(LITUUS.AVIS)ta-ni-ia-za	KARKAMIŠ A2+3, §8 (Karkamiš)

The collection of forms follows Melchert (pers. comm.) and Yakubovich (pers. comm). Previously, the forms had been attributed to different lexemes or gone entirely unassigned (thus e.g. POTOROO, cf. Hawkins 2010a:185).

[A.P.] [AH.B.]

The phonological interpretation of this word is reasonably certain, because it belongs to the same family as the verb /tanissa-⁽ⁱ⁾/ ‘to install’, which also includes /tanid-, tanisa-/ ‘stele’ and /tanidi(ya)-/ ‘hierodule’. It is therefore ultimately a member of the large family around /ta-/ ‘to stand’, thus Melchert (pers. comm.) and Yakubovich (pers. comm.).

The spelling of the /tani(ya)-/ involves use of the logograms LITUUS (sign *378), AVIS (*128), and DEUS (*360) in various combinations. While these help to tie together the present word and the verb /tanissa-⁽ⁱ⁾/ ‘to install’, they have also resulted in semantic misinterpretations, cf. the discussion of the meaning below.

[AH.B.]

For a considerable time, the meaning of this word was opaque or at least partly obscure. Hawkins 2000a:97f., 228f. provisionally takes it to mean ‘day’ or a similarly temporal reference and does not propose any phonological interpretation, assuming that the authors of the inscriptions refer to the status quo during their lifetime.In Hawkins 1986b, he compares these passages with similar texts from Assyrian and Babylonian sources, which use temporal and spatial expressions such as ina BAL^meš-ia ‘in my reign’ and ina MU.AN.NA^meš-ia ‘in my years’ as well as ina ^URUaš-šur ‘in (the city of) Assur’ (see Hawkins 1986b:93). Equally likely, however, is a spatial interpretation instead of a temporal one, i.e. the authors would provide details of how things used to be in their area, as suggested by Melchert (pers. comm.) and Yakubovich (pers. comm, and Yakubovich 2017e:s.v.). Thus e.g. in KARKAMIŠ A2+3, §§7-8: *a-wa/i-ta *a-mi-ia-za (LITUUS.AVIS)ta-ni-ia-za REGIO-ni-i a-tá (DEUS)BONUS-na (DEUS.VITIS)ti-PRAE-ia-ha ARHA (PONERE₂)u-pa-ta a-wa/i mi-ia-za (LITUUS.AVIS)ta-ni-ia-za OVIS(ANIMA)-i 10 ASINUS CRUS+RA/I, approx. /a=wa=tta ammiyanz taniyanz wattani anta Kumarman TiPariyan=ha ahha ubatta a=wa ammiyanz taniyanz hawi … tarkasniyan=za …/, meaning ‘And in my holdings in the country, it (scil. the assumed benevolence of the storm-god) brought forth the grain-god and the wine-god, and in my holdings, ten homers (of barley?) stood for one sheep’ (cf. Hawkins 2000a:109). With the word assumed to belong to the large family around the verb /ta-/ ‘to stand’, this spatial interpretation appears more likely.

[AH.B.]

The word is a common gender noun built with the suffix /-i(ya)-/ and shows an i-mutated inflection pattern. Judging by the suffix, the stem is a nominalized adjective derived from an unattested base */tan-/ vel sim.

[AH.B.]

For the lemma head see HLuw. /tanid-/.