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How did the Hittites refer to their own language?

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Map of ancient Anatolia and northern Syria showing the geographic distribution of Anatolian languages, including Hittite, Hattian, Lydian, Phrygian, Palaic, Carian, Lycian, Pisidian, Hurrian, and Urartean. Major historical sites such as Hattusa, Kanesh, and Ugarit are marked, with the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea bordering the region. — Anatolian languages Distribution of the Anatolian languages.

The Hittites referred to their own language as nesili (or nasili), which translates to "in the language of Nesha," or as nesumnili, meaning "in the language of the Neshite."1

These terms were derived from the city of Nesha, which served as a significant center in early Hittite history. By using these designations, the Hittites distinguished their own Indo-European language from the indigenous substratum language of the region, known as Hattian, which they referred to as hattili. Despite this linguistic distinction, the people identified themselves as "the people of Hatti," adopting the name of their predecessors in the region.12