Maarten Kossmann
@maartenkossmann.bsky.social
Berber linguistics // linguistique amazighe // ⵜⵎⵓⵙⵏⵉ ⵏ ⵜⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ
Universiteit Leiden
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/maarten-kossmann
Profile picture: RIL 176
Universiteit Leiden
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/maarten-kossmann
Profile picture: RIL 176
Pinned
some incoherent thoughts about Numidian BNS.
in funerary inscriptions in the eastern script (the one we can read), the term BNS appears about 228 times, making it the most frequent word in the corpus.
The literature normally interprets it as BN-S "his/her stone" with the Amazigh 3S suffix -s.
in funerary inscriptions in the eastern script (the one we can read), the term BNS appears about 228 times, making it the most frequent word in the corpus.
The literature normally interprets it as BN-S "his/her stone" with the Amazigh 3S suffix -s.
Some further thought about BNS in Numidian inscriptions
The term is mostly interpreted as “his stone”, but Rössler suggests that “his wife” would be better (unbeknownst to him, it even could make sense etymologically)
Personally, I find this unexpected for a grave stone, but that is irrelevant.
The term is mostly interpreted as “his stone”, but Rössler suggests that “his wife” would be better (unbeknownst to him, it even could make sense etymologically)
Personally, I find this unexpected for a grave stone, but that is irrelevant.
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
The cfp for the 11th International Conference on Bantu languages (#Bantu11) cfp is out! Deadline 1st Dec for submissions to the general session or to one of the 11 workshops, conf. in Ghent/online, 18th-21st August 2026
www.bantugent.ugent.be/bantu11/ #Bantu #linguistics
www.bantugent.ugent.be/bantu11/ #Bantu #linguistics
Bantu 11 Conference – BantUGent – UGent Centre for Bantu Studies
www.bantugent.ugent.be
November 1, 2025 at 1:12 PM
The cfp for the 11th International Conference on Bantu languages (#Bantu11) cfp is out! Deadline 1st Dec for submissions to the general session or to one of the 11 workshops, conf. in Ghent/online, 18th-21st August 2026
www.bantugent.ugent.be/bantu11/ #Bantu #linguistics
www.bantugent.ugent.be/bantu11/ #Bantu #linguistics
slowly morphing my Arbeitszimmer to a Gelehrtenstube
November 23, 2025 at 3:33 PM
slowly morphing my Arbeitszimmer to a Gelehrtenstube
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
November 21, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Permissible (I can't remember but I think this was in Mleiha, Sharjah)
November 23, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Permissible (I can't remember but I think this was in Mleiha, Sharjah)
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
obligatory camel photo
November 23, 2025 at 9:41 AM
obligatory camel photo
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
you'd think the forced displacement of 10 million people from one of the oldest centres of civilisation in human history would get a little more news attention than beltway journalists writing essays on how Olivia Nuzzi is a genius because they want to bone her and you'd be wrong
'Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has made Tehran impossible to sustain'
#Iran 🇮🇷
#Iran 🇮🇷
Iran president says capital move now a necessity as water crisis deepens
Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has mad...
www.iranintl.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:59 PM
you'd think the forced displacement of 10 million people from one of the oldest centres of civilisation in human history would get a little more news attention than beltway journalists writing essays on how Olivia Nuzzi is a genius because they want to bone her and you'd be wrong
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
People blame the time they live in;
there's nothing wrong with our time but us.
We blame the time, the fault's in us;
if the time could speak to us it'd cuss.
We're wolves dressed as people;
God made us like this, glory be!
Wolves disdain each other's flesh;
we eat each other for all to see.
there's nothing wrong with our time but us.
We blame the time, the fault's in us;
if the time could speak to us it'd cuss.
We're wolves dressed as people;
God made us like this, glory be!
Wolves disdain each other's flesh;
we eat each other for all to see.
November 22, 2025 at 6:33 AM
People blame the time they live in;
there's nothing wrong with our time but us.
We blame the time, the fault's in us;
if the time could speak to us it'd cuss.
We're wolves dressed as people;
God made us like this, glory be!
Wolves disdain each other's flesh;
we eat each other for all to see.
there's nothing wrong with our time but us.
We blame the time, the fault's in us;
if the time could speak to us it'd cuss.
We're wolves dressed as people;
God made us like this, glory be!
Wolves disdain each other's flesh;
we eat each other for all to see.
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
They can’t be stopped. They won’t be stopped. 🐦🐦
Will this threatened frog stop drilling near Denver?
Northern leopard frogs were found near the site of what would be one of state’s largest fossil fuel operations.
Northern leopard frogs were found near the site of what would be one of state’s largest fossil fuel operations.
Will this threatened frog stop drilling near Denver?
Northern leopard frogs were found near the site of what would be one of state’s largest fossil fuel operations.
www.hcn.org
November 20, 2025 at 10:46 AM
They can’t be stopped. They won’t be stopped. 🐦🐦
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Rendered in Tamazight w/ *camel for bear :)
bu-wbašir* g ṭṭobis ifsr-aġ-d almsir, almsir, almsir
[...]
a yaʕrinġ a Ṛbbi
//
han iširran g ṭṭobis da mzzin imndi
[...]
tizlfin n imndi d usngar
Vocab:
fsr: spread
aʕri: good fortune
iširri: kid
mzi: grind
imndi: wheat
tizlft: ear
asngar: sorgo
bu-wbašir* g ṭṭobis ifsr-aġ-d almsir, almsir, almsir
[...]
a yaʕrinġ a Ṛbbi
//
han iširran g ṭṭobis da mzzin imndi
[...]
tizlfin n imndi d usngar
Vocab:
fsr: spread
aʕri: good fortune
iširri: kid
mzi: grind
imndi: wheat
tizlft: ear
asngar: sorgo
November 19, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Rendered in Tamazight w/ *camel for bear :)
bu-wbašir* g ṭṭobis ifsr-aġ-d almsir, almsir, almsir
[...]
a yaʕrinġ a Ṛbbi
//
han iširran g ṭṭobis da mzzin imndi
[...]
tizlfin n imndi d usngar
Vocab:
fsr: spread
aʕri: good fortune
iširri: kid
mzi: grind
imndi: wheat
tizlft: ear
asngar: sorgo
bu-wbašir* g ṭṭobis ifsr-aġ-d almsir, almsir, almsir
[...]
a yaʕrinġ a Ṛbbi
//
han iširran g ṭṭobis da mzzin imndi
[...]
tizlfin n imndi d usngar
Vocab:
fsr: spread
aʕri: good fortune
iširri: kid
mzi: grind
imndi: wheat
tizlft: ear
asngar: sorgo
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
We’re hiring! Join the BabelBrain Project @usc.gal @filoloxiausc.bsky.social
1️⃣ PhD1/multilingual practices in Galicia
2️⃣ PhD2/multilingual practices in Gibraltar
3️⃣ Postdoc/experimental fieldwork in Galicia & Gibraltar
📄 Full details: www.usc.gal/gl/investiga...
🗓 Deadline: 26 Nov 2026
1️⃣ PhD1/multilingual practices in Galicia
2️⃣ PhD2/multilingual practices in Gibraltar
3️⃣ Postdoc/experimental fieldwork in Galicia & Gibraltar
📄 Full details: www.usc.gal/gl/investiga...
🗓 Deadline: 26 Nov 2026
Grupo de Gramática del Español
gramatica.usc.es
November 19, 2025 at 6:16 PM
We’re hiring! Join the BabelBrain Project @usc.gal @filoloxiausc.bsky.social
1️⃣ PhD1/multilingual practices in Galicia
2️⃣ PhD2/multilingual practices in Gibraltar
3️⃣ Postdoc/experimental fieldwork in Galicia & Gibraltar
📄 Full details: www.usc.gal/gl/investiga...
🗓 Deadline: 26 Nov 2026
1️⃣ PhD1/multilingual practices in Galicia
2️⃣ PhD2/multilingual practices in Gibraltar
3️⃣ Postdoc/experimental fieldwork in Galicia & Gibraltar
📄 Full details: www.usc.gal/gl/investiga...
🗓 Deadline: 26 Nov 2026
this is such a beautiful sentence that it deserves a song. I propose:
You don't see many trilobites from Georgia;
In Georgia they got dinosaurs - no more.
So if you see one, 'ts probably a forger
that forged it and then sold it at his store.
You don't see many trilobites from Georgia;
In Georgia they got dinosaurs - no more.
So if you see one, 'ts probably a forger
that forged it and then sold it at his store.
You don't see many trilobites from Georgia. Very cool!
November 19, 2025 at 1:06 PM
this is such a beautiful sentence that it deserves a song. I propose:
You don't see many trilobites from Georgia;
In Georgia they got dinosaurs - no more.
So if you see one, 'ts probably a forger
that forged it and then sold it at his store.
You don't see many trilobites from Georgia;
In Georgia they got dinosaurs - no more.
So if you see one, 'ts probably a forger
that forged it and then sold it at his store.
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Twee totáál ongerelateerde berichten in de media vandaag 🤷♂️
January 7, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Twee totáál ongerelateerde berichten in de media vandaag 🤷♂️
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
De Romeinse titel "imperator" gaat terug op een Iberische of Karthaagse titel, maar er is misschien nog een Numidische voorloper, al geloof ik dat ook zelf niet helemaal.
mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/11/19/i...
mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/11/19/i...
Imperator, Mynkd, MNKDH - Mainzer Beobachter
De Romeinse titel "imperator" zou via het Punische Mynkd kunnen teruggaan op het Numdische MNKDH. Maar heel plausibel is het niet.
mainzerbeobachter.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:34 AM
De Romeinse titel "imperator" gaat terug op een Iberische of Karthaagse titel, maar er is misschien nog een Numidische voorloper, al geloof ik dat ook zelf niet helemaal.
mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/11/19/i...
mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/11/19/i...
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Thanks google very useful
November 18, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Thanks google very useful
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Archaeologists have unearthed a Bronze Age metropolis in the heart of the Eurasian steppe: an early form of city as complex as those of contemporary, more traditionally 'urban' civilisations, showing how steppe polities were just as sophisticated.
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
November 18, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Archaeologists have unearthed a Bronze Age metropolis in the heart of the Eurasian steppe: an early form of city as complex as those of contemporary, more traditionally 'urban' civilisations, showing how steppe polities were just as sophisticated.
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Fascinating language fact #6:
The Nigerian language Maaka has at least 11 ways to indicate the knowledge of the speaker and hearer! One of these is the suffix -mú, and it indicates that the speaker is a witness and has certainty, according to Storch & Coly (2014):
The Nigerian language Maaka has at least 11 ways to indicate the knowledge of the speaker and hearer! One of these is the suffix -mú, and it indicates that the speaker is a witness and has certainty, according to Storch & Coly (2014):
November 18, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Fascinating language fact #6:
The Nigerian language Maaka has at least 11 ways to indicate the knowledge of the speaker and hearer! One of these is the suffix -mú, and it indicates that the speaker is a witness and has certainty, according to Storch & Coly (2014):
The Nigerian language Maaka has at least 11 ways to indicate the knowledge of the speaker and hearer! One of these is the suffix -mú, and it indicates that the speaker is a witness and has certainty, according to Storch & Coly (2014):
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Although it was my fourth time in Leiden, it's probably the first time I really soaked up and appreciated the brutalist architecture of some of its iconic buildings, like Lipsius and the uni library
November 16, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Although it was my fourth time in Leiden, it's probably the first time I really soaked up and appreciated the brutalist architecture of some of its iconic buildings, like Lipsius and the uni library
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
An expedition to the extreme south of Algeria has revealed a suite of typically sub-Saharan species just beyond the Western Palearctic boundary:
Algerian birders reveal major surprises in south of country
Northern White-faced Owl, Plain Nightjar, Jacobin Cuckoo, Pygmy Sunbird and Northern Grey-headed Sparrow were all discovered in a recent expedition south of the Western Palearctic boundary in southern Algeria.
bit.ly
November 15, 2025 at 7:02 PM
An expedition to the extreme south of Algeria has revealed a suite of typically sub-Saharan species just beyond the Western Palearctic boundary:
More Numidian mysteries!
Most Numidian stelae have at least two lines or (à la limite) one line containing several words. Only in one cemetery do we find a series of really short inscriptions (Mechta el Maza, near Bouchegouf, Guelma province, Algeria), esp. RIL 1085-1092.
But…
Most Numidian stelae have at least two lines or (à la limite) one line containing several words. Only in one cemetery do we find a series of really short inscriptions (Mechta el Maza, near Bouchegouf, Guelma province, Algeria), esp. RIL 1085-1092.
But…
November 15, 2025 at 7:53 PM
More Numidian mysteries!
Most Numidian stelae have at least two lines or (à la limite) one line containing several words. Only in one cemetery do we find a series of really short inscriptions (Mechta el Maza, near Bouchegouf, Guelma province, Algeria), esp. RIL 1085-1092.
But…
Most Numidian stelae have at least two lines or (à la limite) one line containing several words. Only in one cemetery do we find a series of really short inscriptions (Mechta el Maza, near Bouchegouf, Guelma province, Algeria), esp. RIL 1085-1092.
But…
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Fun Fact:
Die Deutschen in Österreich sind krimineller als die Syrer.
Die Deutschen in Österreich sind krimineller als die Syrer.
November 15, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Fun Fact:
Die Deutschen in Österreich sind krimineller als die Syrer.
Die Deutschen in Österreich sind krimineller als die Syrer.
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
well, the ideologies are basically that you're supposed to speak English (except maybe in Hausa-dominant areas, where you can speak either) - coming from usually working in Cameroon I was surprised that the vehicular languages were almost exclusively English (not Pidgin) or Hausa in practice
November 14, 2025 at 6:14 PM
well, the ideologies are basically that you're supposed to speak English (except maybe in Hausa-dominant areas, where you can speak either) - coming from usually working in Cameroon I was surprised that the vehicular languages were almost exclusively English (not Pidgin) or Hausa in practice
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
PhD students - please don't compare yourselves to other PhD students. Some topics really are more challenging than others! If, for example, you're working on an under-described and under-documented language, never compare your work with people working on English. It's almost not the same discipline!
November 13, 2025 at 11:21 AM
PhD students - please don't compare yourselves to other PhD students. Some topics really are more challenging than others! If, for example, you're working on an under-described and under-documented language, never compare your work with people working on English. It's almost not the same discipline!