View source for Phrygian language

{{Short description|Extinct Indo-European language of central Anatolia}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Phrygian
| region           = Central [[Anatolia]] (in modern [[Turkey]])
| extinct          = After the 5th century CE<ref name="Bilingualism in Ancient Society: Language Contact and the Written Word">{{cite book|last1=Swain|first1=Simon|title=Bilingualism in Ancient Society: Language Contact and the Written Word|last2=Adams|first2=J. Maxwell|last3=Janse|first3=Mark|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2002|isbn=0-19-924506-1|location=Oxford [Oxfordshire]|pages=246–266}}</ref>
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Graeco-Phrygian]]?<ref>{{Glottolog|grae1234|Graeco-Phrygian}}</ref>{{sfn|Obrador-Cursach|2018|p=102|ps=:Furthermore, if Phrygian were not so-poorly attested perhaps we could reconstruct a Proto-Greco-Phrygian stage of both languages.}}{{sfn|Obrador-Cursach|2020|p=243|ps=:With the current state of our knowledge, we can affirm that Phrygian is closely related to Greek. This is not a surprising conclusion: ancient sources and modern scholars agree that Phrygians did not live far from Greece in pre-historic times. Moreover, the last half century of scientific study of Phrygian has approached both languages and developed the hypothesis of a Proto-Greco-Phrygian language, to the detriment to other theories like Phrygio-Armenian or Thraco-Phrygian.}}
| script           = [[Phrygian alphabet]]<br>[[Greek alphabet]]
| iso3             = xpg
| linglist         = xpg
| notice           = IPA
| glotto           = phry1239
| glottorefname    = Phrygian
| dia1             = [[Mysian language|Mysian]]?
| ethnicity        = [[Phrygians]]
}}
{{Indo-European topics}}
The '''Phrygian language''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|r|ɪ|dʒ|i|ə|n |audio=en-us-Phrygian.oga}}) was the [[Indo-European language]] of the [[Phrygians]], spoken in [[Anatolia]] (in modern [[Turkey]]), during [[classical antiquity]] (c. 8th century BCE to 5th century CE).

Phrygian ethno-linguistic homogeneity is debatable. [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] authors used "Phrygian" as an [[umbrella term]] to describe a vast ethno-cultural complex located mainly in the central areas of Anatolia rather than a name of a single "tribe" or "people".{{sfn|Oreshko|2020|pp=82–83|ps=: "In other words, ''Ḫartapus'' can be identified as an early ''Phrygian'' king – with the proviso that 'Phrygian', as used by the Greek authors, is an umbrella term for a vast ethnocultural complex found predominantly in the central parts of Anatolia rather than a name of a single 'people' or 'tribe'. Its ethnolinguistic homogeneity cannot be taken for granted."}} [[Plato]] observed that some Phrygian words resembled [[Greek language|Greek]] ones.<ref>Plato, ''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'' (410a)</ref>

Because of the fragmentary evidence of Phrygian, its exact position within the Indo-European language family is uncertain.<ref>{{harvnb|Woodhouse|2009|p=171|ps=: "This question is of course only just separable from the question of which languages within Indo-European are most closely related to Phrygian, which has also been hotly debated."}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Obrador-Cursach|2018|p=101|ps=: "Scholars have long debated the exact position of Phrygian in the Indo-European language family. Although this position is not a closed question because of the fragmentary nature of our current knowledge, Phrygian has many important features which show that it is somehow related to Greek and Armenian."}}</ref> Phrygian shares important features mainly with Greek, but also with [[Armenian language|Armenian]] and [[Albanian language|Albanian]]. Evidence of a [[Thracian language|Thraco]]-[[Armenian language|Armenian]] separation from Phrygian and other [[Paleo-Balkan languages]] at an early stage, Phrygian's classification as a [[Centum and satem languages|centum]] language, and the high frequency of [[Phonetics|phonetic]], [[Morphology (linguistics)|morphological]], and [[Lexicology|lexical]] isoglosses shared with Greek, have led to a current consensus which regards Greek as the closest relative of Phrygian.<ref name="Obrador-Cursach2020"/><ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Brixhe |first=Claude |year=2008 |chapter=Phrygian |editor-last=Woodard |editor-first=Roger D |title=The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientlanguages00wood |url-access=limited |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-68496-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ancientlanguages00wood/page/n91 69]–80}} "Unquestionably, however, Phrygian is most closely linked with Greek." (p. 72).</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Woodhouse|2009|p=171|ps=: "A turning point in this debate was Kortlandt's (1988) demonstration on the basis of shared sound changes that Thraco-Armenian had separated from Phrygian and other originally Balkan languages at an early stage. The consensus has now returned to regarding Greek as the closest relative."}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Obrador-Cursach|2018|p=101|ps=: "Brixhe (1968), Neumann (1988) and, through an accurate analysis, Matzinger (2005) showed the inconsistency of the Phrygo-Armenian assumption and argued that Phrygian was a language closely related to Greek."}}</ref>{{sfn|Holst|2009|p=65–66}}

== Discovery and decipherment ==
Ancient authors like [[Herodotus]] and [[Hesychius of Alexandria|Hesychius]] have provided us with a few dozen words assumed to be Phrygian, so-called [[gloss (annotation)|glosses]].<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 337–344</ref> In modern times the first monument with a Phrygian text, found at [[Ortaköy, Aksaray|Ortaköy]] (classical [[Orcistus]]), was described in 1752.<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 428</ref> In 1800 at [[Yazılıkaya, Eskişehir|Yazılıkaya]] (classical [[Nakoleia]]) two more inscriptions were discovered.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Osann |first1=Friedrich |title=Midas oder Erklärungsversuch der erweislich ältesten griechischen Inschrift ({{nbsp}}...) |date=1830 |publisher=Carl Wilhelm Leske |location=Leipzig, Darmstadt |url=https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10221742?page=5 |access-date=2021-07-17 |ref=Osann}} ("Midas, or an attempt to clarify the apparently oldest Greek inscription ({{nbsp}}...)"; in German.)</ref><ref>M-01a and M-01b in Obrador Cursach (2018), p. 349.</ref> On one of them the word ΜΙΔΑΙ (''Midai''), 'to Midas', could be read, which prompted the idea that they were part of a building, possibly the grave, of the legendary Phrygian king [[Midas]]. Later, when Western archeologists, historians and other scholars began to travel through Anatolia to become acquainted with the geographical background of [[Homer]]'s world and the [[New Testament]], more monuments were discovered. By 1862 sixteen Phrygian inscriptions were known, among them a few Greek-Phrygian [[bilingual inscription|bilinguals]]. This allowed German scholar [[Andreas David Mordtmann]] to undertake the first serious attempt to decipher the script, though he overstressed the parallels of Phrygian to [[Armenian language|Armenian]], which led to some false conclusions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mordtmann |first1=Andreas David |title=Über die altphrygische Sprache (mit zwei Inschriftentafeln) |journal=Sitzungsberichte der bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu München. Philosophisch-philologische classe |date=1862 |issue=1 |pages=12–38, and between 88 and 89 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YctBAAAAcAAJ&q=Bayerische..20Akademie..20der..20Wissenschaften..201862 |access-date=2021-07-17}} ("On the Old-Phrygian language, with two figures showing the inscriptions"; in German.)</ref> After 1880, the Scottish Bible scholar [[William Mitchell Ramsay]] discovered many more inscriptions. In the 20th century, the understanding of Phrygian has increased, due to a steady flow of new texts, more reliable transcriptions, and better knowledge of the [[Indo-European studies|Indo-European]] [[sound change]] laws. The alphabet is now well-known, though minor revisions of the rarer signs of the alphabet are still possible; one sign ([[File:PhrygianYodL2R.png|12px]] = /j/, transcribed ''y'') was only securely identified in 1969.<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), p. 35.</ref>

== Classification ==
{{Paleo-Balkanic family tree}}
Phrygian is a member of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] linguistic family, but because of the fragmentary evidence, its exact position within that family is uncertain.<ref name=Obrador-Cursach/> Phrygian is placed among the [[Palaeo-Balkan languages]], either through [[Sprachbund|areal contact]] or [[Genetic relationship (linguistics)|genetic relationship]].{{sfn|Sowa|2020|pp=810–811}}{{sfn|Cotticelli|Dahl|2022|p=103}} Phrygian shares important features mainly with [[Greek language|Greek]], but also with [[Armenian language|Armenian]] and [[Albanian language|Albanian]].<ref name=Obrador-Cursach/><ref>{{harvnb|Obrador-Cursach|2020|p=243}}</ref>{{sfn|Hyllested|Joseph|2022|p=241}}{{sfn|Holst|2009|p=65–66}} Also [[Ancient Macedonian language|Ancient Macedonian]] (part of the [[Hellenic languages|Hellenic branch]], most probably a [[Northwest Greek]] dialect<ref name="vanBeek2022">{{Cite book |last=van Beek |first=Lucien |chapter=Greek |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/D7ECB74210D90E01F00D41B9930BC70A/9781108499798c11_173-201.pdf/greek.pdf |editor-last=Olander |editor-first=Thomas |title=The Indo-European Language Family: A Phylogenetic Perspective |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=2022 |isbn=978-1-108-49979-8 |doi=10.1017/9781108758666.011 |pages=190–191}}</ref>) and [[Thracian language|Thracian]], ancient languages of the Balkans, are often regarded as being closely related to Phrygian, however they are considered problematic sources for comparison due to their scarce attestation.{{sfn|Obrador-Cursach|2022|p=121}}

Between the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, Phrygian was mostly considered a [[Centum and satem languages|satem language]], and thus closer to Armenian and Thracian, while today it is commonly considered to be a centum language and thus closer to Greek.<ref name=Obrador-Cursach>{{harvnb|Obrador-Cursach|2018|p=101|ps=:Scholars have long debated the exact position of Phrygian in the Indo-European language family. Although this position is not a closed question because of the fragmentary nature of our current knowledge, Phrygian has many important features which show that it is somehow related to Greek and Armenian.{{nbsp}}... Indeed, between the 19th and the first half of the 20th c. BCE Phrygian was mostly considered a satem language (a feature once considered important to establishing the position of a language) and, especially after Alf Torp's study, closer to Armenian (and Thracian), whereas it is now commonly considered to be closer to Greek.{{nbsp}}... Brixhe (1968), Neumann (1988) and, through an accurate analysis, Matzinger (2005) showed the inconsistency of the Phrygo-Armenian assumption and argued that Phrygian was a language closely related to Greek.}}</ref> The reason that in the past Phrygian had the guise of a satem language was due to two secondary processes that affected it. Namely, Phrygian merged the old labiovelar with the plain velar, and secondly, when in contact with palatal vowels /e/ and /i/, especially in initial position, some consonants became palatalized. Furthermore, [[Frederik Kortlandt|Kortlandt]] (1988) presented common sound changes of Thracian and Armenian and their separation from Phrygian and the rest of the [[palaeo-Balkan languages]] from an early stage.<ref>{{harvnb|Woodhouse|2009|p=171|ps=:This question is of course only just separable from the question of which languages within Indo-European are most closely related to Phrygian, which has also been hotly debated. A turning point in this debate was Kortlandt's (1988) demonstration on the basis of shared sound changes that Thraco-Armenian had separated from Phrygian and other originally Balkan languages at an early stage. The consensus has now returned to regarding Greek as the closest relative.}}</ref>{{sfn|Obrador-Cursach|2020|p=234|ps=:2.1.4. Phrygian belongs to the centum group of IE languages (Ligorio and Lubotsky 2018: 1824). Together with Greek, Celtic, Italic, Germanic, Hittite and Tocharian, Phrygian merged the old palatovelars with plain velars in a first step: NPhr. (τιτ-)τετικμενος 'condemned' < PIE *deiḱ-; NPhr. γεγαριτμενος 'devoted, at the mercy of' < PIE *ǵhr̥Hit-; NPhr. γλουρεος 'golden' < PIE *ǵhl̥h3-ro-. However, two shifts affected this language. Phrygian merged the old labiovelar with the plain velar (the etymological and the resulting ones): OPhr. ke(y), NPhr. κε (passim) 'and' < PIE *ku̯e; OPhr. knais (B-07), NPhr. κ̣ναικαν 'wife' (16.1 = 116) < *gu̯neh2i-. Secondly, in contact with palatal vowels (/e/ and /i/, see de Lamberterie 2013: 25–26), and especially in initial position, some consonants became palatalised:PIE *ǵhes-r- 'hand' > OPhr. ↑iray (B-05),7NPhr. ζειρα (40.1 = 12) 'id.' (Hämmig 2013: 150–151). It also occurs in glosses: *ǵheu̯-mn̻ >ζευμαν 'fount, source' (Hesychius ζ 128). These two secondary processes, as happened in Tocharian and the Romance languages, lend Phrygian the guise of a satem language.}}

Modern consensus views Greek as the closest relative of Phrygian. Furthermore, out of 36 isoglosses collected by Obrador Cursach, Phrygian shared 34 with Greek, with 22 being exclusive between them.<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Woodhouse|2009|p=171|ps=:This question is of course only just separable from the question of which languages within Indo-European are most closely related to Phrygian, which has also been hotly debated. A turning point in this debate was Kortlandt's (1988) demonstration on the basis of shared sound changes that Thraco-Armenian had separated from Phrygian and other originally Balkan languages at an early stage. The consensus has now returned to regarding Greek as the closest relative.}}{{sfn|Obrador-Cursach|2020|pp=238–239|ps=:To the best of our current knowledge, Phrygian was closely related to Greek. This affirmation is consistent with the vision offered by Neumann (1988: 23), Brixhe (2006) and Ligorio and Lubotsky (2018: 1816) and with many observations given by ancient authors. Both languages share 34 of the 36 features considered in this paper, some of them of great significance:{{nbsp}}... The available data suggest that Phrygian and Greek coexisted broadly from pre-historic to historic times, and both belong to a common linguistic area (Brixhe 2006: 39–44).}} The last 50 years of Phrygian scholarship developed a hypothesis that proposes a [[Graeco-Phrygian|proto-Graeco-Phrygian]] stage out of which Greek and Phrygian originated, and if Phrygian was more sufficiently attested, that stage could perhaps be reconstructed.{{sfn|Obrador-Cursach|2018|p=102|ps=:Furthermore, if Phrygian were not so-poorly attested perhaps we could reconstruct a Proto-Greco-Phrygian stage of both languages.}}<ref name="Obrador-Cursach2020">{{harvnb|Obrador-Cursach|2020|p=243|ps=: "With the current state of our knowledge, we can affirm that Phrygian is closely related to Greek. This is not a surprising conclusion: ancient sources and modern scholars agree that Phrygians did not live far from Greece in pre-historic times. Moreover, the last half century of scientific study of Phrygian has approached both languages and developed the hypothesis of a Proto-Greco-Phrygian language, to the detriment to other theories like Phrygio-Armenian or Thraco-Phrygian."}}</ref><ref name="Olander2022">{{harvnb|Olander|2022|pp=12, 14}}: "The mutual relationship between the "Balkanic" languages – Greek (Chapter 11), Armenian (Chapter 12), Albanian (Chapter 13) as well as scantily attested languages such as Phrygian and Messapic – is evaluated differently by the authors of this book. While Greek is thought to constitute a phylogenetic unit together with Phrygian in all three chapters, the hypothesis of a Graeco-Armenian subgroup is given a negative appraisal by van Beek (Chapter 11), while Olsen and Thorsø (Chapter 12) are positive. A third position is taken by Hyllested and Joseph (Chapter 13), who argue that Greek forms a subgroup with the notoriously difficult Albanian."</ref>

An alternative theory, suggested by [[Eric P. Hamp]], is that Phrygian was most closely related to [[Italo-Celtic]] languages.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hamp|first=Eric P.|date=1976|title=On Some Gaulish Names in -Ant- and Celtic Verbal Nouns|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30007665|journal=Ériu|volume=27|pages=9|jstor=30007665|issn=0332-0758|quote=We have already seen that Celtic nāmant- gives an excellent cognate to Lat. amāre. Vendryes (loc. cit.) points out that ad is shared by the Northwest IE group (Celtic, Italic and Germanic) and additionally by Phrygian, citing the well known αδδακετ and αββερετ. But the agreement goes much deeper than that. The noun (from which the verb ἀδαμνεῖν must be derived) ἅδαμνα has every appearance of being a participle in -n- (perhaps -no-) of a verb ad-am-. We may then make the surprising equation: ad-nāmat(o)- < *ad-n-H amH a-to- = ἅδ-αμ-να. This agreement in detail makes a substantial addition to the Phrygian-Celtic equation that Marstrander observed (NTS ii (1929) 297) for OIr. eitech < *eti-teg-. It would appear from this that we have a slender but growing body of evidence for a close connexion between Celtic (and Italic) and Phrygian. The Phrygian evidence, now being sifted and reevaluated by Lejeune, could well bear close scrutiny in this light. It may not be too bold at this point to suggest a stronger link here with Celtic.}}</ref>

==Inscriptions==
The Phrygian epigraphical material is divided into two distinct [[Text corpus|subcorpora]], Old Phrygian and New Phrygian. These attest different stages of the Phrygian language, are written with different alphabets and upon different materials, and have different geographical distributions.

Old Phrygian is attested in 395 inscriptions in [[Anatolia]] and beyond. They were written in the [[Phrygian alphabet]] between 800 and 330 BCE. The ''Corpus des inscriptions paléo-phrygiennes'' (CIPPh) and its supplements<ref>Brixhe, Lejeune, ''Corpus des inscriptions paléo-phrygiennes'', 1984; Brixhe 2002a and 2004a</ref> contain most known Old Phrygian inscriptions, though a few graffiti are not included. The oldest inscriptions—from the mid-8th century BCE—have been found on silver, bronze, and alabaster objects in [[tumulus|tumuli]] (grave mounds) at [[Gordion]] (Yassıhüyük, the so-called "[[Gordion#Tumulus MM|Midas Mound]]") and Bayındır (East Lycia).<ref>Obrador Cursach, pp. 369–370, 390, 418–420.</ref>

New Phrygian is attested in 117 funerary inscriptions, mostly curses against desecrators added after a Greek [[epitaph]]. New Phrygian was written in the [[Greek alphabet]] between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE and is restricted to the western part of ancient [[Phrygia]], in central [[Anatolia]]. Most New Phrygian inscriptions have been lost{{why?|date=September 2023}}, so they are only known through the testimony of the first compilers. New Phrygian inscriptions have been cataloged by [[William Mitchell Ramsay|William M. Ramsay]] (ca. 1900) and by Obrador-Cursach (2018).

Some scholars identify a third division, Middle Phrygian, which is represented by a single inscription from [[Docimium|Dokimeion]]. It is a Phrygian epitaph consisting of six hexametric verses written in eight lines, and dated to the end of the 4th century BCE, following the [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonian]] conquest. It is considered the first Phrygian text to be inscribed with the [[Greek alphabet]]. Its phraseology has some echoes of an Old Phrygian epitaph from Bithynia, but it anticipates phonetic and spelling features found in New Phrygian. Three graffiti from Gordion, from the 4th to the 2nd centuries BCE, are ambiguous in terms of the alphabet used as well as their linguistic stage, and might also be considered Middle Phrygian.{{sfn|Obrador-Cursach|2018|p=17-18}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+Comparison between the Old and the New Phrygian subcorpora{{sfn|Obrador-Cursach|2018|p=29}}
|- style="vertical-align: center;"
!&nbsp;Features
! Old Phrygian
! New Phrygian
|-
! Number of inscriptions
| 395
|117
|-
! Dating
| ca. 800–330 BCE
|Late 1st–3rd c. CE
|-
! Alphabet
|[[Phrygian alphabet|Phrygian]]
|[[Greek alphabet|Greek]]
|-
! Word dividers<ref>Claude Brixhe (2008), 'Phrygian', in: Roger D. Woodard (ed.), ''The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor'' (Cambridge etc.: Cambridge University Press), pp. 69–80: p. 73, 78.</ref>
| sometimes (spaces or colons)
| never ([[scriptio continua|continuous writing]])
|-
! Writing material
|Varied
|Stone
|-
! Contents
| Varied
| Funerary
|-
! Area
|Across [[Anatolia]] (and beyond)
|Only central [[Anatolia]]
|-
!Archaeological context
|Mainly yes
|Never
|-
!Preserved
|Mainly yes
|Mainly no
|}
<gallery widths="190" heights="190">
File:Map Phrygian inscriptions.png|Map showing where Phrygian inscriptions have been found.
File:MidasSehri.TombDetail.jpg|6th century BCE inscription with the [[Phrygian alphabet]] from the Midas Tomb, [[Yazılıkaya, Eskişehir|Midas City]]: ΒΑΒΑ: ΜΕΜΕϜΑΙΣ: ΠΡΟΙΤΑϜΟΣ: ΚΦΙJΑΝΑϜΕJΟΣ: ΣΙΚΕΝΕΜΑΝ: ΕΔΑΕΣ (''Baba, memevais, proitavos kziyanaveyos sikeneman edaes''; Baba, advisor, leader from Tyana, dedicated this niche).<ref>Баюн Л. С., Орёл В. Э. ''Язык фригийских надписей как исторический источник.'' In ''Вестник древней истории.'' 1988, № 1. pp. 175-177.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Orel|first=Vladimir Ė|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uiALAQAAMAAJ|title=The language of Phrygians|publisher=Caravan Books|year=1997|isbn=9780882060897|pages=14|language=en}}</ref>
</gallery>The last mentions of the language date to the 5th century CE, and it was likely extinct by the 7th century CE.<ref name="Bilingualism in Ancient Society: Language Contact and the Written Word"/>

== Alphabet ==
{{main|Phrygian alphabet}}
{{see also|Alphabets of Anatolia}}

From ca. 800 till 300 BCE, Phrygians used the [[Phrygian alphabet|Old-Phrygian alphabet]] of nineteen letters derived from the [[Phoenician alphabet]]. This script was usually written from left to right ("dextroverse"). The signs of this script are:<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), p. 34.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
| sign || [[File:PhrygianAlphaL2R.png|12px]] || B || Γ || Δ || E || F || I || K || [[File:PhrygianLabdaL2R.png|12px]] || [[File:PhrygianMu L2R.png|12px]] || [[File:PhrygianNuL2R.png|12px]] || O || [[File:PhrygianPi L2R.png|12px]] || P || [[File:PhrygianSigmaL2Rvariant.png|12px]] || T || [[File:PhrygianU L2R.png|12px]] || [[File:PhrygianYodL2R.png|12px]] || [[File:PhrygianZeta R2L.png|12px]]
|-
| variants ||  || 8 ||  || Λ || [[File:PhrygianEpsL2Rvariant.png|12px]] ||  ||  || [[File:PhrygianKappaVariant3 R2L.png|12px]], [[File:PhrygianKappaVariant.png|12px]], 𐊜, [[File:PhrygianKappaVariant2.png|12px]] ||  ||  ||  ||  ||  ||  || [[File:PhrygianSigmaL2R.png|12px]], [[File:PhrygianSigmaL2Rvariant2.png|12px]], [[File:PhrygianSigmaL2Rvariant1.png|12px]] ||  ||  || X || Φ, [[File:PhrygianZetaVariant2.png|12px]], [[File:PhrygianZetaVariant.png|12px]]
|-
| transcription || ''a'' || ''b'' || ''g'' || ''d'' || ''e'' || ''v'' || ''i'' || ''k'' || ''l'' || ''m'' || ''n'' || ''o'' || ''p'' || ''r'' || ''s'' || ''t'' || ''u'' || ''y'' || [[File:PhrygianZeta R2L.png|12px]]
|-
| phoneme || /a/, <br>/a:/ || /b/ || /g/ || /d/ || /e/, <br>/e:/ || /w/ || /i/, <br>/i:/ || /k/ || /l/ || /m/ || /n/ || /o/, <br>/o:/ || /p/ || /r/ || /s/ || /t/ || /u/, <br>/u:/ || /j/ || /z/ <br>/zd/?
|}

About 15 percent of the inscriptions are written from right to left ("sinistroverse"), like Phoenician; in those cases, the signs are drawn mirrored:{{nbsp}}... [[File:PhrygianGammaR2L.png|10px]][[File:PhrygianBeta R2L.png|10px]][[File:PhrygianAlpha R2L.png|10px]] etc. instead of [[File:PhrygianAlphaL2R.png|10px]]BΓ.{{nbsp}}... A few dozen inscriptions are written in alternating directions ([[boustrophedon]]).

From ca. 300 BCE, this script was replaced by the [[Greek alphabet]]. A single inscription dates from ca. 300 BCE (sometimes called "Middle-Phrygian"), all other texts are much later, from the 1st till 3rd centuries CE (New-Phrygian). The Greek letters Θ, Ξ, Φ, Χ, and Ψ were rarely used—mainly for Greek names and loanwords (Κλευμαχοι, ''to Kleomakhos''; θαλαμει, ''funerary chamber'').

==Phonology==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|- style="vertical-align: center;
! &nbsp;
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA|m}}
| {{IPA|n}}
|
|
|
|-
!  [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
| {{IPA|p}} {{IPA|b}}
| {{IPA|t}} {{IPA|d}}
|
|
| {{IPA|k}} {{IPA|ɡ}}
|-
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
|
| {{IPA|s}}
| 
|
|-
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
|
|
| {{IPA|ts}} {{IPA|dz}}
|
|
|-
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|  {{IPA|w}}
|
| {{IPA|l}}
| {{IPA|j}}
|
|-
!  [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|
| {{IPA|r}}
|
|
|}

It has long been claimed that Phrygian exhibits a [[sound law|sound change]] of [[stop consonant]]s, similar to [[Grimm's Law]] in [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] and, more to the point, sound laws found in [[Proto-Armenian]];<ref>Bonfante, G. "Phrygians and Armenians", ''Armenian Quarterly'', 1 (1946), 82- 100 (p. 88).</ref> i.e., [[voicing (phonetics)|voicing]] of PIE [[aspirated consonant|aspirates]], [[devoicing]] of PIE [[voiced stop]]s and aspiration of [[voiceless stop]]s. This hypothesis was rejected by Lejeune (1979) and Brixhe (1984)<ref>Woodard, Roger D. ''The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor'', Cambridge University Press, 2008, {{ISBN|0-521-68496-X}}, p. 74.</ref> but revived by Lubotsky (2004) and Woodhouse (2006), who argue that there is evidence of a partial shift of [[obstruent]] series; i.e., voicing of PIE aspirates (''*bʱ'' > ''b'') and devoicing of PIE voiced stops (''*d'' > ''t'').<ref>Lubotsky, A. "The Phrygian Zeus and the problem of „Lautverschiebung". ''Historische Sprachforschung'', 117. 2. (2004), 229–237.</ref>

The [[affricate]]s ''ts'' and ''dz'' may have developed from [[Velar consonant|velar]]s before [[front vowel]]s.

==Grammar==
What can be recovered of the grammatical structure of Phrygian was typically [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]. Declensions and conjugations are strikingly similar to ancient Greek.

=== Nouns ===
Phrygian nouns belong to three [[gender (grammar)|genders]]: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Forms are [[grammatical number|singular or plural]]; [[Dual (grammatical number)|dual]] forms are not known. Four [[case (grammar)|cases]] are known: [[nominative]], [[accusative]], [[genitive]], and [[dative]].

==== Substantives ====
Nouns belong to three stem groups: ''o''-stems, ''a''-stems, and consonant stems ("''C''-stems"); the latter group also includes ''i''- and ''u''-stems. In addition there is a group of personal names with an e-stem.

The paradigm for nouns is as follows (to keep the paradigm clear, the many minor spelling variants, including New-Phrygian ones in Greek characters, are omitted):<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 69–73.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | !! colspan="2" | ''a''-stems !! colspan="2" | ''o''-stems !! colspan="2" | ''C''-stems !! ''e''-stems
|-
! Masculine !! Feminine !! Masculine !! Neuter !! Masc./Fem. !! Neuter !! (Personal names)
|-
| rowspan="4" | Singular || Nominative || align="center" | -a(s) || align="center" | -a || align="center" | -os || rowspan="2" align="center" | -un || align="center" | -s, -Ø{{efn|The Nominative Singular of consonant stems ends in -s for t-, d-, s-, i-, and u-stems; it ends in -Ø (without -s) for l-, m-, n-, r-, and some k-stems.}} || rowspan="2" align="center" | -Ø || align="center" | -es (-e)
|-
| Accusative || colspan="2" align="center" | -an || align="center" | -un (-on) || align="center" | -(a)n || align="center" | -in
|-
| Genitive || colspan="2" align="center" | -as || colspan="2" align="center" | -o (-ov) || colspan="2" align="center" | -os || align="center" | -itos
|-
| Dative || colspan="2" align="center" | -ai (-a) || colspan="2" align="center" | -oi (-o) || colspan="2" align="center" | -ei || align="center" | ?
|-
| rowspan="4" | Plural || Nominative || colspan="2" align="center" | -a(s) (?) || align="center" | -oi || rowspan="2" align="center" | -a || align="center" | -es || rowspan="2" align="center" | -a || align="center" | —
|-
| Accusative || colspan="2" align="center" | -ais || align="center" | -ois (?) || align="center" | -ais (?) || align="center" | —
|-
| Genitive || colspan="2" align="center" | ? || colspan="2" align="center" | -un || colspan="2" align="center" | ? || align="center" | —
|-
| Dative || colspan="2" align="center" | -as || colspan="2" align="center" | -os || colspan="2" align="center" | ? || align="center" | —
|}
{{notelist}}

Examples:<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 127–310.</ref>
* '''''a''-stem: μανκα''' [''manka''] (''stele''): Nom. μανκα [''manka'']; Acc. μανκαν [''mankan'']; Dat. μανκαι [''mankai''], μανκα, μανκης, μανκε.
* '''''o''-stem: ''devos''''' ('god', cf. Greek θεός): Nom. ''devos''; Acc. (or Gen.?) ''devun''; Pl. Dat. δεως [''deos''], διως, δεος, δδεω, διος, δυως.
* '''''C''- (''r''-)stem: ''daker''''' (meaning not clear): Nom. ''daker'', δακαρ; Acc. ''dakeran''; Pl. Nom. δακερης [''dakeres'']; Pl. Acc. ''dakerais''.
* '''''C''- (''n''-)stem: ορουαν''' [''orouan''] ('keeper, protector'): Nom. ορουεναν [''orouenan'']; Acc. ορουαν [''orouan'']; Gen. ορουενος [''orouenos''].
* '''''C''- (''k''-)stem: ''knays''''' ('woman, wife', cf. Greek γυνή): Nom. ''knays, knais''; Acc. κναικαν [''knaikan'']; Gen. κναικος [''knaikos'']; Pl. Nom. ''knaykes''.
* '''''i''-stem: *''Tis''''' ('Zeus'): Acc. Τιαν [''Tian'']; Dat. Τιε [''Tie''], Τι, Τιη, Tiei; Gen. Τιος [''Tios''].
* '''''e''-stem: ''Manes''''' ('Manes'): Nom. ''Manes, Mane'', Μανεις; Acc. ''Manin''; Gen. ''Manitos''.

==== Pronouns ====
The most frequently used [[pronoun]]s are [[demonstrative]], [[relative pronoun|relative]], and [[anaphora (linguistics)|anaphoric]]. Their declensions are similar to those of nouns. Two rare pronouns, ''autos'' and ''tis'', may be loanwords from Greek.

The '''demonstrative pronoun''', ''this'', has a short (''ses'') and a long form (''semoun''). Its declension:<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 84–85, 279–280.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
! rowspan="2" | Case !! colspan="3" | Singular !!  colspan="3" | Plural
|-
! Masculine !! Neuter !! Feminine !! Masculine !! Neuter !! Feminine
|-
| Nominative || align="center" | ses (?) || rowspan="2" align="center" | si || align="center" | σας (?) ||  || rowspan="2" |  || 
|-
| Accusative || align="center" | sin, σεμουν || align="center" | εσαν (?) || align="center" | ses (?) || 
|-
| Genitive || colspan="2" |  || align="center"| σας (?) || colspan="2" |  || colspan="2" | 
|-
| Dative || colspan="2" | σεμουν, σεμον, simun,{{nbsp}}... || σα, σαι, σας, esai, σαν || colspan="2" align="center" | σως (?) || colspan="2" | 
|}
There is also a [[clitic]] particle variant ''s-'', prefixed to names: sManes (''this Manes'').

The '''relative pronoun''' is ''yos'' (''who, whoever''). Though appearing often, only three different cases are attested. Paradigm:<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 81–82, 306.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
! rowspan="2" | Case !! colspan="3" | Singular !!  colspan="3" | Plural
|-
! Masculine !! Neuter !! Feminine !! Masculine !! Neuter !! Feminine
|-
| Nominative || align="center" | yos, ios, ιος, ις,{{nbsp}}... || rowspan="2" align="center" | || align="center" |  ||  || rowspan="2" |  || 
|-
| Accusative || align="center" | ιον || align="center" | ιαν || align="center" |  || 
|-
| Genitive || colspan="2" |  || align="center"|  || colspan="2" |  || colspan="2" | 
|-
| Dative || colspan="2" |  ||  || colspan="2" align="center" |  || colspan="2" | 
|}
A reduplicated form ''yosyos'', ''whoever'', is also known (cf. Latin ''quisquis'').

An '''anaphoric pronoun''' is ''tos'' (''the one mentioned, this one, he''). It is often used in the standard expression ιος νι{{nbsp}}..., τος νι{{nbsp}}...: ''whoever (damages this tomb), this one (will be damned)''; ''whoever ({{nbsp}}...), he ({{nbsp}}...)''.
Declension:<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 79–80, 295–296.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
! rowspan="2" | Case !! colspan="3" | Singular !!  colspan="3" | Plural
|-
! Masculine !! Neuter !! Feminine !! Masculine !! Neuter !! Feminine
|-
| Nominative || align="center" | τος || rowspan="2" align="center" | ti ||  ||  || rowspan="2" align="center" | ta || 
|-
| Accusative ||  || align="center" | tan, ταν ||  || 
|-
| Genitive || colspan="2" align="center" | tovo ||  || colspan="2" |  || colspan="2" | 
|-
| Dative || colspan="2" align="center" | του, το || align="center" | ται, τα  || colspan="2" |  || colspan="2" | 
|}

''Tos'' has a particle variant, τι, του, ''-t, -τ''. The particles τι and του, used after a demonstrative pronoun, or suffixed to it as ''-t'' or -τ, seem to emphasize the following noun: (''whoever does damage'') σεμουν του κνουμανει, ''to this very tomb''.

Another anaphoric pronoun is ''oy''&nbsp;/ ''ioi''. It only occurs as a Dative Singular, ''oy'', ιοι, οι (''to him, to her'').<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 80, 207.</ref>

The '''[[intensive pronoun|emphatic pronoun]]''' ''autos'' (''the very one, the same''; cf. Greek αὐτός) can also be used anaphorically. Its composite ''ve(n)autos'' is a [[reflexive pronoun]], ''himself'' (Greek ἑαυτός).<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 81, 150–151, 192.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
! rowspan="2" | Case !! colspan="3" | Singular !!  colspan="3" | Plural
|-
! Masculine !! Neuter !! Feminine !! Masculine !! Neuter !! Feminine
|-
| Nominative || align="center" | αυτος || rowspan="2" |  ||  || align="center" | avtoi (?) || rowspan="2" |  || 
|-
| Accusative || align="center" | αυτον, (ven)avtun ||  |  ||  || 
|-
| Genitive || colspan="2" |  ||  || colspan="2" |  || colspan="2" | 
|-
| Dative || colspan="2" align="center" | avtoi (?), αυτω || align="center" | avtay, αυταη, (οε)αυται  || colspan="2" |  || colspan="2" | 
|}

The '''[[indefinite pronoun]]''' ''kos'' (''somebody, something'') is only attested in the nominative singular: masculine kos, κος; neuter kin, κιν. A synonym is the very rare Greek loanword ''tis'' (τις, neuter τι).<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 83, 224, 292.</ref>

The '''[[personal pronoun|personal]]''' or '''[[possessive determiner|possessive pronoun]]''' ''her'' (only the feminine is attested) is ''va'' (Nom. va, ουα; Acc. ουαν, οαν; Gen. vay).<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 83, 189. Composites may be ''ovevis'' (''his own?''; Acc. ''ovevin'') and ''ki(s)vis'' (''any?''; Nom. κισυις, Nom./Acc. Ntr. κιυιν) (Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 219, 255).</ref>

==== Adjectives ====
The declension of adjectival nouns is entirely similar to that of substantives.

Examples (note that ''mekas'' corresponds to Greek μέγας, ''big, great'', and that -τετικμενος and γεγρειμενος parallel Greek Perfect Passive participles with reduplication and ending in ''-menos''):<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 162, 240, 293–294.</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
! Case !! Ending !! mekas <br>''big, great'' !! Ending !! τιττετικμενος <br>''accursed'' !! γεγρειμενος <br>''written''
|-
| Nom. Sing. Masc. || align="center" | -a(s) || mekas, μεκας || align="center" | -os || τιτ(τ)ετικμενος,{{nbsp}}... || 
|-
| Acc. Sing. Masc. || rowspan="2" align="center" | -an || rowspan="2" | μεκαν || align="center" | -on ||  || γεγρειμενον
|-
| Acc. Sing. Fem. || align="center" | -an ||  || γεγρειμεναν
|-
| Dat. Sing. || align="center" | -ai (-a) || μεκα || align="center" | -o (-ov) / -ai (-a) ||  || 
|-
| Nom. Pl. Masc. || align="center" | -a(s) (?) || || align="center" | -oi || τιττετικμενοι || 
|-
| Acc. Pl. || align="center" | -ais || mekais (?) || align="center" | -ois (?) / -ais || || 
|-
| Nom./Acc. Pl. Ntr. || align="center" | -a (?) || || align="center" | -a || τιττετικμενα || 
|-
| Gen. Pl. Masc./Fem. || align="center" | ? || || align="center" | -un || τιτετουκμενουν || 
|-
| Dat. Pl. || align="center" | -as || mekais (?) || align="center" | -os / -as || || 
|}

=== Verbs ===
Due to the limited textual material, the [[Grammatical conjugation|conjugation]] of Phrygian verbs can only be determined very incompletely. However, it is clear that it closely resembles the [[Ancient Greek]] verbal system. Three [[Grammatical tense|tenses]] are known: [[Present tense|present]], [[aorist]] (with [[Augment (Indo-European)|augment]] and ''-s-'' infix), and [[Perfect (grammar)|perfect]]. [[Future tense|Future]] forms have not yet been discovered. Neither has a [[pluperfect]]; a few forms may be an [[imperfect]]. There are two [[voice (grammar)|voices]], [[Active voice|active]] and [[mediopassive]]. As to [[mood (grammar)|mood]], [[indicative]] and [[Imperative mood|imperative]] are clearly documented, but suspected [[subjunctive]] forms and an [[optative]] (the latter with typical ''-oi-'' infix) need confirmation. [[Participle]]s are present, most of them perfect passive forms with [[reduplication]] and ending in ''-menos''. [[Infinitive]]s are not known. As to [[person (grammar)|person]] and [[number (grammar)|number]], most [[finite verb|finite forms]] are 3rd person singular, a few 3rd person plural, and only very few 1st person singular.

Examples:<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 84–91.</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
! rowspan="2" | Tense !! rowspan="2" | Mood !! rowspan="2" | Voice !! rowspan="2" | Person, number !! colspan="2" | Ending !! rowspan="2" | Example !! rowspan="2" | Translation
|-
! Old Phrygian !! New Phrygian 
|-
| rowspan="13" | present || rowspan="5" | indicative || rowspan="3" | active || 1st singular || -u || (-ω) || atikraiu || ''I say''
|-
| 3rd singular || -ti, -i || -τι || poreti || ''he{{nbsp}}...?''
|-
| 3rd plural || -n || -ν || γερεν (?) || ''they{{nbsp}}...?''
|-
| rowspan="2" | mediopassive || 1st singular || -or ||  || dakor (?) || ''I am put; I put/do for myself''
|-
| 3rd singular || -tor, -toy || -τορ, -τοι || odeketoy, <br>αδακκιτορ || ''it is put; he puts/does for himself''
|-
| rowspan="3" | subjunctive || rowspan="2" | active || 3rd singular || -ti, -t || -τι, -τ || αββερετ || ''let him produce''
|-
| 3rd plural || -sini (?) || -σσιννι (?) || δεδασσιννι || ''let them put/do''
|-
| mediopassive || 3rd singular || -toy || -τοι, -τορ || abretoy, <br>αββερετοι, <br>αββερετορ || ''let it be produced''
|-
| optative || active || 3rd singular || -oioi, -oyoy || || kakoioi || ''may he damage''
|-
| rowspan="3" | imperative || rowspan="2" | active || 3rd singular || -tu(v), -to || -του || ituv, <br>ειτου || ''he must become''
|-
| 3rd plural || -nuv || -νου, -ττνου || ειττνου, <br>ιννου || ''they must become''
|-
| mediopassive || 3rd singular || -do || -δου || lakedo || ''he must take for himself''
|-
| participle || active ||  || -un ||  || torvetun || ''cutting wood''
|-
| imperfect || indicative || active || 3rd singular || -e (?), -t (?) || || estat || ''he erected''
|-
| rowspan="3" | aorist || rowspan="3" | indicative || rowspan="2" | active || 3rd singular || -es || -ες || estaes, <br>εσταες || ''he erected''
|-
| 3rd plural || (-saen) || -σαεν || ουρνουσαεν || ''they have{{nbsp}}...ed?''
|-
| mediopassive || 3rd singular || -toi, -toy || -τοι || egertoi, <br>εγερετοι || ''it is brought''
|-
| rowspan="4" | perfect || rowspan="3" | indicative || rowspan="2" | active || 3rd singular || -ti, -t, -ey (?) || -ετ, -ιτ, -εν (?) || daket, <br>αδακετ, <br>αδακεν || ''he has done, put''
|-
| 3rd plural || (-en) || -εν || δακαρεν || ''they have done, put''
|-
| mediopassive || 3rd plural || (-na) (?) || -να (?) || ενσταρνα || ''he has been appointed''
|-
| participle || passive || masc. nom. sg. || -menos || -μενος || γεγαριτμενος || ''devoted to, cursed''
|}

The [[Augment (Indo-European)|augment]] Phrygian seems to exhibit, is like [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]], [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]], and [[Armenian language|Armenian]]; cf. {{lang|xpg|eberet}}, probably corresponding to [[Proto-Indo-European]] ''{{lang|ine-x-proto|*e-bher-e-t}}'' (''{{langx|grc|épʰere}}'' with loss of the final ''t'', ''{{langx|sa|ábharat}})'', although comparison to examples like ''ios{{nbsp}}... addaket'' 'who does{{nbsp}}... to', which is not a past tense form (perhaps [[subjunctive]]), shows that ''-et'' may be from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) primary ending {{lang|ine-x-proto|*-eti}}.

=== Syntax ===
Normal word order in Phrygian sentences is [[subject (grammar)|Subject]] – [[object (grammar)|Object]] – [[Verb]] ("[[subject-object-verb|SOV]]"). However, if a [[object (grammar)#Types|direct object]] (DO) needs to be emphasized, it may be placed at the head of the sentence, before the subject. Part of an [[object (grammar)#Types|indirect object]] (IO) may be placed after the verb. Example:

:: {| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
| align="center" | ''κος'' || align="center" | ''σεμουν'' || align="center" | ''κνουμανει'' || align="center" | ''κακουν'' || align="center" | ''αδδακετ'' || align="center" | ''αινι'' || align="center" | ''μανκα'' || (etc.)
|-
| align="center" | ''kos'' || align="center" | ''semoun'' || align="center" | ''knoumanei'' || align="center" | ''kakoun'' || align="center" | ''addaket'' || align="center" | ''aini'' || align="center" | ''manka'' || (etc.)
|-
| align="center" | whoever || align="center" | to this || align="center" | tomb || align="center" | harm || align="center" | does || align="center" | or || align="center" | to the stele || (he will be damned)
|-
| align="center" | S || colspan="2" align="center" | IO, part 1 || align="center" | DO || align="center" | V || colspan="2" align="center" | IO, part 2 ||{{nbsp}}...
|}

The function of the several nominal cases (nominative, accusative, etc.) presents no surprises. The dative is perhaps also used as a [[locative case|locative]]. When the subject of a sentence is compounded of more than one item ("''A and B and C...''"), that vary in gender or number, the verb or [[predicate (grammar)|predicate]] agrees in gender and number with the ''first'' item (''A'') ([[Alexander Lubotsky|Lubotsky]]'s [[case government|rection]] rule). Adjectives follow their noun, except when emphasis is intended.<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 95–98.</ref>

==Vocabulary==
[[File:Midas inscription with transliteration.jpg|thumb|350px|The Midas inscription over the [[cornice]] of the [[Midas monument]]. It reads ''Ates... Midai lavagtaei vanaktei edaes'' ("Ates... has dedicated [this monument) to Midas, leader of the people and ruler").<ref>{{cite book |last1=Woodard |first1=Roger D. |title=The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor |date=2008 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781139469333 |page=78 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-f_jwCgmeUC&pg=PA78 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Roller |first1=Lynn E. |title=In Search of God the Mother: The Cult of Anatolian Cybele |date=1999 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520210240 |page=69 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dXQkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA69 |language=en}}</ref><ref>[http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcs/phrygian/phryg.htm Corpus of Phrygian Inscriptions]</ref>]]
Phrygian is attested fragmentarily, known only from a comparatively small corpus of inscriptions.
A few hundred Phrygian words are attested; however, the meaning and etymologies of many of these remain unknown.

A famous Phrygian word is ''bekos'', meaning 'bread'. According to [[Herodotus]] (''Histories''&nbsp;2.2), Pharaoh [[Psammetichus I]] wanted to determine the oldest nation and establish the world's [[Proto-Human language|original language]]. For this purpose, he ordered two children to be reared by a shepherd, forbidding him to let them hear a single word, and charging him to report the children's first utterance. After two years, the shepherd reported that on entering their chamber, the children came up to him, extending their hands, calling ''bekos''. Upon enquiry, the pharaoh discovered that this was the Phrygian word for 'wheat bread', after which the Egyptians conceded that the Phrygian nation was older than theirs. The word ''bekos'' is also attested several times in Palaeo-Phrygian inscriptions on funerary stelae. It may be cognate to the English ''bake'' (PIE *''bʰeh₃g-'').<ref>The etymology is defended in O. Panagl & B. Kowal, "Zur etymologischen Darstellung von Restsprachen", in: A. Bammesberger (ed.), ''Das etymologische Wörterbuch'', Regensburg 1983, pp. 186–187. It is contested in Benjamin W. Fortson, ''Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction''. Blackwell, 2004. {{ISBN|1-4051-0316-7}}, p. 409.</ref> [[Hittite language|Hittite]], [[Luwian language|Luwian]] (both also influenced Phrygian morphology), Galatian and Greek (which also exhibits a high amount of isoglosses with Phrygian) all influenced Phrygian vocabulary.<ref name="Brixhe pp. 165–178">Brixhe, Cl. "Le Phrygien". In Fr. Bader (ed.), ''Langues indo-européennes'', pp. 165–178, Paris: CNRS Editions.</ref><ref>Woodard, Roger D. ''The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor''. Cambridge University Press, 2008, {{ISBN|0-521-68496-X}}, pp. 69–81.</ref>

According to [[Clement of Alexandria]], the Phrygian word ''bedu'' ({{lang|grc|βέδυ}}) meaning 'water' (PIE *''wed-'') appeared in [[Orphic]] ritual.<ref>Clement. ''Stromata'', 5.8.46–47.</ref>

The Greek theonym [[Zeus]] appears in Phrygian with the stem ''Ti-'' (genitive ''Tios'' = Greek ''Dios'', from earlier ''*Diwos''; the nominative is unattested); perhaps with the general meaning 'god, deity'. It is possible that ''tiveya'' means 'goddess'. The shift of ''*d'' to ''t'' in Phrygian and the loss of ''*w'' before ''o'' appears to be regular. [[Stephanus Byzantius]] records that according to [[Demosthenes]], Zeus was known as ''Tios'' in [[Bithynia]].<ref>On Phrygian ''ti-'' see Heubeck 1987, Lubotsky 1989a, Lubotsky 1998c, Brixhe 1997: 42ff. On the passage by Stephanus Byzantius, Haas 1966: 67, Lubotsky 1989a:85 (Δημοσθένης δ'ἐν Βιθυνιακοῖς φησι κτιστὴν τῆς πόλεως γενέσθαι Πάταρον ἑλόντα Παφλαγονίαν, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ τιμᾶν τὸν Δία Τίον προσαγορεῦσαι.) Witczak 1992-3: 265ff. assumes a Bithynian origin for the Phrygian god.</ref>

Another possible theonym is ''bago-'' (cf. Old Persian ''baga-'', [[Proto-Slavic]] ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/bogъ|*bogъ]]'' "god"), attested as the accusative singular ''bag̣un'' in G-136.<ref>However also read as ''bapun''; "Un très court retour vertical prolonge le trait horizontal du Γ. S'il n'était accidentel nous aurions{{nbsp}}... un p assez semblable à celui de G-135." Brixhe and Lejeune 1987: 125.</ref> Lejeune identified the term as ''*bʰagom'', in the meaning 'a gift, dedication' (PIE ''*bʰag-'' 'to apportion, give a share'). But [[Hesychius of Alexandria]] mentions a ''Bagaios, Phrygian Zeus'' ({{lang|grc|Βαγαῖος Ζεὺς Φρύγιος}}) and interprets the name as {{lang|grc|δοτῆρ ἑάων}} 'giver of good things'. [[J. P. Mallory|Mallory]] and [[Douglas Q. Adams|Adams]] agree that the word ''Bagaios'' was an epithet to the Phrygian worship of Zeus that derived from the same root.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|2006|p=274}}

== Phrygian poetry ==
Phrygian poetry is rare. The only examples date from after [[Alexander the Great]]'s conquest of Asia Minor (334 BCE), and they probably originated in imitation of Greek metrical epitaphs. The clearest example is the so-called "Middle Phrygian" inscription mentioned above, which consists of six [[dactylic hexameter]] lines. Also, as Lubotsky has proposed, the traditional Phrygian damnation formula on grave monuments may have been slightly reformulated to fit into a two-line hexametric shape (the stress accents, or [[scansion|ictus]], on the first syllable of each [[dactyl (poetry)|dactylus]] are in boldface):<ref>{{cite book |last=Lubotsky |first=Alexander |chapter=The Phrygian inscription from Dokimeion and its meter |editor-last1=Hajnal |editor-first1=Ivo |editor-last2=Kölligan |editor-first2=Daniel |editor-last3=Zipser |editor-first3=Katharina |title=Miscellanea Indogermanica. Festschrift für José Luis García Ramón zum 65. Geburtstag |date=2017 |publisher=Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft |location=Innsbruck |pages=427–432 |chapter-url=https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2943225/view |access-date=2021-07-18}}</ref>
: '''ιος''' νι σε'''μουν''' κνουμα'''νει''' κακουν '''αδ'''δακετ '''αι'''νι τε'''α'''μας
: '''με''' ζεμε'''λως''' κε δε'''ως''' κε Τι'''η''' τιτε'''τικ'''μενος '''ει'''του.
:: '''ios''' ni se'''moun''' knouma'''nei''' kakoun '''ad'''daket '''ai'''ni te'''a'''mas
:: '''me''' zeme'''lōs''' ke de'''ōs''' ke ti'''ē''' tite'''tik'''menos '''ei'''tou.
::: ''Whoever to this tomb harm does, or to the grave,''
::: ''among humans and gods by Zeus accursed let him be.''

[[Alliteration]] ''('b-, b-, b-')'' may be intended in a peculiar clause found on two New-Phrygian grave monuments from Erten (near [[Yazılıkaya]]) and [[Güneysaray, Emirdağ|Güney]]: 
: [''If someone damages this grave, then{{nbsp}}...'']
:{{nbsp}}... Βας ιοι βεκος με βερετ. (— pronounced, ''Bas ioi bekos me beret.'')
::{{nbsp}}''... may ''[''the god'']'' Bas not bring him bread.''

(''Bas'' is suspected to be a Phrygian fertility god. Note that ''bekos'' is the word for 'bread' given by Herodotus, while ''me'' conforms to Greek μή, 'not', and ''beret'' is cognate with Greek φέρειν, Latin ''ferre'', 'to bear'.<ref>Obrador Cursach (2018), pp. 156, 430, 431.</ref>)

== Isoglosses ==
Comparison with [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Albanian language|Albanian]] and [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]:{{sfn|Obrador-Cursach|2020|pp=234–238}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+[[Phonetics|Phonetic]]
|- style="vertical-align: center;"
! Phrygian features
! Greek
! Armenian
! Albanian
! Indo-Iranian
! Examples
|-
!Centum treatment
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| NP γε'''γ'''αριτμενος  'devoted,  at  the  mercy  of', '''γ'''λουρεος 'golden'
|-
!*CRh₃C > *CRōC
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| NP γλ'''ου'''ρεος 'golden'
|-
! style=max-width:4em | Loss of sibilant /s/ at prevocalic and intervocalic positions
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| OP _egeseti 'hold, experience' < PIE *'''s'''eǵ<sup>h</sup>-,<br />NP δε_ως 'god' < PIE *d<sup>h</sup>h<sub>1</sub>'''s'''o-
|-
!"Prothetic" vowels{{efn|That is, PIE initial laryngeals followed by other consonants that developed into vowels.}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| OP '''o'''noman 'name', NP '''α'''ναρ 'husband'
|-
!PIE suffix *-ih₂ > -iya
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| OP nipt'''iya'''
|-
!PIE onset *ki̯- > s-
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| OP '''s'''in, '''s'''i (demonstrative pronoun)
|-
!PIE final *-m > -n
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| ?
| {{no}}
| NP δετο(υ)'''ν'''
|-
!*M > T
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|}
{{notelist}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+[[Morphology (linguistics)|Morphological]]{{efn|Highlighted text indicates that borrowing cannot be totally ruled out.}}
|- style="vertical-align: center;"
!Phrygian features
! Greek	
! Armenian
! Albanian
! Indo-Iranian
! Examples
|-
! conditional conjunction PIE *éh2i, *áHi
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| OP ai, ay/NP αι
|-
!e-augment
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
!e-demonstrative
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| OP e-sai⸗t
|-
!*-eh₂-s masc.
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
!t-enlargement
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
!<mark style="background:#BFBFBF;">verbs in -e-yo-</mark>
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
!<mark style="background:#BFBFBF;">verbs in -o-yo-</mark>
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
! particle *-d<sup>h</sup>n̥
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
!*d<sup>h</sup>h₁s-ó-
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
!*-eu̯-/*-ēu̯-
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
!*g<sup>u̯h</sup>er-mo-
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
!*g<sup>u̯</sup>neh₂-ik-
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
! compound pronoun *h₂eu̯-to-
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| NP αυτος
|-
!*h₃nh₃-mn-
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
!*méǵh₂-s
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
! PIE *meh₁
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| OP me/NP με 'not'
|-
!*-mh₁no-
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
! OP ni(y)/NP νι
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
!*-(t)or
| {{no}}
| ?
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
!-toy/-τοι
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
|
|}
{{notelist}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+[[Lexicology|Lexical]]{{efn|Highlighted text indicates that borrowing cannot be totally ruled out.}}
|- style="vertical-align: center;"
!Phrygian features&nbsp;
! Greek	
! Armenian
! Albanian
! Indo-Iranian
|-
!*b<sup>h</sup>oh₂-t-/*b<sup>h</sup>eh₂-t-
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|-
!*(h₁)en-mén-
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|-
!*ǵ<sup>h</sup>l̥h₃-ró-
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|-
!<mark style="background:#BFBFBF;">kako-</mark>
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|-
!ken-
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|-
!*koru̯-
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|-
!<mark style="background:#BFBFBF;">*mōro-</mark>
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|-
!*sleh₂g<sup>u̯</sup>-
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|}
{{notelist}}

==See also==
* [[Paeonian language]]
* [[Dacian language]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
*{{Cite book|last1=Mallory|first1=James P.|title=The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World|date=2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tF5wAAAAIAAJ|location=Oxford, England|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-929668-2|last2=Adams|first2=Douglas Q.}}
*{{Cite book|last=Obrador-Cursach|first=Bartomeu|url=https://www.tesisenred.net/bitstream/handle/10803/650834/BOC_PhD_THESIS.pdf|title=Lexicon of the Phrygian Inscriptions|publisher=University of Barcelona – Faculty of Philology – Department of Classical, Romance and Semitic Philology|year=2018}}
*{{cite book|last1=Cotticelli|first1=Paola|last2=Dahl|first2=Eystein|editor-last=Dahl|editor-first=Eystein|chapter=Split alignment, mixed alignment, and the spread of accusative morphosyntax in some archaic Indo-European languages|title=Alignment and Alignment Change in the Indo-European Family|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2022|volume=50|series=Oxford Studies in Diachronic and Historical Linguistics|isbn=9780192599773|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CTWAEAAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite book|last=Holst|first=Jan Henrik|title=Armenische Studien|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|year=2009|isbn=9783447061179|lang=de|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oq_iNaPSwBMC}}
*{{cite book|last1=Hyllested|first1=Adam|last2=Joseph|first2=Brian D.|editor1-last=Olander |editor1-first=Thomas|title=The Indo-European Language Family : A Phylogenetic Perspective|year=2022|doi=10.1017/9781108758666.013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781108758666|chapter=Albanian|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzKAEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA223|pages=223–245|s2cid=161016819 }}
*{{Cite journal|last=Obrador-Cursach|first=Bartomeu|date=9 April 2020|title=On the place of Phrygian among the Indo-European languages|journal=Journal of Language Relationship|volume=17|issue=3–4|pages=233–245|doi=10.31826/jlr-2019-173-407|doi-access=free|s2cid=215769896}}
*{{cite book|last=Obrador-Cursach|first=Bartomeu|title=The Phrygian Language|publisher=BRILL|year=2022|volume=139|series=Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1 The Near and Middle East|isbn=9789004419995|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PghZEAAAQBAJ}}
*{{Cite book |editor-last=Olander |editor-first=Thomas |year=2022 |title=The Indo-European Language Family: A Phylogenetic Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzKAEAAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-108-49979-8}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Oreshko|first=Rostislav|title=The onager kings of Anatolia: Hartapus, Gordis, Muška and the steppe strand in early Phrygian culture|journal=Kadmos|year=2020|volume=59|number=1/2|publisher=De Gruyter|pages=77–128|doi=10.1515/kadmos-2020-0005|s2cid=235451836|url=https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-03880045/file/Oreshko%20The%20onager%20kings%20of%20Anatolia%20-%20final.pdf }}
*{{cite journal|last=Sowa|first=Wojciech|title=Thracian ''Tracio''|journal=Palaeohispanica|issn=1578-5386|doi=10.36707/palaeohispanica.v0i20.377|year=2020|doi-access=free}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Woodhouse|first=Robert|date=2009|title=An overview of research on Phrygian from the nineteenth century to the present day|url=https://www.ejournals.eu/Studia-Linguistica/2009/2009/art/5400/|journal=Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis|volume=126|issue=1|pages=167–188|doi=10.2478/v10148-010-0013-x|issn=2083-4624|via=|doi-access=free}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |last=Anfosso |first=Milena |title=Le phrygien: une langue balkanique perdue en Anatolie |journal=Dialogues d'histoire ancienne: Supplément |issue=22 |date=2021 |series=L'Anatolie de l'époque archaïque à Byzance |volume=22 |pages=37–66 |doi=10.3917/dha.hs22.0037 |s2cid=235541849 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/dha_2108-1433_2021_sup_22_1_5031 |lang=FR |trans-title=Phrygian: a Balkan Language Lost in Anatolia}}
* Avram, Alexandru. "Chapter 15 – PHRYGIAN PERSONAL NAMES IN PHRYGIAN INSCRIPTIONS". In Baştürk, Mahmut Bilge; Hargrave, James (eds.). ''Phrygia in Antiquity: From the Bronze Age to the Byzantine Period'': Proceedings of an International Conference "The Phrygian Lands over Time: From Prehistory to the Middle of the 1st Millennium AD", Held at Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey, 2–8 November 2015. Edited by GOCHA R. TSETSKHLADZE. [[Peeters (publishing company)|Peeters Publishers]], 2019. 24: pp.&nbsp;305–50. {{doi|10.2307/j.ctv1q26v1n.21}}
* {{cite journal |last=Brixhe |first=Claude |title=Du paléo- au néo-phrygien |journal=Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres |volume=137 |issue=2 |date=1993 |pages=323–344 |doi=10.3406/crai.1993.15216 |lang=FR}}
* {{cite journal |last=Lamberterie |first=Charles de |title=Grec, phrygien, arménien: des anciens aux modernes |journal=Journal des savants |date=2013 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=3–69 |doi=10.3406/jds.2013.6300 |lang=FR}}
* {{cite journal |last=Lejeune |first=Michel |title=Notes paléo-phrygiennes |journal=Revue des Études Anciennes |volume=71 |date=1969 |issue=3–4 |pages=287–300 |doi=10.3406/rea.1969.3842}}
* {{cite book |first1=Orsat |last1=Ligorio |first2=Alexander |last2=Lubotsky |chapter=Phrygian |title=Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics |volume=3 |editor1-first=Jared |editor1-last=Klein |editor2-first=Brian |editor2-last=Joseph |editor3-first=Matthias |editor3-last=Fritz |location=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |date=2018 |pages=1816–31}}
* {{cite book |last1=Obrador-Cursach |first1=Bartomeu |title=The Phrygian Language |date=2020 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-41998-8|ref=none}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcs/phrygian/phryg.htm Corpus of Phrygian Inscriptions]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110814123554/http://www.indo-european.nl/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=leiden&morpho=0&basename=%5Cdata%5Cie%5Cphrygian&first=1 Lubotsky's Phrygian Etymological Database (Incomplete)]
*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-458397/Phrygian-language Encyclopædia Britannica – Phrygian Language]
*[http://www.linguisticbibliography.com/blonlinesearch1xy.php?S1=Object+language&S2=Phrygian&S40=on&S41=on&S42=on&S50=All+years&S60=&S61=&S62= Linguistic Bibliography Online]{{subscription required}}
*[http://www.palaeolexicon.com/ Palaeolexicon – Dictionary, History and Translations of the Phrygian Language]
*[https://www.scribd.com/doc/44668910/Midas-and-the-Phrygians Midas and the Mushki, by Miltiades E. Bolaris (2010)]

{{Paleo-Balkan languages}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phrygian Language}}
[[Category:Languages attested from the 8th century BC]]
[[Category:Languages extinct in the 5th century]]
[[Category:Graeco-Phrygian]]
[[Category:Languages of ancient Anatolia]]
[[Category:Paleo-Balkan languages]]
[[Category:Extinct languages of Asia]]
[[Category:Culture of Phrygia|Language]]
[[Category:Unclassified Indo-European languages]]