Samalian was a Semitic language spoken and first attested in Samʼal .
2-641: Samalian is primarily known from three inscriptions , the Hadad Statue and the Panamuwa II inscription ( KAI 214–215), both unearthed in the late 19th century, and a third known as the Kuttamuwa stele , unearthed in 2008. Among the Semitic languages, Samalian shows most similarities to Aramaic . It has been earlier often considered an outright early dialect of Aramaic, possibly influenced by Canaanite . Strong evidence
4-556: Is however absent, and Samalian is best considered an independent member of the Northwest Semitic group, or, together with the Deir Alla Inscription , a sister variety of Aramaic in an "Aramoid" or "Syrian" group. Features connecting Samalian with Aramaic include: Pat-El & Wilson-Wright propose as additional general characteristics of Samalian the development of nasal vowels, as expected word-final n after long vowels
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