Luwian language
| Luwian | |
|---|---|
Luwian hieroglyph BOS (cow) | |
| Native to | Hittite Empire, Arzawa, Neo-Hittite kingdoms |
| Region | Anatolia (Turkey), Northern Syria |
| Ethnicity | Luwians |
| Extinct | around 600 BC |
Early forms | |
| Cuneiform Anatolian hieroglyphs | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:xlu – Cuneiform Luwianhlu – Hieroglyphic Luwian |
xlu Cuneiform Luwian | |
hlu Hieroglyphic Luwian | |
| Glottolog | luvi1235 |
Distribution of the Luwian language | |
Luwian (/ˈluːwiən/), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from Luwiya (also spelled Luwia or Luvia) – the name of the region in which the Luwians lived. Luwiya is attested, for example, in the Hittite laws.
The two varieties of Luwian are known after the scripts in which they were written: Cuneiform Luwian (CLuwian) and Hieroglyphic Luwian (HLuwian). There is no consensus as to whether these were a single language or two closely related languages.