Marijn van Putten
@phdnix.bsky.social
Historical Linguist; Working on Quranic Arabic and the linguistic history of Arabic and Tamazight. Game designer for Team18k
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
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 Marijn van Putten
Pre-Islamic Arabic and Greek! The #Safaitic abecedary we posted earlier this week was far more interesting than originally thought. A close re-reading of the stone revealed the entire Safaitic alphabet in the Greek letter order!
See the study here: www.academia.edu/144853577/Al...
See the study here: www.academia.edu/144853577/Al...
November 8, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Pre-Islamic Arabic and Greek! The #Safaitic abecedary we posted earlier this week was far more interesting than originally thought. A close re-reading of the stone revealed the entire Safaitic alphabet in the Greek letter order!
See the study here: www.academia.edu/144853577/Al...
See the study here: www.academia.edu/144853577/Al...
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
Taking suggestions 👇
Would be fun to pit 16 Semitic texts against each other. Safaitic war song vs. Babylonian exorcism ritual, etc.
November 7, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Taking suggestions 👇
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
A short thread on onomastics in Numidian inscriptions (eastern script).
Indexes of names in eastern Numidian inscriptions (Chabot 1940, Rebuffat 2018) provide us with an almost ridiculous number of different names. I wondered if this is correct, or if this is due to the messiness of the corpus.
Indexes of names in eastern Numidian inscriptions (Chabot 1940, Rebuffat 2018) provide us with an almost ridiculous number of different names. I wondered if this is correct, or if this is due to the messiness of the corpus.
November 6, 2025 at 2:19 PM
A short thread on onomastics in Numidian inscriptions (eastern script).
Indexes of names in eastern Numidian inscriptions (Chabot 1940, Rebuffat 2018) provide us with an almost ridiculous number of different names. I wondered if this is correct, or if this is due to the messiness of the corpus.
Indexes of names in eastern Numidian inscriptions (Chabot 1940, Rebuffat 2018) provide us with an almost ridiculous number of different names. I wondered if this is correct, or if this is due to the messiness of the corpus.
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
Sanskrit/Tibetan/Tangut quote of the day:
Bodhicaryāvatāra 6.10
(ed. Solonin 2025 www.academia.edu/144598049/Bo...)
Bodhicaryāvatāra 6.10
(ed. Solonin 2025 www.academia.edu/144598049/Bo...)
November 6, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Sanskrit/Tibetan/Tangut quote of the day:
Bodhicaryāvatāra 6.10
(ed. Solonin 2025 www.academia.edu/144598049/Bo...)
Bodhicaryāvatāra 6.10
(ed. Solonin 2025 www.academia.edu/144598049/Bo...)
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
The Quran displays various arrangements of mysterious, disconnected letters. The magico-sacred aspect of the alphabet stretches far into the pre-Islamic past. This Safaitic text begins with a prayer to Allāt followed by a partial abecedary.
Find more: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
Find more: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
November 6, 2025 at 8:11 AM
The Quran displays various arrangements of mysterious, disconnected letters. The magico-sacred aspect of the alphabet stretches far into the pre-Islamic past. This Safaitic text begins with a prayer to Allāt followed by a partial abecedary.
Find more: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
Find more: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
Whenever you find yourself annoyed at someone spelling إن شاء الله as إنشاء الله, just remember people have been doing that at least since 1156 AH/1753 CE (the date of this manuscript of the al-Dani's Taysir).
November 5, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Whenever you find yourself annoyed at someone spelling إن شاء الله as إنشاء الله, just remember people have been doing that at least since 1156 AH/1753 CE (the date of this manuscript of the al-Dani's Taysir).
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
hahaha jk jk... unless?
November 5, 2025 at 12:01 PM
hahaha jk jk... unless?
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
#Incredible ! There is good evidence that Greek literacy was relatively widespread among the ancient Arabs east of Ḥawrān. Here, our #Safaitic author partially writes out the Safaitic letters in the Greek order, omitting vowels!
Find more on #OCIANA: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
Find more on #OCIANA: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
November 5, 2025 at 8:51 AM
#Incredible ! There is good evidence that Greek literacy was relatively widespread among the ancient Arabs east of Ḥawrān. Here, our #Safaitic author partially writes out the Safaitic letters in the Greek order, omitting vowels!
Find more on #OCIANA: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
Find more on #OCIANA: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
You'd think that Microsoft Word, being a Word processor would, you know, be able to process words. But my god, feed it anything more than 5000 words, and it just absolutely shits the bed.
November 4, 2025 at 9:19 AM
You'd think that Microsoft Word, being a Word processor would, you know, be able to process words. But my god, feed it anything more than 5000 words, and it just absolutely shits the bed.
Another reason to study Sībawayh: Not only are his linguistic descriptions completely alien to a western paradigm, but *also* what he actually describes as Arabic is extremely worth actually studying. It's much broader than the strict norms of Classical Arabic western scholars usually assume.
Why study Sībawayhi? Simple answer: he will make your head explode. All that stuff your fancy Western education has taught you about language - gone! Right down to the most basic concepts. Take “verbal mood” for example. Seems trivially obvious, yet he had no such concept.
November 4, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Another reason to study Sībawayh: Not only are his linguistic descriptions completely alien to a western paradigm, but *also* what he actually describes as Arabic is extremely worth actually studying. It's much broader than the strict norms of Classical Arabic western scholars usually assume.
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
It's a busy month: join me on Nov. 18, the UNESCO International Day of #IslamicArt, for an in-depth talk about "Kufi" as defining a self-contained early tradition of Arabic calligraphy.
For Islamic Art Week 2025, I've prepared a brand new, exhaustive (& kickass) presentation that will take us from…
For Islamic Art Week 2025, I've prepared a brand new, exhaustive (& kickass) presentation that will take us from…
November 3, 2025 at 10:42 AM
It's a busy month: join me on Nov. 18, the UNESCO International Day of #IslamicArt, for an in-depth talk about "Kufi" as defining a self-contained early tradition of Arabic calligraphy.
For Islamic Art Week 2025, I've prepared a brand new, exhaustive (& kickass) presentation that will take us from…
For Islamic Art Week 2025, I've prepared a brand new, exhaustive (& kickass) presentation that will take us from…
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
the origin of the term "Kufi", to the formation of the script, examples of its many faces, its particularities, its decline, ending with samples of my own artworks and artist books. There will be plenty of time for…
November 3, 2025 at 10:42 AM
the origin of the term "Kufi", to the formation of the script, examples of its many faces, its particularities, its decline, ending with samples of my own artworks and artist books. There will be plenty of time for…
@sibawayhi.bsky.social Just read your blogpost here.
YES! That's it. I had no idea Carter misunderstood this 🤦♂️.
In his section on the harmony of the pronoun -hû, uses another strategy: /marartu bihî qabl#/, /marartu bihû qabl/, witih qabl protecting the -hî/-hû.
www.sibawayhi.org/as-you-see-o...
YES! That's it. I had no idea Carter misunderstood this 🤦♂️.
In his section on the harmony of the pronoun -hû, uses another strategy: /marartu bihî qabl#/, /marartu bihû qabl/, witih qabl protecting the -hî/-hû.
www.sibawayhi.org/as-you-see-o...
"As you see, o youth"
Sībawayhi occasionally adds كَمَا تَرَى kamā tarā “as you see” or يَا فَتَى yā fatā “o youth” for no apparent reason. If you find this puzzling, you're not alone: it has flummoxed even Michael Carter[...
www.sibawayhi.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:53 PM
@sibawayhi.bsky.social Just read your blogpost here.
YES! That's it. I had no idea Carter misunderstood this 🤦♂️.
In his section on the harmony of the pronoun -hû, uses another strategy: /marartu bihî qabl#/, /marartu bihû qabl/, witih qabl protecting the -hî/-hû.
www.sibawayhi.org/as-you-see-o...
YES! That's it. I had no idea Carter misunderstood this 🤦♂️.
In his section on the harmony of the pronoun -hû, uses another strategy: /marartu bihî qabl#/, /marartu bihû qabl/, witih qabl protecting the -hî/-hû.
www.sibawayhi.org/as-you-see-o...
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
Near East X Midwest podcast - The fall and rise of comparative Semitic linguistics | a conversation with Prof. Na'ama Pat-El.
Listen in: youtu.be/vPUhcfPrLqM
Listen in: youtu.be/vPUhcfPrLqM
The fall and rise of comparative Semitic linguistics | a conversation with Prof. Na'ama Pat-El
YouTube video by Near East by Midwest Podcast
youtu.be
October 27, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Near East X Midwest podcast - The fall and rise of comparative Semitic linguistics | a conversation with Prof. Na'ama Pat-El.
Listen in: youtu.be/vPUhcfPrLqM
Listen in: youtu.be/vPUhcfPrLqM
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
De eerste recensie van 'Woord voor woord' is binnen - en daar ben ik heel gelukkig mee!
José Vandekerckhove, auteur, taalkundige en lector aan de KU Leuven, noemt het een aantrekkelijk boek voor een breed publiek, met 'mooie en inzichtelijke infographics':
www.netdidned.be/publicaties/...
José Vandekerckhove, auteur, taalkundige en lector aan de KU Leuven, noemt het een aantrekkelijk boek voor een breed publiek, met 'mooie en inzichtelijke infographics':
www.netdidned.be/publicaties/...
October 27, 2025 at 6:25 PM
De eerste recensie van 'Woord voor woord' is binnen - en daar ben ik heel gelukkig mee!
José Vandekerckhove, auteur, taalkundige en lector aan de KU Leuven, noemt het een aantrekkelijk boek voor een breed publiek, met 'mooie en inzichtelijke infographics':
www.netdidned.be/publicaties/...
José Vandekerckhove, auteur, taalkundige en lector aan de KU Leuven, noemt het een aantrekkelijk boek voor een breed publiek, met 'mooie en inzichtelijke infographics':
www.netdidned.be/publicaties/...
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
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.
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.
October 28, 2025 at 5:54 PM
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 Marijn van Putten
Not the "e macron letter" I was looking for, thanks though
October 24, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Not the "e macron letter" I was looking for, thanks though
An Ayt Hdiddu Text (Bynon)
Maš da ttinin mddn adday da tsawal tslmya ž tmẓy ns ž wr ssin mddn mayd ttini: hat aynnaɣ ayd yžan da tsawal d lmalayša
"But people say when a baby is speaking in its early days and people do not know what it is saying: "Look at what it's doing, it's speaking with Angels!"
Maš da ttinin mddn adday da tsawal tslmya ž tmẓy ns ž wr ssin mddn mayd ttini: hat aynnaɣ ayd yžan da tsawal d lmalayša
"But people say when a baby is speaking in its early days and people do not know what it is saying: "Look at what it's doing, it's speaking with Angels!"
October 22, 2025 at 8:50 AM
An Ayt Hdiddu Text (Bynon)
Maš da ttinin mddn adday da tsawal tslmya ž tmẓy ns ž wr ssin mddn mayd ttini: hat aynnaɣ ayd yžan da tsawal d lmalayša
"But people say when a baby is speaking in its early days and people do not know what it is saying: "Look at what it's doing, it's speaking with Angels!"
Maš da ttinin mddn adday da tsawal tslmya ž tmẓy ns ž wr ssin mddn mayd ttini: hat aynnaɣ ayd yžan da tsawal d lmalayša
"But people say when a baby is speaking in its early days and people do not know what it is saying: "Look at what it's doing, it's speaking with Angels!"
Yet another blogpost in my ongoing series Making Sense of Šāḏḏ: The Written and the Oral.
We explore the unusual reading Q2:33 ʾambiʾhim which is no longer canonical, but its discussion gives us great insight into the pre-Ibn Mujahid written sources.
phdnix.wordpress.com/2025/10/21/m...
We explore the unusual reading Q2:33 ʾambiʾhim which is no longer canonical, but its discussion gives us great insight into the pre-Ibn Mujahid written sources.
phdnix.wordpress.com/2025/10/21/m...
Making Sense of Šāḏḏ: The Written and the Oral
So how does a reading actually become šāḏḏ? An excellent and intricate network of text re-use is to be found in the discussion of Q2:33 انبيهم. In recitation today, there is nothing unusual about t…
phdnix.wordpress.com
October 21, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Yet another blogpost in my ongoing series Making Sense of Šāḏḏ: The Written and the Oral.
We explore the unusual reading Q2:33 ʾambiʾhim which is no longer canonical, but its discussion gives us great insight into the pre-Ibn Mujahid written sources.
phdnix.wordpress.com/2025/10/21/m...
We explore the unusual reading Q2:33 ʾambiʾhim which is no longer canonical, but its discussion gives us great insight into the pre-Ibn Mujahid written sources.
phdnix.wordpress.com/2025/10/21/m...
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
We need help. My wife is suffering from daily intense pain and insurance won't fully cover the procedure and the hospital is demanding up front payment.
www.gofundme.com/f/help-amber...
www.gofundme.com/f/help-amber...
Donate to Help Amber Wyzomirski Get Vital Bladder Procedure, organized by Amber Wyzomirski
Help Pay for Bladder Procedure
Hello, everyone. Thank you v… Amber Wyzomirski needs your support for Help Amber Wyzomirski Get Vital Bladder Procedure
www.gofundme.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:55 PM
We need help. My wife is suffering from daily intense pain and insurance won't fully cover the procedure and the hospital is demanding up front payment.
www.gofundme.com/f/help-amber...
www.gofundme.com/f/help-amber...
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
New #OpenAccess paper on what 'first', 'second', 'third' tell us about the #Semitic family tree, including new evidence for Aramaeo-Canaanite! Note that unfortunately, the names of Ethiopian scholars have been metathesized, something that will hopefully be remedied before the final print version. 🐦🐦
Ordinal Numerals as a Criterion for Subclassification: The Case of Semitic
This article explores how ordinal numerals (like first, second and third) can help classify languages, focusing on the Semitic language family. Ordinals are often formed according to productive deriv....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 21, 2025 at 7:51 AM
New #OpenAccess paper on what 'first', 'second', 'third' tell us about the #Semitic family tree, including new evidence for Aramaeo-Canaanite! Note that unfortunately, the names of Ethiopian scholars have been metathesized, something that will hopefully be remedied before the final print version. 🐦🐦
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
#New on #OCIANA - from the cosmopolitan world of ancient Arabia: ʾAkzam son of Ġawṯ, of the people of Rm (Rome?), records being driven away from the road (𝑠𝑎𝑏𝑖̄𝑙!) by the tribe of Thamūd, mentioned in the Quran! From near ʿarʿar عرعر KSA. Find more: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
October 18, 2025 at 9:29 AM
#New on #OCIANA - from the cosmopolitan world of ancient Arabia: ʾAkzam son of Ġawṯ, of the people of Rm (Rome?), records being driven away from the road (𝑠𝑎𝑏𝑖̄𝑙!) by the tribe of Thamūd, mentioned in the Quran! From near ʿarʿar عرعر KSA. Find more: ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions...
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
This is a detail of a braided pattern decoration in a Christian Arabic codex from the 9th/10th century CE (Sinai Ar. 461, f. 25br). I only recently noticed that the scribe used five differently coloured inks for this. It's just stunning how vibrant they still are after more than a millennium.
October 17, 2025 at 12:33 PM
This is a detail of a braided pattern decoration in a Christian Arabic codex from the 9th/10th century CE (Sinai Ar. 461, f. 25br). I only recently noticed that the scribe used five differently coloured inks for this. It's just stunning how vibrant they still are after more than a millennium.