Deir Alla dialect

E142251

The Deir Alla dialect is a distinctive ancient Northwest Semitic variety known primarily from inscriptions discovered at the Deir Alla archaeological site in modern-day Jordan.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Deir Alla dialect canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Northwest Semitic language variety ⓘ
ancient language variety ⓘ
epigraphic language ⓘ
archaeologicalContext sanctuary or cultic complex at Deir Alla ⓘ
associatedWith Balaam son of Beor ⓘ
linked to: Balaam
attestedBy Balaam inscription ⓘ
attestedIn Deir Alla inscriptions ⓘ
country Jordan ⓘ
discoveredAt Deir Alla archaeological site ⓘ
extinctionStatus extinct ⓘ
hasCorpusStatus known only from inscriptions ⓘ
no living speakers ⓘ
hasFeature Aramaic-like morphology ⓘ
Canaanite-like vocabulary ⓘ
mixed linguistic profile ⓘ
mixture of Aramaic and Canaanite features ⓘ
non-standard phonological developments ⓘ
orthographic peculiarities distinct from Biblical Hebrew ⓘ
use of divine name Shgr ⓘ
use of term Elohin ⓘ
hasGenre prophetic narrative ⓘ
religious text ⓘ
languageFamily Northwest Semitic ⓘ
region Transjordan ⓘ
relatedTo Ammonite ⓘ
Aramaic ⓘ
Biblical Hebrew ⓘ
linked to: Hebrew

Moabite ⓘ
Phoenician ⓘ
linked to: Phoenician language
religiousContext West Semitic polytheistic milieu ⓘ
scriptDirection right-to-left ⓘ
significance evidence for linguistic diversity in Iron Age Transjordan ⓘ
important for understanding Canaanite–Aramaic contact ⓘ
provides extra-biblical reference to Balaam ⓘ
spokenIn Deir Alla region ⓘ
Jordan Valley ⓘ
modern-day Jordan ⓘ
studiedIn Northwest Semitic epigraphy ⓘ
historical linguistics of Semitic languages ⓘ
subfamily Canaanite languages ⓘ
timePeriod Iron Age ⓘ
early 8th century BCE ⓘ
late 9th century BCE ⓘ
uncertainClassification exact position within Northwest Semitic debated ⓘ
writingSystem Northwest Semitic alphabetic script ⓘ
ink inscriptions on plaster ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Northwest Semitic → hasMember → Deir Alla dialect ⓘ