Heterogramme in hurritischen Texten aus Boğazköy und Nordsyrien

Susanne Görke (Philipps-Universität Marburg; Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz)

Journal of Language Relationship, № 18/1-2, 2020 - p.1-12

Abstract: The article discusses the use of heterograms in Hurrian texts from Anatolia and Northern Syria of the second millennium BC. The frequency of Sumero- and Akkadograms is examined through a variety of Hurrian text genres. Most texts of religious content, which include rituals, festivals, or myths, exhibit only a small number of logograms and determinatives. Hurrian mantic texts from Ḫattuša and Emar offer an exception to these findings, in that they make use of a comparatively large amount of heterograms. In order to interpret these data one should consider a number of parameters, such as the scribes’ level of foreign language acquisition, the texts’ possible addressees, and the significance of text genres and styles. For comparison, a short overview of heterographic writing in Urartian texts has been provided.

Keywords: Hurrian cuneiform texts, Anatolia, Northern Syria, Urartian inscriptions, scribal traditions

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