The Ancient North Arabian Language > LINGUIST List Language Search
Name:
Ancient North Arabian
Code:
xna
Code Authority:
ISO 639-3
Code Standard:
LINGUIST List
Families:
Afro-Asiatic
Parent Subgroup:
Arabic; Proto-Arabic (prar)
Child Dialects:
Safaitic (xna-saf)
Hismaic (xna-his)
Lihyanic; Liḥyanic (xna-lih)
Dumaitic (xna-dum)
Hasaitic (xna-has)
Taymanitic (xna-tay)
Brief Description:
This language is found in fragmentary inscriptions in Jordan and what is now the northern part of Saudi Arabia. It seems to represent a language which is a precursor of Classical Arabic, and is written in a script which descends from South Arabian. It appears in three versions: Dedânic, Lihyanic and Thamudic, which are probably dialectal (and perhaps diachronic) variants of the same language. 4th century BC to 2nd century AD.
Linguist List Status: Extinct
Endangerment Status
Linguist List Status: Extinct
Map of Ancient North Arabian
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