Editing Phrygian language (section)

==Inscriptions==
The Phrygian epigraphical material is divided into two distinct [[Text corpus|subcorpora]], Old Phrygian and New Phrygian. These attest different stages of the Phrygian language, are written with different alphabets and upon different materials, and have different geographical distributions.

Old Phrygian is attested in 395 inscriptions in [[Anatolia]] and beyond. They were written in the [[Phrygian alphabet]] between 800 and 330 BCE. The ''Corpus des inscriptions paléo-phrygiennes'' (CIPPh) and its supplements<ref>Brixhe, Lejeune, ''Corpus des inscriptions paléo-phrygiennes'', 1984; Brixhe 2002a and 2004a</ref> contain most known Old Phrygian inscriptions, though a few graffiti are not included. The oldest inscriptions—from the mid-8th century BCE—have been found on silver, bronze, and alabaster objects in [[tumulus|tumuli]] (grave mounds) at [[Gordion]] (Yassıhüyük, the so-called "[[Gordion#Tumulus MM|Midas Mound]]") and Bayındır (East Lycia).<ref>Obrador Cursach, pp. 369–370, 390, 418–420.</ref>

New Phrygian is attested in 117 funerary inscriptions, mostly curses against desecrators added after a Greek [[epitaph]]. New Phrygian was written in the [[Greek alphabet]] between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE and is restricted to the western part of ancient [[Phrygia]], in central [[Anatolia]]. Most New Phrygian inscriptions have been lost{{why?|date=September 2023}}, so they are only known through the testimony of the first compilers. New Phrygian inscriptions have been cataloged by [[William Mitchell Ramsay|William M. Ramsay]] (ca. 1900) and by Obrador-Cursach (2018).

Some scholars identify a third division, Middle Phrygian, which is represented by a single inscription from [[Docimium|Dokimeion]]. It is a Phrygian epitaph consisting of six hexametric verses written in eight lines, and dated to the end of the 4th century BCE, following the [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonian]] conquest. It is considered the first Phrygian text to be inscribed with the [[Greek alphabet]]. Its phraseology has some echoes of an Old Phrygian epitaph from Bithynia, but it anticipates phonetic and spelling features found in New Phrygian. Three graffiti from Gordion, from the 4th to the 2nd centuries BCE, are ambiguous in terms of the alphabet used as well as their linguistic stage, and might also be considered Middle Phrygian.{{sfn|Obrador-Cursach|2018|p=17-18}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+Comparison between the Old and the New Phrygian subcorpora{{sfn|Obrador-Cursach|2018|p=29}}
|- style="vertical-align: center;"
!&nbsp;Features
! Old Phrygian
! New Phrygian
|-
! Number of inscriptions
| 395
|117
|-
! Dating
| ca. 800–330 BCE
|Late 1st–3rd c. CE
|-
! Alphabet
|[[Phrygian alphabet|Phrygian]]
|[[Greek alphabet|Greek]]
|-
! Word dividers<ref>Claude Brixhe (2008), 'Phrygian', in: Roger D. Woodard (ed.), ''The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor'' (Cambridge etc.: Cambridge University Press), pp. 69–80: p. 73, 78.</ref>
| sometimes (spaces or colons)
| never ([[scriptio continua|continuous writing]])
|-
! Writing material
|Varied
|Stone
|-
! Contents
| Varied
| Funerary
|-
! Area
|Across [[Anatolia]] (and beyond)
|Only central [[Anatolia]]
|-
!Archaeological context
|Mainly yes
|Never
|-
!Preserved
|Mainly yes
|Mainly no
|}
<gallery widths="190" heights="190">
File:Map Phrygian inscriptions.png|Map showing where Phrygian inscriptions have been found.
File:MidasSehri.TombDetail.jpg|6th century BCE inscription with the [[Phrygian alphabet]] from the Midas Tomb, [[Yazılıkaya, Eskişehir|Midas City]]: ΒΑΒΑ: ΜΕΜΕϜΑΙΣ: ΠΡΟΙΤΑϜΟΣ: ΚΦΙJΑΝΑϜΕJΟΣ: ΣΙΚΕΝΕΜΑΝ: ΕΔΑΕΣ (''Baba, memevais, proitavos kziyanaveyos sikeneman edaes''; Baba, advisor, leader from Tyana, dedicated this niche).<ref>Баюн Л. С., Орёл В. Э. ''Язык фригийских надписей как исторический источник.'' In ''Вестник древней истории.'' 1988, № 1. pp. 175-177.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Orel|first=Vladimir Ė|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uiALAQAAMAAJ|title=The language of Phrygians|publisher=Caravan Books|year=1997|isbn=9780882060897|pages=14|language=en}}</ref>
</gallery>The last mentions of the language date to the 5th century CE, and it was likely extinct by the 7th century CE.<ref name="Bilingualism in Ancient Society: Language Contact and the Written Word"/>