MANUS.*311(-)la/i/u?-
‘to appoint (?)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- verb
- ID
- 3421
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
MANUS.*311(-)la/i/u?-
‘to appoint (?)’1.1.1Transmission
This hapax is attested in a single inscription from Karkamiš, dating to the mid-8th century BCE.
[A.P.]
1.1.2Forms
| ger. | /…/ | MANUS.*311(-)la/i/u?-mi-na | CEKKE inscr. 2, §18 (Karkamiš) |
The reading of 〈la/i/u〉 at CEKKE inscr. 2, §18 is reasonably certain, judging by the photograph, but the interpretation of the string as such remains tentative, cf. the discussions below.
[A.P.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of this verb is largely unknown, and it has yet to be connected to any possible cognates.
At CEKKE inscr. 2, §18, one or both of the logograms may have to be regarded as logographic determinatives, although a reading as 〈(MANUS)*311-la/i/u?-mi-na〉 seems to be the most appealing (cf. Oreshko 2020b:343 n. 4). The logogram MANUS (sign *59) is not known to have any syllabic value, rather it serves mostly as a determinative for a number of lexemes, first and foremost HLuw. /istr(i)-/ ‘hand’ and by extension several verbs denoting hand-based actions such as HLuw. /pu-(di)/ ‘to lift’, HLuw. /latra-(i)/ ‘to extend’ etc. For *311, Oreshko 2020b:342f. has suggested the reading /asha/, but see the discussion of the stem below.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The current meaning is assigned tentatively (cf. Yakubovich 2017e:s.v.) based on the context of attestation and the spelling with MANUS, which occurs with verbs from the semantic domains around hand. At CEKKE inscr. 2, §18 reads: wa/i-tá su+ra/i-i-zi (“CAPUT”)ha-ra/i-ma-hi MANUS.*311(-)la/i/u?-mi-na, approx. /wa=tta Surinzi harmahi …-lamina/, possibly translating as ‘The Assyrians (?) are to be appointed (?) to the head’ (cf. Hawkins 2000a:146).Note that, at that time, the forms in /-mina/ had not yet been identified as gerundives, for which see Melchert 2004c. Also, the use of 〈tá〉 in the clitic chain shows that it cannot represent an enclitic pronoun (pace Hawkins 2000a:150 and Melchert 2004c:356 n. 3), but must stand for the local particle /=tta/, see Rieken 2010a:308f. Future textual finds may necessitate a reappraisal of the verb.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
Since the phonological interpretation of the present verb is unclear, much of its morphology remains in the dark as well.The very tentative suggestion by Oreshko 2020b:342f. of the stem as /ashala/i/u-/ does not help to tie the verb to any known cognate, unless one were to consider the word family around */asha-/ ‘blood’, which is a difficult match with the context of attestation. Only additional data can shed light on the matter.
The form attested at CEKKE inscr. 2, §18 is clearly a gerundive, but due to the use of the vocalically underspecified 〈la/i/u〉, the stem-final vowel cannot be determined, nor can the verb be assigned to a stem class.
[AH.B.]