/tarPalla(/i)-/, tara/i-pa-la-
‘farmer (?)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- subst
- ID
- 3947
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/tarPalla(/i)-/, tara/i-pa-la-
‘farmer (?)’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is attested twice in inscriptions from Tabal, dating to the mid- or late 8th century BCE.
[A.P.]
1.1.2Forms
| dat./loc. pl. | /tarPallanz/ | tara/i-pa-la-za | KULULU lead strip 2, §5 (Tabal) |
| tara/i-pa-la-za | KULULU lead fragment 3, 5 (Tabal) |
[A.P.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of the forms attested in the KULULU lead strips and fragments is at least partly clear, because the stem ends in one of two well-known suffixes. Which of the two suffixes it is, however, depends on the stem-final vowel of the noun, since the attested dat./loc. pl. forms do not permit any conclusions in that respect, cf. the discussion of the stem below.
It cannot be said with certainty whether or not the word belongs to the family around /tarba-(di)/ ‘to tread, trample’, but given the lack of the otherwise ubiquitous logographic determinative PES2.PES for that family, a link is less likely, though not ruled out entirely; see the discussion of the meaning below.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The meaning of this word is based on etymological and contextual considerations, but should be deemed tentative and awaiting further textual evidence. A very similar looking (though not necessarily morphologically identical, cf. the discussion of the stem below) word is attested in CLuw. tarpalla/i- ‘ritual substitute’ (HEG T:207-209), which is why Hawkins 2000a:510, 512 cautiously suggests a translation as ‘substitute’.Cf. also Josephson 1979a for the issues around sorting the words beginning with tarp- in Luwian. Within the HLuw. contexts of attestation, a different interpretation is more likely, and Giusfredi 2010b:159f., building on Hawkins’ suggestion, proposes ‘trader, representative of a trading house’. Even that, however, may not be fully compatible with the context. KULULU lead strip 2 appears to list allotments vel sim. to beneficiaries that can be listed by name or occupation, or deities represented by stelae. Not all occupations are semantically clear yet, but those that are denote people who renderto the community services that require compensation, e.g. hunters, builders, soldiers etc. It is therefore likely that /tarPalla(/i)-/ is likewise connected to a similar service, and the etymological link suggested by Morpurgo Davies 1986a:143 to Hittite teripp-(mi) ‘to plough’ appears to be the most viable option for the time being. Thus, KULULU lead strip 2, 1§5 reads: 30 OVIS-na 3 tara/i-pa-la-za, approx. /… hawin tarrinz tarPallanz/, possibly meaning ‘thirty sheep to three farmers’ (cf. Hawkins 2000a:510).
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
With the dat./loc. pl. being the only attested form for the current lexeme, the stem formation is not fully transparent, and two developmental paths are possible. Either the form should be interpreted as /tarPalla-/, in which case it would represent an agent noun to an unattested verb */trap-/ ‘to plough’ vel sim. Or the word may be /tarPall(i)-/, i.e. a substantivised adjective in /-alla/i-/ derived from an unattested noun */trapa-/ ‘plough’ vel sim. Both paths are equally possible, though the first appears to be more attractive from a semantic point of view.
[AH.B.]