/nisba/, NEG₃-sa-pa

Possibly attested three times, this lexeme can be found in two inscriptions, of which only one can be localised to Tell Ahmar and dated to the late 10^th or early 9^th century BCE.

[AH.B.]

indecl.	/nisba/	NEG3-sa-pa	BOROWSKI 3, §9 (Tell Ahmar)
			BOROWSKI 3, §10 (Tell Ahmar)
		NEG3?-s[a-p]a?	POTOROO, 8a (unknown)

Not included in the above table is TELL AHMAR 6, §34, contra Hawkins 2006a:30 and Hawkins & Morpurgo Davies 2010a:114. The attested string of signs is analysed differently as 〈NEG₃-sa a-pa〉, approx. /nis appa/ following Yakubovich 2017e, and hence counted among the attestations for /nis/ ‘not (prohibitive)’.

All attestations are followed by at least the quotative particle /=wa/.

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

The semantics of the present disjunctive appear to be synonymous with /niba/ ‘or’ and /naba/ ‘or’, see Hawkins & Morpurgo Davies 2010a:114f. Thus, BOROWSKI 3, §§9-10 reads: NEG₃-sa-pa-wa/i-ta *a-mi-i INFANS-ni-i kwa/i-sa ARHA CAPERE-i NEG₃-sa-pa-wa/i-ta á-lá/í-ma-za kwa/i-sa ARHA MALLEUS-la-i, approx. /nisba=wa=tta ammi niwaranni kwis ahha lai nisba=wa=tta alaman=za kwis ahha wallai/, translating as ‘Or who shall take it away from my child, or who shall smash the name, (this storm-god Tarhunt shall … him!)’ (cf. Hawkins 2000a:231).

So far, /nisba/ has only been found attested at the beginning of clauses. It is not clear if it can also occur clause-medially.

[AH.B.]

The particle is composed of the prohibitive negation /nis/ and the connective particle /=ba/. It is superseded by /niba/, which features the shorter form of the prohibitive negation.

[AH.B.]