This article deals with a pre-Sasanian inscription written in Middle Persian script recently published by N. Sims-Williams, who named it ‘Persis 2’. First, some observations on the reading and interpretation of the text are proposed. Then, it is argued that the instances of final -y in this inscription could correspond to a phonetic notation of the oblique singular ending -ē, hitherto only reconstructed for proto-Middle Persian. Finally, a discussion on the origin of heterographic writing with respect to the graphical representation of Iranian morphological endings is proposed, in the attempt to explain why a final -y for the ending -ē is not regularly noted in all the comparable documents from the middle Arsacid period.
Fattori, M. (2023). Some Remarks on the Proto-Middle Persian Inscription Persis 2 and the Oblique Case. ACTA ORIENTALIA ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARUM HUNGARICAE [10.1556/062.2023.00371].
Some Remarks on the Proto-Middle Persian Inscription Persis 2 and the Oblique Case
Marco Fattori
2023-01-01
Abstract
This article deals with a pre-Sasanian inscription written in Middle Persian script recently published by N. Sims-Williams, who named it ‘Persis 2’. First, some observations on the reading and interpretation of the text are proposed. Then, it is argued that the instances of final -y in this inscription could correspond to a phonetic notation of the oblique singular ending -ē, hitherto only reconstructed for proto-Middle Persian. Finally, a discussion on the origin of heterographic writing with respect to the graphical representation of Iranian morphological endings is proposed, in the attempt to explain why a final -y for the ending -ē is not regularly noted in all the comparable documents from the middle Arsacid period.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
