/nimuwizza-/, (INFANS)ni-mu-wa/i-za-

Despite some spelling variation, the phonological interpretation as /nimuwizza-/ can be seen as assured (Hawkins 1980a:143), based on the plenitude of evidence in full syllabic spelling as well as the transparency of its structure (see discussion of stem below). It is frequently paired with the logogram INFANS (*45), which can also be read as FILIUS and FRATER depending on the context; the logogram is either used as a determinive or replaces a part or all of the syllabic spelling. As is common for frequently used words, the written representation can be abbreviated in various ways, e.g. 〈INFANS.NI-sa〉 (from BOR), in which one of the signs 〈ni, ní〉 represents most or indeed all of the stem, and only the remainder is spelt syllabically.

A small number of forms seems to imply change, either on the phonemic or the graphemic level. Thus, 〈INFANS.NI-mu-za〉 from KARKAMIŠ A4b lacks a 〈wa/i〉 and may represent an abbreviated spelling that should be read 〈INFANS.NI.MU-za〉 (cf. e.g. Starke 1990a:635),The alternative view voiced by Starke 1990a:452 n. 1633 sees the spellings representing two different derivations from the same stem, which is unlikely, cf. also Simon 2016f:40f. perhaps also because, as one of the older inscriptions dating to the beginning of the Iron Age, it regularly omits endings, with the present form being a case in point. Taken at face value, the spelling could be interpreted as displaying a phonemic shorting of the word to /nimuzza-/ (thus Simon 2016f:40f.), but as observed by Simon 2016f:40f. when mentioning the possibility, it would have constituted a sporadic change; the copious evidence for the sequence /-uwi-/ from later attested spellings also from Karkamiš show that the change was not applied reliably. A form from KARABURUN shows a dat./loc.sg. in /-i/ instead of /-a/, which can be assumed to reflect real variation.

In the very early inscription ALEPPO 6, 7§7, dating to around 1200 BCE (Hawkins 2011b: 41), the sign *386 (also called “crampon” in the literature) is not yet regularised as a word divider and hence transliterated lexically: (VIR₂)INFANS.NÍ-sa. This is not assumed to have any bearing on the underlying phonological structure of the word.

[AH.B.]