Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics

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Greek and Lydian
(1,517 words)

Abstract

Contact effects of Lydian (the Indo-European Anatolian language of Lydia) on the local Greek include most importantly psilosis, as well as a very few genuine loanwords and a number of Lydianisms in the works of Hipponax. No effects of Greek on Lydian grammar are demonstrable, but the convention of ‘talking inscriptions’ is likely borrowed from Greek. There is little chance that the metrical structure of Lydian verse is modeled on that of Greek.

Lydian, an Indo-European language from the Anatolian subgroup, is attested in more than…

Cite this page
Craig Melchert, “Greek and Lydian”, in: Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics, General Editor: Georgios K. Giannakis. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2214-448X_eagll_COM_00000159>
First published online: 2013



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