View source for Punic language

{{Short description|Extinct ancient Phoenician language}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Punic
| altname          = Phoenicio-Punic, Carthaginian, Western Tyro-Sidonian
| image = Inscription Theatre Leptis Magna Libya.JPG
| imagecaption = One of the [[Tripolitania Punic inscriptions]], in both Latin (top) and Punic (bottom) script.
| region           = [[Tunisia]], coastal parts of [[Algeria]], [[Morocco]], southern [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]], [[Balearic islands]], [[Libya]], [[Malta]], western [[Sicily]], southern and eastern [[Sardinia]]
| era              = 8th century BC to 6th century AD
| script           = [[Phoenician alphabet]]
| familycolor      = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2             = [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
| fam3             = [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]]
| fam4             = [[Central Semitic languages|Central Semitic]]
| fam5             = [[Northwest Semitic languages|Northwest Semitic]]
| fam6             = [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]]
| fam7             = [[Canaanite languages#North Canaan|North]]
| fam8             = [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]]
| fam9             = Tyro-Sidonian
| fam10            = Western
| ancestor         = [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]]
| iso3             = xpu
| linglist         = xpu
| glotto           = puni1241
| glottorefname    = Punic
| glotto2          = neop1239
| glottoname2      = Neo-Punic
}}
{{Contains special characters
| special    = Phoenician characters
| fix        = Help:Multilingual support
| error      = [[Specials (Unicode block)#Replacement character|question marks, empty boxes, or other symbols]]
| characters = the intended characters
| image      = Phoenician mem.svg
| alt        = Phoenician character mem
| link       = Specials (Unicode block)#Replacement character
| section    = article
| compact    = 
}}
The '''Punic language''', also called '''Phoenicio-Punic''' or '''Carthaginian''', is an extinct variety of the [[Phoenician language]], a [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite language]] of the [[Northwest Semitic languages|Northwest Semitic]] branch of the [[Semitic languages]]. An offshoot of the Phoenician language of coastal [[West Asia]] (modern [[Lebanon]] and north western [[Syria]]), it was principally spoken on the [[Mediterranean]] coast of [[Northwest Africa]], the [[Iberian Peninsula]]  and several [[List of islands in the Mediterranean|Mediterranean islands]], such as [[Malta]], [[Sicily]], and [[Sardinia]] by the [[Punic people]], or western [[Phoenicia]]ns, throughout [[classical antiquity]], from the 8th century BC to the 6th century AD.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1EEtmT9Tbj4C&pg=PA200|title=The Phoenicians|last=Moscati|first=Sabatino|date=2001|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=9781850435334|pages=200|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FFKPBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA139|title=L'Histoire des marques depuis l'antiquité jusqu'au moyen âge|last=Palma|first=Salvatore Di|date=2014-11-18|publisher=Société des Ecrivains|isbn=9782342031201|pages=139|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RJIFAQAAIAAJ|title=Historie de l'Afrique du Nord|last=Jouhaud|first=Edmond Jules René|date=1968|publisher=Éditions des Deux Cogs d’Or|pages=22|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a8dXDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT45|title=L'Afrique du Nord au féminin|last=Camps|first=Gabriel|date=1992|publisher=Perrin (réédition numérique FeniXX)|isbn=9782262057435|pages=45|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BuV8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA664|title=Politische Geschichte (Provinzen und Randvölker: Allgemeines; Britannien, Hispanien, Gallien)|editor-last=Temporini|editor-first=Hildegard|date=1975|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|isbn=9783110882070|pages=664|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M8oNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA50|title=Report on the Phœnician and Roman Antiquities in the Group of the Islands of Malta|last=Caruana|first=A. A.|date=1852|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|pages=50|language=en}}</ref>

==History==
===Early history===
Punic is considered to have gradually separated from its Phoenician parent around the time that [[Carthage]] became the leading Phoenician city under [[Mago I of Carthage|Mago I]], but scholarly attempts to delineate the dialects lack precision and generally disagree on the classification.<ref name="Punic">{{cite book|last=Guzzo|author-link=Maria Giulia Amadasi Guzzo|first=Maria Giulia Amadasi|editor=Jo Ann Hackett and Walter Emanuel Aufrecht|title="An Eye for Form": Epigraphic Essays in Honor of Frank Moore Cross|url=https://www.academia.edu/37534317|year=2014|publisher=Eisenbrauns|isbn=978-1-57506-303-4|chapter=Punic Scripts|quote=The place to begin is with a definition of what can be called a Punic script in relation to a Punic language. Conventionally, we call “Punic” the writing typical of Carthage, which spread to other colonies when the “New City” became the “capital” of the Phoenician west. Judging from the existing data on the history of the region, Carthage became leader of the other colonies around the middle to the end of the 6th century BC, when we first know of symbola with the [[Etruscan cities|Etruscan]] cities, the first treaty with [[Rome]] (ca. 509 BC), and the first Carthaginian involvement in wars in [[Sardinia]] and [[Sicily]]. One can suppose that, before this period, the Phoenician language, written according to Phoenician orthographic and paleographic conventions, was still in use in the west, with some local changes in the scripts from region to region or from city to city… As for language, the Phoenician-Punic grammars (the authors of which generally do not agree on the classification of the different phases and dialects of Phoenician) make a distinction between Phoenician and Punic. They lack precision, however, when they attempt to define the characteristics of Punic and the period in which it originated… We are able to distinguish Punic from Phoenician (in part) because of the orthography of the written language. The first linguistic characteristic we can recognize is the tendency to drop the pronunciation of the laryngeal ʾalep, followed by he (in Punic), and finally, the whole series of laryngeals and pharyngeals (in late Punic).}}</ref>

The [[Punics]] stayed in contact with the homeland of [[Phoenicia]] until the [[battle of Carthage (c. 149 BC)|destruction of Carthage]] by the [[Roman Republic]] in 146 BC. At first, there was not much difference between Phoenician and Punic. Developments in the language before 146 BC are largely hidden from us by the adherence of Carthaginian scribes to a traditional Phoenician orthography, but there are occasional hints that the phonology and grammar of Punic had begun to diverge from Phoenician after the sixth century BC.{{sfn|Amadasi Guzzo|2012|p=126}} The clearest evidence for this comes from [[Motya]] in western Sicily, but there are also traces of it in sixth-century Carthaginian inscriptions and it is unclear whether these developments began in western Sicily and spread to Africa or vice versa.{{sfn|Amadasi Guzzo|2012|p=130}} From the fifth-century BC, a shared set of alphabetic, orthographic, and phonological rules are encountered in Punic inscriptions throughout the western Mediterranean, probably due to Carthaginian influence.{{sfn|Amadasi Guzzo|2012|pp=129-130}}

Punic literary works were written in the period before 146 BC. For example, [[Mago (agricultural writer)|Mago]] wrote 28 volumes about [[animal husbandry]]. The Roman Senate appreciated the works so much that after taking Carthage, they presented them to Berber princes who owned libraries there. Mago's work was translated into Greek by [[Cassius Dionysius]] of [[Utica, Tunisia|Utica]]. A Latin version was probably translated from the Greek version. Further examples of Punic works of literature include the works of [[Hanno the Navigator]], who wrote about his encounters during his naval voyages around what is today Africa and about the settling of new colonies in Iberia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean.<ref>{{citation |url=http://history-world.org/Carthage,%20A%20History%201.htm |title=Ancient Carthage |last=Rollin |first=Charles |access-date=2014-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509061500/http://history-world.org/Carthage,%20A%20History%201.htm |archive-date=2008-05-09 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

===Neo-Punic===
Neo-Punic refers to the dialect of Punic spoken after the fall of Carthage and after the Roman conquest of the former Punic territories in 146 BC. The dialect differed from the earlier Punic language, as is evident from divergent spelling compared to earlier Punic and by the use of non-Semitic names, mostly of [[Libyco-Berber]] or [[Iberian language|Iberian]] origin. The difference was due to the dialectal changes that Punic underwent as it spread among the northern [[Berber peoples]].<ref name="Jongeling & Kerr">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oYWnSUaslXYC&q=neo-punic&pg=PP1 |title=Late Punic Epigraphy: An Introduction to the Study of Neo-Punic and Latino-Punic Inscriptions |first1=Karel |last1=Jongeling |first2=Robert M. |last2=Kerr |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |year=2005 |isbn=978-3-1614-8728-6 }}</ref>  [[Sallust]] (86 – 34 BC) claims Punic was "altered by their intermarriages with the [[Numidians]]".<ref>Sall. Iug. 78</ref> That account agrees with other evidence found to suggest a North African Berber influence on Punic, such as Libyco-Berber names in the [[Onomasticon (Eusebius)|''Onomasticon'' of Eusebius]].{{ambiguous |date=October 2015}} Neo-Punic is mostly known from inscriptions, including ''Lepcis Magna N 19'' (= [[Tripolitania Punic inscriptions|''KAI'' 124]]; 92 AD).
[[File:Roman provincial languages 150CE.png|thumb|Map of the regional [[languages of the Roman Empire]] {{circa|150 AD}}]]
Around the fourth century AD, Punic was still spoken in what is now northern parts of [[Tunisia]] and [[Algeria]], other parts of Northwest Africa, and the [[Mediterranean]]. A version of Punic, known as ''Latino-Punic'' was written in the Latin alphabet and is known from seventy texts. These texts include the 1st-century ''Zliten LP1'' and the second century ''Lepcis Magna LP1''.{{clarify |date=July 2015}} They were even written as late as the 4th century, ''Bir ed-Dreder LP2''. [[Augustine of Hippo]] (d. 430) is generally considered the last major ancient writer to have some knowledge of Punic and is considered the "primary source on the survival of [late] Punic". According to him, Punic was still spoken in his region (Northern Africa) in the 5th century, centuries after the fall of Carthage, and there were still people who called themselves "chanani" ("[[Canaan]]ite") at that time.<ref name="Jongeling & Kerr"/>{{rp|5}} He wrote around 401:

{{blockquote|And if the Punic language is rejected by you, you virtually deny what has been admitted by most learned men, that many things have been wisely preserved from oblivion in books written in the Punic tongue. Nay, you [referring to his Pagan interlocutor] ought even to be ashamed of having been born in the country in which the cradle of this language is still warm.<ref>{{citation |author=Augustine of Hippo|title=Epistola 17|trans-title=Letter 17 |url=http://www.augustinus.it/latino/lettere/lettera_017_testo.htm|work={{lang|it|Sant'Agostino — Nuova Biblioteca Agostiniana|nocat=yes}}|editor-first=Franco |editor-last=Monteverde |author-link=Augustine of Hippo}}</ref>
}}

Besides Augustine, the only proof of Punic-speaking communities at such a late period is a series of trilingual [[funerary text]]s found in the Christian [[catacombs]] of [[Sirte]], [[Libya]]: the gravestones are carved in [[Ancient Greek]], [[Latin]] and Punic. It might have even survived the [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb]], as the geographer [[al-Bakri]] describes a people speaking a language that was not [[Berber languages|Berber]], Latin or [[Coptic language|Coptic]] in [[Sirte]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mideasti.blogspot.com/2013/07/did-punic-survive-until-advent-of_30.html|title=Did Punic Survive Until the Advent of Arabic? Part 4: The Post-Augustine Evidence|last=Dunn|first=Michael Collins|date=2013-07-30|website=MEI Editor's Blog|access-date=2019-08-30}}</ref> where spoken Punic survived well past written use.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/vtw/jongeling/latpun/LPINTRO.htm |title=Latino-Punic texts from North Africa |first1=Karel |last1=Jongeling |publisher=Dept of Comparative Linguistics, [[Leiden University]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051109091842/http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/vtw/jongeling/LATPUN/LPINTRO.htm |archive-date=9 November 2005 }}</ref> However, it is likely that Arabization of Punic speakers was facilitated by their language belonging to the same group (both were Semitic languages) as that of the conquerors and so they had many grammatical and lexical similarities.<ref name="Jongeling & Kerr"/>{{rp|71}}

===Legacy===
The idea that Punic was the origin of [[Maltese language|Maltese]] was first raised in 1565.<ref>{{cite web |title=L-Istorja tal-Ilsien Malti |trans-title=The History of the Maltese language |url=http://www.akkademjatalmalti.com/page.asp?p=9023 |first=Mario |last=Cassar |publisher=[[Akkademja tal-Malti]] |language=mt |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923054701/http://www.akkademjatalmalti.com/page.asp?p=9023 |archive-date=2015-09-23 }}</ref> Modern linguistics has proved that Maltese is in fact derived from [[Arabic]], probably [[Siculo-Arabic]] specifically, with a large number of [[loanword]]s from [[Italian language|Italian]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Aspects of Multilingualism in European Language History |url=https://archive.org/details/aspectsmultiling00brau |url-access=limited |last=Vella |first=Alexandra |editor-first1=Kurt |editor-last1=Braunmüller |editor-first2=Gisella |editor-last2=Ferraresi |series=Hamburg Studies on Multiculturalism |year=2004 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |isbn=978-90-272-1922-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/aspectsmultiling00brau/page/n271 263] |chapter=Language contact and Maltese intonation: Some parallels with other language varieties }}</ref> However, Punic was indeed spoken on the island of [[Malta]] at some point in its history, as evidenced by both the [[Cippi of Melqart]], which is integral to the decipherment of Punic after its extinction, and other inscriptions that were found on the islands. Punic itself, being Canaanite, was more similar to [[Modern Hebrew]] than to Arabic.

Today there are a number of common Berber roots that descend from Punic, including the word for "learn" (''*almid'', ''*yulmad''; compare Hebrew [[wikt:למד|למד]]).<ref>Blažek, Václav (2014), [https://journals.pan.pl/Content/85572/mainfile.pdf "Phoenician/Punic Loans in Berber Languages and Their Role in Chronology of Berber"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622145406/https://journals.pan.pl/Content/85572/mainfile.pdf |date=2019-06-22 }}, ''Folia Orientalia'', Vol. 51, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.</ref>

==Description==
Punic is known from inscriptions (most of them religious formulae) and personal name evidence. The play ''[[Poenulus]]'' by [[Plautus]] contains a few lines of vernacular Punic which have been subject to some research because unlike inscriptions, they largely preserve the [[vowel]]s.<ref>{{cite book |title=Les passages puniques en transcription latine dans le Poenulus de Plaute |trans-title=The Punic passages in Latin transcription in ''Poenulus'' by Plautus |last=Sznycer |first=Maurice |author-link=Maurice Sznycer|year=1967 |publisher={{lang|fr|Librairie C. Klincksieck|nocat=yes}} |location=Paris}}</ref>

Like its Phoenician parent, Punic was written from right to left, in horizontal lines, without vowels.<ref name="Omniglot">{{cite web |url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/punic.htm |title=Punic |work=Omniglot |access-date=25 October 2015}}</ref>

==Phonology==
Punic has 22 consonants.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Grammar of Phoenician and Punic |first=Stanislav |last=Segert |year=1976 |location=Munich |publisher=Beck |isbn=978-3-406-00724-8 }}</ref> Details of their pronunciation can be reconstructed from Punic and Neo-Punic texts written in Latin or Greek characters (inscriptions, and parts of Plautus's comedy ''Poenulus'', 'The Little Punic').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krahmalkov |first1=Charles R. |title=A Phoenician-Punic Grammar (Handbuch der Orientalistik, Vol. 54) |date=2001 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-1-62837-031-7 |pages=19–37}}(reprint Atlata: SBL, 2014).</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="3" |Orthography
!  rowspan="2"| Name
!  rowspan="2"| Transliteration
!  rowspan="2"| Pronunciation
!  rowspan="2"| Notes
|-
!Neo-Punic
! colspan="2" |Phoenician
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic alef.png|20px|Aleph]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician aleph.svg|20px|Aleph]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤀}}
|[[Aleph|ʾalp]] <small>{{nowrap|later ʾalf}}</small>
| {{big|ʾ}}
|{{IPAslink|ʔ}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Sometimes also used for the [[mater lectionis|indication of vowels]].
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic bet.png|20px|Beth]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician beth.svg|20px|Beth]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤁}}
|[[Bet (letter)|Bēt]] <small>{{nowrap|later Vēt}}</small>
| b<br />v
|{{IPAslink|b}}<br />{{IPAslink|v}}
| style="text-align:left;" | In Late Punic and in Late Phoenician, {{angle bracket|b}} ({{IPAslink|b}}) underwent a [[Fricative consonant|fricativization]] to {{angle bracket|v}} ({{IPAslink|v}}) in the 3rd century BCE.
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic gimel.png|20px|Gimel]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician gimel.svg|20px|Gimel]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤂}}
|[[Gimel|Gaml]]
| g
|{{IPAslink|ɡ}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Some words in Latin transliterations show a [[spirantization]] as {{IPAblink|ɣ}} at the end of the word, written indicated by "ẖ" instead of the usual "gh".
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic dalet.png|20px|Daleth]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician daleth.svg|20px|Daleth]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤃}}
|[[Dalet|Dalt]]
| d
|{{IPAslink|d}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic he.png|20px|He]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician he.svg|20px|He]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤄}}
|[[He (letter)|Hē]]
| h
|{{IPAslink|h}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Under Roman influence often elided but was still pronounced in certain Carthaginian words.
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic vav.png|20px|Waw]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician waw.svg|20px|Waw]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤅}}
|[[Waw (letter)|Waw]] <small>{{nowrap|}}</small>
| w
|{{IPAslink|w}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Sometimes also used for the indication of the vowel "u".
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic zayin.png|20px|Zayin]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician zayin.svg|20px|Zayin]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤆}}
|[[Zayin|Zēn]]
| z
|{{IPAslink|z}}
| style="text-align:left;" | In a few names attested as "sd", like in [[Hasdrubal]] for "ʿazrubaʿl", "esde" for {{lang|xpu|heze}} ("this", used in some Punic dialects), but most texts show a simple "s": "syt" for {{lang|xpu|zut}} ("this", in Late Punic)
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic het.png|20px|Heth]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician heth.svg|20px|Heth]]</span>
 |{{script|Phnx|𐤇}}
|[[Heth|Ḥēt]]
| ḥ
|{{IPAslink|ħ}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Sometimes used as a vowel for "a, e, i, o, u", the sound of Het was weakened, and words written usually with it were often instead written with the letter Alf in Late Punic inscriptions.
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic tet.png|20px|Teth]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician teth.svg|20px|Teth]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤈}}
|[[Teth|Ṭēt]]
| ṭ
|{{IPAslink|tˤ}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic yod.png|20px|Yodh]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician yodh.svg|20px|Yodh]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤉}}
|[[Yodh|Yod]]
| y
|{{IPAslink|j}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Sometimes also used for the indication of the vowel "i" but mostly in foreign names.
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic kaf.png|20px|Kaph]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician kaph.svg|20px|Kaph]]</span>
| style="font-size:125%" |{{script|Phnx|𐤊}}
|[[Kaph|Kap]]
| k
|{{IPAslink|k}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Some words in Latin transliterations show a [[spirantization]] as {{IPAblink|x}} at the end of the word, written indicated by "h" instead of the usual "ch".
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic lamed.png|20px|Lamedh]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician lamedh.svg|20px|Lamedh]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤋}}
|[[Lamedh|Lamd]]
| l
|{{IPAslink|l}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic mem.png|20px|Mem]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician mem.svg|20px|Mem]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤌}}
|[[Mem|Mēm]]
| m
|{{IPAslink|m}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic nun.png|20px|Nun]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician nun.svg|20px|Nun]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤍}}
|[[Nun (letter)|Nūn]]
| n
|{{IPAslink|n}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic samekh.png|20px|Samekh]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician samekh.svg|20px|Samekh]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤎}}
|[[Samekh|Semk]]
| s
|{{IPAslink|s}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic ayin.png|20px|Ayin]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician ayin.svg|20px|Ayin]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤏}}
|[[Ayin|ʿēn]]
| {{big|ʿ}}
|{{IPAslink|ʕ}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Often used for the vowel "a" and "o" in late Punic, mostly for foreign Latin names.
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic pe.png|20px|Pe]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician pe.svg|20px|Pe]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤐}}
|[[Pe (Semitic letter)|Pi]] <small>{{nowrap|later Fi}}</small>
| p<br />f
|{{IPAslink|p}}<br />{{IPAslink|f}}
| style="text-align:left;" | In Late Punic and in Late Phoenician, {{angle bracket|𐤐‎}} ({{IPAslink|p}}) underwent a [[Fricative consonant|fricativization]] to {{angle bracket|f}} ({{IPAslink|f}}) in the 3rd century BCE. (similar to the [[Fricative consonant|fricativization]] that happened to the corresponding Arabic {{angle bracket|ف}} {{IPAslink|f}}).
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic tsade.png|20px|Tsadi]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician sade.svg|20px|Sadek]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤑}}
|[[Tsade|Tsadē]]
| ṣ
|{{IPA|/sˤ/}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Attested as "ts" mostly as "s" in Latin and [[Ancient Greek]] and [[Hittite language|Hittite]], [[Lydian language|Lydian]] and [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]] texts. Attested in some Latin texts as "st".
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic quf.png|20px|Qoph]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician qoph.svg|20px|Qoph]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤒}}
|[[Qoph|Qop]] <small>{{nowrap|later Qof}}</small>
| q
|{{IPAslink|q}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic resh.png|20px|Res]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician res.svg|20px|Res]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤓}}
|[[Resh|Rūš]]
| r
|{{IPAslink|r}}
| 
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic shin.png|20px|Shin]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician sin.svg|20px|Shin]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤔}}
|[[Shin (letter)|Shin]]
| š
|{{IPAslink|ʃ}} or /s/
| style="text-align:left;" | Pronunciation is debated: some<ref>For example {{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=Zellig S. |title=A Grammar of the Phoenician Language |date=1936 |publisher=American Oriental Society |location=New Haven, Conn. |isbn=0-940490-08-0 |page=22}}</ref> think it was /ʃ/; others<ref>For example Krahmalkov (2001), p. 25-26.</ref> that it was /s/.
|-------------------------------------------- style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Punic tav.png|20px|Taw]]</span>
|<span style="background-color: white;">[[File:Phoenician taw.svg|20px|Taw]]</span>
|{{script|Phnx|𐤕}}
|[[Taw]]
| t
|{{IPAslink|t}}
| 
|}

===Table of consonant phonemes===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="4" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]<br>/ [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]] /<br>[[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyngeal]]
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" | <small>plain</small>
! colspan="2" | <small>[[Emphatic consonant|emphatic]]</small>
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| style="border-right: none; width: 2em;" |                || style="border-left: none; width: 2em;" | {{IPA link|m}}
| style="border-right: none; width: 2em;" |                || style="border-left: none; width: 2em;" | {{IPA link|n}}
| style="border-right: none; width: 2em;" |                || style="border-left: none; width: 2em;" | 
| style="border-right: none; width: 2em;" |                || style="border-left: none; width: 2em;" | 
| style="border-right: none; width: 2em;" |                || style="border-left: none; width: 2em;" | 
| style="border-right: none; width: 2em;" |                || style="border-left: none; width: 2em;" | 
|-
! [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
| style="border-right: none;" rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|p}}~{{IPA link|f}}
| style="border-left: none;" rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|b}}~{{IPA link|v}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|t}} || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|d}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|tˤ}}|| style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|k}} || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|q}} || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|ʔ}} || style="border-left: none;" | 
|-
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|s}} || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|z}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|sˤ}}|| style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|ʃ}} || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|ħ}} || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|ʕ}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|h}} || style="border-left: none;" | 
|-
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|w}}
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|l}}
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|j}}
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
|-
! [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|r}}
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
| style="border-right: none;" |                || style="border-left: none;" | 
|}

=== Vowels ===
The [[vowel]]s in Punic and Neo-Punic are: short ''a, i,'' and ''u''; their long counterparts ''ā, ī,'' and ''ū''; and ''ē'' and ''ō'', which had developed out of the [[diphthong]]s ''ay'' and ''aw'', respectively (for example Punic ''mēm'', 'water', corresponds to Hebrew ''mayim'').

Two vowel changes are noteworthy. In many cases a stressed long ''ā'' developed into /''o''/, for example in the third person masculine singular of the suffixing conjugation of the verb, ''baròk'', 'he has blessed' (compare Hebrew ''baràk''). And in some cases that /''o''/ secondarily developed into ''ū'', for example ''mū'', 'what?', < ''mō'' < ''mā'' (cf. Hebrew ''māh'', 'what?').

In late Punic and Neo-Punic the [[glottal stop]] and [[pharyngeal consonant|pharyngeal]] and [[laryngeal consonant]]s were no longer pronounced. The signs’'', ‘, h,'' and ''ḥ'' thus became available to indicate vowels. The ‘ayn (''‘'') came to be regularly used to indicate an /''a''/ sound, and also ''y'' and ''w'' increasingly were used to indicate /''i''/ and /''o, u''/, respectively. But a consistent system to write vowels never developed.<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 19, 27-37.</ref>

==Grammar==
In this section "Grammar"<ref>Based on {{cite book |last1=Krahmalkov |first1=Charles R. |title=A Phoenician-Punic Grammar (Handbuch der Orientalistik, Vol. 54) |date=2001 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-1-62837-031-7}} (reprint Atlanta, SBL, 2014).</ref> the notation ''"'''XX''' (xxxx)"'' is used, where '''''XX''''' is the spelling in Punic characters (without vowels), while ''xxxx'' is a phonetic rendering, including vowels, as can be reconstructed from Punic language texts written in the Latin or Greek alphabets.

=== Nouns ===
Nouns, including adjectives, in Punic and Neo-Punic can be of two genders (masculine or feminine), three numbers (singular, dual, or plural), and in two 'states', the absolute state or the so-called construct state. A word in the construct state has a close relation with the word that follows, a relation that is often translated by "of". For example, in the combination "sons of Hanno", "sons of" would be in the construct state, while "Hanno" would be in the absolute state.

Morphology:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
!  !!  !! masculine !! (example) !! feminine !! colspan="2" | (examples)
|-
| rowspan="2" | Singular || absolute state || rowspan="2" align="center" | -Ø || '' '''BN''' (bin)'', 'son' || rowspan="2" align="center" | '' '''-T, -’T ''' (-ot, -ut, -īt)'' || '' '''BT''' (bit)'', 'daughter' ||
|-
| construct state || '' '''BN''' (bin)'', 'son of' || '' '''BT, B‘T''' (bit)'', 'daughter of' ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | Dual || absolute state || align="center" | '' '''-M''' (-ēm)'' || align="center" |   || align="center" | '' '''-M''' (-ēm)'' || || [''YD'', 'hand':] '' '''YDM''' (yadēm)'', 'two hands' 
|-
| construct state || align="center" | -Ø ''(-ē)'' ||  || align="center" | -Ø ''(-ē)'' || || [''‘YN, ‘N'', 'eye':] '' '''‘N''' (‘ēnē)'', '[two] eyes of'
|-
| rowspan="2" | Plural || absolute state || align="center" | '' '''-M, -’M, -YM''' (-īm, -ēm)'' || '' '''BNM''' (banīm)'', 'sons' || rowspan="2" align="center" | '' '''-T, -’T''' (-ūt)'' || '' '''BNT''' (banūt)'', 'daughters' ||
|-
| construct state || align="center" | -Ø ''(-ē)'' || '' '''BN’''' (b<sup>e</sup>nē)'', 'sons of' || '' '''BNT''' (banūt)'', 'daughters of' ||
|}

=== Pronouns ===

==== Demonstrative pronoun ====
The demonstrative pronoun 'this, these' was:<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 75-85.</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
!  !! Masculine !! Feminine !! !!
|-
| rowspan="2" | Singular || align="center" | '' '''Z, ’Z''', (<sup>e</sup>zdē)''; || align="center" | '' '''Z''' (<sup>e</sup>zdō)''; || (Punic) || rowspan="2" | (cf. Hebrew ''zèh'', fem. ''zōt'')
|-
| align="center" | '' '''S''' (si)''; <br>'' '''ST''' (sit)'' || align="center" | '' '''Š’''' (sō, sū)''; <br>'' '''ST''' (sōt)'' || (Neo-Punic)
|-
| Plural || colspan="2" align="center" |  '' '''’L, ’L’''' (’llē)'' || (Punic and Neo-Punic) || (cf. Hebrew ''’ēllèh'')
|}

===== Definite article =====
The definite article was evolving from Phoenician ''ha-'' to an unaspirated article ''a-''. By 406 BCE, both variants were attested in the same inscription ([[Agrigentum inscription|CIS I 5510]]). Although in later times the ''h-'' was no longer pronounced, the "historical" spelling '''''H-''''' kept being used, in addition to '''''’-''''' and Ø-, and one even finds '''''Ḥ-'''''.<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), p. 85-92.</ref>

==== Personal pronoun ====
The personal pronouns, when used on their own, are:<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 38-49.</ref> (forms between [...] are attested in Phoenician only)

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
!  !! colspan="4" | Singular !! colspan="4" | Plural
|-
|  || align="center" | '''masculine''' || align="center" | '''feminine''' || || (cf. Hebrew:) || align="center" | '''masculine''' || align="center" | '''feminine''' || || (cf. Hebrew:)
|-
| 1st person || colspan="2" align="center" | '' '''’NK, ’NKY''' (’anīki, ’anīk)'' || = 'I, I myself' || ''’ānokí'' || colspan="2" align="center" | ['' '''(’)NḤN''' ((’a)náḥnu)'' ] || = 'we' || ''’anáḥnū''
|-
| 2nd person || align="center" | '' '''’T''' (’átta)'' || align="center" | ['' '''’T''' (’atti)'' ] || = 'you' (singular) || ''’attā(h); ’at'' || align="center" | '' '''’TM''' (’attím)'' || align="center" | ? || = 'you' (plural) || ''’attèm; ’attēn''
|-
| 3rd person || align="center" | '' '''H’''' (hū, ū)'' || align="center" | '' '''H’, HY''' (hī)'' || = 'he, she' || ''hū; hī'' || colspan="2" align="center" | '' '''HMT''' (hēmat?)'' || = 'they' || ''hēmmā(h); hēnnā(h)''
|}

When used as a direct or indirect object ('me, him', 'to me, to him') or as a possessive ('mine, his') the personal pronoun takes the form of a suffix. These suffixes can be combined with verbal forms, substantives, and particles.

Examples:
: '' '''ḤN''' (ḥan)'' = (verb:) 'he has shown favor' →
:: '' '''ḤN’''' (ḥannō)'' = 'he has shown favor to him (-ō)' = proper name [[Hanno I the Great|Hanno]]
:: '' '''ḤNYB‘L''' (ḥannī ba‘al)'' = (verb:) 'Ba‘al has shown favor to me (-ī)' = proper name [[Hannibal]]

: '' '''BN''' (bin)'' = 'son' →
:: '' '''BN’, BNY''' (binō)'' = 'his son'

: '' '''’T''' (’et)'' = 'with' (preposition) →
:: '' '''’TY''' (’ittī)'' = 'together with me'

The paradigm for the suffixed personal pronouns is:<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 50-74.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
! colspan="2" | !! colspan="4" | Singular !! colspan="4" | Plural
|-
| colspan="2" |  || align="center" | '''masculine''' || align="center" | '''feminine''' || || (cf. Hebrew:) || align="center" | '''masculine''' || align="center" | '''feminine''' || || (cf. Hebrew:)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1st person || (possessive) || colspan="2" align="center" | '' '''-Y''' (-ī)'' || = 'mine' || ''-ī'' || rowspan="2" colspan="2" align="center" | '' '''-N''' (-en, -on)'' || rowspan="2" | = 'us, our' || rowspan="2" | ''-nû''
|-
| (object) || colspan="2" align="center" | '' '''-NY''' (-ni)'' || = 'me' || ''-ni''
|-
| colspan="2" | 2nd person || align="center" | '' '''-K, -K’''' (-ka)'' || align="center" | '' '''-KY, -K''' (-kī)'' || = '(to) you, your' (singular) || ''-ka; -k'' || align="center" | '' '''-KM''' (-kom)'' || align="center" | ''?'' || = '(to) you, your' (plural) || ''-kem''
|-
| colspan="2" rowspan="3" | 3rd person || align="center" | '' '''-’, -‘, -‘’''' (-o);<br>'''-'''Ø''', -Y, -Y’''' (-yo)'' || align="center" | '' '''-’, -‘, -‘’''' (-a); <br>''' -Y‘''' (-ya)'' || rowspan="3" | = 'him, his; her' || ''-o; -āh'' || align="center" | '' '''-M''' (-om);'' || align="center" | '' '''-M''' (-am)'' || rowspan="3" | = 'them, their' || rowspan="3" | ''-ām, -ēm; -ān''
|-
| align="center" | '' '''-'''Ø''', -Y, -’, -’Y''' <br>(-i)'' [< ''-ih(u)''] || align="center" | '' '''-Y''' (-i)'' || ''-hu; -hā'' || rowspan="2" align="center" | '' '''-NM, -N’M, -NHM''' <br>(-nom)''
|-
| align="center" | '' '''-M''' (-im)'' || align="center" | || —
|}

==== Relative pronoun ====
The relative pronoun, 'who, that, which', in both Punic and Neo-Punic is’ '''''Š ('''’īs''). In late Neo-Punic ''' ''M’'' ''' (''mū'') (originally an interrogative pronoun, 'what?') emerged as a second relative pronoun. Both pronouns were not inflected. The combination ''' ''’Š M’'' ''' (''’īs mū'') was also used in late Neo-Punic.<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 93-103, 110-111.</ref>

==== Determinative pronoun ====
A pronoun '''''Š- ('''si-'') was used to express an indirect genitival relationship between two substantives; it can be translated as 'of'. This uninflected pronoun was prefixed to the second of the two substantives.<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 103-107.</ref> Example:
: '''''HKHNT ŠRBTN''''' (''ha-kohènet si-Rabat-ēn''), 'the priestess of our Lady'

==== Interrogative pronoun ====
There are two interrogative pronouns:<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 108-111.</ref>
: '' '''MY''' (mī)'', 'who?' (cf. Hebrew ''mī'')
: '' '''M’''' (mū)'', 'what?' (cf. Hebrew ''māh''). In Neo-Punic this pronoun is also used as a relative pronoun, 'that, which'.<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 110-111.</ref>
Neither of the two pronouns was inflected.

==== Indefinite pronoun ====
In Punic and Neo-Punic there was no exclusive indefinite pronoun. Whenever such a pronoun might be needed, it was circumscribed by means of words like '' '''’ḤD''' (’ḥḥad)'', 'one', '' '''’Š''' (’īs)'' or '' '''’DM''' (’adom)'', 'a man, a person', or '' '''KL''' (kil)'', 'all'.<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 115-119.</ref>

=== Verbs ===
==== Morphology ====
The nucleus of Punic and Neo-Punic verbs is a "root" consisting of three or, sometimes, two consonants. By adding prefixes and suffixes, and by varying the vowels that are inserted into the root, the various forms of the verb are formed. These belong to six "stems" (conjugations). The basic, and most common, stem type is the Qal. The other common stems are:<ref>For a full discussion of verbal morphology, see: Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 151-214.</ref>
* Niph‘al (the usual passive stem);
* Pi‘el (a so-called [[intensive word form|intensive]] stem);
* Yiph‘il (a [[causative]] stem; corresponds to the Hiph‘il stem in [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]]).
A few other stems are found only very rarely:
* Qal Passive;
* Pu‘al (passive of the Pi‘el stem);
* Yitpe‘el (reflexive variant of the Pi‘el; Hebrew Hitpa‘el).

===== Qal =====
The paradigm of the Qal is (the verb ''' ''B-R-K'' ''' (''barok''), 'to bless', is used as an example):
: (note 1:) “the verb ''barok''”: ''barok'' literally means '<u>he</u> blesses', it is tradition to consider the 3rd person masculine suffixing form as the standard form of the Punic verb;
: (note 2:) Forms between [...] are known from Phoenician but have not yet been attested in Punic.

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! colspan="4" | Form !! (Neo-)Punic !! Translation !! (cf. Hebrew)
|-
| rowspan="9" valign="top" | '''Perfect'''<br>(Suffixing<br>form) || rowspan="5" valign="top" | Singular || 1 ||  || ''' ''BRKT'' ''' (''barakti'') || = 'I bless' || ''beràkti''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 2 || masc. || ''' ''BRKT'' ''' (''barakta'') || = 'you (m.) bless' || ''berákta''
|-
| fem. || [''' ''BRKT'' ''' (''barakti'') ] || = 'you (f.) bless' || ''berákt''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 3 || masc. || ''' ''BRK'' ''' (''barok'') || = 'he blesses'' || ''berek''~''berák''
|-
| fem. || ''' ''BRK, BRK’, BRK‘'' ''' (''berka'') || = 'she blesses' || ''berkāh''
|-
| rowspan="4" valign="top" | Plural || 1 ||  || ''' ''BRKN'' ''' (''baraknu'') || = 'we bless' || ''beràknū''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 2 || masc. || ''' ''BRKTM'' ''' (''b<sup>i</sup>raktim'') || = 'you (m. pl.) bless' || ''beraktèm''
|-
| fem. || ''— (not attested)'' || 'you (f.) bless' || ''beraktèn''
|-
|  | 3 ||  || ''' ''BRK'' ''' (''barkū'') || = 'they bless' || ''berkū''
|-
| rowspan="12" valign="top" | '''Imperfect'''<br>(Prefixing<br>form A)<br>and<br>'''Iussive'''<br>(Prefixing<br>form B) || rowspan="5" valign="top" | Singular || 1 ||  || ''' ''’BRK'' ''' (''’ebrok, ’ibrok'') || = 'I will bless, let me bless' || ''’ávàrek''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 2 || masc. || ''' ''TBRK'' ''' (''tibrok'') || = 'you (m.) will bless, may you (m.) bless' || ''t<sup>e</sup>vàrek''
|-
| fem. || [''' ''TBRKY'' ''' (''tibrokī'') ] || = 'you (f.) will bless, may you (f.) bless' || ''t<sup>e</sup>vàrkī''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 3 || masc. || ''' ''YBRK'' ''' (''yibrok'') || = 'he will bless, may he bless' || ''y<sup>e</sup>vàrek''
|-
| fem. || [''' ''TBRK'' ''' (''tibrok'') ] || = 'she will bless, may she bless' || ''t<sup>e</sup>vàrek''
|-
| rowspan="7" valign="top" | Plural || 1 ||  || ''' ''NBRK'' ''' (''nibrok'') || = 'we will bless, let us bless' || ''n<sup>e</sup>vàrek''
|-
| rowspan="3" valign="top" | 2 || rowspan="2" valign="top" | masc. || ''' ''TBRKN'' ''' (''tibrakūn'') || = 'you (m. pl.) will bless' (''imperfect'') || rowspan="2" | ''t<sup>e</sup>vàrkū''
|-
| ''' ''TBRK'' ''' (''tibrokū'') || = 'may you (m. pl.) bless' (''iussive'')
|-
| fem. || ''' ''YBRK'' ''' (''yibrok'') || = 'you (f. pl.) will bless, may you (f.) bless' || ''t<sup>e</sup>vàreknāh''
|-
| rowspan="3" valign="top" | 3 || rowspan="2" valign="top" | masc. || [ ''' ''YBRKN'' ''' (''yibrokūn'') ] || = 'they (m.) will bless' (''imperfect'') || rowspan="2"| ''y<sup>e</sup>vàrkū''
|-
| ''' ''YBRK'' ''' (''yibrokū'') || = 'may they (m.) bless' (''iussive'')
|-
| fem. || ''— (not attested)'' || 'they (f.) will bless, may they (f.) bless' || ''t<sup>e</sup>vàreknāh''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | '''Cohortative''' <br>(Prefixing form C) || Singular ||  | 1 ||  || ''— (not attested)'' || 'let me bless!' || ''’ávàrekāh''
|-
| Plural || 1 || || ''— (not attested)'' || 'let us bless!' || ''n<sup>e</sup>vàrekāh''
|-
| rowspan="4" valign="top" | '''Imperative''' || rowspan="2" valign="top" | Singular || rowspan="2" valign="top" | 2 || masc. || ''' ''BRK'' ''' (''b<sup>o</sup>rok'') || = 'bless!, you (man) must bless' || ''bàrek''
|-
| fem. || [''' ''BRK'' ''' (''birkī'') ] || = 'bless!, you (woman) must bless' || ''bàrkī''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | Plural || rowspan="2" valign="top" | 2 ||  masc. || ''— (not attested)'' || 'bless!, you (men) must bless' || ''bàrkū''
|-
| fem. || ''— (not attested)'' || 'bless!, you (women) must bless' || ''bàreknāh''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | '''Infinitive''' || colspan="3" | Infinitive construct || ''' ''L-BRK'' ''' (''li-brūk'') || = 'to bless' || ''l<sup>e</sup>vàrek''
|-
| colspan="3" | Infinitive absolute || ''' ''BRK'' ''' (''barōk'') || = 'bless' || ''bàrūk''
|-
| rowspan="4" valign="top" | '''Participle'''<br>(active) || rowspan="2" colspan="2" valign="top" | Singular || masc. || ''' ''BRK'' ''' (''būrek'') || = '(a man:) blessing' || ''bàrūk''
|-
| fem. || ''' ''BRKT'' ''' (''būrekt'') || = '(a woman:) blessing' || ''b<sup>e</sup>rūkāh''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" colspan="2" | Plural ||  masc. || ''' ''BRKM'' ''' (''bōrkīm'') || = '(men:) blessing' || ''b<sup>e</sup>rūkīm''
|-
| fem. || ''— (not attested)'' || '(women:) blessing' || ''b<sup>e</sup>rūkōt''
|-
| rowspan="4" valign="top" | (passive) || rowspan="2" colspan="2" valign="top" | Singular || masc. || ''— (not attested)'' || '(a man:) blessed' || ''bàrūk''
|-
| fem. || ''' ''BRKT'' ''' (''barūkt'') || = '(a woman:) blessed' || ''b<sup>e</sup>rūkāh''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" colspan="2" | Plural ||  masc. || ''' ''BRKM'' ''' (''b<sup>e</sup>rūkīm'') || = '(men:) blessed' || ''b<sup>e</sup>rūkīm''
|-
| fem. || ''— (not attested)'' || '(women:) blessed' || ''b<sup>e</sup>rūkōt''
|}

===== Niph‘al =====
The following Niph‘al forms are attested in Punic and Neo-Punic (verb: '' '''P-‘-L''', fel'', 'to make'; < Phoenician ''pa‘ol''):

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! colspan="4" | Form !! (Neo-)Punic !! Translation !! (cf. Hebrew)
|-
| rowspan="3" valign="top" | '''Perfect'''<br>(Suffixing<br>form) || rowspan="2" valign="top" | Singular || rowspan="2" valign="top" | 3 || masc. || ''' ''NP‘L'' ''' (''nef‘al'') || = 'it (m.) is/was made' || ''niph‘al''
|-
| fem. || ''' ''NP‘L’'' ''' (''nef‘ala'') || = 'it (f.) is/was made' || ''niph‘<sup>e</sup>lāh''
|-
| Plural || 3 || masc. || ''' ''NP‘L’, NP‘L'' ''' (''nef‘alū'') || = 'they are/were made' || ''niph‘<sup>e</sup>lū''
|}

===== Pi‘el =====
The following Pi‘el forms are attested in Punic and Neo-Punic (verb: '' '''Ḥ-D-Š''', ḥados'', 'to make new, to restore'):
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! colspan="4" | Form !! (Neo-)Punic !! Translation !! (cf. Hebrew)
|-
| rowspan="3" valign="top" | '''Perfect'''<br>(Suffixing<br>form) || rowspan="2" valign="top" | Singular || 1 ||  || ''' ''ḤDŠTY, ḤDŠT'' ''' (''ḥiddesti'') || = 'I restore' || ''ḥiddàšti''
|-
| 3 || masc. || ''' ''ḤYDŠ, ḤDŠ'' ''' (''ḥiddes'') || = 'he restores' || ''ḥiddēš''
|-
| Plural || 3 || masc. || ''' ''ḤDŠ'' ''' (''ḥiddesū'') || = 'they restore' || ''ḥiddēšū''
|-
| '''Imperfect''' || Singular || 3 || masc. || ''' ''YḤDŠ'' ''' (''yeḥeddes'') || = 'he will restore' || ''y<sup>e</sup>ḥaddēš''
|-
| '''Imperative''' || Singular || 2 || masc. || ''' ''ḤDŠ'' ''' (''ḥeddes'') || = 'restore!' || ''ḥaddēš''
|-
| '''Infinitive''' || colspan="3" valign="top" | Infinitive construct || ''' ''L-ḤDŠ'' ''' (''liḥeddes'') || = 'to restore' || ''ḥaddēš''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | '''Participle''' (active) || colspan="2" | Singular || masc. || ''' ''MḤDŠ'' ''' (''m<sup>e</sup>ḥeddes'') || = 'restoring (man)' || ''m<sup>e</sup>ḥaddēš''
|-
| colspan="2" | Plural || masc. || ''' ''MḤDŠM'' ''' (''m<sup>e</sup>ḥeddesīm'') || = 'restoring (men)' || ''m<sup>e</sup>ḥadd<sup>e</sup>šīm''
|}

===== Yiph‘il =====
The following Yiph‘il forms are attested in Punic and Neo-Punic (verb: '' '''Q-D-Š''', qados'', 'to dedicate'):
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! colspan="4" | Form !! (Neo-)Punic !! Translation !! (cf. Hebrew Hiph‘il)
|-
| rowspan="3" valign="top" | '''Perfect'''<br>(Suffixing<br>form) || rowspan="2" valign="top" | Singular || rowspan="2" valign="top" | 3 || masc. || ''' ''’YQDŠ, YQDŠ'' ''' (''iqdēs'') || = 'he dedicates, has dedicated' || ''hiqdīš''
|-
| fem. || ''' ''HQDYŠ‘'' ''' (''iqdísa'') || = 'she dedicates, has dedicated' || ''hiqdīšāh''
|-
| Plural || 3 || masc. || ''' ''YQDŠ‘'' ''' (''yiqdísū'') || = 'they dedicate, have dedicated' || ''hiqdīšū''
|-
| '''Imperfect''' || Plural || 3 || masc. || ''' ''YQDŠN'' ''' (''yiqdisūn'') || = 'they will dedicate' || ''yaqdišū''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | '''Cohortative''' || rowspan="2" valign="top" | Singular || 1 ||  || ''' ''’QDŠ'' ''' (''iqdisa'') || = 'let me dedicate' || ''’aqdēš, ’aqd<sup>e</sup>šāh''
|-
| 3 || masc. || ''' ''YQDŠ''(?) ''' (''yiqdisa'') || = 'let him dedicate' || ''yaqdēš''
|-
| '''Imperative''' || Singular || 2 || masc. || ''' ''HQDŠ'' ''' (''iqdes'' or ''aqdes'') || = 'dedicate!' || ''haqdēš''
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | '''Infinitive''' || colspan="3" valign="top" | Infinitive construct || ''' ''L-QDŠ'' ''' (''l-aqdīs'') || = 'to dedicate' || ''haqdīš''
|-
| colspan="3" valign="top" | Infinitive absolute || ''' ''YQDŠ'' ''' (''yeqdes'') || = '(to) dedicate' || ''haqdēš''
|-
| '''Participle''' (active) || colspan="2" | Singular || masc. || ''' ''MYQDŠ, MQDŠ'' ''' (''miqdīs'') || = 'dedicating (man)' || ''maqdīš''
|}

===== Weak verbs =====
Many (Neo-)Punic verbs are "weak": depending on the specific root consonants certain deviations of the standard verbal paradigm occur. For example in the group I-''n'' (verbs with first consonant '''''N-''''') the ''n'' may disappear through [[assimilation (phonology)|assimilation]]. Summary:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
! Group !! Example !! Phenomena
|-
| I-''n'' (or {{lang|he|פ״ן}}) || '' '''N-D-R''' (nador)'', 'to vow' || '''''N-''''' can disappear through assimilation
|-
| I-''y'' ({{lang|he|פ״וי}}) || '' '''Y-T-N''' (yaton)'', 'to give' || Yiph‘il > ''yūph‘il''
|-
| III-''y'' ({{lang|he|ל״ה}}) || '' '''B-N-Y''' (bano)'', 'to build' || '''''-Y''''' can disappear
|-
| II-''gem'' ({{lang|he|ע״ע}}) || '' '''Ḥ-N-N''' (ḥan)'', 'to show favor' || second and third root consonant are the same ("[[gemination|geminated]]")
|-
| II-''wy'' ({{lang|he|ע״וי}}) || '' '''K-N''' (kōn)'', 'to be' || two-consonant root; Pi‘el > ''polel''
|}

==== Form and use ====
In Punic there was no one-on-one correlation between form and use. For example, the suffix form (perfect) is often translated by a present tense, but it may also refer to the past or future. [[Tense–aspect–mood|Tense, aspect, and mood]] of verbal forms were determined by syntax, not by morphology.<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 151-214, 290-298 (especially 151-154).</ref>

The tense, aspect and mood of a given verbal form may depend on:
# whether the form is part of the main clause, or of a subordinate clause;
# if in a subordinate clause, it may depend on the ''type'' of subordinate clause (for example, conditional, or temporal);
# word order may be important: does the verbal form precede or follow the subject of the clause?;
# it also may depend on a verbal form earlier in the same clause: suffix forms or an infinitive absolute used consecutive to another verbal form, take the same tense, aspect and mood as the preceding form.

=== Numbers ===
The numbers from one to ten are:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
!  !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10
|-
| (masculine form) || '' '''’ḤD''' <br>(’eḥḥad)'' || '' '''ŠNM''' <br>(snēm)'' || '' '''ŠLŠ, Š‛LŠ''' <br>(salūs)'' || '' '''’RB‛''' <br>(’arba‛)'' || '' '''ḤMŠ''' <br>(ḥames)'' || '' '''ŠŠ, Š’Š''' <br>(ses)'' || '' '''ŠB‛''' <br>(séba‛)'' || '' '''ŠMN, ŠMN’''' <br>(samūne)'' || '' '''TŠ‛''' <br>(tésa‛)'' || '' '''‛ŠR, ‛Š‛R, ‛SR''' <br>(‛asar)''
|-
| (feminine form) || '' '''’ḤT''' <br>(’eḥḥat)'' || '' '''ŠTM''' <br>(stēm)'' || '' '''ŠLŠT''' <br>(salūst)'' || '' '''’RB‛T''' <br>(’arbá‛at)'' || '' '''ḤMŠT''' <br>(ḥamist)'' || '' '''ŠŠT''' <br>(sésit)'' || '' '''ŠB‛T''' <br>(sebá‛at)'' || '' '''ŠMNT''' <br>(samūnīt)'' || '' '''TŠ‛T''' <br>(tisá‛at)'' || '' '''‛ŠRT''' <br>(‛asert)''
|-
| (cf. Hebrew, masc.) || ''’eḥād'' || ''š<sup>e</sup>náyim'' || ''šalóš'' || ''’arbá‛'' || ''ḥamēš'' || ''šēš'' || ''šèba‛'' || ''š<sup>e</sup>monèh'' || ''tēša‛'' || ''‛èśer''
|}

Punic and Neo-Punic take part in the so-called "Semitic [[Polarity of gender|polarity]]": the numbers 3-10 take the feminine form with masculine nouns, and vice versa. Thus with masculine '''''BN''''' (''bin'', 'son') or '''''YM''''' (''yom'', 'day'), numbers take the feminine form ending in '''''-T''''', while with feminine '''''ŠT''''' (''sat'', 'year'), they take the masculine form without '''''-T'''''.<ref>The discussion by Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 215-226, is confusing because he is unclear about the Semitic polarity.</ref> For example:
: '''''‛W’ Š‛NT ‛SR WŠ‛LŠ''' (ḥawa’ sanūt ‛asar w-salūs):''
:: 'He lived (verb '''''Ḥ-W-Y''''', 'to live') thirteen years' ([[Kanaanäische und Aramäische Inschriften|KAI]] 144)

Multiples of ten take the form of a plural (''-īm'') of the word for 10 or 3-9:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
!  !! 20 !! 30 !! 40 !! 50 !! 60 !! 70 !! 80 !! 90
|-
| (both masc. and fem.) || '' '''‛SRM, HŠRM ''' <br>(‛esrīm)'' || '' '''ŠLŠM''' <br>(salūsīm)'' || '' '''’RB‛M, ’RBM''' <br>(’arba‛īm, ’arbīm)'' || '' '''ḤMŠM, ‛MŠM''' <br>(ḥamissīm)'' || '' '''ŠŠM, ŠYŠM''' <br>(sissīm)'' || '' '''ŠB‛M''' <br>(sib‛īm)'' || '' '''ŠMNM’''' <br>(samūnīm)'' || '' '''TŠM, ṬYŠM''' <br>(tissīm)'' || 
|}

One hundred is '''''M’T''''' (''mīt''), its [[Dual (grammatical number)|dual]] '''''M’TM''''' (''mitēm'') is 200; 1000 is '''''’LP''''' (''’èlef''), and 10,000 is '''''RB’''''' (''ribō'').

=== Particles ===
An important particle is the so-called ''nota objecti'', or [[nota accusativi|accusative particle]], '' '''’YT''' (’et)'' (rarely '' '''’T''';'' usually'' '''T-''' '' before a substantive with definite article or with demonstrative pronoun). It is placed before a substantive and indicates that that substantive is an object in the sentence (mostly a direct object).<ref>Krahmalkov (2001), pp. 281-285.</ref>

=== Syntax ===
Word order in Punic and Neo-Punic can vary, but this variation has its grammatical limits. For example, in a clause with an imperfect prefixing form the subject can either precede or follow the verb. However, as a rule, if the verb precedes it refers to the present, while if the subject precedes, the verb refers to the future.<ref>Krahmalkov (2001) pp. 183-185.</ref>

The repertoire of possible ways in (Neo-)Punic to express a certain combination of tense, aspect, and mood seems to be more restricted than in Phoenician, but at the same time the rules seem to have become less strict.

==Example==
Act V of Plautus's comedy ''[[Poenulus]]'' opens with Hanno speaking in Punic, his native language, in the first ten lines. Then follows a slightly different version of the same lines. Charles Krahmalkov is of the opinion that the first ten lines are Neo-Punic, the next ten Punic.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krahmalkov |first1=Charles R. |title=A Phoenician-Punic Grammar |date=2001 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden}} (reprinted Atlanta, SBL, 2014). For example p. 21 (on line 937 vs. line 947), and often.</ref><ref>Others have thought the language of lines 940-949 (italicized) may be [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]], or ''[[Numidian language|Libyc]]'', one of the [[Berber languages]]. However, Libyc is a very different language, and Plautus certainly did not assume Hanno to be a Jew.</ref>

Krahmalkov proposed the theory that Plautus, who often translated Greek comedies into Latin, in this case too reworked a Greek original, the ''Karkhedonios'' ('The Carthaginian'; Athenian comic poet [[Alexis (poet)|Alexis]] wrote a play with this title). In this case, there probably also existed a Punic translation of the Greek comedy, and Plautus took parts of this Punic version to give his Carthaginian character authentic speech. Moreover, in this way he could enter puns by introducing in his play would-be translators who, to comical effect, claimed to, but did not in fact, understand Punic, and thus gave nonsensical 'translations'.<ref>Krahmalkov (2001, 2014), pp. 3-5, 24.</ref>

=== Hanno's Punic speech ===
{|
|+ 
|-
| First version (Neo-Punic) || Second version (the "unknown text"; Punic)
|-
| <blockquote><poem>{{lang|xpu-Latn|<u>Yth alonim ualonuth sicorathi symacom syth</u> <sup>930</sup>
<u>chy mlachthi in ythmum ysthy</u>alm ych-ibarcu mysehi
li pho caneth yth bynuthi uad edin byn ui
bymarob syllohom alonim ubymysyrthohom
byth limmoth ynnocho thuulech-<u>antidamas</u> chon
ys sidobrim chi <u>fel yth chyl</u> is chon chen liful <sup>935</sup>
yth binim ys <u>dybur</u> ch-innocho-tnu <u>agorastocles</u>
<u>yth emanethi hy chirs aelichot</u> sithi nasot
bynu <u>yid</u> ch-illuch ily <u>gubulim lasibithim</u>
bodi aly thera ynnynu yslym min cho-th iusim|italic=no}}</poem></blockquote> || <blockquote><poem>{{lang|und|<u>Yth alonim ualoniuth sicorathii sthymhimi hymacom syth</u> <sup>940</sup>
combaepumamitalmetlotiambeat
iulecantheconaalonimbalumbar dechor
bats . . . . hunesobinesubicsillimbalim
esse<u>antidamos</u>sonalemuedubertefet
donobun.hun <u>ec cil</u> thumucommucroluful <sup>945</sup>
altanimauos<u>duber</u>ithemhu<u>archaristolem</u>
<u>sitt esed anec naso ters ahelicot</u>
alemu <u>[y]s duber</u> timur <u>mucop[m] suistiti</u>
aoccaaneclictorbod es iussilim limmim colus|italic=yes}}</poem></blockquote>
|}

Plautus (or a later redactor<ref name="Krahmalkov88" />) next provided a [[Latin|Latin translation]] of the preceding lines:<ref name="Riley">{{cite web |last=Riley |first=Henry Thomas |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0106%3Aact%3D5%3Ascene%3D1 |title=The Comedies of Plautus |publisher=[[Perseus Project|Perseus Digital Library]], [[Tufts University]] }}</ref>

===Latin and English translation===

{|
|+ 
|-
| Latin || English
|-
| <blockquote><poem>{{lang|la|deos deasque veneror, qui hanc urbem colunt,         <sup>950</sup>
ut quod de mea re huc veni rite venerim,
measque hic ut gnatas et mei fratris filium
reperire me siritis, di vostram fidem.
[quae mihi surruptae sunt et fratris filium.]
sed hic mihi antehac hospes <u>[[Antidamas]]</u> fuit;            <sup>955</sup>
eum fecisse aiunt, sibi quod faciundum fuit.
eius filium esse hic praedicant <u>Agorastoclem</u>:
ad eum hospitalem hanc tesseram mecum fero;
is in hisce habitare monstratust regionibus.
hos percontabor qui hinc egrediuntur foras.|italic=no}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/plautus/poenulus.shtml |author=Plautus |title=Poenulus |publisher=The Latin Library }}</ref><!-- Note: The Latin Library does not have specific licensing info but the text is presumably Public Domain owing to its age. The text appears to be different from some printed versions. Will proofread and re-type if necessary. -->
</poem></blockquote> || <blockquote><poem>I worship the gods and goddesses who preside over this city, 
that I may have come hither with good omen as to this business of mine, on which I have come;
and, to find my daughters and the son of my cousin, 
lend me your aid, ye gods, that you may permit me 
those who were stolen away from me, and his son from my cousin. 
But here lived formerly my guest [[Antidamas]]. 
They say that he has done that which he was doomed to do. 
They say that his son Agorastocles lives here. 
To him am I carrying with me this token of hospitality. 
He has been pointed as living in this neighbourhood. 
I'll make enquiry of these who are coming hither out of doors.<ref name="Riley" /></poem></blockquote>
<!-- Note: the source for this translation is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. The translation has been slightly changed to correspond with the Latin lines -->
|}

===Comments===
As a Latin transliteration, the text as recorded necessarily departs from the original Punic speech. Lines 930-939 have only survived in one manuscript, the "Ambrosianus" A (the "Ambrosian Palimpsest"). The "unknown" text, lines 940-949, has also survived in three manuscripts of the Palatine family (P). The several manuscript sources show many differences among them, with the P scripts showing some words being split out and some mis-interpretations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Geppert |first1=C.E. |title=M. Acci Plauti Poenulus. Cum variis lectionibus Codicis Ambrosiani, Decurtati et Parisini, in usum lectionum |year=1864 |publisher=Trowitzschii |location=Berlin |pages=58–59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gf89AAAAcAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Schröder |first1=Paul |title=Die phönizische Sprache: Entwurf einer Grammatik nebst Sprach- und Schriftproben : mit einem Anhang enthaltend eine Erklärung der punischen Stellen im Pönulus des Plautus |date=1869 |publisher=Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_oOs0udEemcoC/page/n306 287] |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_oOs0udEemcoC |language=de}}</ref> The "unknown" text used here is from the Ambrosianus A; both families have lost small chunks of text over time. Recently efforts have been made to, among other things, fill in the redactions in the "unknown language" part and to properly split the morphemes. The close mirroring between lines 930-931/940 and lines 937/947 (underlined above) suggests that the "unknown language" text (lines 940-949) is also Punic. Gratwick and Krahmalkov conclude that the more corrupted "unknown" form (940-949) is earlier (basically Plautus's own text in Punic), while lines 930-939 reflect a “late 'scholar's repair'” from Late Antiquity in Neo-Punic.<ref name="Krahmalkov88">{{cite journal |last1=Krahmalkov |first1=Charles R. |title=Observations on the Punic Monologues of Hanno in the "Poenulus" |journal=Orientalia |date=1988 |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=55–66 |issn=0030-5367|jstor=43075544 }}</ref><ref name=Grat71>{{cite journal |last1=Gratwick |first1=A. S. |title=Hanno's Punic Speech in the Poenulus of Plautus |journal=Hermes |date=1971 |volume=99 |issue=1 |pages=25–45 |issn=0018-0777|jstor=4475664 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rosół |first1=Rafał |title=Zum Monolog des Hanno im plautinischen "Poenulus" (V. 930-960) |journal=Hermes |date=2012 |volume=140 |issue=1 |pages=89–95 |doi=10.25162/hermes-2012-0006 |s2cid=252444932 |url=https://www.academia.edu/7645907}}</ref>

Some Punic phrases known in the text include:
* 930/940: ''Yth alonim ualoniuth sicorathii (sthymhimi) hymacom syth'' = '''''’T ’LNM W-’LNT ZKRT (Š-QRYT?;''''' [940:] '''''ŠTMḤW?) H-MQM ST'''''.
:: - ''yth = ’et'', [[Nota accusativi|accusative particle]] (nota objecti): indicates that an [[object (grammar)|object]] follows (cf. Hebrew'' ’et'')
:: - ''alonim = ’alonīm'': plural masculine of'' ’alōn'': 'gods' (cf. Hebrew'' ’elō<sup>a</sup>h'', 'god, goddess', plural'' ’elohîm''); = Latin ''deōs''; cf. ''alonim'' in 933 ~ ''di'' ('gods') in 953
:: - ''u- = w-'', 'and' (Hebrew ''w-''); = Latin ''-que''
:: - ''aloniuth = ’alonōt'': plural feminine of'' ’alōn'': 'goddesses (of)'; = Latin ''deās''
:: - ''sicorathi'': corresponds with Hebrew ''zakàrti'', 'I have been mindful of, I remember, I keep holy'; = Latin ''veneror'' (note: ''s'' in ''sicorathi'' ~ ''z'' in ''zakàrti'': in late Punic the four Phoenician sibilants, ''s, š, ș,'' and ''z'', were all pronounced /s/);<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krahmalkov |first1=Charles R. |title=A Phoenician-Punic Grammar |date=2014 |publisher=Brill, SBL |location=Leiden, Atlanta |isbn=978-1-62837-031-7 |pages=25–26}}</ref> also interpreted as ''si-qart'', '(of) this city', but that is less probable because then a verb is missing in the sentence, and it would make ''hymacom syth'', 'this city', superfluous.
:: - ''hymacom: ha-maqōm'', definite article + 'place, city' (Hebrew ''hammaqōm''); = Latin ''urbem'' ('city'). Note: variant ''<u>sy</u>macom syth'' (line 930) = ''<u>šè</u> + maqōm syth'', '<u>of</u> this city'. ''mucom'' in 948 is also ''maqōm''.<ref name="Krahmalkov88"/>
:: - ''syth'': demonstrative pronoun 'this', singular feminine (Hebrew: ''zōt'') or masculine (Hebrew: ''zèh'') = Latin ''hanc'' (in Hebrew ''maqōm'', 'place, city', usually is a masculine word, but occasionally it can be feminine). In 940P ''esse'' is the Plautine Punic spelling, 930 and 940A have the late Neo-Punic spelling ''syth''.<ref name="Krahmalkov88"/>
* 937/947: ''yth emanethi hy chirs aelichot'' / ''sitt esed anec naso ters ahelicot'' = '''''’T-M ’NKY H’ ḤRŠ (YŠ) H-HLYKT / Š-’TY ’Z ’NK NŠ’ ḤRŠ H-HLYKT'''''.
:: - ''yth = ’et'': probably the accusative particle again, here indicating an indirect object ('for', 'to'; = Latin ''ad''); or it may be the preposition ''’et'', 'with' (cf. Latin ''mecum'', 'with me')
:: - ''esed = zdè'': demonstrative pronoun, singular masculine, 'this, this one' (Hebrew: ''zèh''); = Latin ''eum'' ('him'). In 947P ''ese'' the original Plautine Punic spelling has been preserved.<ref name="Krahmalkov88"/>
:: - ''anec'': personal pronoun 1st person, 'I, I myself' (Hebrew ''anoki'') (''emanethi'' in 937 is a corrupt spelling, read ''(-em) anethi'', with ''ch'' misread as ''th'', and ''anechi'' = 'I, I myself')
:: - ''naso = našō’'': infinitive absolute of the verb '''''N-Š-’''''', 'to carry, bring': 'I bring' (Hebrew '''''N-Ś-’''''', 'to lift, bear, carry'); = Latin ''fero'', 'I bring' (in Punic an infinitive absolute, if consecutive to the main verb, represents the same tense, aspect, person, number and gender as the main verb, in this case a first person singular, cf. ''anec'')<ref>Krahmalkov (2014), p. 210.</ref>
:: - ''chirs / (ters)'': substantive, [[construct state]], 'potsherd of' (Hebrew ''ḥèreś'', 'pottery, potsherd'); = Latin ''tesseram'', 'tile'
:: - ''aelichot / ahelicot'' = ''ha-helikōt'': definite article + substantive plural, 'the hospitality, the guest-friendship' (cf. Hebrew ''hēlèk'', 'visitor'); = Latin ''hospitalem'' (a «''tessera hospitalis''» was an object a guest presented to be recognized)
* ''duber, dubyr'' in 936, 946, 948: Semitic root '''''D-B-R''''', 'to speak, word'<ref name=Grat71/>
* ''fel'', 'he did' (935), ''li-ful'' (935) and ''lu-ful'' (945), 'to do' (infinitive construct): Semitic root '''''P-‘-L''''', 'to make, to do'.<ref name="Krahmalkov88"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Punic language
  |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Amadasi Guzzo |first1=Maria Giulia |editor1-last=Tribulato |editor1-first=Olga |title=Language and Linguistic Contact in Ancient Sicily |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-02931-6 |pages=115–131 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/language-and-linguistic-contact-in-ancient-sicily/9AD7D3D652E2EF24F7139D65CB7469A9 |chapter=Phoenician and Punic in Sicily}}
*Hoftijzer, Jacob, and Karel Jongeling. 1985. ''Dictionary of the north-west Semitic inscriptions.'' With appendices by R. C. Steiner, A. Mosak-Moshavi, and B. Porten. 2 vols. Handbuch der Orienatlistik, Erste Abteilung: Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten 2. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
*Jongeling, K. 2008. ''Handbook of Neo-Punic Inscriptions.'' Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
*Jongeling, K., and Robert M Kerr. 2005. ''Late Punic Epigraphy: An Introduction to the Study of Neo-Punic and Latino-Punic Inscriptions.'' Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
*Kerr, Robert M. 2010. ''Latino-Punic Epigraphy: A Descriptive Study of the Inscriptions.'' Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
*Krahmalkov, Charles. 1970. "Studies in Phoenician and Punic Grammar." ''Journal of Semitic Studies'' 15, no.2: 181–88.
*--. 2000. ''Phoenician-Punic dictionary.'' Studia Phoenicia 15. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters.
*--. 2001. ''A Phoenician-Punic grammar.'' Handbook of Oriental Studies: Section One, the Near East and the Middle East 54. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
*Schmitz, Philip C. "Phoenician-Punic Grammar and Lexicography in the New Millennium." ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' 124, no. 3 (2004): 533-47. doi:10.2307/4132279.
*Segert, Stanislav. 1976. ''A Grammar of Phoenician and Punic.'' München: C.H. Beck.
*--. 2003. "Phoenician-punic: Grammar and dictionary." ''Archiv Orientální'' 71. no. 4: 551–56.
*Tomback, Richard S. 1978. ''A comparative Semitic lexicon of the Phoenician and Punic languages.'' Missoula, MT: Scholars.

==External links==
* [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/punic.htm Punic alphabet on Omniglot.com]
* [http://www.wazu.jp/gallery/Fonts_Phoenician.html Phoenician fonts from unicode]

{{Semitic languages}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Punic Language}}
[[Category:Punic language| ]]
[[Category:Extinct languages of Africa]]
[[Category:Extinct languages of Europe]]
[[Category:Phoenician language]]
[[Category:Canaanite languages]]
[[Category:Carthage]]
[[Category:Languages attested from the 8th century BC]]
[[Category:Languages extinct in the 5th century]]
[[Category:Languages of Sicily]]