Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How were enclitic pronouns used in Anatolian languages?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Anatolian languages
Distribution of the Anatolian languages.
In the Anatolian languages, enclitic pronouns are unaccented forms that attach to a preceding accented word within a sentence. The Anatolian group significantly elaborated upon the inherited Indo-European system for these pronouns.1
Their usage is characterized by the following:
- Attachment: They are appended to the first accented word of a sentence, which often includes sentence-initial conjunctions.1
- Function: They serve to indicate grammatical roles, such as direct or indirect objects. For example, in the Hittite phrase kuenzi-us ("kills them"), the enclitic -us functions as the direct object "them".1
- Complex Sequences: Anatolian languages frequently combine enclitic pronouns with various other particles into long strings attached to the initial word. A notable example is the Hittite construction nu-war-at-si-kan dānzi ("they take it from him"), where the sequence includes a conjunction (nu), a quotation marker (-war-), a direct object pronoun (-at-), an indirect object pronoun (-si-), and an additional particle (-kan).1