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==Example== Act V of Plautus's comedy ''[[Poenulus]]'' opens with Hanno speaking in Punic, his native language, in the first ten lines. Then follows a slightly different version of the same lines. Charles Krahmalkov is of the opinion that the first ten lines are Neo-Punic, the next ten Punic.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krahmalkov |first1=Charles R. |title=A Phoenician-Punic Grammar |date=2001 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden}} (reprinted Atlanta, SBL, 2014). For example p. 21 (on line 937 vs. line 947), and often.</ref><ref>Others have thought the language of lines 940-949 (italicized) may be [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]], or ''[[Numidian language|Libyc]]'', one of the [[Berber languages]]. However, Libyc is a very different language, and Plautus certainly did not assume Hanno to be a Jew.</ref> Krahmalkov proposed the theory that Plautus, who often translated Greek comedies into Latin, in this case too reworked a Greek original, the ''Karkhedonios'' ('The Carthaginian'; Athenian comic poet [[Alexis (poet)|Alexis]] wrote a play with this title). In this case, there probably also existed a Punic translation of the Greek comedy, and Plautus took parts of this Punic version to give his Carthaginian character authentic speech. Moreover, in this way he could enter puns by introducing in his play would-be translators who, to comical effect, claimed to, but did not in fact, understand Punic, and thus gave nonsensical 'translations'.<ref>Krahmalkov (2001, 2014), pp. 3-5, 24.</ref> === Hanno's Punic speech === {| |+ |- | First version (Neo-Punic) || Second version (the "unknown text"; Punic) |- | <blockquote><poem>{{lang|xpu-Latn|<u>Yth alonim ualonuth sicorathi symacom syth</u> <sup>930</sup> <u>chy mlachthi in ythmum ysthy</u>alm ych-ibarcu mysehi li pho caneth yth bynuthi uad edin byn ui bymarob syllohom alonim ubymysyrthohom byth limmoth ynnocho thuulech-<u>antidamas</u> chon ys sidobrim chi <u>fel yth chyl</u> is chon chen liful <sup>935</sup> yth binim ys <u>dybur</u> ch-innocho-tnu <u>agorastocles</u> <u>yth emanethi hy chirs aelichot</u> sithi nasot bynu <u>yid</u> ch-illuch ily <u>gubulim lasibithim</u> bodi aly thera ynnynu yslym min cho-th iusim|italic=no}}</poem></blockquote> || <blockquote><poem>{{lang|und|<u>Yth alonim ualoniuth sicorathii sthymhimi hymacom syth</u> <sup>940</sup> combaepumamitalmetlotiambeat iulecantheconaalonimbalumbar dechor bats . . . . hunesobinesubicsillimbalim esse<u>antidamos</u>sonalemuedubertefet donobun.hun <u>ec cil</u> thumucommucroluful <sup>945</sup> altanimauos<u>duber</u>ithemhu<u>archaristolem</u> <u>sitt esed anec naso ters ahelicot</u> alemu <u>[y]s duber</u> timur <u>mucop[m] suistiti</u> aoccaaneclictorbod es iussilim limmim colus|italic=yes}}</poem></blockquote> |} Plautus (or a later redactor<ref name="Krahmalkov88" />) next provided a [[Latin|Latin translation]] of the preceding lines:<ref name="Riley">{{cite web |last=Riley |first=Henry Thomas |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0106%3Aact%3D5%3Ascene%3D1 |title=The Comedies of Plautus |publisher=[[Perseus Project|Perseus Digital Library]], [[Tufts University]] }}</ref> ===Latin and English translation=== {| |+ |- | Latin || English |- | <blockquote><poem>{{lang|la|deos deasque veneror, qui hanc urbem colunt, <sup>950</sup> ut quod de mea re huc veni rite venerim, measque hic ut gnatas et mei fratris filium reperire me siritis, di vostram fidem. [quae mihi surruptae sunt et fratris filium.] sed hic mihi antehac hospes <u>[[Antidamas]]</u> fuit; <sup>955</sup> eum fecisse aiunt, sibi quod faciundum fuit. eius filium esse hic praedicant <u>Agorastoclem</u>: ad eum hospitalem hanc tesseram mecum fero; is in hisce habitare monstratust regionibus. hos percontabor qui hinc egrediuntur foras.|italic=no}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/plautus/poenulus.shtml |author=Plautus |title=Poenulus |publisher=The Latin Library }}</ref><!-- Note: The Latin Library does not have specific licensing info but the text is presumably Public Domain owing to its age. The text appears to be different from some printed versions. Will proofread and re-type if necessary. --> </poem></blockquote> || <blockquote><poem>I worship the gods and goddesses who preside over this city, that I may have come hither with good omen as to this business of mine, on which I have come; and, to find my daughters and the son of my cousin, lend me your aid, ye gods, that you may permit me those who were stolen away from me, and his son from my cousin. But here lived formerly my guest [[Antidamas]]. They say that he has done that which he was doomed to do. They say that his son Agorastocles lives here. To him am I carrying with me this token of hospitality. He has been pointed as living in this neighbourhood. I'll make enquiry of these who are coming hither out of doors.<ref name="Riley" /></poem></blockquote> <!-- Note: the source for this translation is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. The translation has been slightly changed to correspond with the Latin lines --> |} ===Comments=== As a Latin transliteration, the text as recorded necessarily departs from the original Punic speech. Lines 930-939 have only survived in one manuscript, the "Ambrosianus" A (the "Ambrosian Palimpsest"). The "unknown" text, lines 940-949, has also survived in three manuscripts of the Palatine family (P). The several manuscript sources show many differences among them, with the P scripts showing some words being split out and some mis-interpretations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Geppert |first1=C.E. |title=M. Acci Plauti Poenulus. Cum variis lectionibus Codicis Ambrosiani, Decurtati et Parisini, in usum lectionum |year=1864 |publisher=Trowitzschii |location=Berlin |pages=58–59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gf89AAAAcAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Schröder |first1=Paul |title=Die phönizische Sprache: Entwurf einer Grammatik nebst Sprach- und Schriftproben : mit einem Anhang enthaltend eine Erklärung der punischen Stellen im Pönulus des Plautus |date=1869 |publisher=Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_oOs0udEemcoC/page/n306 287] |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_oOs0udEemcoC |language=de}}</ref> The "unknown" text used here is from the Ambrosianus A; both families have lost small chunks of text over time. Recently efforts have been made to, among other things, fill in the redactions in the "unknown language" part and to properly split the morphemes. The close mirroring between lines 930-931/940 and lines 937/947 (underlined above) suggests that the "unknown language" text (lines 940-949) is also Punic. Gratwick and Krahmalkov conclude that the more corrupted "unknown" form (940-949) is earlier (basically Plautus's own text in Punic), while lines 930-939 reflect a “late 'scholar's repair'” from Late Antiquity in Neo-Punic.<ref name="Krahmalkov88">{{cite journal |last1=Krahmalkov |first1=Charles R. |title=Observations on the Punic Monologues of Hanno in the "Poenulus" |journal=Orientalia |date=1988 |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=55–66 |issn=0030-5367|jstor=43075544 }}</ref><ref name=Grat71>{{cite journal |last1=Gratwick |first1=A. S. |title=Hanno's Punic Speech in the Poenulus of Plautus |journal=Hermes |date=1971 |volume=99 |issue=1 |pages=25–45 |issn=0018-0777|jstor=4475664 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rosół |first1=Rafał |title=Zum Monolog des Hanno im plautinischen "Poenulus" (V. 930-960) |journal=Hermes |date=2012 |volume=140 |issue=1 |pages=89–95 |doi=10.25162/hermes-2012-0006 |s2cid=252444932 |url=https://www.academia.edu/7645907}}</ref> Some Punic phrases known in the text include: * 930/940: ''Yth alonim ualoniuth sicorathii (sthymhimi) hymacom syth'' = '''''’T ’LNM W-’LNT ZKRT (Š-QRYT?;''''' [940:] '''''ŠTMḤW?) H-MQM ST'''''. :: - ''yth = ’et'', [[Nota accusativi|accusative particle]] (nota objecti): indicates that an [[object (grammar)|object]] follows (cf. Hebrew'' ’et'') :: - ''alonim = ’alonīm'': plural masculine of'' ’alōn'': 'gods' (cf. Hebrew'' ’elō<sup>a</sup>h'', 'god, goddess', plural'' ’elohîm''); = Latin ''deōs''; cf. ''alonim'' in 933 ~ ''di'' ('gods') in 953 :: - ''u- = w-'', 'and' (Hebrew ''w-''); = Latin ''-que'' :: - ''aloniuth = ’alonōt'': plural feminine of'' ’alōn'': 'goddesses (of)'; = Latin ''deās'' :: - ''sicorathi'': corresponds with Hebrew ''zakàrti'', 'I have been mindful of, I remember, I keep holy'; = Latin ''veneror'' (note: ''s'' in ''sicorathi'' ~ ''z'' in ''zakàrti'': in late Punic the four Phoenician sibilants, ''s, š, ș,'' and ''z'', were all pronounced /s/);<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krahmalkov |first1=Charles R. |title=A Phoenician-Punic Grammar |date=2014 |publisher=Brill, SBL |location=Leiden, Atlanta |isbn=978-1-62837-031-7 |pages=25–26}}</ref> also interpreted as ''si-qart'', '(of) this city', but that is less probable because then a verb is missing in the sentence, and it would make ''hymacom syth'', 'this city', superfluous. :: - ''hymacom: ha-maqōm'', definite article + 'place, city' (Hebrew ''hammaqōm''); = Latin ''urbem'' ('city'). Note: variant ''<u>sy</u>macom syth'' (line 930) = ''<u>šè</u> + maqōm syth'', '<u>of</u> this city'. ''mucom'' in 948 is also ''maqōm''.<ref name="Krahmalkov88"/> :: - ''syth'': demonstrative pronoun 'this', singular feminine (Hebrew: ''zōt'') or masculine (Hebrew: ''zèh'') = Latin ''hanc'' (in Hebrew ''maqōm'', 'place, city', usually is a masculine word, but occasionally it can be feminine). In 940P ''esse'' is the Plautine Punic spelling, 930 and 940A have the late Neo-Punic spelling ''syth''.<ref name="Krahmalkov88"/> * 937/947: ''yth emanethi hy chirs aelichot'' / ''sitt esed anec naso ters ahelicot'' = '''''’T-M ’NKY H’ ḤRŠ (YŠ) H-HLYKT / Š-’TY ’Z ’NK NŠ’ ḤRŠ H-HLYKT'''''. :: - ''yth = ’et'': probably the accusative particle again, here indicating an indirect object ('for', 'to'; = Latin ''ad''); or it may be the preposition ''’et'', 'with' (cf. Latin ''mecum'', 'with me') :: - ''esed = zdè'': demonstrative pronoun, singular masculine, 'this, this one' (Hebrew: ''zèh''); = Latin ''eum'' ('him'). In 947P ''ese'' the original Plautine Punic spelling has been preserved.<ref name="Krahmalkov88"/> :: - ''anec'': personal pronoun 1st person, 'I, I myself' (Hebrew ''anoki'') (''emanethi'' in 937 is a corrupt spelling, read ''(-em) anethi'', with ''ch'' misread as ''th'', and ''anechi'' = 'I, I myself') :: - ''naso = našō’'': infinitive absolute of the verb '''''N-Š-’''''', 'to carry, bring': 'I bring' (Hebrew '''''N-Ś-’''''', 'to lift, bear, carry'); = Latin ''fero'', 'I bring' (in Punic an infinitive absolute, if consecutive to the main verb, represents the same tense, aspect, person, number and gender as the main verb, in this case a first person singular, cf. ''anec'')<ref>Krahmalkov (2014), p. 210.</ref> :: - ''chirs / (ters)'': substantive, [[construct state]], 'potsherd of' (Hebrew ''ḥèreś'', 'pottery, potsherd'); = Latin ''tesseram'', 'tile' :: - ''aelichot / ahelicot'' = ''ha-helikōt'': definite article + substantive plural, 'the hospitality, the guest-friendship' (cf. Hebrew ''hēlèk'', 'visitor'); = Latin ''hospitalem'' (a «''tessera hospitalis''» was an object a guest presented to be recognized) * ''duber, dubyr'' in 936, 946, 948: Semitic root '''''D-B-R''''', 'to speak, word'<ref name=Grat71/> * ''fel'', 'he did' (935), ''li-ful'' (935) and ''lu-ful'' (945), 'to do' (infinitive construct): Semitic root '''''P-‘-L''''', 'to make, to do'.<ref name="Krahmalkov88"/>
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