/tarkasni(ya)-/, (“ASINUS”)tara/i-ka-sa-ni-ia-
‘equid’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Class
- Derivative
- Grammar
- subst, c.
- ID
- 320
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/tarkasni(ya)-/, (“ASINUS”)tara/i-ka-sa-ni-ia-
‘equid’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is attested already in the Empire period (YALBURT) and in the 11th century BCE (ALEPPO 7). The remaining attestations of /tarkasni(ya)-/ both date back to the 8th century BCE but come from two separate regions.
[I.Y.]
1.1.2Forms
| nom. sg. | /tarkasnis/ | (ASINUS2.ANIMA)tara/i-ka-sa-ni-sa | ASSUR letter f+g, §22 (Assur) |
| /tarkasni(ya)s/ | ASINUS2А-ni-i(a)-sa5 | YALBURT 3, §9 (Empire) | |
| acc. pl. | /tarkasninzi/ | ASINUS2А-ní | ALEPPO 7, §7 (Aleppo) |
| dat. pl. | /tarkasniyanz/ | (“ASINUS”)tara/i-ka-sa-ni-ia-za | BULGARMADEN, §9 (Tabal) |
The reading ASINUS2А-ni-i(a)-sa5, implying the nom. sg. ending after a numeral, is proposed in Oreshko 2016a:61. Note, however, that the sign <sa5> in this string can be also read as <pa>, in which case one probably has to accept the abbreviated spelling ASINUS2А-ni-i(a) for the nom. sg. form in question (cf. the case of ALEPPO 7, §7, Hawkins 2011b:50). The interpretation of (“ASINUS”)tara/i-ka-sa-ni-ia-za as acc. sg. n. of the putative possessive adjective /tarkasni(ya)-/ was offered in Hawkins & Morpurgo Davies 1998a:253, but is grammatically impossible because singular adjectives cannot agree with plural nouns within a Luwian phrase. The sequence |(“ASINUS”)tara/i-ka-sa-ni-ia-za (L.92)za-la-la in BULGARMADEN, §9 should rather be interpreted as ‘carts for the tarkasniya-animals’.
[I.Y.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
The correlation between the derivative /tarkasni(ya)-/ and logogram ASINUS2 (the animal with one ear and a bulge under the jaw) was proposed in Hawkins & Morpurgo Davies 1998a. Later it was specified that the logogram ASINUS2a (the animal with one but no bulge) can be also used for the same derivative (Hawkins 2011b:50). If the determinative ASINUS (the animal with two ears) indeed marks the same stem in BULGARMADEN, §9, it seems necessary to assume that the correlation between the logograms ASINUS/ASINUS2/ASINUS2A and stem types was, at best, not consistent.
[I.Y.]
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
See under HLuw. /tarkasna-/. It is not clear whether the form in YALBURT 3, §3 underwent contraction /tarkasni(ya)s/ > /tarkasnis/, which is demonstrably attested in ASSUR letter f+g, §22.
[I.Y.]
1.1.4Meaning ‘equid’
The shape of the logograms L101/L101 = ASINUS/ASINUS2/ASINUS2A points to an equid. The contexts indicate that /tarkasni(ya)-/ can accompany the army (YALBURT 3, §3), replace /tarkasna-/ as an animal fit for riding (ASSUR letter f+g, §22), be hitched into a cart (BULGARMADEN, §9), and be brought from Egypt (ALEPPO 7, §7). Hawkins & Morpurgo Davies 1998a:254, explicating the idea of Meriggi 1967b:140, offered the translation ‘mule’, literally “donkey-like” for the derived stem /tarkasni(ya)-/. This identification is now challenged in Simon forthcoming, where a new translation ‘horse’ is proposed for the first three contexts.Cf. the translation ‘equid (mule?)’ with a note ‘extremely problematic hieroglyphic sign’ in Weeden 2013c:17 with n. 83. Note that the basic meaning ‘equid’ would accommodate the use of /tarkasni(ya)-/ with reference to both mules and horses as context requires.
[I.Y.]
1.1.5Stem
The lexeme /tarkasni(ya)-/ represents a synchronic derivative in -i(ya)- of the stem /tarkasna-/. The suffix -i(ya)- is most commonly used for the formation of possessive adjectives in Luwian (Melchert 1990a, Bauer 2014a:154, 163). In this case one can start with the literal meaning “tarkasna-like” used with reference to various animals resembling /tarkasna-/ ‘donkey’. For a similar example of the substantivized i(ya)-derivative; cf. /tarkasni(ya)-/ n.
[I.Y.]
For the lemma head see Luw. /targasna-/.