| Sabaic | |
|---|---|
| Sabaean | |
 Votive stele with Sabaic inscription addressed to the main Sabaean deityAlmaqah, mentioning five other South Arabian gods, two reigning sovereigns and two governors: "Ammī'amar son of Ma'dīkarib dedicated to Almaqah Ra'suhumū. With 'Athtar, with Almaqah, with dhāt-Ḥimyam, with dhât-Ba'dân, with Waddum, with Karib'īl, with Sumhu'alī, with 'Ammīrayam and with Yadhrahmalik." Alabaster, c. 700 BC, Yemen, area of Ma'rib (?). | |
| Native to | Yemen |
| Region | Arabian Peninsula |
| Ethnicity | Sabaeans |
| Extinct | 6th century |
Afro-Asiatic
| |
| Dialects | |
| Ancient South Arabian | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xsa |
xsa | |
| Glottolog | saba1279 |
Sabaic, sometimes referred to asSabaean, was aSayhadic language that was spoken between c. 1000 BC and the 6th century AD by theSabaeans. It was used as a written language by some other peoples of the ancient civilization ofSouth Arabia, including theḤimyarites, Ḥashidites, Ṣirwāḥites, Humlanites, Ghaymānites, and Radmānites.[1] Sabaic belongs to the South ArabianSemitic branch of theAfroasiatic language family.[2] Sabaic is distinguished from the other members of theSayhadic group by its use ofh to mark thethird person and as acausative prefix; all of the other languages uses1 in those cases. Therefore, Sabaic is called anh-language and the otherss-languages.[3] Numerous other Sabaic inscriptions have also been found dating back to theSabean colonization of Africa.[4][5]
Sabaic is very similar toArabic and the languages may have been mutually intelligible.[6][clarification needed]
Sabaic was written in theSouth Arabian alphabet, and likeHebrew andArabic marked only consonants, the only indication of vowels being withmatres lectionis. For many years the only texts discovered were inscriptions in the formal Masnad script (Sabaicms3nd), but in 1973 documents in another minuscule and cursive script were discovered, dating back to the second half of the 1st century BC; only a few of the latter have so far been published.[7]
The South Arabian alphabet used inYemen,Eritrea,Djibouti, andEthiopia beginning in the 8th century BC, in all three locations, later evolved into the still-in-useGeʽez script. TheGeʽez language however is no longer considered to be a descendant of Sabaic or ofSayhadic;[8] and there is linguistic evidence that Semitic languages were concurrently in use, being spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia as early as 2000 BC.[9]
Sabaic is attested in some 1,040 dedicatory inscriptions, 850 building inscriptions, 200 legal texts, and 1300 short graffiti (containing only personal names).[10] No literary texts of any length have yet been brought to light. This paucity of source material and the limited forms of the inscriptions has made it difficult to get a complete picture of Sabaic grammar. Thousands of inscriptions written in a cursive script (calledZabur) incised into wooden sticks have been found and date to the Middle Sabaic period; these represent letters and legal documents and as such includes a much wider variety of grammatical forms.
In the Late Sabaic period the ancient names of the gods are no longer mentioned and only one deityRaḥmānān is referred to. The last known inscription in Sabaic dates from 554 or 559 AD.[3] The language's eventual extinction was brought about by the later rapid expansion of Islam, bringing with itClassical Arabic (orMuḍarī Arabic), which became the language of culture and writing, totally supplanting Sabaic.
The dialect used in the western Yemeni highlands, known as Central Sabaic, is very homogeneous and generally used as the language of the inscriptions. Divergent dialects are usually found in the area surrounding the Central Highlands, such as the important dialect of the city ofḤaram in the eastern al-Jawf.[14] Inscriptions in theḤaramic dialect, which is heavily influenced by North Arabic,[clarification needed] are also generally considered a form of Sabaic. TheHimyarites, whosespoken language was Semitic but not South Arabian, used Sabaic as a written language.[15]
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Since Sabaic is written in anabjad script leaving vowels unmarked, little can be said for certain about the vocalic system. However, based on other Semitic languages, it is generally presumed that it had at least the vowelsa,i, andu, which would have occurred both short and longā,ī, andū. In Old Sabaic, the long vowelsū andī are sometimes indicated using the letters forw andy asmatres lectionis. In the Old period this is used mainly in word-final position, but in Middle and Late Sabaic it also commonly occurs medially. Sabaic has no way of writing the long vowelā, but in later inscriptions, in the Radmanite dialect the letterh is sometimes infixed in plurals where it is not etymologically expected: thusbnhy ('sons of'; constructive state) instead of the usualbny; it is suspected that thish represents the vowelā. Long vowelsū andī certainly seem to be indicated in forms such as the personal pronounshmw ('them'), the verbal formykwn (also written without the glideykn; 'he will be'), and inenclitic particles -mw, and -my probably used for emphasis.[16]
In the Old Sabaic inscriptions the Proto-Semiticdiphthongsaw anday seemed to have been retained, being written with the lettersw andy; in the later stages the same words are increasingly found without these letters, which leads some scholars (such as Stein) to the conclusion that they had by then contracted toō andē (thoughaw →ū anday →ī would also be possible)
Sabaic, likeProto-Semitic, contains threesibilant phonemes, represented by distinct letters; the exact phonetic nature of these sounds is still uncertain. In the early days of Sabaic studies, Sayhadic was transcribed using Hebrew letters. The transcriptions of the alveolars or postvelar fricatives remained controversial; after a great deal of uncertainty in the initial period the lead was taken by the transcription chosen by Nikolaus Rhodokanakis and others for theCorpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum (s,š, andś), until A. F. L. Beeston proposed replacing this with the representation with s followed by the subscripts 1–3. This latest version has largely taken over the English-speaking world, while in the German-speaking area, for example, the older transcription signs, which are also given in the table below, are more widespread. They were transcribed by Beeston ass1,s2, ands3. Bearing in mind the latest reconstructions of the Proto-Semitic sibilants, we can postulate thats1 was probably pronounced as a simple [s] or [ʃ],s2 was probably alateralfricative [ɬ], ands3 may have been realized as anaffricate [t͡s]. The difference between the three sounds is maintained throughout Old Sabaic and Middle Sabaic, but in the Late periods1 ands3 merge. The subscript n did not start appearing until after the Early Sabaic period.[12] The Middle Sabaic Haramitic dialect often shows the changes3 >s1, for example:ˀks1wt ("clothes"), normal Sabaicks3wy.[17]
The exact nature of the emphatic consonantsq,ṣ,ṭ,ẓ andḍ also remains a matter for debate: were they pharyngealized as in Modern Arabic, or were they glottalized as inEthiopic (and reconstructed Proto-Semitic)? There are arguments to support both possibilities. In any case, beginning with Middle Sabaic the letters representingṣ andẓ are increasingly interchanged, which seems to indicate that they have fallen together as one phoneme. The existence of bilabial fricativef as a reflex of the Proto-Semitic*p is partly proved by Latin transcriptions of names. In late Sabaicḏ andz also merge. In Old Sabaic the soundn only occasionally assimilates to a following consonant, but in the later periods this assimilation is the norm.[10] The minusculeZabūr script does not seem to have a letter that represents the soundẓ, and replaces it withḍ instead; for examplemfḍr ("a measure of capacity"), written in theMusnad script asmfẓr.[17]
| Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | t | k | q? | ʔ⟨ʾ⟩ | |||||
| voiced | b | d | ɡ | |||||||
| emphatic | tˀ⟨ṭ⟩ | kʼ⟨ḳ⟩? | ||||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | θ⟨ṯ⟩ | s⟨s3 /s⟩ | ʃ⟨s1 /š⟩ | x⟨ḫ⟩ | ħ⟨ḥ⟩ | h | ||
| voiced | ð⟨ḏ⟩ | z | ɣ⟨ġ⟩ | ʕ⟨ˀ⟩ | ||||||
| emphatic | θˀ⟨ẓ⟩? | sˀ⟨ṣ⟩? | ||||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ||||||||
| Lateral | voiceless | ɬ⟨s2 /ś⟩ | ||||||||
| voiced | l | |||||||||
| emphatic | ɬˀ⟨ḍ⟩? | |||||||||
| Rhotic | r | |||||||||
| Semivowel | w | j⟨y⟩ | ||||||||
As in other Semitic languages Sabaic had both independent pronouns and pronominal suffixes. The attested pronouns, along with suffixes from Qatabanian and Hadramautic are as follows:
| Pronominal suffixes | Independent pronouns | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sabaic | Other languages | Sabaic | ||
| Singular | First person | -n | ʾn | |
| Second person m. | -k | -k | ʾnt;ʾt | |
| Second person f. | -k | |||
| Third personm. | -hw, h | -s1w(w), s1 | h(w)ʾ | |
| 3rd Personf. | -h, hw | -s1, -s1yw (Qataban.), -ṯ(yw), -s3(yw) (Hadram.) | hʾ | |
| Dual | 2nd Person | -kmy | ʾtmy | |
| 3rd Person com. | -hmy | -s1mn (min.), -s1my (Qataban.; Hadram.) | hmy | |
| 3rd Person m. | -s1m(y)n (Hadram.) | |||
| Plural | 1st Person | -n | ||
| 2nd Person m. | -kmw | ʾntmw | ||
| 2nd Person f. | ||||
| 3. Personm. | -hm(w) | -s1m | hmw | |
| 3. Personf. | -hn | -s1n | hn | |
No independent pronouns have been identified in any of the other South Arabian languages. First- and second-person independent pronouns are rarely attested in the monumental inscription, but possibly for cultural reasons; the likelihood was that these texts were neither composed nor written by the one who commissioned them: hence they use third-person pronouns to refer to the one who is paying for the building and dedication or whatever. The use of the pronouns in Sabaic corresponds to that in other Semitic languages. The pronominal suffixes are added to verbs and prepositions to denote the object; thus:qtl-hmw "he killed them";ḫmr-hmy t'lb "Ta'lab poured for them both"; when the suffixes are added to nouns they indicate possession: 'bd-hw "his slave").The independent pronouns serve as the subject of nominal and verbal sentences:mr' 't "you are the Lord" (a nominal sentence);hmw f-ḥmdw "they thanked" (a verbal sentence).
Sayhadic nouns fall into two genders: masculine and feminine. The feminine is usually indicated in the singular by the ending –t :bʿl "husband" (m.),bʿlt "wife" (f.),hgr "city" (m.),fnwt "canal" (f.). Sabaic nouns have forms for singular, dual and plural. The singular is formed without changing the stem, the plural can however be formed in a number of ways even in the very same word:
Thedual is already beginning to disappear in Old Sabaic; its endings vary according to the grammatical state:ḫrf-n "two years" (indeterminate state) fromḫrf "year".
Sabaic almost certainly had a case system formed by vocalic endings, but since vowels were involved they are not recognizable in the writings; nevertheless a few traces have been retained in the written texts, above all in theconstruct state.[18]
As in other Semitic languages Sabaic has a few grammatical states, which are indicated by various different endings according to the gender and the number. At the same time external plurals and duals have their own endings for grammatical state, while inner plurals are treated like singulars. Apart from theconstruct state known in other Semitic languages, there is also an indeterminate state and a determinate state, the functions of which are explained below. The following are the detailed state endings:
| Constr. state | Indet. state | Det. state | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Singular | -∅ | -m | -n |
| Dual | -∅ / -y | -n | -nhn | |
| External plural | -w / -y | -n | -nhn | |
| Feminine | Singular | -t | -tm | -tn |
| Dual | -ty | -tn | -tnhn | |
| External plural | -t | -tm | -tn | |
The three grammatical states have distinct syntactical and semantic functions:
As in other West Semitic languages Sabaic distinguishes between two types offinite verb forms: the perfect which is conjugated with suffixes and the imperfect which is conjugated with both prefixes and suffixes. In the imperfect two forms can be distinguished: a short form and a form constructed using then (long form esp. then-imperfect), which in any case is missing in Qatabānian and Ḥaḍramite. In actual use it is hard to distinguish the two imperfect forms from each other.[19] The conjugation of the perfect and imperfect may be summarized as follows (the active and the passive are not distinguished in their consonantal written form; the verbal example isfʿl "to do"):
| Perfect | Imperfect | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short form | Long form | |||
| Singular | 1. P. | fʿl-k (?) | ||
| 2. P. m. | fʿl-k | |||
| 2. P. f. | fʿl-k | t-fʿl | t-fʿl-n | |
| 3. P. m. | fʿl | y-fʿl | y-fʿl-n | |
| 3. P. f. | fʿl-t | t-fʿl | t-fʿl-n | |
| Dual | 3. P. m. | fʿl(-y) | y-fʿl-y | y-fʿl-nn |
| 3. P. f. | fʿl-ty | t-fʿl-y | t-fʿl-nn | |
| Plural | 2. P. m. | fʿl-kmw | t-fʿl-nn | |
| 3. P. m. | fʿl-w | y-fʿl-w | y-fʿl-nn | |
| 3. P. f. | fʿl-y,fʿl-n (?) | t-fʿl-n(?) | t-fʿl-nn(?) | |
The perfect is mainly used to describe something that took place in the past, only beforeconditional phrases and in relative phrases with a conditional connotation does it describe an action in the present, as in Classical Arabic. For example:w-s3ḫly Hlkʾmr w-ḥmʿṯt "And Hlkʾmr and ḥmʿṯt have pleaded guilty (dual)".
The imperfect usually expresses that something has occurred at the same time as an event previously mentioned, or it may simply express the present or future. Fourmoods can be distinguished:
Theimperative is found in texts written in thezabūr script on wooden sticks, and has the formfˁl(-n). For example:w-'nt f-s3ḫln ("and you (sg.) look after").
By changing the consonantal roots of verbs they can produce various derivational forms, which change their meaning. In Sabaic (and other Sahyadic languages) six such stems are attested. Examples:
The arrangement of clauses is not consistent in Sabaic. The first clause in an inscription always has the order (particle - ) subject – predicate (SV), the other main clauses of an inscription are introduced byw- "and" and always have – like subordinate clauses – the order predicate – subject (VS). At the same time the Predicate may be introduced byf.[20]
Examples:
| s1ʿdʾl w-rʾbʾl | s3lʾ | w-sqny | ʿṯtr | kl | ġwṯ |
| S1ʿdʾl and Rʾbʾl | they have offered up (3rd person plural perfect) | and have consecrated (3rd person plural perfect) | Athtar | complete | repair |
| Subject | Predicate | Indirect object | Direct object | ||
| "S1ʿdʾl and Rʾbʾl have offered up and consecrated all the repairs toAthtar". | |||||
| w-ʾws1ʾl | f-ḥmd | mqm | ʾlmqh |
| and Awsil | and he thanked (3rd-person sg. perfect) | Does (stat. constr.) | Almaqah |
| "and" – subject | "and" – predicate | Object | |
| "And Awsil thanked the power ofAlmaqah" | |||
Sabaic is equipped with a number of means to form subordinate clauses using various conjunctions:
| Main clause | Subordinate clause | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| w-y-s1mʿ-w | k-nblw | hmw | ʾgrn | b-ʿbr | ʾḥzb ḥbs2t | |
| "and" – 3rd p. pl. imperfect | Conjunction – 3rd p. pl. perfect | Attribute | Subject | Preposition | Prepositional object | |
| And they heard | that they sent | these | Najranites | to | Abyssinian tribes | |
| And they heard, that theseNajranites had sent a delegation to the Abyssinian tribes. | ||||||
| Subordinate clause | Subordinate clause | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| w-hmy | hfnk | f-tʿlmn | b-hmy | ||
| "And" – conjunction | 2. person sg. perfect | "Then" – imperative | Pronominal phrase | ||
| And if | you sent | and sign | on it | ||
| And if you send (it), sign it. | |||||
In Sabaic, relative clauses are marked by aRelativiser likeḏ-,ʾl,mn-; in free relative clauses this marking is obligatory. Unlike other Semitic languages in Sabaicresumptive pronouns are only rarely found.
| mn-mw | ḏ- | -y-s2ʾm-n | ʿbdm | f-ʾw | ʾmtm |
| "who" – enclitic | Relativiser | 3rd-person singular n-imperfect | Object | "and/ or" | Object |
| who | he buys | a male slave | or | a female slave | |
| Whoever buys a male or female slave [...] | |||||
| Main clause | Relative clause | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ḏn | mḥfdn yḥḏr | ḏm | b-s2hd | gnʾ | hgr-sm |
| Demonstrative pronoun | Subject | Relativiser | Preposition | Prepositional object | Possessor |
| this | the tower yḥḏr | which | opposite | wall | her city |
| this tower yḥḏr, which stands opposite the walls of her city (is located). | |||||
| ʾl-n | ḏ- | -l- | -hw | smyn w-ʾrḍn |
| God –Nunation | Relativiser | Preposition | Object (resumptive) | Subject |
| the God | which | for | him | heaven and earth |
| God, for Whom the heavens and the earth are = God, to Whom the heaven and the earth belong | ||||
Although the Sabaic vocabulary is found in relatively diverse types of inscriptions (an example being that the south Semitic tribes derive their wordwtb meaning "to sit" from the northwest tribe's wordyashab/wtb meaning "to jump"),[21] nevertheless it stands relatively isolated in the Semitic realm, something that makes it more difficult to analyze. Even given the existence of closely related languages such as Ge'ez and Classical Arabic, only part of the Sabaic vocabulary has proved able to be interpreted; a not inconsiderable part must be deduced from the context and some words remain incomprehensible. On the other hand, many words from agriculture and irrigation technology have been retrieved from the works of Yemeni scholars of the Middle Ages and partially also from the modern Yemeni dialects. Foreign loanwords are rare in Sabaic, a few Greek and Aramaic words are found in theRahmanistic, Christian and Jewish period (5th–7th centuries AD) for example:qls1-n from the Greek ἐκκλησία "church", which still survives in the Arabical-Qillīs referring to the church built byAbrahah inSana'a.[22]
