Pamphylian was a little-attested dialect of

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

that was spoken in

Pamphylia Pamphylia (; , ''Pamphylía'' ) was a region in the south of Anatolia, Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the ...

, on the southern coast of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. Its origins and relation to other Greek dialects are uncertain, though a number of scholars have proposed

isogloss An isogloss, also called a heterogloss, is the geographic boundary of a certain linguistics, linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or the use of some morphological or syntactic feature. Isoglosses are a ...

es with Arcadocypriot. It is the sole

classical era Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the interwoven civilization ...

dialect which did not use articles, suggesting that it split off from other dialects early. Some of its distinctive characteristics reflect potential

language contact Language contact occurs when speakers of two or more languages or varieties interact with and influence each other. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics. Language contact can occur at language borders, between adstratum ...

with

Anatolian languages The Anatolian languages are an extinct branch of Indo-European languages that were spoken in Anatolia. The best known Anatolian language is Hittite, which is considered the earliest-attested Indo-European language. Undiscovered until the late ...

spoken nearby.

Text corpus

Pamphylian is known from about 300 inscriptions, most of them from the Pamphylian city of

Aspendos Aspendos or Aspendus ( Pamphylian: ΕΣΤϜΕΔΥΣ; Attic: Ἄσπενδος) was an ancient Greco-Roman city in Antalya province of Turkey. The site is located 40 km east of the modern city of Antalya. It was situated on the Eurymedon Ri ...

. Nearly all of them are short and funeral and consist of names only. Pamphylian

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

giving single names have also been found abroad, in Egypt ( Abydos) and

Delos Delos (; ; ''Dêlos'', ''Dâlos''), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. ...

. The longest inscription is a 36 line decree from Aspendos, first analyzed in detail in 1880 by William M. Ramsay. Inscriptions are dated from the fifth century BCE to the Roman period, most of them being from the second century BCE. Coins issued by Pamphylian cities also bear the script. Some 30 Pamphylian single words are known from glosses given by Hesychius, Eustathius, and the Etymologicum Magnum.

Pronunciation and writing

Pamphylia had a variant local alphabet, which was probably borrowed from other Greek alphabets. According to Selvi & Santamaria (2023) the Pamphylian alphabet stems from the 'dark blue' alphabets of North Eastern Peloponnese. The Pamphylian alphabet made use both of the original Pamphylian digamma (Ͷ) and a standard

digamma Digamma or wau (uppercase: Ϝ, lowercase: ϝ, numeral: ϛ) is an Archaic Greek alphabets, archaic letter of the Greek alphabet. It originally stood for the sound but it has remained in use principally as a Greek numeral for 6 (number), 6. Whe ...

(Ϝ). It has been surmised that the original sound in some environments (after vowels) was represented by Ͷ; where the sound had changed to labiodental in the Pamphylian dialect, it was represented by Ϝ. Sometimes Ͷ also stood in the place of

beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; or ) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Ancient Greek, beta represented the voiced bilabial plosive . In Modern Greek, it represe ...

. It was found by Selvi & Santamaria (2023) that the Pamphylian alphabet originated from a process of selection, adaptation, and refunctionalization of a Northeast Peloponnesian model. This region, closely linked to Pamphylia by mythological and historical ties, used dark blue alphabets from Corinth to Argos, influenced by other Peloponnesian centers like Sparta. The use of <Ͷ> declined in the 4th century but persisted until the end of the Hellenistic period for sociocultural reasons. The Northeast Peloponnesian corpus doctrinae, encompassing the alphabets of the region, already had features of the Pamphylian alphabet. <Ϝ> represented the posterior approximant, and <Ͷ> was linked to the letter for /b/ in Corinth, possibly also representing /w/. When this system reached Anatolia, it became the Pamphylian alphabet through interaction with Anatolian alphabets and the phonetic changes in the Pamphylian dialect. This resulted in the variable use of <Ͷ>, <Ϝ>, and during both Classical and Hellenistic periods, leading to their overlapping phonetic values. There is also a psi-like
sampi Sampi (modern: ϡ; ancient shapes: , ) is an Archaic Greek alphabets, archaic letter of the Greek alphabet. It was used as an addition to the classical 24-letter alphabet in some eastern Ionic Greek, Ionic dialects of ancient Greek in the 6th a ...
(), used probably to represent the sounds , , or . A conspicuous element in Pamphylian texts are double
iota Iota (; uppercase Ι, lowercase ι; ) is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Yodh. Letters that arose from this letter include the Latin I and J, the Cyrillic І (І, і), Yi (Ї, ї), and J ...
s, where the first iota denotes an /i/-sound and the second a glide /j/. The Η sign usually represents a /h/-sound (
rough breathing In the polytonic orthography of Ancient Greek, the rough breathing ( or ; ) character is a diacritical mark used to indicate the presence of an sound before a vowel, diphthong, or after rho. It remained in the polytonic orthography even af ...
); only rarely, in a few late inscriptions, it is apparently used to represent the classical Greek
eta Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...
vowel (/ɛ:/ or /i:/). Eustathius, quoting Heraclides, says that the Pamphylians "liked the /b/-sound so much that they often put b's in"; for example, instead of ''aëlios'' ('Sun'), they said ''babelios''. And the ''Etymologicum Magnum'' says that they tended to swallow /s/-sounds and pronounce them as a 'hairy' (δασύς) sound, i.e., a rough breathing: instead of ''mousika'' they said ''mōˁika''. (One may compare a similar phenomenon in the
Anatolian language The Anatolian languages are an Extinct language, extinct branch of Indo-European languages that were spoken in Anatolia. The best known Anatolian language is Hittite language, Hittite, which is considered the earliest-attested Indo-European lan ...
s, where, for example,
Milyan Milyan, also known as Lycian B and previously Lycian 2, is an extinct ancient Anatolian language. It is attested from three inscriptions: two poems of 34 and 71 engraved lines, respectively, on the so-called Xanthian stele (or Xanthian ...
''masa'', 'god', is an older counterpart of Lycian ''maha''.) An inscription from Perge dated to around 400 BC reads: (, 'Klemutas the wasirvotas, son of Lvaramus, dedicated this to the Queen of Perge'). In eastern Pamphylia, the Pamphylian cities
Side Side or Sides may refer to: Geometry * Edge (geometry) of a polygon (two-dimensional shape) * Face (geometry) of a polyhedron (three-dimensional shape) Places * Side, Turkey, a city in Turkey * Side (Ainis), a town of Ainis, ancient Thessaly, ...
and Lyrbe-Seleukia used another language and script, called Sidetic.

Relation with the Anatolian languages
Pamphylic Greek appears to have been heavily influenced by nearby
Anatolian languages The Anatolian languages are an extinct branch of Indo-European languages that were spoken in Anatolia. The best known Anatolian language is Hittite, which is considered the earliest-attested Indo-European language. Undiscovered until the late ...
such as Lycian, Pisidian, and Sidetic, in both
phonology Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...
and
syntax In linguistics, syntax ( ) is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituenc ...
. In
morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...
and
lexicon A lexicon (plural: lexicons, rarely lexica) is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word () ...
, Anatolian influence apparently was much more limited. The phonological influence of Anatolian on Pamphylic has been characterized as "massive structural interference", affecting both the consonant and vowel repertoire. Aspirates gave way to
fricatives A fricative is a consonant produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate in t ...
, as did
stop consonants In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or simply a stop, is a pulmonic consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be made with the tongue tip or blade (, ), tongue body (, ), lips ...
. In syntax three specific peculiarities stand out: absence of the article "the", use of the
dative In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this exampl ...
with pre- and postpositions where other Greeks would use a
genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...
, and the use of a special expression και νι + imperative. All of these features can be explained as an adaption of the Greek language by imperfect second-language speakers: if a small group of colonizing Greek immigrants remained a minority in an area inhabited by Anatolian speaking people, the heavily accented Greek spoken as a second language by the local population, coloured by their native Anatolian language, would become the norm in the area. Because Pamphylia was an isolated region ("a backwater, relatively inaccessible"), there were few external stimuli to later change this situation.

Glossary
The following lexicon was extracted from the work ''
A Greek–English Lexicon ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', often referred to as ''Liddell & Scott'' () or ''Liddell–Scott–Jones'' (''LSJ''), is a standard lexicographical work of the Ancient Greek language originally edited by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, H ...
'': */ – 'solar' (
Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...
: , ) */ –
Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis (; ) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity. The myth goes that Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip ...
(Attic: ) */ – 'sacrificial victims' (Attic: 'the driven ones') */ – 'priest' (Attic: , Cf. ) */ (Attic: , ,
dative In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this exampl ...
of meaning 'to (for) the man') */ Aêdôn or / – '
Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...
' */ – 'eagle' (Attic: , ) */ – '
mentha ''Mentha'', also known as mint (from Greek , Linear B ''mi-ta''), is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is estimated that 13 to 24 species exist, but the exact distinction between species is unclear. Hybridization oc ...
' (Attic: , ) */ (Attic: ) */ – '
locust Locusts (derived from the Latin ''locusta'', locust or lobster) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they b ...
' (Attic: , ) */ or
dative In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this exampl ...
, plural (Attic: , , 'to/for the people') */ – 'sun' (
Cretan Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
and Doric: , ;
Laconian Laconia or Lakonia may refer to: Places * Laconia, a region of Greece * Laconia (constituency), an electoral district of Greece **Doric_Greek#Laconian, Laconian Greek, a dialect of Doric Greek United States * Laconia, Indiana * Laconia, New Hamp ...
: , ;
Aeolic In linguistics, Aeolic Greek (), also known as Aeolian (), Lesbian or Lesbic dialect, is the set of dialects of Ancient Greek spoken mainly in Boeotia; in Thessaly; in the Aegean island of Lesbos; and in the Greek colonies of Aeolis in Anat ...
: , ; Ionic: , ; Attic:
helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...
) */ – 'oxen, cattle'? (Attic: ) */ – 'willing' (Attic: ) (/ – 'they wanted to' (Attic: ) */ – 'vineyard' (Attic: ) */ – ' Aspendios' or 'Aspendian' */ – 'years' (Attic: ; Homeric: ; Locrian, Elean, and Arcadocypriot: ; ) */ – 'distress' (genitive of ). */ – '
weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slend ...
,
skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or gi ...
,
cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
or member of
Felidae Felidae ( ) is the Family (biology), family of mammals in the Order (biology), order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats. A member of this family is also called a felid ( ). The 41 extant taxon, extant Felidae species exhibit the gre ...
' (Attic: , ; Attic: ) */ – imp. 'they should go' (Attic: ) */ – ' thunnus' (Attic: , , ) */ (?)Brixhe, Dial.gr.Pamph. 3.12. */ – 'bird or rooster' (
Modern Greek Modern Greek (, or , ), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the language sometimes referred to ...
: ) */ – '
temple (anatomy) The temple, also known as the pterion, is a latch where four skull bones intersect: the frontal, parietal, temporal, and sphenoid. It is located on the side of the head behind the eye between the forehead and the ear. The temporal muscle c ...
' (Attic , ) */ – '
Daphne Daphne (; ; , , ), a figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in which she appears, but t ...
' (Attic: ) */ – '
turnip The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties a ...
' (Attic: , ) */ – 'in' or 'one' (Attic: or ) */ Eustahius Od.1654; Richard Valpy and Charles Anthon. ''The Elements of Greek Grammar'' (12th Edition). New York: W.E. Dean, Printer and Publisher, 1831, p. 297. – 'rush forward' (Homeric: ) */ – 'five' (Attic: , ;
Modern Greek Modern Greek (, or , ), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the language sometimes referred to ...
: , informal ) */ – 'he gave' (Attic: ;
Aeolic In linguistics, Aeolic Greek (), also known as Aeolian (), Lesbian or Lesbic dialect, is the set of dialects of Ancient Greek spoken mainly in Boeotia; in Thessaly; in the Aegean island of Lesbos; and in the Greek colonies of Aeolis in Anat ...
: for Attic ) */ – 'field or farm' */ – 'small fish, picarel, or maenidae' (Attic: , ) */ – '
partridge A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They ar ...
' (Attic: , ) */ */ – 'clothing' (Attic:
himation A himation ( , ) was a type of clothing, a mantle (clothing), mantle or Wrap (clothing), wrap worn by ancient Greek men and women from the Archaic Greece, Archaic period through the Hellenistic period ( BC). It was usually worn over a Chiton (gar ...
, ;
Koine Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-regional form of Greek spoken and written during the Hellenistic ...
: or meaning 'garment of drill or ticking') */ – 'army' (Attic: ; Attic: , meaning 'reunion' or 'gathering') */ – 'lady-goddess' (Homeric: see wanax; 'dedicated it to her') */ – 'house' (Attic: ;
Cretan Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
and Locrian: , ) */ */ – 'light' (
Homeric Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his authorship, Homer is ...
: ; Attic: ) */ (Attic: , ' Medean road') */ – 'twenty' (Attic: ;
Laconian Laconia or Lakonia may refer to: Places * Laconia, a region of Greece * Laconia (constituency), an electoral district of Greece **Doric_Greek#Laconian, Laconian Greek, a dialect of Doric Greek United States * Laconia, Indiana * Laconia, New Hamp ...
: ; Aeolian, Doric: ).

Onomasticon
The following onomastic lexicon was based on Claude Brixhe's ''Dialecte grec de Pamphylie'': * and * * (Attic: ) * (Attic: ) * (Attic: ) * * , * * (Attic: ) * * (Attic: ) also in Cypriot names * (Attic: ) * (Cf. Cypriot: , from Homeric meaning 'good', 'brave') * * * * * – wanax + anêr * * (Attic: ) * (Attic: ) * * (Attic: ) * * * * – 'little girl' ( Arcadocypriot: ) * ' Aspendian' * * * (Attic: ) * or (Attic: , ; Attic: ) * * * (Attic: and ) * * * * (Attic: ) * * * * and ( Lydian: , 'inhabitant of the Lydian capital ,
Sardes Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...
') * * (Attic: ) *

See also
*
Arcadocypriot Greek Arcadocypriot, or southern Achaean, was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia, in the central Peloponnese, and in Cyprus. Its resemblance to Mycenaean Greek, as it is known from the Linear B corpus, indicates that they are closely related ...
*
Ancient Greek dialects Ancient Greek in classical antiquity, before the development of the common Koine Greek of the Hellenistic period, was divided into several varieties. Most of these varieties are known only from inscriptions, but a few of them, principally Aeolic ...
*
Anatolian languages The Anatolian languages are an extinct branch of Indo-European languages that were spoken in Anatolia. The best known Anatolian language is Hittite, which is considered the earliest-attested Indo-European language. Undiscovered until the late ...

References

Sources
*Brixhe, Claude. Le Dialecte Grec de Pamphylie. Paris/Istanbul, 1976. *Panayotou, A. "Pamphylian" (Maria Chritē and Maria Arapopoulou. ''A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity''. Cambridge University Press, 2007 , pp. 427–432). Article in Greek
Παμφυλιακή
*Selvi, Eleonora and Santamaria, Andrea. "Shaping the Pamphylian alphabet: the puzzle of the two digammas" ''Kadmos'', vol. 62, no. 1-2, 2023, pp. 95-114. https://doi.org/10.1515/kadmos-2023-0005 * Hesychius of Alexandria

Further reading
* {{Greek language periods Varieties of Ancient Greek
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...