Luwian Language

Luwian Language

Luwian (sometimes spelled Luvian), rarely Luish, is an ancient language or languages of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The two varieties of Luwian are named for the different scripts they were written in: Cuneiform Luwian, or CLuwian, and Hieroglyphic Luwian, or HLuwian. As to whether these were one language or two, there is no consensus. They may have constituted a dialect continuum.

Several other languages in Anatolia have been identified as being most similar to Luwian, which suggests that they belong in their own branch with CLuwian and HLuwian. Some linguists name the branch "the Luwian Group" or just "Luwian," and in that sense Luwian means all the Luwian languages. Other linguists, following Melchert, prefer to use Luwic for the branch and Luwian for CLuwian and HLuwian. Proto-Luwian can mean the common ancestor of the two, or the common ancestor of the several, although, in the tree-naming conventions, if the branch is to be called Luwic, its ancestor should be Proto-Luwic or Common Luwic.