LYCIAN LANGUAGE AND GRAPHOLOGY

In as much as work has been carried out on the Lycian language since the beginning of fhe 19th century,it has yet to be deciphered completely. The Lycians ha a peculiar alphabet of their own which was not easy to read even by themselves, and many researches attempted to compare it with other languages. These companrions revealed similarities between the Lycion and Luwian languages. Etymologically, it closely resembles that of Etruscans of the western Asia Minor. It has a limited relationship with Greek. In fhe scriptures unearthed af Letoon, the alphabet used hod 19 Greek letters with 29 others which are most uncommon in the Lycion language the words were usually divided with double points. Another significance is the colouring of the letters carved on the stone. They are mostly in red and blue colour. The Lycian utilization of various forms of their language together with the Greek alphabet is most common on tompstones. The scriptures on Lycian coins also render assistance to studies on fhe language. Lycians inscriptions include also some Greek. Pursuant to the conquests of Alexander the Great, the Greek language in filtrated further in Anatolia Whether Lycians knew Grek before their arrival in the region or not, it is surmised that people living here could not have studied Greek in the Lycian area because the focal language of Lycia survived during Christianity as well. Thus, a certain group who migrated to the Lycian region already spoke Greek prior to their departure from Pelloponnesus. Upon arrival in Southwestern Anatolia, they adopted the language of the previous settlers in the

area.   They were outsiders,which meant that they were not lycians. On fhe other hand, Lycians could have learned the Greek language in their relationshis with foreigners. In addition, in 480 B.C. the Lycians provided Xerxes with 50 ships for the invasion of Greece and the crew might have learned the language during the battles. It must be kept in mind that until the fourth century B.C. in some parts of Crete people still spoke a language which was not Greek. Today the Lycian language has been deciphered in some brief scriptures but this is not true for long texts. It is hoped that as new inscriptions come to light, written in three languages, this problem may be resolved.