Meroitic - an Afroasiatic language?

Abstract

Research into the classification of Meroitic within a language family has consistently focused upon the Nilo-Saharan phylum (Trigger 1964, 1977, Bender 1981a, Hintze 1989, Peust 1999a, Aubin 2003, Rilly 2003, 2004a, 2005).However, this paper puts forward the proposal that the investigation should instead be concentrated on the Afroasiatic phylum.This is due to the process of consonantal compatibility restrictions being evident across languages within the Afroasiatic phylum, and that through the investigation set forward in this paper, it is found that these restrictions also exist in the Meroitic language.1 This investigation rests upon the firmest known aspect of the language, namely the phonemic values of the signs and their distribution.This paper discusses the literature on the proposed linguistic association of Meroitic with other languages.It is evidenced here that research into the linguistic association of Meroitic has focused specifically on the Nilo-Saharan phylum because data used in a paper by Zhylarz (1930) to show an affinity between Meroitic and Afroasiatic was discredited (Hintze 1955).Subsequently, so was the line of inquiry into Meroitic being a member of the Afroasiatic phylum.The process of consonantal compatibility restrictions in languages across the Afroasiatic phylum is explained through subsections on a selection of these languages.This discussion then leads on to the core analysis of these restrictions in the Meroitic language.Further evidence is given which shows that the affiliation of Meroitic with the Nilo-Saharan Nubian language should finally be abandoned as this proposal consistently reappears even though it has drawn no conclusive evidence in the hundred years in which it has been constantly investigated.This paper is a small part of an investigation into Meroitic phonology that has wider implications for any linguistic analysis of the language.The investigation into consonantal compatibility restrictions was initiated through a reanalysis of a long-held supposition of the representation of the Meroitic vowel sign -e (Rowan 2006). African Languages' ClassificationAs this paper specifically re-examines the association of the Meroitic language within two of the four major African language phyla, namely Nilo-Saharan and Afroasiatic, a geographical positioning of these phyla is given (fig.1).The Kingdom of Kush 900BC -320AD (variously known as the Kingdom of Napata and Meroe) encompassed an area stretching north of Khartoum to the border with Egypt in present day Sudan.The Meroitic civilisation existed in an area where the Nilo-Saharan Nubian language is found which is essentially surrounded by predominately Afroasiatic languages.* For help and advice in the development of this paper, my thanks are due to Monik Charette, Alex Bellem and Karen Dwyer. 1 Consonantal compatibility restrictions are variously termed as consonantal co-occurrence restrictions or dissimilation.

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