The Phoenician language is an extinct Northwest Semitic language of the Canaanite subgroup, spoken primarily in the ancient region of Phoenicia (modern-day Lebanon and parts of Syria and Israel) from around the 12th century BCE. It spread widely through Phoenician trade networks across the Mediterranean, evolving into Punic in Carthage and influencing many modern alphabets, including Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.
Phoenician is attested mainly through inscriptions on stone, metal and pottery, with the longest texts being funerary and dedicatory.
The language features a consonantal script (abjad) with no inherent vowel notation, though later Punic texts sometimes used matres lectionis (consonant letters to indicate vowels).
This manual provides an overview of Phoenician grammar, drawing from historical linguistics and epigraphic evidence. It includes the Phoenician script (using Unicode representations), transliterations in Latin letters and English translations for examples. Dialectal variations, such as Byblian (from Byblos), Tyro-Sidonian (from Tyre and Sidon), and Punic (Carthaginian and later Neo-Punic), are noted where relevant. Punic, a later form, shows phonetic shifts like the loss of pharyngeals and lenition of stops (e.g., /p/ to /f/).
Alphabet and Orthography
The Phoenician alphabet is the world’s oldest verified alphabet, consisting of 22 consonant letters derived from Proto-Sinaitic script around 1050 BCE. It is written from right to left and lacks vowels, though semi-vowels like yod (𐤉) and waw (𐤅) could serve as matres lectionis in later periods. The script evolved over time, with cursive forms leading to Neo-Punic by the Roman era. It influenced Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek scripts.
Below is the Phoenician alphabet with each letter’s script form, traditional name (often from Proto-Semitic acrophonic values), meaning, transliteration, and approximate IPA pronunciation.
| Phoenician Script | Name | Meaning | Transliteration | IPA Sound |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 𐤀 | ʾālep | ox, head of cattle | ʾ | [ʔ] (glottal stop) |
| 𐤁 | bēt | house | b | [b] (voiced bilabial plosive) |
| 𐤂 | gīml | throwing stick (camel) | g | [ɡ] (voiced velar plosive) |
| 𐤃 | dālet | door (fish) | d | [d] (voiced alveolar plosive) |
| 𐤄 | he | window (jubilation) | h | [h] (voiceless glottal fricative) |
| 𐤅 | wāw | hook | w | [w] (labial-velar approximant) |
| 𐤆 | zayin | weapon (manacle) | z | [z] (voiced alveolar fricative) |
| 𐤇 | ḥēt | courtyard/wall | ḥ | [ħ] (voiceless pharyngeal fricative) |
| 𐤈 | ṭēt | wheel | ṭ | [tˤ] (emphatic alveolar plosive) |
| 𐤉 | yod | arm, hand | y | [j] (palatal approximant) |
| 𐤊 | kāp | palm of hand | k | [k] (voiceless velar plosive) |
| 𐤋 | lāmed | goad | l | [l] (alveolar lateral) |
| 𐤌 | mēm | water | m | [m] (bilabial nasal) |
| 𐤍 | nūn | serpent (fish) | n | [n] (alveolar nasal) |
| 𐤎 | śāmek | fish | s | [s] (voiceless alveolar fricative) |
| 𐤏 | ʿayin | eye | ʿ | [ʕ] (voiced pharyngeal fricative) |
| 𐤐 | pē | mouth (corner) | p | [p] (voiceless bilabial plosive) |
| 𐤑 | ṣādē | papyrus plant/hook | ṣ | [sˤ] (emphatic alveolar fricative) |
| 𐤒 | qōp | needle eye | q | [q] (voiceless uvular plosive) |
| 𐤓 | rēš | head | r | [r] (alveolar trill) |
| 𐤔 | šīn | tooth (sun) | š | [ʃ] (voiceless postalveolar fricative) |
| 𐤕 | tāw | mark | t | [t] (voiceless alveolar plosive) |
Orthography notes: Words were often written without spaces (scriptio continua), and later Punic used vowel letters more frequently. Dialectal variations include Byblian retaining older forms.
Phonology
Phoenician phonology features 22 consonants and a vowel system inferred from comparative Semitics and later transcriptions (e.g., in Greek or Latin). Consonants include stops, fricatives, nasals, and approximants, with emphatic (pharyngealized) sounds like ṭ, ṣ, and q.
Consonants
- Bilabials: p [p], b [b], m [m]
- Alveolars: t [t], d [d], n [n], l [l], r [r], s [s], z [z], š [ʃ]
- Emphatics: ṭ [tˤ], ṣ [sˤ]
- Velars/Uvulars: k [k], g [ɡ], q [q]
- Pharyngeals: ḥ [ħ], ʿ [ʕ]
- Glottals/Laryngeals: ʾ [ʔ], h [h]
- Approximants: w [w], y [j]
Historical changes: Proto-Semitic *š and *ṯ merged to š; *ḫ and *ḥ to ḥ. In Punic, pharyngeals weakened or merged (e.g., ʿ to ʾ), and stops lenited (p > f, b > v). Sibilants are debated: traditional š /ʃ/, s /s/, but some suggest s /ts/.
Vowels
Short: /a/, /i/, /u/; Long: /ā/, /ī/, /ū/, /ē/, /ō/. Diphthongs: /ay/ > /ē/, /aw/ > /ō/ (Canaanite shift). Example: 𐤁𐤕 /bēt/ “house” (translit. bt, pron. [beːt]). Stress typically final.
Morphology
Phoenician morphology is root-based, with triconsonantal roots modified by vowels, prefixes and suffixes for derivation.
Nouns
Nouns inflect for gender (masc., fem.), number (sg., pl., rare dual), and state (absolute, construct for genitives). Case endings (nominative -u, genitive -i, accusative -a) were lost early, but traces remain in constructs.
- Masculine: Sg. ∅ (abs.), -m (pl. abs. /-īm/ 𐤌); Construct sg. ∅, pl. -y /-ē/
- Feminine: Sg. -t /-(a)t/ 𐤕 (abs.), -t /-ūt/ 𐤕 (pl.); Construct sg. -t, pl. -t
- Example: 𐤌𐤋𐤊 mlk /milk/ “king” (abs. sg.); 𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤌 mlkm /milkīm/ “kings”; Construct: 𐤌𐤋𐤊 𐤁𐤕 mlk bt /milk bēt/ “king of the house.”
- Genitive: Post-construct, e.g., 𐤀𐤁𐤉 ʾby /ʾabī/ “my father” (with suffix -y).
In Punic, feminine -t often dropped in speech.
Adjectives
Agree with nouns in gender, number, state. Often formed with nisba suffix -y /-īy/ 𐤉.
- Example: 𐤑𐤃𐤍𐤉 ṣdny /ṣidōnīy/ “Sidonian” (masc. sg.).
Pronouns
- Independent (subject):
- 1sg: 𐤀𐤍𐤊 ʾnk /ʾanōkī/ “I”
- 2sg m: 𐤀𐤕 ʾt /ʾattā/ “you (m)”
- 2sg f: 𐤀𐤕 ʾt /ʾattī/ “you (f)”
- 3sg m: 𐤄𐤀 hʾ /hūʾ/ “he”
- 3sg f: 𐤄𐤀𐤕 hʾt /hīʾt/ “she”
- 1pl: 𐤀𐤍𐤇𐤍 ʾnḥn /ʾanaḥnū/ “we”
- 2pl: 𐤀𐤕𐤌 ʾtm /ʾattum/ “you (pl)”
- 3pl m: 𐤄𐤌 hm /hum/ “they (m)”
- 3pl f: 𐤄𐤍 hn /hin/ “they (f)”
- Suffixed (possessive/object): -y /-ī/ “my”, -k /-ka/ “your (m)”, -h /-ā/ “her”, -n /-nū/ “our”, etc.
- Example: 𐤀𐤁𐤉 ʾby /ʾabī/ “my father.”
Verbs
Verbs conjugate for aspect (perfect/complete, imperfect/incomplete), mood (indicative, imperative, infinitive), voice (active, passive, reflexive), and person/gender/number. Stems (binyanim): G (basic), N (passive/reflexive), D (intensive), C (causative), with rare others.
- Perfect (suffix-conjugated): Marks completed action.
- Example root MLK “rule”: 3sg m mlk /malak/ “he ruled”; 1sg mlkty /malaktī/ “I ruled” (𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤕𐤉).
- Imperfect (prefix-conjugated): Ongoing/future.
- 3sg m ymlk /yamluk/ “he rules/will rule” (𐤉𐤌𐤋𐤊); 1sg ʾmlk /ʾamluk/ “I rule.”
- Imperative: Sg m mlk /muluk/ “rule!”; Pl m mlkw /mulukū/.
- Infinitive: Absolute lmlk /lamluk/ “to rule”; Construct mlk /muluk/.
- Participle: Active mōlek /mōlik/ “ruling.”
In Punic, vowels shifted, and forms simplified.
Syntax
Phoenician syntax is typically Verb-Subject-Object (VSO), with modifiers following heads. Genitives use construct state (no particle like Hebrew ʾet for accusative in early texts, but later ʾyt /ʾiyyōt/). Relative clauses introduced by ʾš /ʾaš/ “which/who.”
- Example sentence: 𐤊𐤍𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤌𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤑𐤃𐤍 kn mlk m bʿl ṣdn /kān milk mi baʿl ṣidōn/ “Milk was king of Baal-Sidon” (“Milk was the king in Baal-Sidon”).
- Negation: bl /bal/ “not”; Questions: with h- /ha-/ or interrogative pronouns like my /mī/ “who.”
Prepositions: b- /bi-/ “in”, l- /la-/ “to”, ʿl /ʿal/ “on.”
Vocabulary and Examples
Phoenician vocabulary shares roots with Hebrew and Aramaic. Common words:
- 𐤀𐤓𐤑 ʾrṣ /ʾarṣ/ “land”
- 𐤁𐤍 bn /bin/ “son”
- 𐤌𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤕 mmlkt /mamlakt/ “kingdom”
Full example (from Ahiram sarcophagus inscription): 𐤀𐤓𐤍 ʾrn /ʾarōn/ “coffin”; Transliteration: ʾrn z pʿl tbnt… “This coffin made Tabnit…” Translation: “This coffin was made by Tabnit…”
One comment