Kaskian | |
---|---|
Kaška | |
Region | Northeastern
Anatolia Colchis [1] |
Ethnicity | Kaskians |
Era | Bronze Age |
unclassified | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
zsk |
zsk | |
Glottolog | None |
Kaskian (Kaskean) was the language of the Kaskians (Kaska) of northeastern Bronze Age Anatolia in the mountains along the Black Sea coast. The Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture lists the Kaskians as non–Indo-European. [2] There are a number of theories regarding the language family to which it belonged.
It is sometimes suspected that Kaskian was related to the pre-Hittite Hattic language, based on toponyms and personal names; the Hattic moon god was named Kasku. Conversely, the Kaskian language may have been an Indo-European language, perhaps related to Thraco-Phrygian. [3] There may also be connections to the Northwest Caucasian languages; the name Kaskian [4] may be cognate with an old name for Circassia, [5] and the name of one of the tribes in the Kaskian confederation, the Abešla, may be cognate with the endonym of the Abkhaz people and some Circassian people, [6] suggesting the Kaskians proper and Abešla might have been the ancestors of the Circassians and other Caucasian peoples. [7] It has been conjectured that Kaskian might belong to the Zan family of languages, and have affinities to Megrelian or Laz. [8]
In 2023, D. Sasseville presented an unknown language preserved on several tablet fragments from the archives of Hattusa and argued on methodological grounds that it is the Kaskean language. [9]
Kaskian | |
---|---|
Kaška | |
Region | Northeastern
Anatolia Colchis [1] |
Ethnicity | Kaskians |
Era | Bronze Age |
unclassified | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
zsk |
zsk | |
Glottolog | None |
Kaskian (Kaskean) was the language of the Kaskians (Kaska) of northeastern Bronze Age Anatolia in the mountains along the Black Sea coast. The Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture lists the Kaskians as non–Indo-European. [2] There are a number of theories regarding the language family to which it belonged.
It is sometimes suspected that Kaskian was related to the pre-Hittite Hattic language, based on toponyms and personal names; the Hattic moon god was named Kasku. Conversely, the Kaskian language may have been an Indo-European language, perhaps related to Thraco-Phrygian. [3] There may also be connections to the Northwest Caucasian languages; the name Kaskian [4] may be cognate with an old name for Circassia, [5] and the name of one of the tribes in the Kaskian confederation, the Abešla, may be cognate with the endonym of the Abkhaz people and some Circassian people, [6] suggesting the Kaskians proper and Abešla might have been the ancestors of the Circassians and other Caucasian peoples. [7] It has been conjectured that Kaskian might belong to the Zan family of languages, and have affinities to Megrelian or Laz. [8]
In 2023, D. Sasseville presented an unknown language preserved on several tablet fragments from the archives of Hattusa and argued on methodological grounds that it is the Kaskean language. [9]