Semitic Programme


Slot 1: Introduction to Ugaritic
Agustinus Gianto (Rome)

Course description
The indigenous language of Ugarit, a city-state on the northern Syrian coast that flourished in the second millennium BCE., is the oldest independently documented language in the Northwest Semitic group and has a special relevance for the historical-comparative study of the Semitic languages. Its rich literature has also come to provide important context for the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible.

Elements of Ugaritic grammar and vocabulary will be presented such that by the end of the course the student will be equipped to work through continuous texts. This working knowledge will serve as a solid basis for further philological studies of the Northwest Semitic languages.

The student will also, among other things, enjoy reading the following poetic passage in the original language while entertaining alternative renderings: "I have a word to tell you, a story to recount to you: the tree's word and the stone's charm, the heavens' whisper to the earth, the deep ocean's to the stars. I understand the lightning which the heavens are not capable of knowing, the word which mankind does not seem to know, and the earth's crowd cannot understand. Come and I will reveal it in the midst of my mountain, the divine Zaphon, in the holy place, the mountain of my inheritance, in the beautiful place, the hill of my might!" (Baal's message to Anat, KTU 1.3:III:21-28).

Requirements
This course requires no previous background in Semitic language.

Course materials
Brief notes of Ugaritic grammar with exercises and annotated texts prepared by the instructor will be available.

Introductory bibliography

  • KTU / CAT = M. Dietrich - O. Loretz - J. Sanmartín, The Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts from Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani and Other Places (Münster 1995); this is the second, enlarged edition of Die keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit (AOAT 24/1; Neukirchen-Vluyn 1976). Its numbering system has been widely accepted.
  • G. del Olmo Lete - J. Sanmartín, Diccionario de la lengua ugarítica, vol. I-II (Sabadel 1996, 2000) = A Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in the Alphabetic Tradition, transl. by W.G.E. Watson, vol. I-II (HdO I/67; Leiden 2004).
  • S. B. Parker (ed.), Ugaritic Narrative Poetry (Scholars 1997). The texts are arranged in poetic lines with facing translation and brief explanatory notes by a team of scholars.
  • W. G. E. Watson ­­- N. Wyatt (eds.), Handbook of Ugaritic Studies (HdO I/39; Leiden 1999). This 892-page book provides a serious overview of Ugarit's history, languages, literature, religion, economy and society.
Slot 2: Introduction to Comparative Semitic
Agustinus Gianto (Rome)

Course description
This course treats the following topics:
  • The historical-geographical distribution of the Semitic languages within the Afro-Asiatic family of languages.
  • The phonology and morphology of Proto-Semitic and their major developments in the main languages such as Akkadian, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Ethiopic.
  • The basic mechanisms of language change, i.e., reanalysis, analogy, and language contact.
  • An outline of the development of prefix conjugation and definiteness marking in Semitic.
Sample passages will be read and discussed in class.

Requirements
No specific background in Semitic languages is required.

Course materials
Handouts and specific bibliographical information will be distributed during the course.
Introductory reading  

J. Huehnergard, “Afro-Asiatic” in R. D. Woodard (ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages (Cambridge 2004) 138-159.
Slot 3: The Behistun Inscription: the Old Persian, the Akkadian and the Aramaic Versions
Holger Gzella & Alexander Lubotsky (Leiden)

Course description
The aim of this course is to read the Behistun inscription in full and to compare the extant versions in order to better understand the history of the text, the meaning and intent of various portions, and to check the readings.

Requirements
The course is intended for both Semitists and Iranists / Indo-Europeanists. Before embarking on reading the text, a short introduction to Old Persian as well as to Aramaic will be given. 

Course materials
As an introductory bibliography, the following texts can be read:
A. Lubotsky and M. de Vaan, Altpersisch. Sprachen aus der Welt des Alten Testaments, H. Gzella (ed.), Darmstadt 2009, 160-174.
Rüdiger Schmitt, The Bisitun Inscriptions of Darius the Great. Old Persian Text (Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum, Part I: Inscriptions of Ancient Iran. Volume I, The Old Persian Inscriptions; Texts 1.) 1991 London.
Slot 4: Introduction to Phoenician
Holger Gzella (Leiden)

Course description
Phoenician is a Semitic language closely related to Biblical Hebrew. It is attested by numerous inscriptions from ancient city states like Byblos, Tyre, and Sidon as well as their western colonies. Spread by Phoenician traders interacting with many different civilizations (including the Greeks and Romans), it was used all over the Mediterranean world during the first millennium B.C.E. and for some time even adopted as a prestige language in Asia Minor. As a consequence, Phoenician texts aptly illustrate various phenomena of cultural contact.

This course will provide an inductive introduction to the language of the Phoenician inscriptions from the mainland and their cultural background, thereby also giving some hands-on experience with the fascinating world of Semitic epigraphy. At the same time, we will discuss wider-ranging issues of the historical phonology and morphology of Northwest Semitic. By the end of this course, participants will have acquired a basic understanding of standard Phoenician and have read some important primary sources.

Requirements
No prior knowledge of any Semitic language is mandatory.The presentation should be accessible not only to Semitists and students of the Bible, but also to Ancient Historians, Archaeologists, and Indo-Europeanists. 

Course materials
Introductory bibliography: 
  • H. Donner and W. Röllig, Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften, 3 vols., 2nd ed. Wiesbaden 1966–1969 (5th ed. of the texts 2002).
  • J. Friedrich and W. Röllig, Phönizisch-Punische Grammatik, 3rd ed. Rome 1999.
  • H. Gzella, “Phönizisch”, in: id. (ed.), Sprachen aus der Welt des Alten Testaments, Darmstadt 2009, 48–64.
  • D. Harden, The Phoenicians, Harmondsworth 1971.
  • J. Hoftijzer and K. Jongeling, Dictionary of the North-West Semitic Inscriptions, 2 vols., Leiden 1995.