Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Phrygian: The Lost Language Closest to Ancient Greek? 😱
I love languages, Phrygian language, Ancient Phrygian, Phrygian, extinct languages, Indo-European languages, Ancient Greek and Phrygian, Graeco Phrygian, Anatolian languages, Ancient Anatolia, King Midas language, Old Phrygian, New Phrygian, Paleo Phrygian alphabet, Greek alphabet, historical linguistics, ancient inscriptions, centum languages, language reconstruction, ancient writing systems, classical languages, language history, Greek relatives, Phrygian inscriptions
CHAPTERS:
Language: 0:00 - 2:04
History: 2:05 - 3:50
People: 3:51 - 5:17
Culture: 5:18 - 7:04
Numbers: 7:05 - 7:31
Vocabulary: 7:32 - 10:18
Sample Text: 10:19 - 12:10
Hello! My name is Andy. How are you?
Let's talk about the Phrygian language.
Language. Phrygian is an extinct Indo‑European language of west‑central Anatolia, classified as a centum language and now generally regarded by specialists (Obrador‑Cursach 2020; Lubotsky; Ligorio) as the closest known relative of Ancient Greek — possibly sharing a common "Graeco‑Phrygian" stage — against an older minority view that linked it instead to Armenian. It is a corpus language, known only from inscriptions, ancient glosses, and personal/place names, and falls into two attested stages: Old Phrygian (c. 8th century BC to the 4th/3rd century BC), written in an epichoric "Paleo‑Phrygian" alphabet derived from a Phoenician–Greek source and among the earliest alphabetic writing in Anatolia; and New Phrygian (1st–3rd century AD), written in the Greek alphabet, separated from the older stage by a long documentary gap and by one transitional "Middle Phrygian" bilingual. The surviving material — a few hundred short Old Phrygian texts and about 120 New Phrygian ones, overwhelmingly funerary, votive, and dedicatory — preserves regular sound changes such as a consonant shift (the voiced stops devoiced, the aspirates becoming plain voiced), the merger of the palatovelars and then the labiovelars with the plain velars, the loss of *s before vowels, and a triple‑coloured reflex of the laryngeals like that of Greek. Because the texts are so formulaic and fragmentary, the lexicon is small and skewed toward "tomb, harm, accursed, make, god, mother," and no recorded native name for the language; the name "Phrygian" is itself a Greek exonym (Φρύγιος, Φρυγιστί "in Phrygian"). The language is thought to have died out by roughly the 5th century AD.
Welcome to my channel! This is Andy from I love languages. Let's learn different languages/dialects together.
This video is created for educational, language awareness, and language preservation purposes. It aims to provide valuable insights and knowledge to viewers, enhancing their understanding and appreciation of different languages and their unique characteristics. By raising awareness about linguistic diversity, the video seeks to foster a greater respect and recognition for various languages, particularly those that are endangered or underrepresented. Additionally, it contributes to the preservation of languages by documenting and sharing linguistic knowledge, thus ensuring that these languages and their cultural heritage are not lost to future generations.
Please feel free to subscribe to see more of this.
I hope you have a great day! Stay happy!
Please support me on Patreon!
patreon.com/user?u=16809442.
Please support me on Ko-fi
ko-fi.com/otipeps0124
Follow me on Instagram. See you there! ✨✨✨
@ itsmeandy24
instagram.com/itsmeandy24?igsh=M2t5N2cyeGZpeGJr
If you are interested to see your native language/dialect featured here.
Submit your recordings to otipeps24@gmail.com.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Phrygian: The Lost Language Closest to Ancient Greek? 😱
I love languages, Phrygian language, Ancient Phrygian, Phrygian, extinct languages, Indo-European languages, Ancient Greek and Phrygian, Graeco Phrygian, Anatolian languages, Ancient Anatolia, King Midas language, Old Phrygian, New Phrygian, Paleo Phrygian alphabet, Greek alphabet, historical linguistics, ancient inscriptions, centum languages, language reconstruction, ancient writing systems, classical languages, language history, Greek relatives, Phrygian inscriptions
CHAPTERS:
Language: 0:00 - 2:04
History: 2:05 - 3:50
People: 3:51 - 5:17
Culture: 5:18 - 7:04
Numbers: 7:05 - 7:31
Vocabulary: 7:32 - 10:18
Sample Text: 10:19 - 12:10
Hello! My name is Andy. How are you?
Let's talk about the Phrygian language.
Language. Phrygian is an extinct Indo‑European language of west‑central Anatolia, classified as a centum language and now generally regarded by specialists (Obrador‑Cursach 2020; Lubotsky; Ligorio) as the closest known relative of Ancient Greek — possibly sharing a common "Graeco‑Phrygian" stage — against an older minority view that linked it instead to Armenian. It is a corpus language, known only from inscriptions, ancient glosses, and personal/place names, and falls into two attested stages: Old Phrygian (c. 8th century BC to the 4th/3rd century BC), written in an epichoric "Paleo‑Phrygian" alphabet derived from a Phoenician–Greek source and among the earliest alphabetic writing in Anatolia; and New Phrygian (1st–3rd century AD), written in the Greek alphabet, separated from the older stage by a long documentary gap and by one transitional "Middle Phrygian" bilingual. The surviving material — a few hundred short Old Phrygian texts and about 120 New Phrygian ones, overwhelmingly funerary, votive, and dedicatory — preserves regular sound changes such as a consonant shift (the voiced stops devoiced, the aspirates becoming plain voiced), the merger of the palatovelars and then the labiovelars with the plain velars, the loss of *s before vowels, and a triple‑coloured reflex of the laryngeals like that of Greek. Because the texts are so formulaic and fragmentary, the lexicon is small and skewed toward "tomb, harm, accursed, make, god, mother," and no recorded native name for the language; the name "Phrygian" is itself a Greek exonym (Φρύγιος, Φρυγιστί "in Phrygian"). The language is thought to have died out by roughly the 5th century AD.
Welcome to my channel! This is Andy from I love languages. Let's learn different languages/dialects together.
This video is created for educational, language awareness, and language preservation purposes. It aims to provide valuable insights and knowledge to viewers, enhancing their understanding and appreciation of different languages and their unique characteristics. By raising awareness about linguistic diversity, the video seeks to foster a greater respect and recognition for various languages, particularly those that are endangered or underrepresented. Additionally, it contributes to the preservation of languages by documenting and sharing linguistic knowledge, thus ensuring that these languages and their cultural heritage are not lost to future generations.
Please feel free to subscribe to see more of this.
I hope you have a great day! Stay happy!
Please support me on Patreon!
patreon.com/user?u=16809442.
Please support me on Ko-fi
ko-fi.com/otipeps0124
Follow me on Instagram. See you there! ✨✨✨
@ itsmeandy24
instagram.com/itsmeandy24?igsh=M2t5N2cyeGZpeGJr
If you are interested to see your native language/dialect featured here.
Submit your recordings to otipeps24@gmail.com.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
