A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Languages

A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Languages, 1st Edition, surveys the major languages, language families, and writing systems of the Ancient Near East. The volume covers linguistic traditions used from approximately 3200 BCE to the second century CE across Egypt, the Levant, eastern Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Iran.

In addition to presenting grammatical sketches of individual languages, the book examines broader sociolinguistic questions. Key topics include language contact, diglossia, the emergence of literary standard languages, and the development of diplomatic tongues.

Organized in five parts, the volume addresses how these languages interacted with one another and functioned within the political and cultural systems of ancient societies.