Babylonian (language)

See also: Babylonian

The Babylonian is the denomination by which one indicates a dialect of the Akkadien, spoken in Babylonia starting from the beginning about thousand-year-old IIè front J. - C., and which is for a long time the literary and diplomatic language par excellence of the Middle East.

The history of the Babylonian language is cut out in four great periods:

  • paléo-Babylonian, spoken in first half of thousand-year-old IIè front J. - C.
  • médio-Babylonian, in second half of thousand-year-old IIè front J. - C.
  • néo-Babylonian, in first half of thousand-year-old Ier front J. - C.
  • Babylonian late, in second half of thousand-year-old Ier front J. - C.

Paléo-Babylonian

Paléo-Babylonian is the dialect akkadien spoken between 20th and the 16th front century J. - C (period known as paléo-Babylonian, or amorrite). The basic text for the study of this language is the Code of Hammourabi. This state of language comprises several regional alternatives: with Babylon, Larsa, Eshnunna, Suse, Terqa or Husband for the cases the best known ones. This state of the language akkadienne still comprises it - m final for the nouns and the adjectives (mimation), as well as the verbs with initial W. At that time, the akkadien becomes the language of diplomacy, as well as a literary language (see low).

Médio-Babylonian

Médio-Babylonian is the language written in the texts of Babylonia kassite (1595-1155), and of the dynasties of the end of the 2nd millenium in the south mésopotamien. Under the name of “standard Babylonian”, it is also the literary and diplomatic language of this period (see low). From the linguistic point of view, this period sees the fall of the mimation, and that of initial W in the verbs which comprised it at the previous period: thus wabālum (“to carry”) becomes abālu .

Néo-Babylonian

Néo-Babylonian is written in Babylonia in first half of the thousand-year-old 1st front J. - C. Compared to the period previous, néo-Babylonian has several linguistic characteristics (without speaking about the evolutions taking place during very the long period that it covers). From the phonetic point of view: - W is usually noted - the m when it is inside a word; - št- becomes - lt-; - MT becomes - Nd. From the grammatical point of view, the cases of the names and adjectives are marked. Generally, Babylonian then is very influenced by the Araméen, which then becomes the principal language of the the Middle East.

Late Babylonian

It is the last attested state of the language akkadienne, at one time when this language N `is spoken much, S `being done to supplant by L `araméen. The fall of the néo-Babylonian empire in 539 mark end of the domination of a kingdom of culture akkadienne in Mésopotamie. From now on dominated by foreign dynasties (Persian, Greek, Parthes), whereas its population becomes aramophone, Mésopotamie sees its ancestral culture péricliter, and less and less texts are written in akkadien. The last documents of this language are literary or scientific texts, and of this fact their language is rather Babylonian standard. The last known documents Cunéiforme S date from the beginning of our era. Then the culture akkadienne dies, and the language which it had maintained in life disappears then.

See too

  • Assyrian Akkadien

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